The Royal Saints of Anglo-Saxon England

Within Anglo-Saxon England there was a strong and enduring tradition of royal sanctity - of men and women of royal birth who in an age before the development of papal canonisation came to be venerated as saints by the regional church. This study which focuses on some of the best-documented cults of the ancient kingdoms of Wessex and East Anglia is a contribution towards understanding the growth and continuing importance of England''s royal cults. The author examines contemporary and near-contemporary theoretical interpretations of the relationship between royal birth and sanctity analyses in depth the historical process of cult-creation and addresses the problem of continuity of cult in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of 1066. An understanding therefore emerges of the place of the English royal saint not only in Anglo-Saxon society but also in that of the Anglo-Norman realm.