abstract:The Welsh saints, mainly real men and women of the fifth and sixth centuries, served as folk heroes in a Christianised form. Not simply religious figures confined to a church context, they entered into the popular imagination and became part of the common lore. While hundreds of saints have been recognised in Wales, many are commemorated in very limited ways, and have never become established in traditional lore. This book represents a garnering of the folklore of the Welsh saints for whom narrative material could be located, bringing together and organising the traditions of approximately forty-seven saints.
Elissa Henken takes each saint individually and examines the major traditions associated with that saint; she follows this examination with an index, by saint, of all the traditions associated with each saint.
(source: Boydell & Brewer)