The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey: Essays in Honour of the ninetieth birthday of C.A.Ralegh Radford

by Lesley Abrams, James P Carley, Aelred Watkin, Ann Dooley, C J Bond

Overview

Discussion of site and buildings, books and manuscripts, cultural life and traditions, from the earliest Anglo-Saxon period to the later middle ages.

Glastonbury Abbey was one of the great cultural centres of Anglo-Saxon and medieval England, yet this is the first volume of scholarly essays to be devoted to the subject. Written in honour of C. A. Ralegh Radford, the first itemsare concerned with the physical remains of the abbey, ranging from the place of Glastonbury in the development of Christianity in Somerset to specific examinations of surviving monastic buildings. The main body of the essays explores documents relating to the abbey for evidence of its history and traditions, including the earliest Anglo-Saxon period, pre-conquest abbots, and links with the Celtic world. The final section deals with the cultural life of the abbey: Glastonbury's role in education is discussed and the concluding essay deals with the most magical of all Glastonbury legends - its link with Joseph of Arimathea and the Grail.

Contributors: PHILIP RAHTZ, MICHAEL D. COSTEN, C.J. BOND, J.B. WELLER, ROBERT W. DUNNING, LESLEY ABRAMS, JAMES P. CARLEY, ANN DOOLEY, SARAH FOOT, DAVID THORNTON, RICHARD SHARPE, JULIA CRICK, OLIVER J.PADEL, MATTHEW BLOWS, CHARLES T. WOOD, NICHOLAS ORME, CERIDWENLLOYD-MORGAN, FELICITY RIDDY.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780851152844
Publisher:	BOYDELL & BREWER INC
Publication date:	07/18/1991
Series:	J. Ranade Series on Computer
Pages:	361
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1730L (what's this?)

About the Author

Richard Sharpe FBA (1954-2020) Professor of Diplomatic in the University of Oxford, and President of the Surtees Society from 2002, was one of Britain's most eminent manuscript scholars with over 200 publications before he died. He left unfinished his study of the early deeds of the great Benedictine abbey of St Mary in York, which has been completed in his memory by the society.

Table of Contents

Preface - Aelred Watkin
Pagan and Christian by the Severn Sea - Philip Rahtz
Some Evidence for New Settlements and Field Systems in Late Anglo-Saxon Somerset - Michael D. Costen
The Somerset Barns of Glastonbury Abbey - C J Bond and J B Weller
The Tribunal, Glastonbury, Somerset - Robert W Dunning
A Single-Sheet Facsimile of a Diploma of King Ine for Glastonbury - Lesley Abrams
An Early Irish Fragment of Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae - James Carley and Ann Dooley
Glastonbury's Early Abbots - Sarah Foot
Glastonbury and the Glastening - David E Thornton
Eadmer's Letter to the Monks of Glastonbury Concerning St Dunstan's Disputed Remains - Richard Sharpe
The Marshalling of Antiquity: Glastonbury's Historical Dossier - Julia Crick
Glastonbury's Cornish Connections - Oliver J. Padel
A Glastonbury Obit-List - Matthew Blows
Fraud and its Consequences: Savaric of Bath and the Reform of Glastonbury - Charles T Wood
Glastonbury Abbey and Education - Nicholas Orme
From Ynys Wydrin to Glasynbri: Glastonbury in Welsh Vernacular Tradition - Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan
Glastonbury, Joseph of Arimathea and the Grail in John Hardyng's Chronicle - Felicity Riddy

Editorial Reviews

Sixteen essays grouped under three headings: ‘Buildings and Archaeology', ‘Manuscripts and Texts;, and ‘Interpretations' The essays are of a universally high quality.

ANTIQUARIES JOURNAL

A festschrift of considerable thematic integrity, by the meticulous and original scholarship of its contributors, and by an exceptionally high standard of production... a distinguished body of scholarship which sheds light on many aspects of medieval history.

JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY

The historical, diplomatic and interpretative papers make up an attractive collection... This handsome collection of essays serves both to honour the doyen of that colourful area of study, Dark Age Britain, and to remind us that Glastonbury remains as much a challenge as a 20th-century state of mind.

THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

Archaeological and literary research now conveniently brought together... rich fare here for historians, archaeologists and palaeographers alike... a very scholarly, illuminating and interesting publication.

BULLETIN CODICOLOGIQUE

A festschrift of considerable thematic integrity, by the meticulous and original scholarship of its contributors, and by an exceptionally high standard of production... a distinguished body of scholarship which sheds light on many aspects of medieval history. JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
Archaeological and literary research now conveniently brought together... rich fare here for historians, archaeologists and palaeographers alike... a very scholarly, illuminating and interesting publication. BULLETIN CODICOLOGIQUE
The historical, diplomatic and interpretative papers make up an attractive collection... This handsome collection of essays serves both to honour the doyen of that colourful area of study, Dark Age Britain, and to remind us that Glastonbury remains as much a challenge as a 20th-century state of mind. THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
Sixteen essays grouped under three headings: 'Buildings and Archaeology', 'Manuscripts and Texts;, and 'Interpretations' The essays are of a universally high quality. ANTIQUARIES JOURNAL

From the Publisher