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

by Lesley Abrams (Contributor), James P. Carley (Editor), Philip Rahtz (Contributor)

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 items are 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, CERIDWEN LLOYD-MORGAN, FELICITY RIDDY.

351 pages, Hardcover

First published July 18, 1991

Reviews

[Kate Parr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a monster of a book, not in size, but in having to re-read sections several times to make sure I'd understood. I hold my hand up to say I skipped the chapters on Glastonbury's Cornish and Welsh connections, but I did find the chapters on how many students the abbey sent to Oxford & Cambridge, and about sacred thefts of the bones of saints, to be very entertaining and illuminating.
Certainly if you're interested in more than a linear description of the history of the abbey complex, and want to explore its significance in the wider landscape of religious institutions, landownership and ecclesiastical politics, this is an excellent in-depth study, but not for the casual researcher!

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting scholarly papers on various historical questions, mostly related to the Abbey's landholdings and manuscripts.

[Flint Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressive! Glastonbury's history is filled with so much mythology, legend and flat-out lies that it is difficult to separate them from reality. And yet, just as the inspiration for this book did, this volume manages the same thing in a precise and exacting manner in the subjects of archeology, literature, and history. If you need the facts about Glastonbury, or the best research on literature pertaining to the infamous center, this is the place to start. The scholars for this book are not always the most eminent in each field but they are more than competent and were clearly kept to high standards here.