St Samson of Dol and the Earliest History of Brittany, Cornwall and Wales (Studies in Celtic History, 37)

The First Life of St Samson of Dol (Vita Prima Samsonis) is a key text for the study of early Welsh, Cornish, Breton and indeed west Frankish history. In the twentieth century it was the subject of unresolved scholarly controversy that tended to limit its usefulness. However, more recent research has firmly re-established its significance as a historical source. This volume presents the results of new, multi-disciplinary, assessment of the text and its context. What emerges from the studies collected here is a context of greater plausibility for the First Life of St Samson of Dol as an early and essentially historical text, potentially at the centre of early British Christianity and its influence on the Continent. The landscape of that Christianity is gradually emerging from the shadows and it is a landscape in which the career of St Samson, the first Insular peregrinus, is shown to be of considerable importance. Lynette Olson is an Honorary Associate of the Department of History, University of Sydney. Contributors: Caroline Brett, Karen Jankulak, Constant J. Mews, Lynette Olson, Joseph-Claude Poulin, Richard Sowerby, Ian N. Wood, Jonathan M. Wooding. New essays shed light on the mysterious St Samson of Dol and his Vita.The First Life of St Samson of Dol (Vita Prima Samsonis) is a key text for the study of early Welsh, Cornish, Breton and indeed west Frankish history. In the twentieth century it was the subject of unresolved scholarly controversy that tended to limit its usefulness. However, more recent research has firmly re-established its significance as a historical source. This volume presents the results of new, multi-disciplinary, assessment of the textand its context. What emerges from the studies collected here is a context of greater plausibility for the First Life of St Samson of Dol as an early and essentially historical text, potentially at the centre of early British Christianity and its influence on the Continent. The landscape of that Christianity is gradually emerging from the shadows and it is a landscape in which the career of St Samson, the first Insular peregrinus, is shown to be of considerable importance. LYNETTE OLSON is an Honorary Associate of the Department of History, University of Sydney. Contributors: Caroline Brett, Karen Jankulak, Constant J. Mews, Lynette Olson, Joseph-Claude Poulin, Richard Sowerby, Ian N. Wood, Jonathan M. Wooding. List of Tables vi Editor's Preface vii Map: Places associated with St. Samson in the First Life viii 1. Introduction: "Getting Somewhere" with the First Life of St. Samson of Dol / Lynette Olson 1 2. A Family and its Saint in the "Vita Prima Samsonis" / Richard Sowerby 19 3. La Circulation de l’information dans la Vie ancienne de s. Samson de Dol et la question de sa datation / Joseph-Claude Poulin 37 4. The Hare and the Tortoise? "Vita Prima Sancti Samsonis", "Vita Paterni", and Merovingian Hagiography / Caroline Brett 83 5. Columbanus, the Britons, and the Merovingian Church / Ian N. Wood 103 6. Apostolic Authority and Celtic Liturgies: from the "Vita Samsonis" to the "Ratio de cursus" / Constant J. Mews 115 7. The Representation of Early British Monasticism and "Peregrinatio" in "Vita Prima S. Samsonis" / Jonathan M. Wooding 137 8. Present and Yet Absent: the Cult of St. Samson of Dol in Wales / Karen Jankulak 163 Bibliography 181 Index 209 The First Life of St Samson of Dol (Vita Prima Samsonis) is a key text for the study of early Welsh, Cornish, Breton and indeed west Frankish history. In the twentieth century it was the subject of unresolved scholarly controversy that tended to limit its usefulness. However, more recent research has firmly re-established its significance as a historical sources. This volume presents the results of new, multi-disciplinary, assessement of the text and its context. What emerges from the studies collected here is a context of greater plausibility for the First Life of St Samson of Dol as an early and essentially historical text, potentially at the centre of early British Christianity and its influence on the Continent. The landscape of that Christianity is gradually emerging from the shadows and it is a landscape in which the career of St Samson, the first Insular peregrinus, is shown to be of considerable importance -- From the Publisher Frontcover -- Contents -- List of Tables -- Editor's Preface -- Map: Places associated with St Samson in the First Life -- 1. Introduction: 'Getting Somewhere' with the First Life of St Samson of Dol -- 2. A Family and its Saint in the Vita Prima Samsonis -- 3. L a Circulation de l'information dans la Vie ancienne de s. Samson de Dol et la question de sa datation -- 4. The Hare and the Tortoise? Vita Prima Sancti Samsonis, Vita Paterni, and Merovingian Hagiography -- 5. Columbanus, the Britons, and the Merovingian Church -- 6. Apostolic Authority and Celtic Liturgies: from the Vita Samsonis to the Ratio de cursus -- 7. The Representation of Early British Monasticism and Peregrinatio in Vita Prima S. Samsonis -- 8. Present and Yet Absent: the Cult of St Samson of Dol in Wales -- Bibliography -- Index