| Summary: | This thesis offers a reappraisal of the development of the cult of the saints in Britain and Ireland in the period 600-850, by situating the written, sculptural, and archaeological evidence for saints’ graves in the context of wider patterns of funerary practice between the fifth and ninth centuries. It also argues that there was great variety in the way that saints’ remains were presented in this period. The experience of visiting shrines depended on the audience, aspirations, and functions of the cult, as well as the cultural and economic context of the church in which it was situated. Saints’ graves were part of a spectrum of special graves that existed in the early medieval Insular world. Before the later seventh century, special graves were found at church sites and in traditional cemeteries, or in isolated landscape contexts. By the eighth century, special graves were created almost exclusively within ecclesiastical contexts. However, even within church sites the distinction between the grave of a saint and that of another honoured individual was not always obvious and unchanging. The location of the grave and the way it was marked was not necessarily a reliable indicator of saintly status. By comparing saints’ graves with other kinds of special graves, the similarities of form and function are revealed, demonstrating that the cult of the saints was adapted to local contexts and incorporated existing practices. The thesis argues that the influence of local burial practices and funerary monuments explains the variation in the types of shrines across Britain and Ireland as well as the unique forms of Insular shrines. This argument modifies and updates previous understandings of the development of the cult of the saints which have over-emphasised the influence of Frankish and Late Antique Mediterranean forms and neglected the contribution of Insular traditions.
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