Ecclesiastica Celtica

Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924) was the author of a 16 volume Lives of the Saints, from which the content of this book is taken. He was both a squire and the parson, with enormous erudition and depth of knowledge in his subject. The main part describes a different view of the emerging Celtic church as regionalised and often isolated communities and one of the interests of this book is its treatment of communities not only in Scotland, but also in Cornwall and Brittany – in this sense, he insists that 'Celt' does not mean Scot or Irish, and that the Celtic or ancient British Church was far more Romano-British than people today realise. The third part gives a glossary of Celtic saints, very few of whom readers will be acquainted with. It tells their stories based on the available information. The writing is always concise and well-informed, and readers will gain a new slant on the Celtic tradition and come to appreciate the enormous challenges faced by its communities.