Most of these litanies, taken from nearly fifty manuscripts written or owned in Anglo-Saxon England, have never previously been printed. The texts of the litanies provide an indispensable resource for scholars seeking to understand the spirituality of Anglo-Saxon England, to localise the manuscript in which the litanies are contained, and to trace the development and diffusion of eary medieval saints' cults. The volume is accompanied by comprehensive indices of all the saints named in the litanies here printed, and of all the liturgical forms of prayer which they contain. It also includes an extensive introduction which traces the origin and development of this particular form of prayer in Anglo-Saxon England.MICHAEL LAPIDGEis Professor of Anglo-Saxon, University of Cambridge.
