The living stream

Holy wells are an ancient and mysterious part of the landscape. They have a powerful hold over the imagination, and yet have been little studied. James Rattue has been fascinated by them for many years, and has now written the first general history of wells and their religious and cultural associations. He begins the story in the ancient world, exploring the archetypal motifs present in the cult of water. He then traces the distinctive development of the holy well in England, examining pagan wells and their Christianisation, the role played by ecclesiastical history and institutions, the importance of saints' cults, and the social functions of wells in the middle ages. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, holy wells had become part of the antiquarian past; only a few isolated customs persisted. Now, however, they are again a focus of interest, to a wide general audience - one which ranges from the pagan and environmental movement to the historian and scholar. A list by county of wells mentioned in the text, and a county-by-county summary of the state of research on holy wells in the British Isles complete the book.