Prince, King & Martyr
Introduction
There are, in England, at least eight Anglican churches dedicated to
Saint Kenelm and two Roman Catholic churches dedicated to Our Lady and Saint
Kenelm. In the past there have been others.
But, so far as I know, apart from a translation of a medieval manuscript
in an academic treatise, there has been no recent, full length account of
the story of Saint Kenelm. Also, so far as I know, there never has been an
account which has aimed to place the original, medieval legend directly in
its historical context and to tell the story so that it conflicts as little
as possible with 'real' history. My version of the story aims to rectify
this omission - to merge legend and history without changing either. And,
if there is a little invention - well, the inventions are appropriate to
the situation and serve merely to help the flow of narrative.
There are many problems. Medieval writers were concerned with religious
and political history, and the family life of Kenelm and his parents was
ignored. The various versions of the legend are not entirely consistent one
with another and they are mostly written in medieval Latin or Middle English,
both of which leave scope for misinterpretation. Moreover, even modern
histories differ in regard to the facts. I hope I have steered a reasonable
course through the inconsistencies and those who are interested should read
the postscript and see how I justify the story.
A postscript examines the legend in detail and attempts to distinguish
probable truth from uncertain legend as well as providing some additional
information about the legend today. There is an extensive bibliography.
The second edition includes a select anthology of poetry and other material
directly relevant to the legend as well as a modern translation from the
original Latin of the many miracles attributed to Saint Kenelm.
Extract from the story.