Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Trans-national Database and Atlas of Saints' Cults aims to establish a parish-by-parish, commune-by-commune inventory of religious devotion in Europe and beyond. Evidence of cults saintly, angelic and divine is built up from documentation and other sources, and centres on the dedications of churches and chapels and of subsidiary foci of devotion such as side altars, images and lights.


Main Topics:

The datasets form an inventory of evidence for both official and popular devotion to and commemoration of religious figures and concepts (‘cults’) at the most local level at all periods. The datasets begin with the principal secular or ecclesiastic unit, and running down through the various levels of administration to the parish (or its equivalent), and then specifying the location and the object of devotion or commemoration. The category of devotion or commemoration is give, together with the earliest date of evidence, the source(s), and in many cases geo-referencing and additional information.

Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.