s of these holy men in Wales alone, whose memory is
retained by this simple record; and Cornwall is dotted over with
churches dedicated to men and women whose names are strange, and of whom
we know nothing. History tells us of some of these early saints and
martyrs, of St. Alban, the first British martyr, who was slain 303 A.D.
during the Diocletian persecution in the city which bears his name; of
St. David, a Welsh prince, who followed the active life of John the
Baptist, and preached like him. The memory of early saints is enshrined
in the names, St. Ives, St. Neots, St. Bees, and in St. Edmund's Bury,
named after St. Edmund, who was taken prisoner by Ingvar the Viking, and
having been bound to a tree, was scourged, and served as a target for
the arrows of the Danes, being afterwards beheaded. All these record the
bravery and zeal of the holy men of old who loved their God, and for His
sake feared not to die.

Nothing need be said of the conversion of the English. That is a story
which has been often told. The scene is again changed. The temples of
Woden and Thor at Canterbury and Godmundingham and elsewhere, with their
heathen altars and shrines and idols, have been changed into Christian
churches, and other houses of God have been raised in the various
kingdoms; while Paulinus, Berinus, Aidan, Winfrid, and other preachers,
travelled through the country, exhorting the people to accept the
Christian faith.

Memorials of these early Christian missionaries remain in many a village
churchyard. Often there stands near the village church an old stone
cross, its steps worn away by the rains and frosts of thirteen
centuries; its head has doubtless gone, broken off by the force of the
gales, or by the wild rage of human passion and Puritanical iconoclastic
zeal; but it preserves the memory of the first conversion of the Saxon
villagers to Christianity, and was erected to mark the spot where the
people assembled to hear the new preacher, and to consecrate it for this
purpose.

In the life of St. Willibald we read that it was the custom of the Saxon
nation, on the estates of some of their nobles or great men, to erect,
not a church, but the sign of the Holy Cross, dedicated to God,
beautifully and honourably adorned, and exalted on high for the common
use of daily prayer. It is recorded also that St. Kentigern used to
erect a cross in any place where he had converted the people, and where
he had been staying for some time. V