St Swithun was an obscure ninth-century bishop of Winchester about whom little was, and is, known. But following the translation of his relics from a conspicuous tomb into the Old Minster, Winchester, on 15 July 971, the massive rebuilding of the cathedral, and a vigorous publicity campaign by Bishop Aethelwold (963-84), St Swithun became one of the most popular and important English saints, whose cult was widespread not only in England but also in...