Seven hundred years ago, executioners led a Welsh rebel named William
Cragh to a wintry hill to be hanged. They placed a noose around his
neck, dropped him from the gallows, and later pronounced him dead. But
was he dead? While no less than nine eyewitnesses attested to his
demise, Cragh later proved to be very much alive, his resurrection
attributed to the saintly entreaties of the defunct Bishop Thomas de
Cantilupe.
The Hanged Man tells the story of this putative miracle--why it
happened, what it meant, and how we know about it. The nine eyewitness
accounts live on in the transcripts of de Cantilupe's canonization
hearings, and these previously unexamined documents contribute not only
to an enthralling mystery, but to an unprecedented glimpse into the
day-to-day workings of medieval society.
While unraveling the haunting tale of the hanged man, Robert Bartlett
leads us deeply into the world of lords, rebels, churchmen, papal
inquisitors, and other individuals living at the time of conflict and
conquest in Wales. In the process, he reconstructs voices that others
have failed to find. We hear from the lady of the castle where the
hanged man was imprisoned, the laborer who watched the execution, the
French bishop charged with investigating the case, and scores of other
members of the medieval citizenry. Brimming with the intrigue of a
detective novel, The Hanged Man will appeal to both scholars of
medieval history and general readers alike.
