INTRODUCTION 3 Temple (2), and Towednack, and in the church of St. Wendron. 1 The place-names also testify to the early establish- ment of definite churches. Upwards of a score of places have the Celtic prefix Lan, meaning an en- closure, and hence the definite enclosure of the church. Again, Eglos Ros, Egloshayle, and Eglos- kerry also tell of ancient houses for divine worship. The great missionary bishop, St. Martin of Tours, is said to have consecrated St. Corentin (St. Cury) in the 5th cent., and sent him forth into Cornwall as its first bishop. Passing by a roll of more or less legendary bishops, there is docu- mentary evidence of five Bishops of Cornwall in the 10th cent, and of two in the 1 ith cent. Hence- forward Cornwall was ruled ecclesiastically by the Bishops of Exeter until our own days. The epis- copal registers of Exeter often yield proof of the active energy of the bishops in this part of their diocese. Notably was this the case with Bishop Branscombe (1258-1281); in the year 1259, be- tween 24th of September and 25th of October, he consecrated a score of Cornish churches, all of which appear to have been older foundations re- quiring re-dedication through rebuilding or material enlargement. 1 On this subject, see the invaluable work of the late Mr. Langdon, Old Cornish Crosses (1896); also the same author's comprehensive article on Early Christian Monuments in vol. i. of Fid. Co. Hist, of Cornwall (1906).
