The ‘overlooked’ saint: digitally recreated shrine marks 800th anniversary of William of York

Kirsty Mitchell holds copy of the only surviving seal of William as Archbishop of York (the original seal is Durham Cathedral's collection), with a mosaic depicting the saint behind. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

The inscription on the large 13th-century stone slab on display at York Minster does not bode well: “Qui cecidit svper capvt Rogeri de Ripvn.” Or, as it translates: “Which fell on the head of Roger of Ripon.”

“We don’t quite know who Roger of Ripon was,” said Jennie England, research coordinator at the cathedral. “But he survived, and a miraculous incident was reported in the 1280s when a stone fell on someone’s head.”