diff --git a/django/newforms/fields.py b/django/newforms/fields.py
index 5c6d46ddac..408c90df45 100644
--- a/django/newforms/fields.py
+++ b/django/newforms/fields.py
@@ -33,10 +33,21 @@ class Field(object):
     # Tracks each time a Field instance is created. Used to retain order.
     creation_counter = 0
 
-    def __init__(self, required=True, widget=None, label=None):
+    def __init__(self, required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None):
+        # required -- Boolean that specifies whether the field is required.
+        #             True by default.
+        # widget -- A Widget class, or instance of a Widget class, that should be
+        #         used for this Field when displaying it. Each Field has a default
+        #         Widget that it'll use if you don't specify this. In most cases,
+        #         the default widget is TextInput.
+        # label -- A verbose name for this field, for use in displaying this field in
+        #         a form. By default, Django will use a "pretty" version of the form
+        #         field name, if the Field is part of a Form.
+        # initial -- A value to use in this Field's initial display. This value is
+        #            *not* used as a fallback if data isn't given.
         if label is not None:
             label = smart_unicode(label)
-        self.required, self.label = required, label
+        self.required, self.label, self.initial = required, label, initial
         widget = widget or self.widget
         if isinstance(widget, type):
             widget = widget()
@@ -72,9 +83,9 @@ class Field(object):
         return {}
 
 class CharField(Field):
-    def __init__(self, max_length=None, min_length=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None):
+    def __init__(self, max_length=None, min_length=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None):
         self.max_length, self.min_length = max_length, min_length
-        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label)
+        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label, initial)
 
     def clean(self, value):
         "Validates max_length and min_length. Returns a Unicode object."
@@ -95,9 +106,9 @@ class CharField(Field):
             return {'maxlength': str(self.max_length)}
 
 class IntegerField(Field):
-    def __init__(self, max_value=None, min_value=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None):
+    def __init__(self, max_value=None, min_value=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None):
         self.max_value, self.min_value = max_value, min_value
-        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label)
+        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label, initial)
 
     def clean(self, value):
         """
@@ -126,8 +137,8 @@ DEFAULT_DATE_INPUT_FORMATS = (
 )
 
 class DateField(Field):
-    def __init__(self, input_formats=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None):
-        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label)
+    def __init__(self, input_formats=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None):
+        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label, initial)
         self.input_formats = input_formats or DEFAULT_DATE_INPUT_FORMATS
 
     def clean(self, value):
@@ -155,8 +166,8 @@ DEFAULT_TIME_INPUT_FORMATS = (
 )
 
 class TimeField(Field):
-    def __init__(self, input_formats=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None):
-        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label)
+    def __init__(self, input_formats=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None):
+        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label, initial)
         self.input_formats = input_formats or DEFAULT_TIME_INPUT_FORMATS
 
     def clean(self, value):
@@ -189,8 +200,8 @@ DEFAULT_DATETIME_INPUT_FORMATS = (
 )
 
 class DateTimeField(Field):
-    def __init__(self, input_formats=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None):
-        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label)
+    def __init__(self, input_formats=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None):
+        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label, initial)
         self.input_formats = input_formats or DEFAULT_DATETIME_INPUT_FORMATS
 
     def clean(self, value):
@@ -214,13 +225,13 @@ class DateTimeField(Field):
 
 class RegexField(Field):
     def __init__(self, regex, max_length=None, min_length=None, error_message=None,
-            required=True, widget=None, label=None):
+            required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None):
         """
         regex can be either a string or a compiled regular expression object.
         error_message is an optional error message to use, if
         'Enter a valid value' is too generic for you.
         """
-        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label)
+        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label, initial)
         if isinstance(regex, basestring):
             regex = re.compile(regex)
         self.regex = regex
@@ -251,8 +262,8 @@ email_re = re.compile(
     r')@(?:[A-Z0-9-]+\.)+[A-Z]{2,6}$', re.IGNORECASE)  # domain
 
 class EmailField(RegexField):
-    def __init__(self, max_length=None, min_length=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None):
-        RegexField.__init__(self, email_re, max_length, min_length, gettext(u'Enter a valid e-mail address.'), required, widget, label)
+    def __init__(self, max_length=None, min_length=None, required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None):
+        RegexField.__init__(self, email_re, max_length, min_length, gettext(u'Enter a valid e-mail address.'), required, widget, label, initial)
 
 url_re = re.compile(
     r'^https?://' # http:// or https://
@@ -269,8 +280,8 @@ except ImportError:
 
 class URLField(RegexField):
     def __init__(self, max_length=None, min_length=None, required=True, verify_exists=False, widget=None, label=None,
-            validator_user_agent=URL_VALIDATOR_USER_AGENT):
-        RegexField.__init__(self, url_re, max_length, min_length, gettext(u'Enter a valid URL.'), required, widget, label)
+            initial=None, validator_user_agent=URL_VALIDATOR_USER_AGENT):
+        RegexField.__init__(self, url_re, max_length, min_length, gettext(u'Enter a valid URL.'), required, widget, label, initial)
         self.verify_exists = verify_exists
         self.user_agent = validator_user_agent
 
@@ -304,10 +315,10 @@ class BooleanField(Field):
         return bool(value)
 
 class ChoiceField(Field):
-    def __init__(self, choices=(), required=True, widget=Select, label=None):
+    def __init__(self, choices=(), required=True, widget=Select, label=None, initial=None):
         if isinstance(widget, type):
             widget = widget(choices=choices)
-        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label)
+        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label, initial)
         self.choices = choices
 
     def clean(self, value):
@@ -325,8 +336,8 @@ class ChoiceField(Field):
         return value
 
 class MultipleChoiceField(ChoiceField):
-    def __init__(self, choices=(), required=True, widget=SelectMultiple, label=None):
-        ChoiceField.__init__(self, choices, required, widget, label)
+    def __init__(self, choices=(), required=True, widget=SelectMultiple, label=None, initial=None):
+        ChoiceField.__init__(self, choices, required, widget, label, initial)
 
     def clean(self, value):
         """
@@ -350,8 +361,8 @@ class MultipleChoiceField(ChoiceField):
         return new_value
 
 class ComboField(Field):
-    def __init__(self, fields=(), required=True, widget=None, label=None):
-        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label)
+    def __init__(self, fields=(), required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None):
+        Field.__init__(self, required, widget, label, initial)
         # Set 'required' to False on the individual fields, because the
         # required validation will be handled by ComboField, not by those
         # individual fields.
diff --git a/django/newforms/forms.py b/django/newforms/forms.py
index 201cce3868..4928065e9d 100644
--- a/django/newforms/forms.py
+++ b/django/newforms/forms.py
@@ -218,7 +218,11 @@ class BoundField(StrAndUnicode):
         auto_id = self.auto_id
         if auto_id and not attrs.has_key('id') and not widget.attrs.has_key('id'):
             attrs['id'] = auto_id
-        return widget.render(self.html_name, self.data, attrs=attrs)
+        if self.form.ignore_errors:
+            data = self.field.initial
+        else:
+            data = self.data
+        return widget.render(self.html_name, data, attrs=attrs)
 
     def as_text(self, attrs=None):
         """
@@ -237,7 +241,9 @@ class BoundField(StrAndUnicode):
         return self.as_widget(HiddenInput(), attrs)
 
     def _data(self):
-        "Returns the data for this BoundField, or None if it wasn't given."
+        """
+        Returns the data for this BoundField, or None if it wasn't given.
+        """
         return self.field.widget.value_from_datadict(self.form.data, self.html_name)
     data = property(_data)
 
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/forms/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/forms/tests.py
index 50bc7a7595..79a320c131 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/forms/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/forms/tests.py
@@ -658,6 +658,8 @@ Each Field's __init__() takes at least these parameters:
     label -- A verbose name for this field, for use in displaying this field in
              a form. By default, Django will use a "pretty" version of the form
              field name, if the Field is part of a Form.
+    initial -- A value to use in this Field's initial display. This value is
+               *not* used as a fallback if data isn't given.
 
 Other than that, the Field subclasses have class-specific options for
 __init__(). For example, CharField has a max_length option.
@@ -2108,6 +2110,8 @@ in "attrs".
 <li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /></li>
 <li>Password: <input type="password" name="password" maxlength="10" /></li>
 
+# Specifying labels ###########################################################
+
 You can specify the label for a field by using the 'label' argument to a Field
 class. If you don't specify 'label', Django will use the field name with
 underscores converted to spaces, and the initial letter capitalized.
@@ -2156,6 +2160,46 @@ is default behavior.
 <li><label for="id_username">Username:</label> <input id="id_username" type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /></li>
 <li><label for="id_password">Password:</label> <input type="password" name="password" id="id_password" /></li>
 
+# Initial data ################################################################
+
+You can specify initial data for a field by using the 'initial' argument to a
+Field class. This initial data is displayed when a Form is rendered with *no*
+data. It is not displayed when a Form is rendered with any data (including an
+empty dictionary). Also, the initial value is *not* used if data for a
+particular required field isn't provided.
+>>> class UserRegistration(Form):
+...    username = CharField(max_length=10, initial='django')
+...    password = CharField(widget=PasswordInput)
+
+Here, we're not submitting any data, so the initial value will be displayed.
+>>> p = UserRegistration(auto_id=False)
+>>> print p.as_ul()
+<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" value="django" maxlength="10" /></li>
+<li>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /></li>
+
+Here, we're submitting data, so the initial value will *not* be displayed.
+>>> p = UserRegistration({}, auto_id=False)
+>>> print p.as_ul()
+<li><ul class="errorlist"><li>This field is required.</li></ul>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /></li>
+<li><ul class="errorlist"><li>This field is required.</li></ul>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /></li>
+>>> p = UserRegistration({'username': u''}, auto_id=False)
+>>> print p.as_ul()
+<li><ul class="errorlist"><li>This field is required.</li></ul>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /></li>
+<li><ul class="errorlist"><li>This field is required.</li></ul>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /></li>
+>>> p = UserRegistration({'username': u'foo'}, auto_id=False)
+>>> print p.as_ul()
+<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" value="foo" maxlength="10" /></li>
+<li><ul class="errorlist"><li>This field is required.</li></ul>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /></li>
+
+An 'initial' value is *not* used as a fallback if data is not provided. In this
+example, we don't provide a value for 'username', and the form raises a
+validation error rather than using the initial value for 'username'.
+>>> p = UserRegistration({'password': 'secret'})
+>>> p.errors
+{'username': [u'This field is required.']}
+>>> p.is_valid()
+False
+
 # Forms with prefixes #########################################################
 
 Sometimes it's necessary to have multiple forms display on the same HTML page,