Category: History

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St George’s Day, Shakespeare’s Birthday  April 23rd

shakWilliam Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout from the 1st Folio
William Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout from the 1st Folio

Today, is not St George’s Day but it is Shakespeare’s Birthday (Here is a wonderful website with everything you might like to know about St George.) By tradition, Shakespeare was born on St George’s Day. April 23rd 1564, 457 years ago. He died on the same day in 1616 at age 52. Cervantes died on the same day.

Shakespeare’s death date is given by the burial register at the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford on Avon where he was buried. His baptismal record also survives at the same church and is on April 26th 1564. So, we don’t actually know when he was born, but christening were held soon after birth for fear of the high infant mortality rates, so 23rd April, three days before, has been assigned to be Shakespeare’s birthday.

St George’s Day is normally on 23rd but not this year!

When St George’s Day falls between Palm Sunday and the Second Sunday after Easter it is transfered to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter. Soin 2025, It is on April 28th. Not many people know that including Keir Starmer, Theresa May, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan who all got it wrong the last time in happened in 2019. I got it wrong too! But I think the Church should stop such silly practices. Either it’s St George’s Day or it isn’t. Why does it matter?

Shakespeare’s Birthday, ‘taking to the chamber’

His mum, Anne Shakespeare would have ‘taken to her chamber’ about four weeks before the due date. The windows or shutters were fastened, as fresh air was thought to be bad for the birthing process. Female friends and relatives came to visit; the room was decorated with fine carpets, hangings, silver plates and fine ornaments. It was held that external events could influence the birth, any shocks or horrors might cause deformities and anomalies, so a calm lying-in room was clearly a good idea.

When labour began, female friends, relatives and the midwife were called to help out. A caudle of spiced wine or beer was given to the mother to strengthen her through the process. The maternal mortality rate for the 16th Century is estimated at 1500 per 100,000. Today, it’s 7 per 100,000. So most women would have heard of or attended the birth of a women who had died during or following children birth. There were also no forceps so if a baby were stuck and could not be manually manipulated out, then the only way forward was to get a surgeon to use hooks to dismember the baby to save the life of the mother. Doctors were not normally in attendance, but could be called in emergency,

Swaddling the Baby

Immediately after washing, the baby was swaddled. The swaddling was often very tight and could affect the baby’s growth, and might have affected the learning process, as movement of hands and feet are now considered significant in the early learning process. Swaddling lasted eight to nine months, and only went out of fashion after Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote against the practice.

Detail of tomb of Alexander Denton and his first wife Anne Willison, and her baby dressed in swaddling clothes Photo Wikipedia Hugh Llewelyn

Dangers of Childbirth

Puerperal fever killed many women even after successful childbirth, for example Queen Jane Seymour who died after 5 days. During these dangerous early days, the mother was kept in a dark room, and then, perhaps three days after birth, friends were invited to celebrate ‘upsitting’ when the mother was no longer confined to bed. This is when christening would take place. Edward VI was christened to a huge audience in the chapel at Hampton Court three days after his birth.

Licensed midwives could baptise newborn babies provided they used the correct wording and informed the Church so that the registration could be properly reported. Thomas Cromwell was responsible for the law in 1538 which insisted on a parish register to record weddings, christenings, and funerals. The law was reaffirmed by Queen Elizabeth in 1558 and registers had to be stored in a locked chest in the Church. (In 1597, the records had to be on parchment not paper, and in 1603 the chest had to have three locks!).

If the christening were in the church, the mother might not be there as she was expected to stay in her chamber for another week or so.

Churching and Breastfeeding

A week or a few weeks later, the mother would be ‘churched.’ This was a thanks-giving ceremony, although Puritans did not like the idea as it might be confused with a purification ceremony.

Breastfeeding would last a year or so but many high status women choose to use a wet-nurse. There was a real concern to find a suitable wet nurse as it was believed that the breast milk was important for the babies’ development both physically and temperamentally. Poor children who lost their mothers were very unlikely to survive as, without breast milk, the baby would be fed pap – bread soaked in cow’s milk.

Thanks very much to Alison Sim’s book ‘The Tudor Household’ for help in considering Shakespeare’s Birthday. For more on Shakespeare look at my post william-shakespeares-first-folio-400-years-old-today/

First published in 2023 and republished in April 2024, and 2025

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John Stow, London’s Historian 22nd April

John Stow
17th Century Print
St Andrew Undershaft

On the corner of Leadenhall Street and St Mary Axe in the City of London is one of the very few medieval Churches that survived the Great Fire of London is 1666. It was sheltered by the firebreak that was the Leadenhall, a big market building made of stone. This is where the great London historian John Stow is buried. His Survey of London is one of the best sources for Medieval and Tudor London. Every three years, there is a commemorative service and his quill is changed. Last year it was on the 22nd April. The Lord Mayor attends and it is organised by Stow’s Guild – the Merchant Taylors.

John Stow, author of the ‘Survey of London‘ first published in 1598. Available at the wonderful Project Gutenberg: ‘https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42959/42959-h/42959-h.htm’

John Stow records that his father returned to his home at Austin Friars one day to find his house had been moved. He had no warning, nor payment for the loss of land. He had the misfortune to live adjourning the property of Thomas Cromwell.

St Andrew Undershaft

The Church is the Maypole Church as it was here the Maypole or the shaft was stored under the eves of the Church. Hence, St Andrew’s sobriquet of ‘Undershaft’. The May Day riot of 1517 put an end to the dancing around the Maypole but the pole itself survived until 1547. Then, in a Puritan riot, the ‘stynking idol’ was destroyed. (see my May Day blog post here for more more details.)

There is also a plaque to Hans Holbein, but no one knows for sure where he is buried. He died in London in 1543, possibly of plague. The present church was built in 1532, but it is first recorded in the 12th Century.

For my post on St Andrew – look here.

Agas Map 1561 showing St Andrews (right centre)

First Published on 30th November 2022, Revised 2023, moved to April in 2024, and revised 2025

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Anglo-Saxon Easter

Lullingstone Mosaic representing Spring
Easter – Lullingstone Roman Mosaic representing Spring

Easter is a Germanic name, and, the only evidence for its derivation comes from the Venerable Bede. He was the first English Historian and a notable scholar. He says the pagan name for April was derived from the Goddess Eostra. The German name for Easter is Ostern probably with a similar derivation. But this is all the evidence there is for the Goddess, despite many claims for the deep history of Easter traditions.

Easter, Estry and Canterbury

Philip A. Shaw has proposed that the name of Eastry in Kent might derive from a local goddess, called Eostra. The influence of Canterbury in the early Church in England and Germany led to the adoption of this local cult name in these two countries. Otherwise, the name for Easter in Europe derives from Pascha which comes from the Hebrew Passover and Latin. In French it’s Pâques, in Italian Pasqua, Spanish Pascua; Dutch Pasen, Swedish Påsk; Norwegian Påske and so on.

The Church’s Choice for the Date of Easter

The timing of Easter is the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. I have already explained that Spring was the time the Church set for the Creation, the Crucifixion and other key points in the Christian Calendar. See my post the-beginning-of-the-universe-as-we-know-it-birthday-of-adam-lilith-eve-conception-of-jesus-start-of-the-year.

Eleanor Parker in her lovely book ‘Winter in the World’ gives a lyrical insight into how the dates were chosen. They held the belief that God would only choose the perfect time for the Creation and the events of Easter. The Creation began with the birth of the Sun and the Moon. So it was fixed to the Equinox, when the days were of equal length, and the fruits of the earth were stirring into life. But Holy Week also needed to be in harmony with the Moon. Therefore it was tied, like Passover, to the first full moon after the Equinox, which is also when the events take place in the Gospels.

The quotations Parker uses from early English religious writing and poetry shows a profound interest in nature and the universe. It is a very appealing viewpoint. It seems to me that this is something the Church, lost in later times, and replaced with fixation with dogma and ‘worship’ of the Holy Trinity.

At the time, fixing the date of Easter was very controversial as the Celtic Church in Britain had a different calendar to the Roman Catholic Church. Easter fell on a different day. The King of Northumberland, for example, celebrated Easter on a different day to that of his wife. Oswiu was exiled to Ireland where he was influenced by Celtic Christianity. His wife, Eanflæd, from Northumberland, had been baptised by the Roman Catholic missionary, Paulinus.

Easter and the Synod of Whitby

Oswiu, became King of Northumberland and ‘Bretwalda’ (ruler of all Britain), and encouraged a reconciliation. This culminated at the Synod of Whitby (664AD), between the two churches. The Celtic Church finally agreed to follow the Catholic calendar and other controversial customs. The Abbess at Whitby during the Synod was Hilda of Whitby. The Celtic position was defended by Bishop Colmán and the Roman position by St Wilfred. Bishop Colmán resigned his position as Bishop of Lindisfarne, returned to Iona and then set up a monastery back in Ireland. Wilfrid studied at Lindisfarne, Canterbury, France and Roman. After her husband’s death, Queen Eanflaed became Abbess of Whitby,

The antagonism between the two churches went back to the time of St Augustine in the early 7th Century. In a meeting between St Augustine and Celtic churchmen, St Augustine was judged to have been arrogant, unwilling to listen. So agreement was not reached. Some time afterwards the Anglo-Saxons attacked the Celts at the Battle of Chester in which hundreds of monks from the Abbey at Bangor were slaughtered.

Days off at Easter & Rituals

King Alfred’s law code gave labourers the week before and after Easter off work, making it the main holiday of the year. Ælfric of Eynsham gives a powerful commentary on the rituals of the Church over Easter. They were full of drama and participation, including Palm leaf processions on Palm Sunday, feet washing and giving offerings to the poor on Maundy Thursday. Then followed three ‘silent days’ with no preaching but rituals and services aiming to encourage empathy for the ordeal of Jesus. This included the nighttime service of Tenebrae. All lights were extinguished in the Church while the choir sang ‘Lord Have Mercy’. The darkness represented the despair that covered the world after Jesus’ death. Good Friday was the day for the adoration of the Cross in which a Cross would be decorated with treasures and symbolised turning a disaster into a triumph.

It seemed to me that I saw a wondrous tree
Lifted up into the air, wrapped in light,
brightest of beams. All that beacon was
covered with gold; gems stood
beautiful at the surface of the earth,….

The Dream of the Rood quoted in Eleanor Parker’s ‘Winter in the World’

The Harrowing of Hell

The days before Easter Sunday are known as the ‘Harrowing of Hell’. This was a very popular theme in the medieval period (featuring in Piers Plowman for example). Jesus went down to hell to free those, like John the Baptist, who had been trapped because the world had no saviour until the first Easter. The name ‘Harrowing’ comes from ‘Old English word hergian ‘to harry, pillage, plunder’ which underpins the way the event is depicted as a military raid on Hell. The ‘Clerk of Oxford’ Blog provides more information on the Harrowing of Hell on this page,

The Clerk of Oxford Blog is written by Eleanor Parker. She started in 2008, whilst an undergraduate student at Oxford. The blog won the 2015 Longman-History Today award for Digital History‘.

The above is but a very poor précis of Eleanor Parker’s use of Anglo-saxon poetry and literature to bring Easter to life. So if you are interested to know more or would like to have a different viewpoint on the Anglo-Saxons please get a copy of her book.

First Published in 2023 and republished in 2025

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St Beuno and a Poem to the Vagina April 20th


Drawing of a Stained glass window depicting Saint Beuno. D A R C 12345 – Own work

Today is St Beuno’s Day. St Beuno is also known as St Bono. He was an 8th Century Welsh Abbot of some power. The grandson of a prince of Powys in Wales who was descended from Vortigern. (see my post on Vortigern here.) Vortigern was a predecessor to King Arthur. Beuno was educated in Bangor Monastery, one of the foremost Celtic monasteries in Wales. During his ministry he restored 7 dead people to life including St Winifred (or Winefred).

Winifred & St Beuno

St Winifred’s Holywell, from Facebook.

She was Beuno’s niece, a virgin who refused the advances of a certain Caradog. Furious at her taking vows, Caradog tried to seduce her, but she refused. So, he chopped her head off.

Where her head landed a spring sprung amd became a holy spring.  The spot, in Flintshire is still called Holywell. It has been described as the Lourdes of Wales and one of my tours go past it that is how I heard about St Beuno.

Anyway the story goes that Beuno put his niece’s head back on her shoulders and restored her to life. How he did that, is a mystery.

From Facebook

She lived a full life with a brilliant Church career. Of course she is the patron of those who have suffered unwanted advances (but believe me there are many other candidates for that particular honour amongst the female Saints! Have a look at my post on St Agatha for another example of male sexual abuse.

Stained glass depiction of St Winifred, designed by William Burges, at Castell Coch, Cardiff. Wikipedia Hchc2009 – Own work

More on St Winefride’s on her feast day on 3rd November.

Medieval Powys, & Neglected Parts of the Female Anatomy

I drafted this in January, when I came across a reference to St Beuno in a fabulous exhibition at the British Library.  The show was called ‘Medieval Women – In their own Words’.

On display amongst the many wonderful manuscripts and books of the 11th – 15th Century was a Welsh poem.  The author was Gwerful Mechain (1460–1502), the only female medieval Welsh poet with a surviving and a substantial body of work. She is known for her erotic poetry, in which she praised the vulva among other things.

What is extraordinary is that I should, by complete chance, be publishing this the day after posting about the statue of the erect Minotaur! So, you can see how even-handed I am?

Here it is in full, in a modern translation:

To the Vagina by Gwerful Mechain

Every poet, drunken fool
Thinks he’s just the king of cool,
(Every one is such a boor,
He makes me sick, I’m so demure),
He always declaims fruitless praise
Of all the girls in his male gaze.
He’s at it all day long, by God,
Omitting the best bit, silly sod:
He praises the hair, gown of fine love,
And all the girl’s bits up above,
Even lower down he praises merrily
The eyes which glance so sexily;
Daring more, he extols the lovely shape
Of the soft breasts which leave him all agape,
And the beauty’s arms, bright drape,
Even her perfect hands do not escape.
Then with his finest magic
Before night falls, it’s tragic,
He pays homage to God’s might,
An empty eulogy: it’s not quite right:
For he’s left the girl’s middle unpraised,
That place where children are upraised,
The warm bright quim he does not sing,
That tender, plump, pulsating broken ring,
That’s the place I love, the place I bless,
The hidden quim below the dress.
You female body, you’re strong and fair,
A faultless, fleshy court plumed with hair.
I proclaim that the quim is fine,
Circle of broad-edged lips divine,
It’s a valley, longer than a spoon or hand,
A cwm to hold a penis strong and grand;
A vagina there by the swelling bum,
Two lines of red to song must come.
And the churchmen all, the radiant saints,
When they get the chance, have no restraints,
They never fail their chance to steal,
By Saint Beuno, to give it a good feel.
So I hope you feel well and truly told off,
All you proud male poets, you dare not scoff,
Let songs to the quim grow and thrive
Find their due reward and survive.
For it is silky soft, the sultan of an ode,
A little seam, a curtain on a hole bestowed,
Neat flaps in a place of meeting,
The sour grove, circle of greeting,
Superb forest, faultless gift to squeeze,
Fur for a fine pair of balls, tender frieze,
A girl’s thick glade, it is full of love,
Lovely bush, blessed be it by God above.

From: Gramich, Katie, Orality and Morality: Early Welsh Women’s Poetry, 2005, Cardiff University: Cardiff, pp. 8-9.
(http://www2.lingue.unibo.it/acume/acumedvd/Essays%20ACUME/AcumeGramichfinal.pdf)

Date: c1480 (original in Welsh); 2003 (translation in English) By: Gwerful Mechain (1462-1500) Translated by: Katie Gramich

For more about St Beuno https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beuno

First published on April 20th 2025

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Murder of St Alphage April 19th 1012

St Alphage. Church Tower on right, City Wall to left. Photo K Flude

I first came across St Alphage when I was working at the Museum of London. The Museum was built on the High Walk at London Wall. The raised Courbusian Walkway looked down on a ruin of a Gothic Church Tower, almost destroyed during the Blitz. This was St Alphage, a Church dedicated to the Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury. (Alphage is also spelt Alphege or Alfege).

On the other side of the Walkway was the old graveyard of the Church. This preserved one of the very best sections of the old London Wall. Special because on one side its huge height was displayed. On the other, the only crenelated bit of the City Wall. And the only surviving part of the Wall dating to the War of the Roses.

St Alphage Roman and Medieval Wall
St Alphage Roman and Medieval Wall
The Crenelated Red Brick Section dates to 1477, during the War of the Roses
The Crennelated Red Brick Section dates to 1477, during the War of the Roses
St Alphage Wall explained in an information plaque.
St Alphage Wall explained on an information plaque.

In the 1980’s fellow Museum of London Archaeologist, Paul Herbert and I set up a Guided Walks company (Citisights of London) . Our walks started from outside the Museum of London, and so St Alphage formed a big part of our success. It led to a life giving Guided Walks and tours. So, St Alphage, thank you!

A Citisights Day Tour of the 1980s

St Alphage Elsyng Spittle St Mary ?

The Church was previously a monastic settlement called Elsyng Spittle (aka St Mary within Cripplegate). The Augustinian Canons looked after 100 blind men. It was refounded by Williain Elsing, and dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536. The Church was kept for a Parish Church. But the Puritans were not keen on dedications to St Mary. So, they renamed it after a London based Christian Martyr.

It remained a Parish Church until damaged in an air raid in World War One. (possibly on 8th September 1916 in a Zeppelin Raid – but I am speculating). The Church was partly demolished in 1923, leaving the Tower. The lower part of the Medieval Tower survived bombing in the Blitz. At 12.15 am on 25th Aug 1940, the first bombs on the City of London fell nearby in Fore Street. But the tower was hit in 1940. It was listed Grade 1 in 1950. Kept by the rebuilding of London Wall, and the Barbican area. Then substantially benefitting from a remodelling of the area in an excellent scheme of 2022.

St Ælfheah of Canterbury and Greenwich

StAlfege Greewich - Doyle own work Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0
StAlfege Greewich – Doyle own work Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

St Ælfheah was captured during a Viking attack on Canterbury. The Viking hoard relocated to Greenwich where they tried to negotiate a fat ransom for him. He was one of the richest men in the Kingdom. This is what the Anglo Saxon Chronicle says:

.. the raiding-army became much stirred up against the bishop, because he did not want to offer them any money, and forbade that anything might be granted in return for him. Also they were very drunk, because there was wine brought from the south. Then they seized the bishop, led him to their “hustings” on the Saturday in the octave of Easter, and then pelted him there with bones and the heads of cattle; and one of them struck him on the head with the butt of an axe, so that with the blow he sank down and his holy blood fell on the earth, and sent forth his holy soul to God’s kingdom.

St Alfege Greenwich, which is now a lovely Hawksmoor Church is said to be on the site of St Ælfheah‘s death.

St Alphage’s body was taken to St Pauls Cathedral where it was venerated. His remains were removed in suspicious circumstances by soldiers of King Cnut who translated the Saint’s bones to Greenwich. It is suggested King Cnut was punishing London for their opposition to him.

The Minotaur by Michael Ayrton

Also, part of the experience of visiting St Alphage from the High Walk was the statue of the Minotaur. I first came across this phallic Bull in the Postman’s Park and am very fond of it. Then it disappeared and reappeared on the High Walk. Now it is on the ground level near in the garden of St Alphage.

I understand that Michael Ayrton wanted to make a point about the destruction of London. He felt that the developers were more destructive than the Luftwaffe. They were like a Bull in a China Shop! So he created this statue of a very vigorous Bull representing the Minotaur. It is a very unusual work of art in that it sports a fully erect penis. Art History is full of naked women, but the male organ is largely left to pornography. For more about Ayrton follow this link.

The Minotaur in its present position
The Minotaur on the High Walk

First Written on April 19th 2025

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Canterbury Pilgrimage April 18th

Pilgrims leaving the Tabard for the Canterbury Pilgrimage
Pilgrims leaving the Tabard for the Canterbury Pilgrimage

Canterbury Pilgrimage

Tonight, I am leading  my annual Canterbury Tales Virtual Pilgrimage.  This is the day Chaucer’s pilgrims leave London to ride to Canterbury. (For more details or to book look here.)

At the beginning of the prologue, Chaucer gives clues as to the date. They go when April showers and Zephyrus’s wind is causing sap to rise in plants, engendering flowers. It is also when Aries course across the sky is half run.

The pilgrims are accompanied by Harry Bailly who is the landlord of the Tabard Inn in Southwark. He was a real person and a fellow Member of Parliament of Chaucer.

He is jolly and quite knowledgeable. In the Man of Law’s prologue we get a glimpse of Harry time telling in the days before clocks.

a mass clock at Steventon
A mass clock at Steventon Church. Hampshire

Telling the Time

Chaucer mentions ‘artificial day’ and this is a reference to the way days were divided into hours. There were twelve hours in the daylight part of the day, and twelve hours in the dark night. So in the winter daylight hours were short, and in the summer long.

Romans used water clocks. King Alfred used candles marked into hours. Harry Bailly knows how to tell the time by the height of the Sun. Harry tells the pilgrims it’s about time they got underway. Here is an extract:

Essentially, he is telling the time by the length of the shadows. The illustration of the mass clock at Jane Austen’s Church at Steventon shows how easy it was to tell the time by the sun.

The first mass clock I noticed was at St James’ Cooling in Kent. Dickens used this in Great Expectations, where Pip’s brothers and sisters were buried. Once you find one mass clock, you suddenly discover them everywhere!

Telling the time, before mechanical clocks, was not complicated. The basic unit is the day and the night, and we can all tell when the dawn has broken. The Moon provides another simple unit of time. The month’s orbit around the Earth is roughly every 29 days. The new, the crescents and full moons provide a quartering of the month. For longer units, the Earth orbits around the Sun on a yearly basic. But it is easily divided into four, the winter solstice; the spring equinox, the summer solstice and the autumn equinox.

Nature’s Way of Time Telling

But there were other ways of marking days in the calendar, with natural time markers marked by, for example, migrating birds, lambing, and any number of budding and flowering plants such as snowdrops, daffodils and elm leaves:

When the Elmen leaf is as big as a mouse’s ear,
Then to sow barley never fear;
When the Elmen leaf is as big as an ox’s eye,
Then says I, ‘Hie, boys” Hie!’
When elm leaves are as big as a shilling,
Plant, kidney beans, if to plant ’em you’re willing;
When elm leaves are as big as a penny,
You must plant kidney beans if you mean to have any.’

In my north-facing garden, I have my very own solar time marker. All through the winter, the sun never shines directly on my garden. Spring comes appreciably later than the front, which is a sun trap facing south. But in early April, just after 12 o’clock the sun peeks over the block of flats to the south of me. It finds a gap between my building and the converted warehouse next door. For a short window of time, a shaft of a sunbeam brings a belated and welcome spring.

New Light on Thomas Becket’s Window at Canterbury

Recent research has revealed the true story behind stained glass windows at Canterbury which had been reassembled wrongly.

The story is told here:

And if you cannot get through the pay wall here:

First published in 2023, revised 2025

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Chelsea Buns, Hot Cross Buns. Long Rope Day & Good Friday

photo of three hot cross buns on a blue transfer ware plate
Good Friday Hot Cross Buns

This year, Good Friday is on Friday 18th of April, and the day we eat Hot Cross Buns. It is a simpler sort of bun than the Chelsea Bun, which was the bun to have at Easter, in London in the 18th Century. Read on to hear about the Chelsea Buns.

Hot Cross Buns Good Friday Traditions

There seem to be all sorts of dubious traditions around the origins of the Hot Cross Bun. It has been suggested that the Greeks knew how to put a cross on a bun. Also, that the Anglo-Saxons celebrated the Goddess Eostre with the crossed bun. The cross represents the four quarters of the moon, the four seasons and the Wheel of the Year. But there is very little evidence for Eostre other than the Venerable Bede’s mentioning her name. So her association with Hot Cross Buns cannot be known.

However, the cross, and the association with Easter, makes the bun powerful, so there are many superstitions on record. A piece of an Easter Hot Cross Bun given to the sick may promote a cure. It was said that a bun cooked and served at Easter will not go off for a year. This might help explain the traditions that hanging them up on a string or ribbon is a good thing. One hung in a kitchen prevents fire. On a ship prevents sinking. In East London, the Widow’s Son Pub in East London has an old bun. This remembers a sailor-son who never returned to eat it on Good Friday.

Making and Eating Hot Cross Buns

The technology of putting a cross on a Bun requires nothing more complicated than a flour and water paste so it might well be an ancient tradition. A more impressive cross can be made with shortcrust pastry. The bun itself is simply flour, milk, butter, egg, salt, spices and mixed fruit. Here is a recipe from the BBC www.bbcgoodfood.com

In my opinion, they need to be purchased from a shop. Home-made Hot Cross Bun might be better but would be strangely disappointing. It’s normally eaten toasted and buttered although I prefer the soft doughy untoasted and unbuttered bun. But then it is possible to get carried away and eat the entire pack of four.

The Good Friday Chelsea Bun

Old Chelsea Bun House Frederick Napoleon Shepherd - from a print at the Museum of London (Wikipedia)
Old Chelsea Bun House Frederick Napoleon Shepherd – from a print at the Museum of London (Wikipedia)

‘RRRRRare Chelsea Buns’ as Jonathan Swift called them in a letter to Stella in 1711.

Fragrant as honey and sweeter in taste
As flaky and white as if baked by the light
As the flesh of an infant soft, doughy and slight.

The buns were made from eggs, butter, sugar, lemon and spices. The tradition was that, on Good Friday, 18th and 19th Century Londoners would go to Chelsea to buy Chelsea Buns. Thousands of people would turn up at the Five Fields. These stretched from Belgravia to what is now Royal Hospital Street. There were swings, drinking booths, nine pins and ‘vicious events that disgraced the metropolis’. The Bun House was on Jew’s Row as Royal Hospital Street was then called. As several King Georges visited the Bun House it became known as the Royal Chelsea Bun House. It was run by the Hands family. They were said to sell 50,000 Buns on the day. Stromboli tea garden was nearby.

Chelsea Cabinets of Curiosity

Inside the Chelsea Bun House was a collection of curiosities. Chelsea became known for its collection of curiosities in the 18th Century. Of course, there was the great Hans Sloane’s collection which was the founding collection of the British Museum. And then there was Don Saltero’s which was a coffee house that had curiosities on the wall. The Bun House displayed clocks, curiosities, models, paintings, and statues on display to attract a discerning Public.

Me. I love a Chelsea Bun above all buns, But can you get them any more? The British Library Cafe was the last place I found that sold them. And that was 6 years ago. Their place has been taken first by Danish Pastries and more recently the ubiquitous Cinnamon Bun. If you see any on sale let me know.

To make yourself one follow this link. https://www.christinascucina.com/chelsea-buns-british-buns-similar-to-cinnamon-rolls/

Chelsea_bun by Petecarney wikipedia
Chelsea Bun by Petecarney wikipedia

Long Rope Day

There is a tradition of Skipping on Good Friday. I can’t say I ever saw it – in my school skipping was a perennial activity, mostly enjoyed by the girls, but the boys would sometimes be intrigued enough to join in.

There is a great article about Long Rope Day in the Guardian with a wonderful picture of a collective skip.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/apr/06/english-heritage-tradition-skipping-aeaster

More traditions here. My post on Pancake Day. For Lardy Cake read my Fat Thursday post.

First Written in 2023, and combined with the Chelsea Bun in April 2025

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Maundy Thursday April 17th

Maundy Money Pouches. and cover of the Order of Service for Royal Maundy service 1974 Photo Wehwalt
Maundy Thursday Money Pouches. and cover of the Order of Service for Royal Maundy service 1974 Photo Wehwalt

Maundy Thursday Meaning

This is the last day of Lent, and the day before the Passion. It’s also called Holy Thursday when Christians remember the Washing of the Feet, and the Last Supper. And Maundy Thursday. Maundy is thought to be from the:

‘Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus’ words “I give you a new commandment.’ (Wikipedia).

I much prefer the derivation of Maundy Thursday from the English Kings giving alms to poor people.

‘English name “Maundy Thursday” arose from “maundsor baskets” or “maundy purses” of alms which the king of England distributed to certain poor at Whitehall before attending Mass on that day. Thus, “maund” is connected to the Latin mendicare, and French mendier, to beg.‘

Royal Maundy Thursday Wikipedia

The monarch gives out money in special red and white pouches to old people. In modern times, the money is specially minted for the occasion. It is now more symbolic than a practical gesture. But It dates back to the 13th Century, when the money was a vital lifeline for its recipients.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Wakefield Cathedral after the 2005 Royal Maundy Ceremony. Photo Runner1928
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip after the 2005 Royal Maundy Ceremony at Wakefield Cathedral. Photo Runner1928

In 1572 Queen Elizabeth 1 washed one foot of a group of poor women, then wiped, crossed and kissed them. In fact, the Queen was ‘protected as the women first had their feet washed by the laundress, then the sub-almoner, then the almoner. Only finally by the Queen. (The Perpetual Almanac of Folklore by Charles Kightley’)

When was the The Last Supper?

One scholar, Prof Humphreys author of ‘The Mystery Of The Last Supper’, (2011) has reconciled differences between John and the other evangelists. He believes two calendars were in use, one from before the exile and the other using a Babylonian Calendar. This confusion means that there is too much going on between the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. He suggests that the solution is that Last Supper was on the Wednesday not the Thursday. He also calculates a date for the Last Supper as:

Wednesday, 1 April AD33.

Maundy Thursday at Chester Cathedral

Today, I was in Chester Cathedral on Maundy Thursday where the Diocesan Eucharist was held. The Cathedral was awash with Clergy, (I counted at least 4 Bishops) and most of the priests in the area.

First published 2023, republished 2025

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The Month of Love Roman Months April 15th

Roman Months, and April the Month of Love – Table from Wikipedia

I have spoken about the Roman Calendar in previous posts. Today, I’m concentrating on the Months.

The Romans wrote about a ‘legendary’ calendar, set up by Romulus when he founded Rome. It consisted of 10 months of 30 and 31 days followed by a winter period not divided into months. This allowed them to extend the year so that it fitted into the Celestial cycle. The year began in March, suitable names were given to March, April, May and June.

April was Aphrodite’s month.  The goddess of love and beauty.  Hence the month of love.  It is also National Couple Appreciation Month!

Having given names to June the Romans gave up and the next 6 months were given numbers as in the diagram above.

The Calendar was not well regulated and the months eventually began to lose their integration with the seasons, and needed reform.

photo of november calendar
Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash

The Calendar was reformed several times. January and February were added by the legendary Numa Pompilius about 713 BC replacing the monthless winter period. But, Julius Caesar undertook the major reform in 46BC. This was the so-called ‘Year of Confusion’. This first year was 445 days long. This is how far out of sync the Calendar had got. The Julian Calendar realigned the calendar to the seasons.

The Year began on January 1st, with 365 days, 12 months and a 4 year leap year cycle. This held sway until the 16th Century when a further reform was ordered by Pope Gregory as the year is not exactly 365.25 days long. It was not adopted in the UK until the 18th Century when we lost 11 days to align ourselves with Europe.

My walk which I usually give at New Year called ‘Ring in the New Year’ deals with issue of calendars through the ages.

More on the Ides and the Kalendes of the month here

First published in November 2022.  Republished April 2025

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Yew Sunday Palm Sunday April 13th

Palm Sunday Giotto. Entry into Jerusalem from the Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padova (sent to me by Lucia Granatella)

Yew Sunday (Domhnach an Iúir in Irish) is the medieval name for Palm Sunday – this is the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph on a donkey, with palm leaves being laid in front of him. It has always been very curious to me this so-short-lived triumph preceding such heavy and heart breaking tragedy. It is the Sunday before the Betrayal, which leads to the Crucifixion on Good Friday and the Resurrection on Sunday. A busy week for the Church.

Palm Sunday can be celebrated by making crosses out of palms, or with processions bearing palm branches or eating special cakes (there is always room in any ritual for cakes). But in the North where do you get your Palms from? So, it was often substituted by Box, or Olive or Willow and particularly, in Britain and Ireland, by Yew. Yew is evergreen and is so long lived as to be a symbol of everlasting life (I wrote more about the Yew here).

Giotto Bondone was a Florentine painter of the 14th Century of whom Giorgio Vasari, in his essential guide to the artists of the Renaissance, ‘The Lives of the Artists‘ said of the 10 year old:

One day Cimabue, going on business from Florence to Vespignano, found Giotto, while his sheep were feeding, drawing a sheep from nature upon a smooth and solid rock with a pointed stone, having never learnt from any one but nature. Cimabue, marvelling at him, stopped and asked him if he would go and be with him. And the boy answered that if his father were content he would gladly go. Then Cimabue asked Bondone for him, and he gave him up to him, and was content that he should take him to Florence.

There in a little time, by the aid of nature and the teaching of Cimabue, the boy not only equalled his master, but freed himself from the rude manner of the Greeks, and brought back to life the true art of painting, introducing the drawing from nature of living persons, which had not been practised for two hundred years; or at least if some had tried it, they had not succeeded very happily.

Written in 1550.

If you look at the painting, you will see, even more than his contemporary Duccio, the faces of the people are rounded and, and at least somewhat, individual. The crowd scene, particularly, to the right, has some depth and the people further away seem to recede from the viewer, rather than, as they often do in Byzantine style paintings, either float or seem to stand on or support themselves on each other’s shoulders. The Gate into Jerusalem has been rendered by someone who has seen something that he believes has the key to realistic scenes. One day it will be rediscovered, and named single-point perspective. Yes, Giotto doesn’t know the secret but he is working to find out what the trick is. The people in the trees are also in the distance. These are the giant strides that Vasari is referring to in the quotation above. Realistic people, in spaces with depth. The donkey is quite sweet too! Cimabue was particularly good at painting Crucifix scenes.

The Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padova is a World Heritage Site and Giotto and his team covered all the walls and ceiling with frescos, depicting the Life of Jesus, the Life of Mary, and the Last Judgement.

Giotto, The Last Judgement. Cappella degli Scrovegni, In Padova. Wikipedia

Here is a real Digital Heritage treat – a 360 Degree tour of the Chapel! Follow the link below. If it seems to be taking a long time to load there is an information button which, once pressed will allow the panorama to load immediately.

https://www.haltadefinizione.com/en/image-bank/giotto-di-bondone-scrovegni-chapel-360-view/

First Published in 2024, revised in 2025