Category: Celtic History

Posted on

Midsummer June 21st

A gentle midsummer reminder of our place in the universe – source Facebook post.

Midsummer Solstice is the 21st of June. The Celtic version begins when the Celtic Day begins. This is at dusk on June 20th, which we would call Midsummer’s Eve.

Midsummer is a fire festival, dedicated to the Celtic Fire God, Belinus. His name might mean Powerful One or Shining One, and he is linked to Apollo, one of the Greco-Roman Sun Gods. His main festival is Beltane, May Day, but many of the attributes of May celebrations and indeed Halloween celebrations are also carried out at Midsummer. (See my post on May Day)

In the early medieval period, the Church hijacked Midsummer’s Day and transferred it to June 24th. St John the Baptist’s Day. John was born 6 months before Jesus. John Aubrey in the 17th Century writes:

‘Still in many places on St John’s Night they make Fires on the Hills: but the Civil Warres coming on have putt all these Rites or customes quite out of fashion.’

John Aubrey, Miscellanies, 1695

For my post on St John the Baptist’s Day read my post here.

Like May Fires, the fire should be made from wood donated from all farms in the area, and using a range of trees. Ideally, collected by 9 men and from 9 different trees. Blazing branches should be carried sunwise around the fields to bless the crops, and it was good luck to jump over the ashes of the fire.

To prepare for Midsummer, remember that it is, like Halloween, an uncanny period. Hobgoblins, Fairies and Sprites, are, as in Shakespeare’s Play, Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, all abroad making mischief.

St John’s Wort

First in the line of defence against the infernal is St John’s Wort, known as Chasse-diable, Demon Chaser, Fuga Daemonum (amongst many other appellations). It was used to keep demons away, and to exorcise haunted houses. John Aubrey in ‘Miscellanies’ talks about a haunted London house which was cured by a Doctor who put St John’s Wort under the pillow of the bed. Bankes Herbel 1525 says:

Sedum_telephium by Bernd Haynold wikipedia

‘The virtue of St John’s Wort is thus. If it be put in a man’s house, there shall come no wicked sprite therein.’

Vervain, yarrow, corn marigold, and orpins were also used, often woven into garlands, and hung around the necks of cows, or on door lintels as protection. If the St John’s Wort withered, the picker was to die or at least endure disappointment. If orpins entwined themselves on Midsummer’s Night, marriage would follow. Orpine, (Sedum Telephium) aka Live Long, or Life Everlasting was valued for the length of time it remained fresh after being gathered. Medicinally, it was considered good to use outwardly to cool scaldings, inflammations, and wounds.

St John’s Wort has a reputation for helping with depression, menopausal symptoms, ADHD, anxiety and other conditions.

St John’s Wort Photo by Lex Melony on Unsplash

Hempseed & Love & Churches

A girl seeking love should walk around the Church seven or twelve times (accounts vary!) at midnight scattering hempseed, and singing:

Hempseed I sow
Hempseed I hoe
Let him that is my true love
Come after me and mow

In the South West of England, there was a custom to watch the church porch on Midsummer Evening. This was when the spirits of all the living people of the village could be seen entering the church. Those not seen coming out again would surely die, as would any watcher foolish enough to fall asleep.

Thanks to the ‘Customs and Ceremonies of Britain’ by Charles Kightly.

First written in June 2023, and revised and republished in June 2024, and 2025

Posted on

St Columba (St Colmcille) Day June 9th

St Columba st margarets chapel by Graham van der Wielen Edinburgh Lead glass
St Columba Stained Glass window in St Margaret’s Chapel Edinburgh Castle Photo by Graham van der Wielen Wikipedia CC BY 2.0

St Columba, or Colmcille is one of the most important saints for the early transmission of Christianity. He was born in 521 and said to be a descendant of the possibly legendary Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages. (The Hostages were a token of Niall’s power over Ireland as they came from the five provinces of Ireland. These are Ulster, Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Meath. The other four hostages represented Scotland, the Saxons, the Britons, and the Franks.)

St. Columba was sent at an early age to be brought up as a Monk, and went on to set up Monasteries in Ireland at Derry and Durrow. In 563, he left Ireland, possibly because he got involved in a dispute that had a deadly outcome. He went into exile to Scotland and set up the famous Monastery on the island of Iona, Inner Hebrides. This is off the coast of what would one day be called Scotland. At the time, it was under the control of the Kingdom of Dál Riata, which was, Gaelic, nominally Christian, and controlled parts of Ulster and Western Scotland.

From Iona, Columba led the conversion of the Picts to Christianity. The Picts were Britons, speaking a different dialect of Celtic than the Gaels of Ireland and Dál Riata. Their name is said to have been given by the Romans and meant Painted Men. A shared religion, which St Columba brought from Ireland, helped towards the eventual union of the Gaels, the Picts and other British groups into the Kingdom of Alba. Alba is the Gaelic name for Scotland – meaning white, and from which we also get Albion. Alba became Scotland, which is derived from the Roman word for the area which in Latin was “Scotia”. Iona became the traditional burial place of early Scottish Kings such as Macbeth (Mac Bethad mac Findlaích). These Kings were crowned at Scone and buried in Iona. Alba was also able to take territory from the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria, namely, the Scots-speaking areas South of the Firth of Forth. (Scots being a dialect of English). There were also Norse settlers in the Ireland so Scotland was made of a coalition of Gaelic, Brittonic, Norse and English speakers.

St Columba and the Loch Ness Monster

Much of the events of this part of Columba’s life are recorded by St. Adamnan in The Life of Saint Columba. This was written in the 7th Century, much of which is apocryphal. One notable story tells how he came across a group of pagan Picts who were mourning a child killed by a monster in the River Ness. St Columba revived the child. He then sent one of the Brothers to swim across the Loch to fetch a boat. The “water beast” pursued the Monk and was about to attack him when St Columba told the monster to stop. So it did, retreating to the depths of Loch Ness. Thus began the legend of the Loch Ness monster.

St Columba died in 597AD. Iona continued to prosper and in, 634 sent St Aidan from Iona to found the Monastery at Lindisfarne. The island is on the Eastern coast of Britain in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria. This Kingdom of the North Angles, was one of the most powerful at the time and Lindisfarne was instrumental in its conversion. The tradition of evangelism took hold in the British Isles, and it was from here that much of the German-speaking world was converted to Christianity.

This is St Columba’s legacy.

Northumbria’s Contribution to the development of Christianity

There is a developing understanding among scholars that this Irish inspired form of Christianity, fused with the Anglo-Saxon Northumbria took a leading role in ritual, art, scholarship in the Roman Catholic world. Just stop and think about that sentence for a moment. The northern parts of an out of the way set of islands off the edge of Europe took a leading role in the development of Western Christianity. This was highlighted in a recent exhibition of Anglo-Saxon art at the British Library.

British Library with Poster for Anglo-Saxons Kingdoms Exhibition, Photo K Flude
British Library with Poster for Anglo-Saxons Kingdoms Exhibition, Photo K Flude

A look at the Lindisfarne Gospel and the Book of Kells showcases the amazing art of this period. For a real treat, look through this scrollable virtual copy of the Lindisfarne Gospel. (Currently this is unavailable, I suspect since the BL was hacked. So instead, here is a slightly breathless online introductory video of the Gospel.)

The Lindisfarne Gospels

The Book itself has been missing from the displays of the British Library for a couple of years, but was on display in Northumberland in 2022. I’m not sure whether it is yet back on display at the British Library. I think not. You can see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, Dublin or look at their online offering here: Not quite as joyous an experience as the online Lindisfarne but beautiful enough.

Carpet Page from the Lindisfarne Gospel
Carpet Page from the Lindisfarne Gospel Photo Wikiepedia Eadfrith –
Lindisfarne evangeliarium, tapijtbladzijde op f26v, Matteüsevangelie

Click here to read my post on Scone and the emergence of Alba.

Here is a virtual tour of Iona

Here is a 360-degree panoramic photo tour of Lindisfarne Abbey

First Published in 2023, revised, 2024 and improved 2025

Posted on

St Kevin’s Day June 3rd

St Kevin of Glendalough (Wikipedia)

Thank you very much to my subscriber for alerting me to St Kevin’s Day which is my Saint’s Day. I was aware of St Kev and that the name meant ‘of noble birth’ but that’s was the extent of my knowledge.

But a little research on Wikipedia while on the train to visit my Dad, revealed that Kev lived to the grand old age of 120, born in 498 and died in 628.  As my Dad is 97 and still going strong, maybe he and St Kevin will inspire my longevity?

Briefly, St Kevin met the great St. Columba; had a poem written about him by the marvelous Seamus Heaney (https://poetryarchive.org/poem/st-kevin-and-blackbird/); a song by the Dubliners; several mentions by James Joyce and a long distance path, the St Kevin’s Way, part of the Camino de Santiago network, named after him. And St Kev can help us understand the weather for the rest of June :

‘The weather on St Kevin’s Day will last all month‘. 

So that means uninterrupted sun.  At least in Ravenna where I currently am.

Live recording of Dubliners’ Song about St Kevin

Coemgen, as he is known in Irish, was a hermit, living in a cave-like ledge above a lake.  His piety attracted followers and a monastic settlement.  He was known for his ascetic life and love for nature.  So, a role model for all us Kevins?

His hagiography was written very late, so little of it can be confirmed. But, like other saintly hermits, he is associated with being tempted by women or the devil disguised as a woman.  (St. Anthony the Great, St. Benedict of Nursia, Saint Chrysanthus, St. Vitus,  St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Hilary etc.)  Unfortunately, rather than just resisting his temptress, Coemgen is said to have drowned her. Not so good!

On the other hand, my sister sent me this photo of a souvenir from a shop in Northumberland.

That’s more like it! And oh so true! Clearly we, handsome, clever, positive, analytical Kevins have a lot going for us, despite the name.

For more on the Temptations of Hermits read this article:

Nechita, Andrea.“Offering Body, Pleasure, and Wealth: The Visual Representation of Women Tempting Saints (Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century).” Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU, 20 (2014): 96-112. For a summary, and some tempting illustrations, look here.

First written in 2023. revised June 2024, 2025

Posted on

St Augustine & the Origins of Christianity in Britain May 26th, May 27th & May 28th

Stained glass window showing Baptist of King Ethelred of Kent by St Augustine watched by Queen Bertha. In St Martins Church, Canterbury
Stained glass window showing Baptist of King Ethelred of Kent by St Augustine watched by Queen Bertha. In St Martins Church, Canterbury

We have various days to celebrate St Augustine of Canterbury.  These are according to Google;

26 May (Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Catholic Extraordinary Form calendar in Great Britain)

27 May (Catholic Ordinary Form calendar)

28 May (Catholic Extraordinary Form calendar outside Great Britain).

Maybe like the Venerable Bede he died after Dusk! I give the explanation on yesterday’s post on the Venerable Bede.

St Augustine brought Christianity to England, leading the mission sent by Pope Gregory to Canterbury in 597AD. He was the Abbot of a Monastery in Rome before the Pope sent him to convert the Angles. I tell the story of the mission in my post: March-12th-St-Gregory-Punster-Extraordinary/.

Augustine is the patron saint of England and the Anglican Communion. But he is not the person who brought Christianity to Britain. To England, maybe.  Britain. No.

The Romans brought Christianity to Englands green and pleasant lands. I summarise the evidence in my post on St Lucius, who is claimed to have brought Christianity to Britain. Less controversially. Britain’s first martyr was St. Albans, who I will post about in June. However, some modern scholars doubt St Albans existence.

But there is good reason to think Christianity was strong in Roman Britain, particularly in towns. There is, also, some evidence of non-Christian religious centres surviving in the countryside. The Roman word for non-Christians, pagans comes from the Latin word paganus, which meant someone who lived in the country.

After the Romans, the Christian Church continued to thrive, with a host of Saints in Cornwall, and Wales. The first substantial eye-witness account of post-Roman Britain, dated to the early 5th Century, is by the Catholic Bishop Germanus. This shows a battle for souls in Britain not between Christians and Pagans, but between Catholics and other Christians. The Catholics targeted these as heretics. I talk about this in my post about St Germanus here.

The next insight comes from the conversion of the Irish to Christianity later in the 5th Century. St Patrick’s account gives an eyewitness view. What is interesting is that St Patrick’s family were living in a town where aspects of Roman life continued. After being kidnapped by Irish raiders, St Patrick went on to lead the conversion of the Irish. But he was helped by St Bridget and Palladius.  See my post on St Patrick here, St Bridget here.

St Augustine & the British Church

I don’t think Augustine comes over with any sense of personality or charisma.  But Welsh history shows him to be an unsympathetic, hierarchical character.

The relationship between the British Church and the incoming Roman Catholic hierarchy was strained. Meetings were held between the British Church and St Augustine. To prepare for this the British arranged a Synod in the old Roman town of Chester.  Here 7 British Bishops and others prepared for their response to St Augustine’s insistence on the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the contentious issues was the ‘computus’ for deciding the date of Easter. Another was the style of the monks’ tonsure! But it was a major step for the British Churches to align themselves with a foreign ecclesiastical structure.

The delegates were advised by a wise hermit to arrive late at the planned meeting with St Augustine. Then they were to see how he reacted.  If he got up and welcomed them, then he was a fit leader to follow. If he acted imperiously, he was not a man of God.  St Augustine failed the test, the meeting was a failure. St Augustine cursed the British which is said to have lead to a military campaign against them by the Anglo-Saxons.  The British lost the subsequent battle of Chester.  It was said that 1200 monks from the nearby monastery of Bangor-in-Dee were slaughtered. 

The battle severed the connections between the British Kingdoms in Cumbria and Scotland from the Kingdoms in Wales and made it very unlikely that the British would ever regain control of Britain from the English.

Bangor-on-Dee is a few miles from Chester and one of the most important British Monasteries.  Among the clerics trained there are said to be Pelagius, who created the Pelagian Heresy which Germanus was sent to crush; Gildas the first ‘historian’ of the Saxon incursion. And St Tudno, who gave his name to Llandidno.

The two churches were finally reconciled at the Synod of Whitby.  For more about the calculations for Easter and the Synod of Whitby look at my post here.

First written on 27/28th May 2025

Posted on

The Venerable Bede Died – May 26th 735AD

A Scribe – possibly the Venerable Bede. Late 12th Century from Lives of St Cuthbert.

He died on the evening of what we would call the 25th, but in ancient times, the Day changed at dusk. So for his contemporaries, he died on 26th May. But, as he shares his day with St Augustine, some celebrate the Venerable Bede on May 27th!

Called the Father of English History, the Venerable Bede was an excellent historian, who set the tone and standard for many centuries of English Historiography.  He is mostly remembered for the ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People’ which provides the most trusted account of the events of the Post Roman, Migration, and Anglo-Saxon periods.

So well regarded is he that he is the only Englishman mentioned in Dante’s Paradiso.  This is the third part of the Divine Comedy.  The other parts are about the bad people in Hell and Purgatory.  Bede is with the Angels in Heaven.

He is Venerable not only in the general sense of being wise, old and respected, but also in the technical sense:

‘(in the Roman Catholic Church) a title given to a deceased person who has attained a certain degree of sanctity but has not been fully beatified or canonized.‘ (Oxford Languages)

In 1899, the Catholic Church honoured him with the title of Doctor of the Church – someone holy who had contributed to the theology of the Church.

He is considered by some to be the best historian in olden times, only equalled by Herodotus (said Thomas Carlyle). Thucydides surely says I! (Note: Herodotus is known as the ‘Father of History’ for his storytelling and breadth of the scope of his attention. While Thucydides didn’t tell tales, he concentrated on empirical evidence and so is known as the Father of Scientific History)

Bede is so good because he checked his sources and had access to a wide range of books. He even had a line to the Vatican so he could check his facts with Vatican records. This in the 8th Century! The Venerable Bede is the polar opposite of Geoffrey of Monmouth, (writing in the 12th Century). If Bede mentions a person or an event then they are accepted as part of the story of the English. By contrast, if Geoffrey of Monmouth mentions a person or event, without further corroboration, then historians tend to consider it a story, myth or simply made up by Geoffrey.

But, the truth is not so straightforward. Bede is not without his biases and his sources were not themselves always reliable, nor above accepting myth, legends and miracles as fact.  Geoffrey also has access to some, probably, oral traditions so that some (but which?) of his many tales of the Kings of Britain may hold considerable historical information.

Bede’s Influence on English History

Bede followed Gildas (A British Monk writing in the 6th Century) in wondering why God allowed the native Christian Britons to be defeated by the foreign Pagan English.  Gildas assumed God was punishing the Britons because of the evil deeds of their so-called Christian Kings.  Bede extends this to argue that God is punishing the Britons for not trying to convert the English to Christianity AND by being generally not a great bunch of Christians. God knows that the English, when converted, will be much better Christians than the Britons.

This starts a histographical trend for the English to think of themselves as the chosen people. By contrast, the Britons (Welsh, Scots and Irish) are feckless Barbarians (they thought).  Bede concentrates on the English and countless generations of Historians have either left out the Britons, or demeaned them in their histories of England and indeed of Britain.

For example, most histories of Kings, deal only with England and start either with William the Conqueror or Alfred the Great and omit any British, Welsh, Scots or Irish Kings. Except for my book on the Kings and Queens of Britain, which starts with the largely legendary Kings of Britain, and includes some Welsh and Scottish Kings.  To buy it, you will find details of it here.

So Bede is a great historian without whom we would have an even less clear idea about what happened in the centuries following the Roman Period.  But also, contributed to an Anglo centric view of history. He was writing in Northumberland at the Monastery of Jarrow, and is more sympathetic to Northumbria than to Wessex, Mercia, and the British Kingdoms.

Bede’s Books

He wrote over 60 books. One was about the theological science of computus. In particular, the dating of Easter. The British Church had one method, the Catholic Church another. This contributed to a series of confrontations between the 2 Churches. And was only finally resolved at the Synod of Whitby in the favour of the Catholic Church.

Bede was instrumental in making Dionysius Exiguus idea of dating from the birth of Christ as the standard AD /BC system. He also thought the Catholic calculation that Jesus was born 5000 years ago was wrong and used the Bible to calculate the more ‘correct’ date was 3952 BC.  Archbishop Ussher in the 17th Century took Bede’s calculation and improved it and suggested the proper date was 4004 BC.

For more about Dionysius Exiguus and the division of time, see my post here.

First Written on May 26th 2025

Posted on

Helston Furry Dance May 8th

Of course, the real news today is a new Pope and the 80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.  But, I can let other media covers those stories. (But more on VE Day below.)

Helston Furry Dance

At the end of the May Day/Beltane Festival, Helston in Cornwall holds its Furry (or Floral) Dance. It is normally on the 8th May. But it changes date if the 8th is a Sunday or a Monday (Helston’s market day). But it isn’t. So the Floral Dance was held asusual on the 8th May.

Padstow holds, perhaps, the most famous May Day festival on May 1st. Padstow feels more of a ‘pagan’ festival, while Helston is a more sedate, gentlemanly, dance. Padstow is more fuelled by a belly full of ale, while Helston by a Pims No 1, or a Gin and Tonic?

Do, have a look at both youtube videos and watch the Padstow one until at least you see the ‘obby ‘orse and the teaser dancing.

Children born between the two days, May 1st and May 8th are considered to have been ‘born with the skill of man and beast and power over both.’

On This Day

1945 – Victory in Europe Day.    Official end of the War in Europe with the definitive surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel in Eisenhowers HQ on 8 May 1945 (VE Day).  Churchill broadcast the official end of the war at 3pm.  In 2025, it was the 80th Anniversary of the defeat of Fascism. A truly significant date with a diminishing number of veterans and eye witnesses surviving to carry the torch.  My 97 year old Father is one and he went to London to celebrate that magical day when the war in the west was over. this is what my dad wrote in his recently publish autobiography ‘A Boy from Haggerston:

At last, the War in Europe was over. This day would forever be known as VE day. Both my grandparents had survived the Blitz and only Uncle Charlie’s (my dad’s elder brother) two sons had lost their lives – Charlie died at Salerno and is buried near the beach in the war grave, and Jimmie died, aged 18, at the battle of Reichwald Forest, and is buried in the war grave in the forest. According to David Warren, who is now a battlefield tour guide, received information that Jimmie was reported by the Commanding Office as a typical bright Cockney lad.

Following the end of the war, we were then introduced to images of the emaciated prisoners in the recently freed concentration camps in the newspapers, and in the Pathé news broadcast at the cinema. The terrible news that the Nazis killed millions of Jews in an attempt to wipe out the Jewish race in occupied Europe, spread to a horrified world. This vile campaign is now known as the Holocaust, but is more precisely described as ethnic cleansing.

Jean and I went up to London for VE Day and later also for the VJ Celebrations, where there was singing and dancing in the streets. We went by train to Waterloo, and then walked to Piccadilly. We went with our friends Esther and Bob. It was a great time.

Front cover of 'A Boy fomr Haggerston' by Ben Flude
Front cover of ‘A Boy fomr Haggerston’ by Ben Flude

Available on Feedaread. https://www.feedaread.com/books/A-Boy-from-Haggerston-9781835970515.aspx at £4.18

Or Amazon At £7.99 https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=benjamin+flude&crid=2FVJ1OX1BU88E&sprefix=benja%2Caps%2C1475&ref=nb_sb_noss_2.

Now, it is up to us and the young to stop such a war ever starting again. What we know is that the vast majority of us don’t want war, but somehow we let it happen.  That is our task how to create a world where war is unthinkable. 

First Published May 2024, revised 2025

Posted on

The Maypole, This Stinking Idol & the End of May Day May 2nd

An Imagined Scene at the Maypole at St Andrew Undershaft
The Stinking Idol : An Imagined Scene at the Maypole at St Andrew Undershaft

Philip Stubbes, wrote a vitriolic attack on pagan practices in his ‘Anatomy of Abuses in 1583’. He fired a broadside at the tradition of dancing around the Maypole. He said they had: ‘as Superintendent and Lord ouer their pastimes and sportes: namely, Sathan Prince of Hell‘ as they erected ‘this stinking Idoll’. By which he meant the Maypole. Stubbes suggested that of the maids that went out to the woods on May Eve less than one-third returned ‘undefiled‘.

Evil May Day Riots

The Maypole was stored at St Andrew Cornhill, which became known as St Andrew Undershaft. In 1517, it was attacked during the ‘Evil May Day riots’. The main focus of the riot was foreign workers. The Under Sheriff of the time, Thomas More, tried to quell it. But 5,000 troops commanded by the Duke of Northfolk was necessary to regain control of the City. 300 rioters were arrested. One hanged, drawn and quartered, 13 hanged and nearly 300 pardoned after the intercession of Woseley and/or Katherine of Aragon. The shaft was returned to its place under the eves of the houses in Shaft Alley. But apparently banned from being raised again.

1549 May Day Riots

But in 1549, the curate of nearby St Katharine Cree Church made an inflammatory speech. This incited a Puritan mob who cut the shaft into pieces and burnt it. I always imagine the Curate’s sermons to be along the same lines as Phillip Stubbes attack on the Maypole.

Maypole: this Stinking Idol, Rather

Here is a longer description of the May Day Celebrations by Stubbes.

‘But their chiefest iewel they bring from thence is the Maie-poale,
which they bring home with great veneration, as thus: They haue
twentie, or fourtie yoake of Oxen, euery Oxe hauing a sweete
Nosegaie of flowers tyed on the tip of his homes, and these Oxen
drawe home this Maie-poale (this stinking ldoll rather) which is
couered all ouer with Flowers and Hearbes, bound round about
with strings from the top to the bottome, and sometimes painted
with variable collours, with two or three hundred men, women and
children following it, with great deuotion.

And thus being reared vp, with handkerchiefes and flagges streaming
on the top, they strawe the ground round about, bind green boughes about it, set
vp Summer Haules, Bowers, and Arbours hard by it. And then fa!
they to banquet and feast, to leape and daunce about it, as the
a Heathen people did, at the dedication of their ldolles, whereof this
is a perfect patteme, or rather the thing it selfe. I haue heard it
crediblie reported (and that viua voce) by men of great grauity,
credite, and reputation, that of fourtie, threescore, or a hundred Maides,
going to the wood ouemight, there haue scarcely the third part of them returned home againe vndefiled.‘

Phillip Stubbes from ”A Critical Edition Of Philip Stubbes’s Anatomie Of Abuses‘ By Margaret Jane Kidnie.

Restoration Maypole

The unraised pole seems to have survived until the beginning of the Civil War, (1644) when it was destroyed. But at the Restoration of Charles II a new and huge Maypole was ordered. It was joyously erected 134 ft high (41 metres) in the Strand. This one was danced around till 1713 when it was replaced. The original was sold to one Isaac Newton. He used it to support the biggest telescope in Europe which was erected in Wanstead by a friend.

And that, my friends, is how you get from Superstition to Science in one easy story.

Old Print of Isaac Newton
Old Print of Isaac Newton

Postscript.

I have always told people that the sermon leading to the destruction of the Shaft in 1549 was made at St Paul. I cannot remember where I read this. The suggestion that the Maypole in Cornhill was not used after 1517 seems strange. Why then would an unused maypole rouse a crowd to riot in 1549? Of the sources I have at hand, the London Encyclopedia mentions the riot of 1517 in its entry on St Andrew Undershaft but doesn’t elaborate more. ‘Layers of London‘ says ‘It was last raised in 1517 when ensuing riots led to the celebration being banned.’ which is definitive sounding. But is it? I wonder if it was banned for a year or two, then allowed again, and finally stopped in 1549?

For more on May Day see yesterday’s post.

On This Day

‘Allies’ Roosevelt and Churchill by by Lawrence Holofcener, unveiled on May 2nd 1995 by Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon

1995 Allies Statue Statue of Churchill and Roosevelt set up to commemorate 50 years of peace. 30 years later what is the state of the Allies relationship? Topical or what? https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/11351

First written in 2023 and revised on May 2nd 2024 and 2025.

Posted on

May Day May 1st

May Day – Bringing the Maypole, Bedfordshire. Image from ‘Romantic Britain’

Maypoles were often stored during the year. A few days before May Day they were repainted, and bedecked with May Garlands – mostly made from Hawthorn. The Maypole used in London in 1660 was 134 feet high. Tall straight trees were used, sometimes of Larch, and they might be spliced together to get the requisite height. John Stow says that each parish in London had their own Maypole, or combined with a neighbouring Parish. The main Maypole was on the top of Cornhill, in Leadenhall Street. It was stored under the eves of St Andrew’s Church, which became known as St Andrew’s Undershaft as a result.

Padstow May Day Festival

Padstow holds, perhaps, the most famous May Day festival on May 1st. It feels feels very ‘pagan’ or do I mean it is fuelled by an enormous amount of drink?

Here is a video, watch until you see the ‘obby ‘orse and the teaser dancing.

Why May Eve?

The celebrations begin on May Eve because the Celtic calendar starts the day at Dusk. This seems strange to us who, perversely, ‘start’ our day at Midnight just after everyone has gone to bed! The other choice, and maybe the most logical is Dawn. But Dawn and Dusk are difficult to fix. Midnight was chosen by Julius Caesar when he created the Julian Calendar. Midnight has the virtue of being a fixed metric, being half way between Dawn and Dusk. From the Celtic point of view. The day ends when the Sun goes down over the western horizon. So the end of the old day, is the beginning of the new day. Makes sense?

For Walpurgis Nacht see my post on April 30th here: walpurgis-nacht-april-30th/

Beltane

Celebrations centred around the Bonfire. The day was sacred to the fire God Belenus (Gaulish: Belenos, Belinos, British Belinus, Bel, or Beli), and May Day was called Beltane. Bonfires continued to be a part of the celebration into the 16th Century, and in places until the 20th Century. According to folklore tradition, the bonfire should be made of nine types of wood. They must be collected by nine teams of married men (or first born men). They must not carry any metal with them. The fire has to be lit by rubbing oak sticks together or a wooden awl twisted in a wooden log.

Participants, have to run sunwise around the fire. Oatcakes are distributed, with one being marked with a black spot. The one who collects it has to jump through the fire three times. Bonfires would have been, by choice on the top of hills. But then they were also held in the streets in London.

May celebrations have a similarity to Halloween. This was also a fire festival and both are uncanny times when sprites and spirits abound. Hawthorn was a favoured wood not only because of its beautiful may flower. It was also said to be the wood the crown of thorns was made from. Hawthorn had the power of resisting supernatural forces. Therefore, it was used to protect doors, cribs, cow sheds and other places from witches. Witches, it was said, got their power to fly from potions made from chopped up infants. The best protection was Christening. The custom was that christening took place as early as possible and normally three days after birth. Shakespeare was baptised on 26th April 1564, so we celebrate his birthday on 23rd April. See my post for more on this subject.

Special May Babies

Cribs would be bedecked with Hawthorn and protection might be augmented by a bible, rowan, and garlic. Babies born between May 1 and 8 were thought to be special. They were destined to have power over man and beast. Weddings were frowned upon in Lent and in May, so April became a popular choice for marriage.

May Dew

After celebrations on May Eve (April 30th), women would go out in the woods to collect May, other flowering plants. They would wash their faces in May Dew preferable from the leaves of Hawthorn. If not from beneath an oak tree, or from a new-made grave. The dew was said to improve their complexion. It was also used for medical conditions such as gout and weak eyes. Thinking of one’s lover on May Day might bring marriage within the year.

May morning would commence with dancing around the Maypole, followed by feasting, and summer games. for more about Maypoles and May Day see my post may-2nd-this-stinking-idol-the-end-of-may-day/

Belenus is a Celtic God of whom very little is clear and unambiguous. He was linked in Gaul with Apollo. The name, some people think, comes from ‘Shining’ but others disagree and think it means ‘Master of Power.’ His association with Irish mythology and the festival of Beltane suggests he was a powerful god in Celtic Europe. Geoffrey of Monmouth has a King called Belinus, and spins a yarn about Belinus and Billingsgate. Linguists prefer the idea that Billingsgate is named after some unknown Saxon called Billings. This may be a little more likely but far less interesting.

See my post on Midsummer for more on Celtic Festivals.

On This Day

1707 The Union of Scotland and England Proclaimed

1945 German Fascist Goebbels kills himself and his entire family

Revised May 1st 2024 and 2025

Posted on

Walpurgis Nacht & St Erconwald’s Day April 30th

Walpurgis Nacht. Screen Shot of https://astromagicklounge.com/2021/04/30/celebrating-walpurgis-night-with-black-sabbath-aleister-crowley/

On April 30th, 870AD, St. Walpurga remains were ‘translated’ to Eichstätt. St Willibald had set up the town as the Diocesan centre of this part of Bavaria. So, in Germany today is known as Walpurgis Nacht. I wrote more on my page on St. Walpurga. Walpurga and her two brothers, Willibald and Winibald were Anglo-Saxon Saints who helped convert Germany to Christianity in the 8th Century.

The evening of April 30th is also the beginning of Beltane. Beltane is one of the principal Celtic Festivals, dedicated to the God Belinus. It is a Celtic Fire Ceremony, 6 months before Halloween, and the traditional beginning of Summer. (see my post of Halloween here.) Walpurgis Nacht is also halfway between the Spring equinox and the Summer solstice. So, a very important day in the Celtic Calendar. (see my post on May Day).

The Celtic Day began at Dusk, so May Day begins on 30th April. The Christian Church took over many local traditions and adapted them to the calendar of the Church. So a Saint’s Day, is preceded by an Eve. For example, All Hallows’ Day and Halloween, and May Day and May Eve.

In Sweden it is known as Valborg and as Čarodejnice in the Czech Republic.

A day of Uncanny Weirdness?

As May Day was an uncanny period dedicated to Pagan Deities, Walpurgis Nacht became a time when all the weird things are alive in the world. In response, the Christian Church associated a saint to the day to be a focus for defeating witchcraft. So, it is a popular tradition for this Night to see the burning of an effigy of a witch on a bonfire.

Walpurgis Nacht has really been taken over by Heavy Metal, and I refer you this page to begin your journey down a dark rabbit hole of head-banging rock. https://astromagicklounge.com/2021/04/30/celebrating-walpurgis-night-with-black-sabbath-aleister-crowley/

Halloween October 31st

St Erconwald’s Day

Tomb of St Erconwald, destroyed by the Great Fire of London.
Tomb of St Erconwald, destroyed by the Great Fire of London. By Wenceslaus Hollar – Artwork from University of Toronto Wenceslaus Hollar Digital CollectionScanned by University of TorontoHigh-resolution version extracted using custom tool by User:Dcoetzee, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6235771

It is also the Feast Day of St Erconwald. He was a Royal Prince who became one of the most famous Bishops of London (675 and 693). He set up Chertsey Abbey and Barking Abbey which his sister, St Ethelburga, became Abbess of. Not only that, but he was known as the light of London and was responsible for rebuilding St Pauls Cathedral. And helping completing the conversion of the Kingdom of Essex.

You might enjoy reading this alliterative poem of the 14th Century about his life. He is one of the patron saints of London, associated with early pilgrimage and many miracles.

First Published in 2024, revised in April 2025

Posted on

St Mellitus Day And the Birth of the Chocolate Digestive April 24th

St Mellitus (Source: from saint-mellitus-of-canterbury-died-624

St Mellitus was the first Bishop of London (AD604) and the third Archbishop of Canterbury. But was he really? No, he was the first Bishop of London of the English Church. There were many before him. We know there were bishops of London from Britannia during the Roman period. And, according to John Stow, London’s first history. there were also post-Roman bishops. That line of Bishops ended, in 584 AD, when the 14th Bishop, Theanus, fled London. He headed for Wales to escape the Anglo-Saxon threat. However, even Stow was uncertain whether the list was genuine.

I tell this story in my post on St Lucius.

The Synod of Arles

In 314 a Church Council or Synod was called at Arles, in France. Amongst those attending were three bishops from Britain, (and a Deacon and a presbyter) :

  • Eborius “de civitate Eboracensi” – from the city of Eboracum (York);
  • Restitutus “de civitate Londenensi” – from the city of Londinium (London);
  • Adelfius “de civitate Colonia Londenensium” – that is, from the “colonia of the people of London”.

(Wikipedia)

The fact that two came from London suggests to some a mistake. Adelfus, perhaps, was either from Lincoln or Colchester which were Colonies. The Synod was called by the Emperor Constantine. Amongst its acts were to order that Easter should be held at the same time throughout the Empire. (See also my post on the Synod of Whitby which fixed the date of Easter in Britain as late as 684). They also banned Races, and Games. and excommunicated all actors and charioteers. (Synod_of_Arles). But it gives us our first certain facts about the origins of Christianity in Britain.

The Augustinian Mission and Mellitus

St Mellitus Burial Place, St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury. Photo K. Flude

In 597, the Augustinian Mission came to Kent. Mellitus was sent by Pope Gregory to join St Augustine’s mission in 601AD,. He was then sent to London to set up St Pauls and become its bishop (604). But he was kicked out in 618AD when King Sæberht of Essex died and was replaced by a pagan son. Mellitus went into exile in Gaul but came back to become the third Archbishop of Canterbury. He was buried in St Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury. He is known as St Mellitus of Canterbury. London reverted to paganism until 654AD when St Cedd became its next Bishop.

I tell the story of the Augustinian misson in my post here

St Gregory.  Punster Extraordinary March 12th

St Mellitus had gout so is the go-to Saint for sufferers of gout.

Also on this day

1925 – McVitie’s Chocolate Digestive was created. There were made in Stockport and in Harlesden, London. I have moored my narrowboat outside the factory and been kept awake by the churning of chocolate in vast vats. Or so I imagine. News stories suggest that the Digestive was meant to be eaten with the chocolate on the bottom side. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard! But you can read this page for the facts. And this one for more on the history of the Chocolate Digestive.

First published in April 2025