Let me explain.
St Edmund, or Edmund the Martyr, was a 9th century King of East Anglia. He was born on Christmas Day 841CE and became king of East Anglia in 856CE. Brought up as a Christian, he fought alongside King Alfred of Wessex against the pagan Viking and Norse invaders (the Great Heathen Army) until his forces were defeated and Edmund was captured on 20th November 870CE. He was ordered to renounce his faith but he refused. So he was tied to a tree and died by firing squad (bows and arrows, obviously) and then beheaded.
There is a legend that his head and body were reunited by his followers thanks to a talking wolf that called out “Hic, Hic, Hic!” (“Here, Here, Here”). Once the head was placed by the body it miraculously re-attached itself.
In 902CE his remains were moved to Bedricsworth (modern Bury St Edmunds) where King Athelstan founded a religious community to care for his shrine which became a place of national pilgrimage.
King Canute built a stone abbey on the site in 1020CE to house the shrine. For centuries Edmund’s resting place was patronised by the kings of England and the abbey became increasingly wealthy as the cult of St Edmund grew. Such was the influence of St Edmund that on St Edmund’s Day in 1214 rebel English barons held a secret meeting here before going to confront King John with the Charter of Liberties, the forerunner to Magna Carta which he signed a year later. This event is reflected in the motto of Bury St Edmunds: ‘Shrine of a King, Cradle of the Law’.
There's also some great public art in the town to commemorate him.
So how did we lose such a noble English patron saint?
Blame Lionheart.
As I explained here in a previous blogpost, King Richard I visited the tomb of St George in Lydda on the eve of a battle during the Third Crusade. The next day he was victorious so he adopted St George as his personal patron and protector of the army. Meanwhile, the banner of England - a white dragon on a red background - was still being carried into battle by our army.
Then, in 1348CE, Edward III founded a new order of chivalry, the Knights of the Garter, and declared St George to be Patron Saint of England. Both Richard and Edward were, of course, not English and spoke French as their first language.
But should we now revert to St Edmund?
Should we be raising the white dragon flag on November 20th instead of the red cross on April 23rd?
There is a fairly strong case for it.
Firstly, Edmund was English and fought and died for England. George was Turkish and never once set foot here. And, of course, Edmund was patron saint first - selected by the English for the English.
Secondly, the flag of England has been somewhat sullied by its association with football hooligans, racists and rabid nationalists who want 'England for the English' (whatever that actually means). Surely a change of flag would go some way to disempower these people? And don't they see the irony of defending a flag that was forced on the English by the French? Meanwhile, for the anti-Europeans, wouldn't this be 'taking back' ownership of our original patron saint? Wouldn't that be a victory for Brexit?
Thirdly, the white dragon is a lot cooler as a flag than the red cross. And we could then distinguish it from the red cross used by medical workers and charities. And, anyway, we might need to redesign the existing Union Flag anyway if Scotland decides to separate from England.
Fourthly, at a time when Britain has never been more divided, wouldn't a fresh start and a new rebranding help to heal a few wounds?
It's a nice idea, I reckon, if unlikely to ever succeed. An attempt was made in 2006 to have St Edmund reinstated and a petition was handed into Parliament. They rejected it. Then, in 2013, another campaign was launched but also failed to sway government opinion.
Time for a third?
Oh, and I will just say that I have no dog in this fight. I'm Cornish and I'm quite happy with my identity and my patron saint, St Piran.
No comments:
Post a Comment