This coming 20 November is the saint’s day of the patron saint of England. I know: “no it isn’t”, you protest. But hear me out. The original patron saint of England, our own Saint Edmund.
Unlike St George, who never set foot in England and is shared with other countries, cities, and organisations, St Edmund was English. Or rather, he was East Anglian because he lived during the century immediately before England was unified.
Edmund (c.841-869 CE) became King of East Anglia in 855. He and the kings of Wessex (Aethelred, then Alfred) fought against the Great Heathen Army from 865 onwards. Edmund was captured by Viking forces who demanded he renounce Christianity. When he refused he was tied to a tree and shot with arrows, then beheaded.
The legend surrounding Edmund was that his head was guarded by a wolf which cried: “hic, hic, hic” to attract the attention of the party searching for him. When put back by his torso the head miraculously reattached itself. According to History Today, the cult of St Edmund was promoted by the Vikings, the very people who had killed him. It was King Cnut who founded the Benedictine monastery at Bury St Edmunds, in 1020.
St George gained popularity thanks to Richard I, who adopted his symbol during the Third Crusade. Mediaeval English kings probably found a chivalrous dragon-slayer more attractive than a martyr. Edward III made him the patron of the Order of the Garter when he founded it in 1348 and then patron saint of England. There have already been campaigns to reinstate Edmund as England’s patron saint. Sadly, in 2006 a petition to Parliament failed. Suffolk did step in and made St Edmund the patron saint of the county.
However, there is no reason why St Edmund should supplant St George. It is possible for a country to have more than one patron saint. France has eight and many countries claim more than one patron saint.
Some countries have bank holidays to celebrate their patron saint. Ireland is famous for St Patrick’s Day on 17 March, but last year they went the extra mile. St Brigid’s Day on 1 February is also now a bank holiday. That raises two issues. Firstly, wouldn’t it be great to have a bank holiday to celebrate the saint’s day (or even two)? The problem with St George’s Day is it falls on 23 April. Springtime is already well-endowed with bank holidays, with Easter, May Day and Whit Monday.
But there is a dearth of official days off between the end of August and Christmas. This can be a gloomy time of year, so wouldn’t a bank holiday brighten this time a little? 20 November would be an excellent choice.
The second issue is that Ireland was upfront about wanting a bank holiday to: “acknowledge the critical role that women have played in Irish history, culture and society.” It would be nice to follow suit. That would mean identifying a suitable female saint. The first warrior woman to spring to mind is Boudicca, who was a forerunner to Edmund in standing up to occupying forces. However, Boudicca came from the same part of the world so it would be a bit greedy for East Anglia to have both patron saints. There is a more fundamental objection though: Boudicca wasn’t Christian.
Looking further afield, there is an excellent candidate in St Hilda of Whitby. Like St Patrick, she is also credited with the expulsion of snakes, though from a rather smaller area. She does have a genuine history, too. She founded Whitby Abbey and was its Abbess at the time of the pivotal Synod. It was at the Synod of Whitby that the question was settled as to when Easter should be celebrated. Christianity had come to England from two directions, Ireland and Rome. The two had different systems for determining the date of Easter, the most holy of all Christian festivals.
Hilda didn’t just host this crucial synod, she took part in it. She argued for the Celtic system but was ultimately unsuccessful. She accepted the verdict with good grace and one of her protégées became an influential bishop.
There is one small problem: St Hilda’s day is 17 November, just three days before St Edmund’s. But the nearest Monday to both could be designated Patron Saints Day, acknowledging the peacemaker and the warrior, the female and the male, and the northern and southern parts of the country.
Addendum to St Edmund’s Day
West Suffolk Circle Dance will be celebrating St Edmund’s Day at 14:00 on 20 November. They will perform a few dances, including one choreographed for them called The Jewel in the Crown. St Edmund’s Statue, Great Churchyard, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1RT.
