Category: Events

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St Catherine, Torture Victim & Patroness of the Catherine Wheel, November 25th

Icon of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with scenes from her martyrdom (Wikipedia)

In the pantheon of horror that is the Saints’ martyrs’ calendar, St Catherine of Alexandria is very appropriate for, today, the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Catherine was high-born, beautiful and learned. She disputed with pagan learned men against the worship of idols. She wiped the floor with them, and Emperor Maxentius had 50 of the learned men burnt alive for their failure to answer adequately.

Catherine was imprisoned, where many people came to visit her and were converted to Christianity. The most illustrious visitor was the Emperor’s wife, Valeria Maximilla who was, herself, martyred. Then, the Emperor offered to marry Catherine, but she refused to abandon her faith. So he had her tortured. In prison, she was fed by the holy dove and had visions of Christ.

Her gaolers then tried to break her on a wheel, although the wheel broke, killing spectators with the splinters, she stood steadfast. Two hundred soldiers were converted to the faith on the spot. They were then beheaded, followed by Catherine herself. Milk, not blood, flowed from her severed veins.

The persecution in the early 4th Century was real, but it wasn’t driven by Maxentius, who came to power promising religious tolerance. But, following the accession of Constantine the Great, Maxentius’s reputation was blackened. There is no contemporary evidence for the events of Catherine’s life. There is a modern theory that her tale was conflated with the remarkable story of Hypatia of Alexandria (d. 415), a pagan and a real learned woman; The first female Mathematician we know any facts about. She was murdered by a rampaging mob of xenophobic Christians.

Catherine is remembered by the firework: the Catherine Wheel and is, of course, the patron of Philosophers, Theologians, and Royal women; young women, students, spinsters, and anyone who lives by working with a wheel: carters, potters, wheelwrights, spinners, millers. And, I imagine, Formula 1 drivers.

St Catherine in London

St Catherine Coleman
(Wikipedia: Robert William Billings and John Le Keux: The Churches of London by George Godwin (1839))

There are several Churches in London dedicated to St Catherine or St Katherine, dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria. The one in Coleman Street, rebuilt by Christopher Wren and his team, was demolished in the 1920s. There was a Chapel to St Catherine at Westminster Abbey (c1160), the ruins of which are visible in St Catherine’s Garden. I am sure that St Katherine’s Dock and St Katherine’s Cree Church are also so dedicated, but cannot as yet find a dedication for either. Katherine of Aragorn was patron of the Royal Foundation of St Katherines’ which gives its name to the Dock.

Ruins of Chapel of St Catherine, Westminster Abbey

There are customs that have attached themselves to St Catherine including the baking and eating of Catten Cakes. These are really a biscuit (or cookie) made of dough, and cinnamon and dried fruit. Carraway seeds are also suggested. Here is a recipe.

It’s considered a good day for rituals and prayers to summon a husband. Katherine of Aragorn was also commemorated on this day. Lace makers would play ‘jump the candlestick’. If they put the candle out they had bad luck. Katherine of Aragorn is said to have introduced lace making to England.

Finally, for my thoughts why female saints martydrom stories are so violent, extreme and often downright bizarre. Have a look at my post on St Margaret. She is the Saint who suffered probably the most torture in her convoluted route to Martyrdom.

My post which includes a link to an article about medieval attitudes to these terrifying stories of martyrdom, illustrated by a reredos on display at the V&A, in Kensington, London here.

Gladiators Exhibition Touring Britain

Exhibition post of the British Museum Exhibition ‘Gladiators of Britain’

I was just reading an article about the British Museum touring exhibition: ‘Gladiators of Britain’ exhibition. And so updated my August 12th post on St Lawrence who is remembered in a Church in London on the site of the Roman Amphitheatre. But the Exhibition will be closed by August, so here is what I wrote, in time to go to see the Exhibition.

The exhibition is currently at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester – until 25th January 2026.It then moves to Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle from 7th February to 19th April 2026. Recent research has shown that a young man buried in what seems to be a Gladiators Cemetary near Michelgate in York has lion’s teeth marks on his pelvis. When talking about Gladiators I was always reticent about whether animals as exotic as Lions would have been used in the distance province of Britannia. Now we know they were. The Exhibition has a marble relief from Ephesus showing a venetor (beast fighter), taking on a lion. We also know one Roman legionary in Britain had the title of Bear Keeper.

Displayed on the poster above is the Colchester vase which shows an actual gladiatorial combat. The gladiators are named as Secundus, Marius, Memnon, and Valentinus. Secundus and Marius are fighting a bear, while Memmon is fighting Valentinus. Memmon is a secutor and Valentinus, a retiarius. The secutor is the chaser and lightly armed with a heavy shield and short sword. The retiarius has a net and trident. Memmon is described as a 9th time victor, and Valentinus, a legionary of the Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix raises his finger to acknowledge defeat.

Although death and life threatening injuries were often the result, the competition was also not, necessarily, a fight to the death, it was a fight until one or other was defeated. So they could be ended by surrender. Gladiators tombstones, often announce the number of fights a gladiator was involved in such as fighting 25 fights of which he was victorious in 22. The chairman of the show would be given the duty of deciding whether the defeated deserved to be spared, or hit over the head with a big hammer, or decapitated. The Gladiatorial cemetery in Driffield Terrace, York has a high proportion of decapitated corpses. The normal ratio of normal burials is 5% or less of decapitated skulls. Of the 80 burials in Driffield Street 46 were decapitated. Many of the young men in the cemetery have healed wounds. One had leg irons one which showed evidence of being put on while still red hot from the blacksmiths forge. For more on the Cemetery follow this link.

On this Day

1471 – the Thames froze over strongly enough to hold a Frost Fair upon it.

‘In the year 1434 a great frost began on the 24th of November, and held till the 10th of February, following ; whereby the River Thames was so strongly frozen, that all sorts of merchandizes and provisions brought into the mouth of the said river were unladen, and brought by land to the city.’

1715 – the Thames froze again 281 years later

‘The Thames seems now a solid rock of ice; and booths for sale of brandy, wine, ale, and other exhilarating liquors, have been for some time fixed thereon; but now it is in a manner like a town; thousands of people cross it, and with wonder view the mountainous heaps of water that now lie congealed into ice. On Thursday, a great cook’s-shop was erected, and gentlemen went as frequently to dine there as at any ordinary. Over against Westminster, Whitehall, and Whitefriars, printing presses are kept on the ice.‘ (description of 14th January 1716 of the remaining ice by Dawkes’ News Letter.

Both quotes are from a list of times the Thames froze you can see here: https://thames.me.uk/s00051.htm. I have no idea where the evidence comes from for the Roman and Saxon era freezing, but the author says the source of it is:

‘The earliest chronology is given by Charles Mackay in “The Thames and its Tributaries”, 1840. He omits to mention how he knows!‘

1952 Agatha Christie’s the ‘Mousetrap’ opened in London, so it has now been continuously running for 73 years if my maths are correct.

First published on 25th November 2022. Revised and republished 25th November 23, 24, 25

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Sagittarius, Martinmas Old Style and Pack-Rag Day November 22nd

November 22nd is the dawning of Sagittarius.

According to the Kalendar of Shepherds 1604, women born on this day should marry at age 13, shall have many sons and live to 72 years old. Men born on November 22nd will be merciful, far-travelled, prosperous after early dangers and live to 72 years and 8 months. Can’t help feeling that prophecy this precise is heading for a fall. (see my post sliding-ducks-and-the-equivocation-of-prophecy/).

Martinmas Old Style and Pack-Rag Day

Pack-Rag Day, hiring of farm workers

Martinmas was the Festival of Winter’s Beginning and is celebrated on November 11. It was one of the most famous medieval festivals. In 1752, the calendar was transformed when Britain transferred from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar, 11 days were lost from the Calendar, so the original date of the festival would be what we know as November 22nd. So this is Martinmas Old Style.

In the East Riding of Yorkshire, hiring fairs were held around this time. It was also called Pack-Rag Day as servants carried their clothes to their new place of work.

A hiring fair is how Gabriel Oak is hired by Batheseba Everdene in ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ by Thomas Hardy. They were often also held at Michaelmas, and in Warwickshire are called Mops. See my post on the Mop here.

On this Day

The original Book of Days 1878 title page
Chambers Book of Days
The 2004 Chambers Book of Days

As you may have noticed, I have been adding a section called ‘On this Day’ which highlights some notable events that have happened on this day in history. In my quest to create an almanac of the past with a reasonable post for every day, my loyal subscribers will be getting a post they read last year. So, I am trying to add extra content to make it worthwhile. Hence, this ‘new’ section (one year old today).

So, I will either republish a previously published post. It should be better proofread (although I’m perfectly capable of adding extra embarrassing typos). The content should be improved or expanded. Or with an added ‘On this Day’ section. Therefore, if you find you have read the post before, just scroll down to the new content at the bottom.

One of my sources for the ‘On this Day’ section is Chambers’ ‘Book of Days A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities’in connection with the Calendar’. The original was published, in 1864, by Robert Chambers one of the original founders of Chambers Publishing. The new one takes is inspiration from the original. I found out about it from Sir Roy Strong and Julia Trevelyan Oman’s ‘The English Year, which is itself a personal selection from the Chambers Book of Days. Sir Roy was my boss when I was an Assistant Keeper at the V&A.

1963 President Kennedy and Governor John Connally were shot while part of a motorcade in Dallas.

1968 The Beatles White Album was released

1990 British Prime Minister Mrs Thatcher resigned.

Originally published as two separated posts on 22nd November 2022, republished on 22nd November 2023, merged 2024, and expanded 2025

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St Cecilia’s Day, Henry Wood and the BBC Proms November 17th

St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, Musician’s Chapel, St Cecilia window. 17 August 2022, Andy Scott

November 17th is St Cecilia’s Day She is the patron saint of musicians and was martyred in Rome in the Second or Third Century AD. The story goes that she was married to a non-believer. During her marriage ceremony she sang to God in her heart (hence her affiliation with musicians). She then told her husband that she was a professed Virgin. So, if he violated her, he would be punished by God. Cecilia told him she was being protected by an Angel of the Lord who was watching over her. Valerian, her husband, asked to see the Angel. ‘Go to the Third Milestone along the Appian Way’ he was told where he would be baptised by Pope Urban 1. Only then would he see the Angel. He followed her advice, was converted and he and his wife were, later on, martyred.

The Church in Rome, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, is said to be built on the site of her house, and has 5th Century origins. My friend, Derek Gadd, recently visited and let me use these photographs:

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Photo by Derek Gadd
Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Photo by Derek Gadd

St Cecilia in London

There is a window dedicated to her in the Holy Sepulchre Church-without-Newgate, In London, opposite the site of the infamous Newgate Prison.  Henry Wood, one of our most famous conductors and the founder of the Promenade Concerts, played organ here when he was 14. In 1944, his ashes were placed beneath the window dedicated to St Cecilia and, later, the Church became the National Musician’s Church.

This window is dedicated to the memory of
Sir Henry Wood, C.H.,
Founder and for fifty years Conductor of
THE PROMENADE CONCERTS
1895-1944.
He opened the door to a new world
Of sense and feeling to millions of
his fellows. He gave life to Music
and he brought Music to the People.
His ashes rest beneath.

The Concerts are now called the BBC Proms and continue an 18th and 19th Century tradition of, originally, outdoor concerts, and then indoor promenade concerts. At the end of the 19th Century, the inexpensive Promenade Concerts were put on to help broaden the interest in classical music. Henry Wood was the sole conductor.

Wikipedia reports :

Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek described the Proms as “the world’s largest and most democratic musical festival”.

The Eight-week Festival is held at the Royal Albert Hall. It moved here during World War 2 after the original venue, the Queen’s Hall, was destroyed in the Blitz in May 1941.

On This Day

1278 Edward 1 had over 600 Jews imprisoned in the Tower of London for coining, clipping and other counterfeiting. Of these, 269 Jews, along with 29 Christians, were executed. They were hanged at the Guildhall in the City of London. By 1290, the King had squeezed all the money he could from the Jews, and they were expelled, not to be let back into the Kingdom until the reign of Oliver Cromwell in the 17th Century. This ended a long period of savage state run antisemitism. Click here for further information.

First Published on November 17th 2023 and revised in November 2024, 2025.

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William Shakespeare’s First Folio 402 Years Old Today November 8th

Droeshout Portrait of Shakespeare from the First Folio
Droeshout Portrait of Shakespeare from the First Folio

On November 8th in 1623, the First Folio was registered at Stationer’s Hall near the publishing district around St Pauls Cathedral in London. It was actually called:

Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies

Sketch of the First Folio by William Shakespeare
Sketch of the First Folio

It was put together by his actor friends, John Heminge and Henry Condell seven years after his death. They wanted to replace all the corrupt editions of his plays and poems that had been:

“stol’n and surreptitious copies, maimed and deformed by frauds and stealths of injurious impostors”

The true texts of his plays and poems “are now offer’d to your view cured, and perfect of their limbes; and all the rest, absolute in their numbers as he conceived them.” Wikipedia

Shakespeare at the Frankfurt Book Fair

In fact, the plays were ready earlier than 1623, as they entered into the catalogues for the Frankfurt Book festival to appear between April and October 1622. How amazing is it that the Frankfurt Book festival is still the dream of any aspirant writer? Wikipedia tells me that hand-written books were traded at the general trade fair in Frankfurt from the 12th Century. But 1462 is the date that appointed as being when the Book Fair was certainly established.

The First Folio offers plenty of proof that Shakespeare was the author of the plays. He left gold rings of remembrance to Heminge and Condell in his Will. They were part of his Players Company, and had worked together on many of the plays. The Folio has forewords by people extolling the virtues of the writer. Enough proof for any reasonable person.

Heminge and Condell

Heminge and Condell are commemorated in the Garden of St Mary Aldermary behind the Guildhall. They were Churchwardens of St Mary. A few streets away lived William Shakespeare in 1611. True friends, so don’t go telling me he didn’t write the plays!

St Mary Aldermany monument to Shakespeare, Heminge and Condell and the First Folio.
St Mary Aldermany monument to Shakespeare, Heminge and Condell and the First Folio.

There was a wonderful BBC festival of Shakespeare on in 2023/24 to celebrate. If you look at this link, here. You will find great content. Much of it is available if you search BBC Sounds, or BBC iPlayer.

Visit my post on Shakespeare’s Birthday here.

On This Day

International Intersex Day

Intersex Day of Remembrance, also known as Intersex Solidarity Day, is an internationally observed civil awareness day. (Wikipedia).

First Published November. 2023, revised November 2024, 2025

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Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Old print showing the plotters for the Gunpowder plot
The Gunpowder Plotters, culminating on the 5th of November

Soon, after the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, Parliament legislated for an annual commemoration of the Catholic Plot. The date they chose was the anniversary of finding Guy Fawkes with a lantern next to piles of barrels of Gunpowder underneath Parliament. This was the occasion of the State Opening of Parliament, 5th November 1605. The King, his Queen, the King’s children. The Lords from the House of Lords & MPs from the House of C would all have been blown up.

The Ashmolean Lantern

Guy Fawkes Lantern at the Ashmolean Museum

This was the one held by Fawkes. It was given the Museum by Robert Heywood in 1641. He got it from his brother, Peter, who was a Westminster Magistrate among the party who arrested Guy Fawkes in the cellar. Peter Heywood, took the lantern from Guy Fawkes to stop him setting fire to the pile of gunpowder barrels. Or at least that is the story Robert Heywood told.

A commemoration of fireworks and bonfires was clearly appropriate given that it has been estimated that the amount of gunpowder in the barrels would have killed the king, the Royal Family, the House of Lords and the House of Commons and devastated a huge area around Westminster. But some suggest that the nature of the commemoration draws some elements from Halloween – use of bonfires and dressing up. Halloween was frowned upon by puritans, but they supported Guy Fawkes Day as it was anti-catholic.

Banner in Lewes

The anti-catholic nature of the celebration is a fact, but it really isn’t something we think about today. There is little anti-Catholic prejudice in Britain (except in one or two very specific places). Irish friends are amazed we still celebrate it, but for the vast majority of people in Britain it is really just Fireworks night, nothing to do with anti-catholic sentiment.

The Lewes Bonfire

Traces of the original anti-catholic nature of it do continue in places like Lewes, which is one of the most traditional Fireworks Nights. This consists of clubs who organise a parade through the town. Then it ends with the burning of an effigy of the Pope and, more recently, other unpopular figures on the contemporary scene. Click here for more on Lewes.

Procession in Lewes

Tar Barrel Rolling

Ottery St Mary continues the tradition of using Tar Barrels. These are wooden barrels in which tar and tinder are set on fire. The Barrels are either rolled through the Town, or down a hill. But in Ottery they are carried on the shoulders of volunteers (see video below). This has a pedigree which goes back before 1605 as there are references to tar barrels and displays in Protestant processions to celebrate the accession to the throne of Edward VI and Elizabeth 1.

Tar Barrels in Ottery St Mary
Stephen and Claire – 2 Zany Brits on YouTube

Discovering the Plot

King James 1 took credit for discovering the plot as he is said to have deciphered the warning given in a letter, written to William Parker, 13th Baron Morley, 4th Baron Monteagle. Monteagle wrote the letter at his house in Hoxton, London (commemorated by a plaque in Hoxton Street near where I live) which warned against turning up at Parliament but was not explicit as to the nature of the threat.

Letter Lord Monteagle passed on to King James 1

My lord, out of the love I beare to some of youere frends, I have a care of youre preservacion, therefore I would aduyse you as you tender your life to devise some excuse to shift youer attendance at this parliament, for God and man hath concurred to punishe the wickedness of this tyme, and thinke not slightly of this advertisement, but retire yourself into your country, where you may expect the event in safety, for though there be no apparance of anni stir, yet I saye they shall receive a terrible blow this parliament and yet they shall not seie who hurts them this cowncel is not to be contemned because it may do yowe good and can do yowe no harme for the dangere is passed as soon as yowe have burnt the letter and i hope God will give yowe the grace to mak good use of it to whose holy proteccion i comend yowe.

National Archives

James realised this sentence: ‘they shall receive a terrible blow this parliament and yet they shall not seie who hurts them ‘ implied an explosion. His father, Lord Darnley, was killed in a Gunpowder Plot in Edinburgh, so perhaps he was particularly attuned to the threat. On the other hand, there is a possibility that the King’s Secret Service were aware of the plot and arranged matters, so the King could receive the credit for its discovery.

The Fifth of November

    Remember, remember!
    The fifth of November,
    The Gunpowder treason and plot;
    I know of no reason
    Why the Gunpowder treason
    Should ever be forgot!
    Guy Fawkes and his companions
    Did the scheme contrive,
    To blow the King and Parliament
    All up alive.
    Threescore barrels, laid below,
    To prove old England’s overthrow.
    But, by God’s providence, him they catch,
    With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
    A stick and a stake
    For King James’s sake!
    If you won’t give me one,
    I’ll take two,
    The better for me,
    And the worse for you.
    A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
    A penn’orth of cheese to choke him,
    A pint of beer to wash it down,
    And a jolly good fire to burn him.
    Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
    Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
    Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

English Folk Verse (c.1870)

See my post on preparing for Guys Fawkes day here:

First published 5th November 2021, revised 2024, 2025

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The Horned God & Preparing for Guy Fawkes Day November 4th

medieval monks seat showing carving of a Horned man (with Ram's Horn) at Stratford on Avon Holy Trinity Church) Photo: K Flude
Horned God (with Ram’s Horn) at Stratford on Avon Holy Trinity Church) Photo: K Flude. Carving of a dolphin to the left (symbol of Christ) a goat to the right (symbol of the damned – as Christ divides the sheep from the goats who are going to hell)

Horned Gods

November 4th is dedicated to hunting gods such as Herne, the Horned God, Cernunnos, The Green Man and Pan.

Herne the Hunter appears in Shakespeare:

There is an old tale goes, that Herne the
Hunter
(sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest)
Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight
Walk round about an oak, with great ragg’d horns;
And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,
And makes milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain
In a most hideous and dreadful manner.
You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know
The superstitious idle-headed eld
Receiv’d, and did deliver to our age
This tale of Herne the Hunter for a truth.

William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 4, scene 4

I have recently seen a brilliant staging of the Merry Wives of Windsor at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. I saw it three times and think it one of the best Shakespeare productions I have seen. The lead actor, John Hodgkinson, with whom I used to play cricket, was a fantastic Falstaff.

Cernunnos

Cernunnos comes from karnon which means “horn” or “antler”. This may be the source of the name ‘Cerne’. (Please note that the Cerne Abbas Giant has just been redated from the Celtic to the Anglo-Saxon period.) Cerney and Cirencester in Gloucestershire might have similar origins for their names. The Cornovii is the name of three tribes in Britain. Cornwall, Shropshire and Caithness. It seems to mean people of the Horn, and the Horn thought to be stag’s horns. He is most often found in statues in the area around Paris, with an antler on his head, cross-legged and with a snake with him. He may be the god of the celtic underworld.

A Cernunnos-type figure on the Gundestrup cauldron (plate A). He sits cross-legged, wielding a torc in one hand and a ram-horned serpent in the other. Public Domain Wikipedia

The National Trust are appealing for funds to buy the Cerne Abbas Giant – click here to see the appeal.

Preparing for Guy Fawkes Day with Ginger Cake

Felicity Cloake The Guardian Parkin

Ginger cake is the traditional accompaniment to a cold night watching the Fireworks. There is a good recipe in Markham’s The English Housewife of 1683. But I’m suggesting you use this recipe from the Guardian for Parkin Cake. ‘Parkin is a gingerbread cake traditionally made with oatmeal and black treacle, which originated in Northern England.’ (Wikipedia).

For my post on November the 5th look here.

London picture Penny for the Guy on Guy Fawkes Day

I haven’t seen children asking for ‘a penny for the Guy’ for a while. But it was part of my childhood. We would create a ‘Guy’ out of old clothes and take it into the streets to raise money. The Guy is named after Guy Fawkes, who was discovered on 5th November 1605 in a cellar under Parliament. He was by a pile of barrels of gunpowder with a slow match. The plan was to blow up the King and Parliament, on the occasion of the Opening of Parliament on the 5th of November.

Once the plot had been broken and the plotters hanged, drawn and quartered, the King ordered that November 5th should be commemorated throughout the Country. Bonfires were a part of the seasonal celebrations at the time, used at Halloween, but this aspect was transferred to November 5th and continues as a major British event every year.

The money we raised, we spent exclusively on ‘bangers’ loud explosive fireworks not pretty fountains, Roman candles nor rockets. The bangers just made a horrendously loud bang. One stunt we experimented with was to cycle through the streets and to put a lit banger into the handle bars, which would act as a rocket launcher! Don’t try this at home.

Meanwhile, we would collect wood for the village bonfire:

A stick and a stake
For King George’s sake
Will you please to give us a faggot
If you won’t give us one, we’ll steal you two
The better for we and the worse for you.

English Folk Verse (c.1870)

First published 4th November 2021, republished 4th November 2024, 2025

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Douai Martyrs Saints Day October 29th

Thomas Bilney martyred in Smithfield. Black and white engraving
Thomas Bilney martyred in Smithfield.

Today, is the feast day of 158 English Martyrs from the English School at Douai. They were killed by the English state between 1577 and 1680.

On the accession of the Protestant Queen Elizabeth, Catholics who preferred exile gathered in Douai (125 Kilometres South of Calais). An English School was set up, which was in essence a Catholic Oxford College in Exile. Its mission became to train priests to re-enter England and minister to the many Catholics who wanted to continue to practice their faith despite official intolerance.

Catholic worshippers were fined if they did not attend Church of England services in their local churches. Catholic Priests re-entering England could be charged with High Treason and, if found guilty, hanged, drawn and quartered. This was often at Tyburn (at the west end of Oxford Street in London).

In the short reign of Mary I, nicknamed ‘Bloody Mary’, over 250 protestants were burned at the stake for heresy. In the long reign of her sister, Elizabeth I, over 300 Catholics were executed for Treason by being Hanged, Drawn and Quartered. Elizabeth is known as ‘Good Queen Bess’. There is no value in balancing evil, but pro-rata Mary’s reign was much more bloody. Elizabeth would probably also suggest that she did not execute Catholics because of their belief, but because the policy of the Catholic Church was to destroy Elizabeth’s regime. So, the Priests were not executed for heresy but for treason. However, this is a fine distinction to be made, in such horrendous blood-letting.

The number of martyrdoms from one institution shows incredible bravery in the face of intolerance, and the Douai Martyrs were a remarkable group of people. Most have been beatified by the church, some have been made ‘venerable’, twenty have been canonised. A few remain simply as ‘martyrs’

In London in Ely Place is St Etheldreda’s Church, which has memorials to Catholic Martyrs, and no mention of Protestant Martyrs. A few hundred yards away in Smithfield is a plaque to the Protestant Martyrs under Queen Mary and no mention of the Catholic Martyrs. Personally, I think it is about time the two traditions made it clear that both groups of martyrs are worthy of equal distinction, and the authorities who allowed such toxic intolerance to triumph deserve our contempt.

Two examples of martyrs in Smithfield:

John Forest, a Franciscan Monk was burnt at the stake at Smithfield and commemorated in St Etheldreda’s Church. He was Catherine of Aragon’s Confessor, and refused to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England.

John Rogers was a scholar and worked to continue William Tyndale’s work in translating the bible into English. He was the Vicar of the Holy Sepulchre Church, which is halfway between Smithfield and St Etheldreda. He was the first person to be burned during Queen Mary I’s reign, and mentioned on the memorial in Smithfield.

Thanks to my friend Derek, who suggested I cover this topic. His children went to a school in London named after the 158 English Martyrs,

For a longer look at the Protestant Martyrs at Smithfield have a look at my post which deals with the martyrdom of Thomas Thompkins a simple honest man burnt at the stake.

Anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth I and the end of burning of heretics November 17th

For more on St Etheldreda look at my post here.

First published in 2024, revised 2025

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The Miracle of the Testicles October 20th

Image from Facebook, illustrating the miracle of the testicles

I’m having technicals problems, as well as being away from home. I posted this a few days ago but it doesn’t seem to have been posted to subscribers. So posting it again.

Today, almost my favourite of many bizarre tales of Saints. St Artemios is the patron saint of male genital disorders, more specifically, hernias and ruptures. His Saint’s Day is October 20th St. Artemios was Governor of Egypt during the reign of Julian the Apostate (331 – 26 June 363). Julian was a philosopher. Nephew to Constantine the Great, who tried to turn the tide and return to traditional Roman religious practices.

Artemios was called to a military meeting with Julian where he witnessed and objected to abuse of Christians. He was tortured with red hot irons, and miraculously cured. Then he was taken to the Amphitheatre where there was a big stone broken in half. He was put on half stone and the other half was raised above him and released, crushing Artemios. He was presumed dead, and left for a day. But he was still alive, broken boned, disembowelled, eyeless and remained unwilling to renounce his religion. Julian ordered his beheading.

A noble woman took his body to Constantinople where his shrine soon started attracting miracles. In the 7th Century, an anonymous author compiled a record of the miracles. St Artemios had become known for healing hernias and genital disorders ‘mostly in men.’ I’m not sure entirely why. Perhaps because of the red-hot pokers? The disembowelling? Maybe the stone that crushed him was round?

I first came across the Saint when I was given a wonderful book called ‘A Medieval Miscellany‘. Tales are selected by Judith Herrin and with an introduction by the great Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie (see Jan 27th Post to read about Montaillou and Ladurie). It had a colourful spread called ‘The Miracle of the Testicles’. This was the story told by Stephen, a 7th Century deacon of St. Sophia in Constantinople who ‘suffered a rupture, whether from shouting acclamations or from a heavy weight, I cannot say.‘

To cut a long story short, Stephen was very embarrassed by his condition. He tried many cures but finally undertook surgery. This was successful, but very soon the condition reoccurred which left him to despair.

Scrotal Hernia Operation, italy
Scrotal Hernia Operation, italy

So he planned to visit the shrine of, Artemios, the great healer of testicles. However, he was too embarrassed to stand in the Church, ashamed to be seen by friends. But passing by one day he nipped into the Tomb, descended to where the relics were and ‘cast’ some of the Saint’s holy oil on his testicles. He then found, much to his surprise, that the doors to the Coffin itself were open. Seeing this as a divine intervention he jumped onto the coffin, straddled it face down, so that the corner of the tomb was rubbing his testicles and prayed:

‘And with tears, I spoke again to the martyr: “St.Artemios, by God, Who has given you the gift of cures, no doctor on Earth will ever touch me again. So if you please, cure me. But if not, to your everlasting shame I will live thus without cure.‘

He was not cured immediately. Later he went to the Hot Baths and bathed, and on leaving the baths, thanks be to St Artemios, he was completely cured.

I have transcribed the translation of Stephen’s writings and place it here below as it has many fascinating aspects and remember it is a 7th Century account. But what an extraordinary tale: that it seems reasonable to steal into a tomb, take the holy oil, rub your genitals all over the shrine, and then tell the Saint that it will be to his everlasting shame if he does not make the cure!

For more on the Hospital of Sampson click here. Livanon is one of the Roman Baths in Constantinople and it is interesting that the cure follows bathing in them. The Oxeia is a neighbourhood in Constantinople connected with St Antemios. A cautery is a method to remove or close off a part of the body. It can be hot, cold or chemical.

At long last I disclosed the misfortune to my parents, and after many treatments, (how many!) had been performed on me. Finally, after taking counsel with them, I entrusted myself for surgery to the surgeons in the hospital Sampson, and I reclined in the hospital room near to the entrance to the area devoted to eyes.

After I had been treated all over for three days at night with cold cauteries, surgery was performed on the fourth day. I will omit to what horrible things I experienced while on my back.

To sum up everything, I state that I actually despaired of life itself at the hands of the physicians. After God, entreated by the tears of my parents, restored my life to me, and after the scar from the incision and the cautery had healed, and just as I was believing that I was healthy, a short time later, the same condition recurred and so I reverted to my former state…

I had a plan to approach the holy martyr, as I had heard of his many great miracles. Still, I was unwilling to wait in the venerable church feeling ashamed before friends and acquaintances to be seen by them in such condition. But I frequently used to pass by (for at that time, I was staying in the Oxeia). And so I descended to the holy tomb of his precious relics, and I cast some of his holy blessing, I. e. oil on my testicles, hoping to procure a cure in this manner. And frequently, I entreated him to deliver me from the troublesome condition…

After descending to the holy tomb, I found the doors in front open and I was astounded that they were opened at such an hour. This was the doing of the martyr, in his desire to pity me, Stretching out facedown on the holy coffin, I straddled it, and thus contrived to rub the corner of the same Holy tomb on the spot where I was ailing. And with tears, I spoke again to the martyr: “St.Artemios, by God, Who has given you the gift of cures, no doctor on earth will ever touch me again. So if you please, cure me. But if not, to your everlasting shame I will live thus without cure.’ And after some days I went to the bath in the court of Anthemios, the one called Livanon to bathe by myself at dawn in order not to be seen by anyone . And entering the hot chamber, I noticed that I still had the injury. But upon exiting, I had no injury, and recognising the act of kindness on the part of God and the martyr which is befallen me… in thanksgiving… I do now glorify them proclaiming their deeds of greatness throughout my whole life.

From Medieval Miscellany selected by Judith Herrin Pg 54 the Miracle of the Testicles

First published in 2023, revised 2024 and 2025

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St Etheldreda October 17th 679

St Etheldreda or St Audrey By monk – [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32907989

I’m republishing this post as I dated it to February 17th rather than October 17th and a few other egregious typos.

Etheldreda, also known as Audrey or Æthelthryth or Æðelþryð or Æþelðryþe is celebrated on October 17th, (the date her remains were ‘translated’ from her burial place to the Church at Ely) and on 23 June the date she died,

She lived from March 4th 636 to June 23rd 679. She is one of the well-born Saxon Virgin Saints of the 7th Century. This is when many royal Abbeys were founded by female members of the Anglo-Saxon Royal families, in the years following the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. She is the daughter of King Anna of East Anglia, and the sister of Saint Sexburga (widow of King Erconbert of Kent).

Etheldreda is said to be a Virgin despite being married twice. Etheldreda was widowed after three years of her first marriage. Then she married Egfrid, son of King Oswy of Northumbria. Egfrid got fed up with her virgin state. With the support of St Wilfrid, St Etheldreda was released to a Nunnery run by Wilfred’s aunt. In 672 she founded the famous double monastery at Ely, which is where the wondrous Cathedral of Ely still stands.

Here she died, and the many miracles that followed, led to Ely being one of the main destinations for Pilgrimages. St Sesxburga took over as Abbess after her death. By the number of Churches and holy days remembering Etheldreda show she was perhaps the most famous female saint of the era.

Tawrdy Audrey

Etheldreda died of a neck tumour, which she blamed on the heavy jewellery she wore around her neck before she became a nun. So she is a patron of those with neck or throat ailments. Accordingly, on February 3rd St Etheldreda’s Church in London holds the Blessing of the Throats ceremony. St Blaise is also a saint protecting the throat and you might like to read my post about him and throats here.

Pilgrims used to buy cheap, old-fashioned linen from the market at Ely, which they would wear around their neck to protect or cure them of throat illnesses. Puritans satirised the practice by coining the word Tawdry, from St Audrey, which came to represent cheap goods sold to gullible pilgrims.

Mopsa the shepherdess in Shakespeare’s Twelfth night says to her sweetheart:

“Come, you promised me a tawdry-lace and a pair of sweet gloves.

Have a look at this excellent article to read more about Tawdry and St Etheldreda.

However, I thought something was amiss and searched for Tawdry in the excellent website SHAKESPEARE’S WORDS by DAVID CRYSTAL & BEN CRYSTAL (which I use all the time). And indeed Mopsa is not in Twelfth Night but in the Winter’s Tale which I saw recently at the RSC. Mopsa’s man can’t buy it for her as he has been cheated out of his money by the fey Autolycus.

St Etheldreda’s Church in Ely Place London

Church of St Etheldreda., Ely Place London
Church of St Etheldreda., Ely Place London

St Etheldreda’s in London is in Ely Place, near Hatton Garden. There is a lovely old pub there called the ‘Ye Olde Mitre’ (which is a reference to a Bishop’s Mitre). The Church was founded (1250 and 1290) as the London residence of the Bishops of Ely. Inside are memorials to Catholic martyrs executed during the Reformation. (see my post on the Douai Martyrs here).

Ely place was lived in by John of Gaunt following the destruction of his Savoy Palace in the Peasants Revolt. Christopher Hatton rented parts of it in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. During the Civil War it was used to hold Royalist Prisoners of War. Agnes Wicks fictionally lives at Ely Place. (Agnes is the woman David Copperfield should have married, rather than the ridiculous Dora).

In the 19th Century, the former Chapel was bought by the Catholic Church and restored by George Gilbert Scott.

Etheldreda is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 17 October according to Book of Common Prayer tradition, and alternatively 23 June in the Common Worship calendar of Saints. (Wikipedia.

First Published on October 17th 2025

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Tally Sticks & Parliament burning down October 16th 1834

The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16th October, 1834. Joseph Mallord William Turne Public Domain (Wikipedia). Cleveland Museum of Art

In 1834, the Government decided to end the use of Tally Sticks by the Exchequer and replace them with paper ledgers. They decided to burn the sticks that had been used to record financial transactions for six hundred years. Richard Weobley, the Clerk of Works decided not to give the Tallies to staff as firewood, but to burn them in two stoves below the House of Lords. The chimney was designed for coal not for wood, and it started a fire that destroyed virtually the entire Houses of Parliament and most of the ancient Palace of Westminster.

Engraving of the Old , Pre-fire, Palace of Westminster.

Architects including Sir John Soane and Robert Adams warned about the dangers of a fire at the complex which were built before modern fire prevention methods, such as fire walls, and fire doors. But they were ignored. There was no Fire Brigade just a few antiquated old Parish Engines. but, the Insurance companies had created the London Fire Engine Establishment (LFEE) led by the charismatic James Braidwood. However, the Palace was not covered by insurance.

None the less the LFEE turned up. Initially they could do little as the Thames was low and they could not get enough water to help stop the fire. But later as the Tide rose, the water supply improved. Also, the LFEE could now bring up its LFEE’s floating fire engine from storage in Rotherhithe. Braidwood got his men to spray the famous Hammer beam roof with water, and the 11th Century, Westminster Hall survived. The roof was installed by Master Carpenter, Hugh Herland in the 14th Century when the Hall was reroofed. The timber came from the Farnham area of Surrey. (for more on the Fire look here).

The Hammerbeam Roof of Westminster Hall, Saved by James Braidwoof’s Fire Engine Establishment.

The fire was such a conflagration that thousands of Londoners came to see it. It was not long after very unpopular Acts of Parliament including the Great Reform Bill of 1832, which failed to give the vote to the working class, and the Poor Law Amendment which Dickens attacks in Oliver Twist. (see my post of the Chimes for more on Dickens’s Social Journalism).

It is said the Londoners cheered as the Palace burnt down. Thomas Carlyle, remembered: ‘the crowd was quiet, rather pleased than otherwise; whew’d and whistled when the breeze came as if to encourage it: “there’s a flare-up (what we call shine) for the House o’ Lords.”—”A judgment for the Poor-Law Bill!”—”There go their hacts” (acts)! Such exclamations seemed to be the prevailing ones. A man sorry I did not anywhere see. (reported in Wikipedia.

Tally Sticks

Sketch up Sketch of Tally sticks. The Foil is the shorter part at the bottom of the picture, and the Stock is the longer L-shaped piece. The lines represent pounds, shillings and pence. The V represents £20.

From the Medieval period, England used Tally Stick for public finances. These were held by the Exchequer. The Government’s financial division gets this name from a chequered cloth which was used to help reckoning up revenues. They used 6 inch lengths of Willow cut on the banks of the Thames, to keep records of transactions. The willow would be marked with lines to represent the amount of money involved in transactions – say a sale of a farm. The willow tally would be split longways about 5 inches of its length. One piece the foil would be given to the debtor, and the other piece, the stock, would be kept by the creditor ~(usually the Government). Each part of the Tally also had the details of the transaction in ink. The pieces could also be used to transfer the debt, and could act almost like currency.

But the genius of the ideas is that it is effective against fraud. The two parts of the stick, would not only have to match with the lines which were cut across them but also the natural grain of the wood, which would provide a unique fingerprint, proof against fraud.

Screenshot from UK Parliament Web site https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/estatehistory/from-the-parliamentary-collections/fire-of-westminster/tallysticks/

To read more about Tally Sticks, please read:

https://www.geoffreymhodgson.uk/secret-history-of-tally-stick

Or BBC’sTim Harford https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40189959

Exchequer, in British history, the government department that was responsible for receiving and dispersing the public revenue. The word derives from the Latin scaccarium, “chessboard,” in reference to the checkered cloth on which the reckoning of revenues took place. (https://www.britannica.com/money/Exchequer)

First Published on October 16th, 2025