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.
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) :
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 Amphitheatre Games. and excommunicated all actors and charioteers. 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). London was under the control of the Kingdom of Essex in those days. The King was Saberht, who was the nephew of St Ethelred, King of Kent. Saberht accepted Christianity but when he died. His heirs reverted to paganism and kicked Mellitus out. 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. St Mellitus had gout so is the go-to Saint for sufferers of gout.
London reverted to paganism until 654AD when St Cedd became its next Bishop.
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. 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 apparently it helps the chocolate get to your taste buds that bit quicker. But judge for yourself and read this page for the facts. And this one for more on the history of the Chocolate Digestive.
Drawing of a Stained glass window depicting Saint Beuno. D A R C 12345 – Own work
Today is St Beuno’s Day. St Beuno is also known as St Bono. He was an 8th Century Welsh Abbot of some power. The grandson of a prince of Powys in Wales who was descended from Vortigern. (see my post on Vortigern here.) Vortigern was a predecessor to King Arthur. Beuno was educated in Bangor Monastery, one of the foremost Celtic monasteries in Wales. During his ministry he restored 7 dead people to life including St Winifred (or Winefred).
Winifred & St Beuno
St Winifred’s Holywell, from Facebook.
She was Beuno’s niece, a virgin who refused the advances of a certain Caradog. Furious at her taking vows, Caradog tried to seduce her, but she refused. So, he chopped her head off.
Where her head landed a spring sprung amd became a holy spring. The spot, in Flintshire is still called Holywell. It has been described as the Lourdes of Wales and one of my tours go past it . This is how I heard about St Beuno.
Anyway, the story goes that Beuno put his niece’s head back on her shoulders and restored her to life. How he did that, is a mystery.
From Facebook
She lived a full life with a brilliant Church career. Of course, she is the patron of those who have suffered unwanted advances (but believe me there are many other candidates for that particular honour amongst the female Saints! Have a look at my post on St Agatha for another example of male sexual abuse).
Medieval Powys, & Neglected Parts of the Female Anatomy
I drafted this in January 2025, when I came across a reference to St Beuno in a fabulous exhibition at the British Library. The show was called ‘Medieval Women – In their own Words’.
On display amongst the many wonderful manuscripts and books of the 11th – 15th Century was a Welsh poem. The author was Gwerful Mechain (1460–1502), the only female medieval Welsh poet with a surviving and a substantial body of work. She is known for her erotic poetry, in which she praised the vulva among other things.
What is extraordinary is that I should, by complete chance, be publishing this the day after posting about the statue of the erect Minotaur! So, you can see how even-handed I am? Erect penises one day, love poem to the Vagina the next!
Here it is in full, in a modern translation:
To the Vagina by Gwerful Mechain
Every poet, drunken fool Thinks he’s just the king of cool, (Every one is such a boor, He makes me sick, I’m so demure), He always declaims fruitless praise Of all the girls in his male gaze. He’s at it all day long, by God, Omitting the best bit, silly sod: He praises the hair, gown of fine love, And all the girl’s bits up above, Even lower down he praises merrily The eyes which glance so sexily; Daring more, he extols the lovely shape Of the soft breasts which leave him all agape, And the beauty’s arms, bright drape, Even her perfect hands do not escape. Then with his finest magic Before night falls, it’s tragic, He pays homage to God’s might, An empty eulogy: it’s not quite right: For he’s left the girl’s middle unpraised, That place where children are upraised, The warm bright quim he does not sing, That tender, plump, pulsating broken ring, That’s the place I love, the place I bless, The hidden quim below the dress. You female body, you’re strong and fair, A faultless, fleshy court plumed with hair. I proclaim that the quim is fine, Circle of broad-edged lips divine, It’s a valley, longer than a spoon or hand, A cwm to hold a penis strong and grand; A vagina there by the swelling bum, Two lines of red to song must come. And the churchmen all, the radiant saints, When they get the chance, have no restraints, They never fail their chance to steal, By Saint Beuno, to give it a good feel. So I hope you feel well and truly told off, All you proud male poets, you dare not scoff, Let songs to the quim grow and thrive Find their due reward and survive. For it is silky soft, the sultan of an ode, A little seam, a curtain on a hole bestowed, Neat flaps in a place of meeting, The sour grove, circle of greeting, Superb forest, faultless gift to squeeze, Fur for a fine pair of balls, tender frieze, A girl’s thick glade, it is full of love, Lovely bush, blessed be it by God above.
Easter – Lullingstone Roman Mosaic representing Spring
The German name for Easter is Ostern. The English name is Easter which the Venerable Bede, in the 8th Century, derived from the Goddess Eostra. They probably have the same derivation. But this is all the evidence there is for the Goddess, despite many claims for the deep history of Easter traditions.
Easter, Estry and Canterbury
Philip A. Shaw has proposed that the name of Eastry in Kent might derive from a local goddess, called Eostra. Canterbury had a leading place in the development of the early Church both in England and Germany. So, perhaps, this led to the adoption of a local cult name in these two countries. Otherwise, the name for Easter in Europe derives from Pascha which comes from the Hebrew Passover and Latin. In French it’s Pâques, in Italian Pasqua, Spanish Pascua; Dutch Pasen, Swedish Påsk; Norwegian Påske and so on.
Eleanor Parker in her lovely book ‘Winter in the World’ gives a lyrical insight into how the dates were chosen. The Anglo-Saxons held the belief that God would only choose the perfect time for the Creation and the events of Easter. The Creation began with the birth of the Sun and the Moon. So it was fixed to the Equinox, when the days were of equal length, and the fruits of the earth were stirring into life. But Holy Week also needed to be in harmony with the Moon. Therefore, Easter was tied, like Passover, to the first full moon after the Equinox, which is also when the events take place in the Gospels.
Winters in the World by Eleano Parker
The quotations Parker uses from early English religious writing and poetry shows a profound interest in nature and the universe. It is a very appealing viewpoint. It seems to me that this is something the Church lost in later times, and replaced with a fixation with dogma and ‘worship’ of the Holy Trinity, rather than a spiritual sense of wonder at the Universe.
Celtic & Roman Churches in Conflict
At the time, fixing the date of Easter was very controversial as the Celtic Church in Britain had a different calendar to the Roman Catholic Church. Easter fell on a different day. The Anglian King of Northumberland, for example, celebrated Easter on a different day to that of his wife. King Oswiu was exiled to Ireland where he was influenced by Celtic Christianity. His wife, Eanflæd, from Northumberland, had been baptised by the Roman Catholic missionary, Paulinus.
Easter and the Synod of Whitby
Oswiu, became King of Northumberland and ‘Bretwalda’ (ruler of all Britain). He encouraged a reconciliation. This culminated at the Synod of Whitby (664AD), between the two churches. The Celtic Church finally agreed to follow the Catholic calendar and other controversial customs. The Abbess at Whitby during the Synod was Hilda of Whitby. The Celtic position was defended by Bishop Colmán and the Roman position by St Wilfred. Bishop Colmán resigned his position as Bishop of Lindisfarne, returned to Iona and then set up a monastery back in Ireland. Wilfrid studied at Lindisfarne, Canterbury, France and Rome. After her husband’s death, Queen Eanflaed became Abbess of Whitby,
The antagonism between the two churches went back to the time of St Augustine in the early 7th Century. In a meeting between St Augustine and Celtic churchmen, St Augustine was judged to have been arrogant, unwilling to listen. So agreement was not reached. Sometime afterwards, the Anglo-Saxons attacked the Celts at the Battle of Chester. Hundreds of monks from the Abbey at Bangor were slaughtered.
Days off at Easter & Rituals
Ælfric of Eynsham gives a powerful commentary on the rituals of the Church over Easter. They were full of drama and participation. These included Palm leaf processions on Palm Sunday, feet washing and giving offerings to the poor on Maundy Thursday. Then followed three ‘silent days’ with no preaching. Instead there were rituals and services aiming to encourage empathy for the ordeal of Jesus. This included the nighttime service of Tenebrae. All lights were extinguished in the Church while the choir sang ‘Lord Have Mercy’. The darkness represented the despair that covered the world after Jesus’ death. Good Friday was the day for the adoration of the Cross. The Cross would be decorated with treasures and symbolised turning a disaster into a triumph.
It seemed to me that I saw a wondrous tree Lifted up into the air, wrapped in light, brightest of beams. All that beacon was covered with gold; gems stood beautiful at the surface of the earth,….
The Dream of the Rood quoted in Eleanor Parker’s ‘Winter in the World’
The Harrowing of Hell
The days before Easter Sunday are known as the ‘Harrowing of Hell’. This was a very popular theme in the medieval period (featuring in Piers Plowman for example). Jesus went down to hell to free those, like John the Baptist, who had been trapped. Becauase when he died the world had no saviour until the first Easter. The name ‘Harrowing’ comes from ‘Old English word hergian ‘to harry, pillage, plunder’. The ‘Clerk of Oxford’ Blog provides more information on the Harrowing of Hell on this page,
The Clerk of Oxford Blog is written by Eleanor Parker. She started in 2008, whilst an undergraduate student at Oxford. The blog won the 2015 Longman-History Today award for Digital History‘.
The above is but a very poor précis of Eleanor Parker’s use of Anglo-saxon poetry and literature. She brings an Anglo-Saxon Easter to life. So if you are interested to know more please get a copy of her book.
Easter Days off
King Alfred’s law code gave labourers the week before and after Easter off work. This made it the main holiday of the year.
First Published in 2023 and republished in 2025, 2026
The Famous Spaghetti Tree April Fool’s Joke (from facebook)
First Reference to April Fools Day
The first unambiguous British reference to April Fools Day is by diarist John Aubrey’s “Fooles holy day” in 1686 – although he might have been referring to Germany.
‘We observe it on ye first of April… And so it is kept in Germany everywhere.’ For more details read hoaxes.org.
Chaucer and April Fools Day
But there is a possible earlier reference in Chaucer in the Nun’s Priest’s Tale. This I find quite compelling but most Chaucer scholars don’t. This is the text:
When that the monthe in which the world bigan That highte March, whan God first maked man, Was complet, and passed were also Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two
So, if you have been keeping up with me, you will know that the first lines are referring to March 25th. This was the day Adam and Eve were created. The day when the Church started the New Year and the year number moved one on. This was a major Church festival, usually followed by a week of holiness. The Roman New Year, January 1st, ended with a light-hearted festival called Saturnalia, and it is suggested that April 1st was, similarly, a day of release after the festival of the official Church ceremony of the New Year.
Chaucer’s last line says ‘Since March began thirty-two days have passed.’ A foolish person would not realise this is a reference to April 1st. Hence, this suggests a Fool’s Day already existed. Some scholars think that Chaucer was referring to May 2nd, counting the 32 days not from the beginning of March but from the end of March. I think they look at the second and third lines which read ‘That high March…. was complete’ and so add the 32 days to the end of March. Foolish in my opinion and not reading what actually Chaucer wrote which is ‘Since March began….’
Hunting the Gowk
Generally, in Britain, we play a prank and say ‘April Fool’ with great delight. But we are not allowed to continue beyond midday. The Scots used to call it ‘Hunting the Gowk’ and the main prank was to give someone a letter to deliver, and the person who opened the letter would read:
“Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile” and send the fool onto another leg of his or her’s fool’s errand. In Ireland the letter would read ‘send the fool further’.
April Fools Day and Spaghetti Growing on Trees
I nearly always forget to honour April Fool’s Day (or April Fish Day as the French call it). But in Britain, somewhere in our newspaper or TV station there is an April Fools Joke slipped in. The most remembered is the BBC piece showing film of Italian Farmers picking spaghetti from trees.
2026 – Introduction of Coffee to England 200 years earlier than previously thought!
I have had a quick look at the Guardian for their 2026 April Fools Day Story and I think it is this one:
Guardian April Fools Joke for 2026
The clues are the expert is called Macky Arto. The find was in Ness, allowing them to say ‘Ness Cafe’, and ‘Ness-presso’, and the use of a pun ‘It would have costa for a coffee.’ The final confirmation is this sentence: ‘Back in the reigns of Henry V and VI, these were flat white fields …. and a village called Brew.’ Allowing the journalist to make up an origin for the expression ‘Fancy a Brew?’ it goes on to say.
2025 – Coffee Cups as Haut Courture?
Guardian April Fools Day Joke article or the world gone mad?
‘Meghan Markle was criticised after it was revealed that when you put her lifestyle brand name – American Riviera Orchard – into the What3words location service, it points to a statue of Oliver Cromwell, who famously had a King Charles executed‘
2023 – “Megxit: Call of Duke-y”
In 2023, Harry and Megan proved irresistible and the Guardian reported that:
‘The Sun published a piece announcing the launch of Prince Harry and Meghan’s new video game “Megxit: Call of Duke-y” in which the royal couple try to reach California while dodging obstacles, including rival royals and the media, along the way.‘
This post is about April Fools Day. But it is also the anniversary of the formation of the RAF.
On This Day
1854 – Hard Times by Charles Dickens Serialised in Household Words. A recent study of Victorian Grave yards in Yorkshire highlights the grim reality for young children. For the article see: https://core.ac.uk/reader/220156990
1918 – Near the end of World War 1 the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service were merged to create the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was the world’s biggest air force, and went on to secure Britain from invasion by Hitler.
Croydon RFC/RAF base for anti-Zeppelin Raids in WW1 and one of the world’s first international airports.
RAF Rigger, Benjamin Flude
My Grandfather was in the RAF as a fitter. My father tells some of his story in his autobiography ‘A Boy from Haggerston’:
Benjamin Flude in RFC Uniform. My father, Ben Flude remembers a small model biplane hanging from the portrait.
‘I was 9 months old when he died, and he was just 28 years old. Everyone seemed to like him, and as a child, he was always my hero. In my imagination, I promoted him to being a brilliant and brave Ace RAF Pilot. But he was, in fact, a mechanic rather than a pilot in World War I. Following the war, he worked with Imperial Airways in Purley, Croydon. I don’t know the exact details and so have to piece the story together from the little information I have at my disposal.
My friend, Roy, tells me that the badge on his uniform in the oval picture is of the Royal Flying Corp. (RFC). But they were disbanded in 1916/17, and replaced by the RAF thereafter. As my dad was born in 1900, he must have joined up to fight in the war while underage at 16 or 17 as a volunteer. ‘
How a London lad became a Rigger for the RFC we don’t know, but the Fludes at that time were all employed as umbrella or walking stick makers in the East End of London. I think it is a case of transferable skills. WWI aeroplanes were made of wood, metal wire and fabric, which is precisely what an umbrella is made of.
RAF/RFC mecanics c 1917 . My grandfather is the handsome man standing tall in the back row extreme right
RAF Mechanic Ben Flude
My father went on to serve in the RAF during his national service: He writes:
Ben Flude RAF Metfield. (dad is lying down at the bottom right. he is now 98)
‘Early in 1946 I received my call-up papers for the RAF. I was to report to the Recruitment Centre at Padgate in Lancashire. This is where I received my uniform after a medical examination, and then there were a number of intelligence/aptitude tests when they decided what trade I would join. I tried to get Air Crew and while there were no vacancies, I did have a wide group of trade offers open to me. The group that I was interested in was aircraft maintenance and repair, following in my Dad’s footsteps.’
‘However, before I could start, I had to do my basic training. This was designed to get you fit, and we did plenty of square-bashing or parade drills. For this, they sent me to Metfield in Suffolk, which had only very recently been made available to the RAF by the American Army Air Force. In fact, it was so recent a hand-over that whilst on picket duty, a coach rolled up packed with girls who were so disappointed by the lack of Americans that they got straight back on and returned to Ipswich! The motto of ‘overpaid, oversexed, over here’ certainly applied to these Americans in Suffolk.’
‘We found out that Metfield had been a US Army Air Force Base, where two squadrons of Flying Fortresses operated from. In all the Nissen Huts, those with the semicircular roofs, the ceilings were completely covered with pin-up pictures. My bed was just feet away from the huge Crocodile Stove, round which every evening we all clustered – as it was warm.‘
Interior of Nissan Hut 1944, Lasham
Dad specialised in the recovery of instruments from crashed planes, and was complimented by Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, GCB, GCVO, CMG on his ability to fix an instrument he had never seen before.
First published March 25th 4004 BC and republished yearly on every April Fool’s Day. The section on the meaning of April moved to my post on April 2025. On This Day added in 2026
Palm Sunday (Yew Sunda) by Giotto. Entry into Jerusalem from the Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padova (sent to me by Lucia Granatella)
Yew Sunday (Domhnach an Iúir in Irish) is the medieval name for Palm Sunday. This is the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph on a donkey, with palm leaves being laid in front of him. It has always been very curious to me, this triumph preceded such heavy and heartbreaking tragedy. It is the Sunday before the Betrayal, which leads to the Crucifixion on Good Friday and the Resurrection on Sunday. A busy week for the Church.
I got a little insight into the powers of the procession when on a Field trip to Nice with Students from Central Saint Martins College. We set the Students the task of creating an ‘art intervention’. They came up with the idea of a Procession to the Mayor. It was extraordinary how deploying a few placards, saucepans as drums, and some chanting could create an instant event,. It made people smile and join in, even if clueless about the cause!!
Palms
Palm Sunday can be celebrated by making crosses out of palms, or with processions bearing palm branches or eating special cakes. There is always room in any ritual for cake). But in the North, where do you get your Palms from? So, it was often substituted by Box, or Olive or Willow and particularly, in Britain and Ireland, by Yew. Yew is evergreen and is so long-lived as to be a symbol of everlasting life. (I wrote more about the Yew here). See also my post on Ash Wednesday.
Giotto Bondone
Giotto was a Florentine painter of the 14th Century of whom Giorgio Vasari, in his essential guide to the artists of the Renaissance, ‘The Lives of the Artists‘ said of the 10 year old:
One day Cimabue, going on business from Florence to Vespignano, found Giotto, while his sheep were feeding, drawing a sheep from nature upon a smooth and solid rock with a pointed stone, having never learnt from any one but nature. Cimabue, marvelling at him, stopped and asked him if he would go and be with him. And the boy answered that if his father were content he would gladly go. Then Cimabue asked Bondone for him, and he gave him up to him, and was content that he should take him to Florence.
There in a little time, by the aid of nature and the teaching of Cimabue, the boy not only equalled his master, but freed himself from the rude manner of the Greeks, and brought back to life the true art of painting, introducing the drawing from nature of living persons, which had not been practised for two hundred years; or at least if some had tried it, they had not succeeded very happily.
Written in 1550.
Giotto & The Development of Perspective
If you look at the painting, above. you will see, even the faces of the people are rounded and, and at least somewhat, individual. The crowd scene, particularly, to the right, has some depth. The people further away seem to recede from the viewer. This contrasts with the Byzantine style of paintings, where figures either float or seem to stand on or support themselves on each other’s shoulders. The Gate into Jerusalem has been rendered by an arist who has seen something that he believes has the key to realistic scenes. One day it will be rediscovered, and named single-point perspective.
Yes, Giotto doesn’t know the secret but he is working to find out what the trick is. The people in the trees are also in the distance. These are the giant strides that Vasari is referring to in the quotation above. Realistic people, in spaces with depth. The donkey is quite sweet too! Cimabue, Giotto’s Master was particularly good at painting Crucifix scenes.
For more on early attempts at creating perspective, see my post on Duccio and the Annunciation here.
Digital tour of the Cappella degli Scrovegni
The Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padova is a World Heritage Site decorated by Giotto and his team. They covered all the walls and ceiling with frescos. Depicting the Life of Jesus, the Life of Mary, and the Last Judgement.
Giotto, The Last Judgement. Cappella degli Scrovegni, In Padova. Wikipedia
Here is a real Digital Heritage treat – a 360 Degree tour of the Chapel! Follow the link below. If it seems to be taking a long time to load press the information button. Once pressed will allow the panorama to load immediately.
Marie Antoinette was about 28 when this portrait was made, She was about 10 years from her death by guillotine. The painting featured in the V&A’s exhibition about the Queen of France which has just finished. It was not my favourite V&A block-buster exhibition. I think mainly because I came out not knowing very much more about Marie, than when I went it. But I had seen countless extravagant dresses. Yes, she commissioned a lot of dresses, and as patron and model influenced French fashion. And, yes, she wasn’t the air-head of the ‘let them eat cake’ version of history. But I’m not much the wiser.
I’m more interested in the painter, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. This is what Wikipedia says about her:
‘She enjoyed the patronage of European aristocrats, actors, and writers, and was elected to art academies in ten cities. Some famous contemporary artists, such as Joshua Reynolds, viewed her as one of the greatest portraitists of her time, comparing her with the old Dutch masters.’
And I have never heard of her, I’m fairly sure nor have you! You might like to see my post on 17th female painter Mary Beale. My original shortlist for Object of the Day were these two items from the Exhibition:
Guilotine blade from the French Revolution, purchased by the sons of Madame Tussaud as the blade that killed Marie Antoinette. Photo Kevin FludeSketch of the Triumph of Liberty Hairdress, associated with Marie Antoinette. It is her most famous headress. Created to celebrate the victory of the French over the British Navy in the American War of Independence.
Both these objects did no favours to the Queen’s neck! And lastly, those a few of those dresses:
Centre piece of the V&A exhibition on Marie Antoinette, photo K Flude.
The Stormy Borrowing Days of March
Sir Walter Scott recorded that ‘the last three days of March are called the borrowing days; for as they are remarked to be unusually stormy, it is feigned that March has borrowed them from April to extend his sphere of his rougher sway.’
There are various traditions and poems that record the borrowing days, and this is in the Scotch dialect:
March borrowed from April Three Days, and they were ill: The first was frost, the second was snaw, The third was cauld as ever’t could blaw.
The Borrowing Days in Spain
There is a Spanish story which explains this a little more. A shepherd asked March to calm the winds to suit his flock of sheep, in return for a lamb. March compiled but, then, the Shepherd refused to hand over the lamb. So, March borrowed three days from April and made them fierce and stormy. Versions of this tale are known from Staffordshire, North England and Scotland. (Source ‘Weather Law’ by Richard Inwards 1994 (first published 1893).
Warm days at the end of March or the beginning of April bring the Blackthorns into bloom. This can be followed by a cold snap which is known as a ‘Blackthorn Winter.’
February 2023 in Haggerston Park, London showing early blossom (Blackthorn?) Photo K Flude
For more on blossom and Haggerston Park follow my link to haggerston-park/
On This Day.
Photo of cover of Chambers Book of Days
2024– I purchased the Chamber’s Book of Days, updated from the original 1864 publication, and began adding occasional ‘On This Day’ epilogues to my posts.
1461– The Battle of Towton, England’s bloodiest battle, in which Edward IV defeated the Lancastrian forces of Queen Margaret, thus securing the throne for the Yorkists. Margaret, her husband, Henry VI, and son, fled to Scotland.
1871 – Official Opening of the Royal Albert Hall
1912 – Captain Scott’slast entry in his diary.
‘We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far, It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more.’
The expression ‘Mad as a March Hare’ comes from the displays of hare boxing that takes place as the Hare mating season begins. And no, it’s not the male March Hare fighting in the spirit of romantic rivalry. It is the female hares fighting off unwanted attention from the males. Hares are solitary creatures, and the mating season is, perhaps, particularly difficult for them. The Country File website has more on the subject. www.countryfile.com
Not only March Hares but March Kittens too
There are also March Kittens and March Chickens. Edward Topsell in his ‘History of Four-footed Beasts‘ 1607 says the best Kittens to keep are those born in March. ‘The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Opened‘ 1669 says:
‘Keep a black cock hatched in March as a protection against evil spirits: his crowing terrifies them.’
He also gives a recipe for Cock Ale:
Eight gallons of Ale, a boiled March Cock, four pounds of stoned Raisins, half a pound of dates, nutmegs, mace. Beat the ingredients in a mortar, add to two quarts of Sherry. Add to the ale. Stop it in a container for 6 or 7 days. Bottle it, drink after a month.
Very weird. I challenge my readers to try it and let me know how it goes?
Was the March Hare Sacred?
But it’s not only March Hares because the hare itself was a sacred animal. It was sacred to Aphrodite because of their prodigious ability to have offspring:
‘For you know, I imagine, what is said of the hare, that it possesses the gift of Aphrodite to an unusual degree. At any rate it is said of the female that while she suckles the young she has borne, she bears another litter to share the same milk; forthwith she conceives again, nor is there any time at all when she is not carrying young.’
Classical Texts Library. Philostratus the Elder, ‘Imagines’ Book 1.1-15 c 3rd Century AD. Translated by Arthur Fairbanks.
Divine Celtic & Neolithic Hares
Research reported by Exeter University suggests that hares were worshipped in pre-Roman Britain. Julius Caesar wrote:
“The Britons consider it contrary to divine law to eat the hare, the chicken, or the goose.”
‘The Battle for Gaul’ Translation by Wiseman, Anne, Wiseman, T. P. Published by Penguin Random House, 1980 ISBN 10: 0701125047 (TP Wiseman was my professor for Classical Studies at Leicester University).
Hares are thought to be the original Easter Bunny. But finding good evidence before Germany in the early modern period is difficult. There is a tradition that witches can be scared away at Easter. Exactly, how this works is not at all clear to me. But it has been said that witches could take on the form of a hare. So eating Hare Pie at Easter helps rid the land of the witches.
Jugged Hares
You could have a jugged hare. Jugging is cooking a whole animal in a container over water. Follow this link for a recipe for jugged wild hare. Remember, you are not allowed to shot or trap them on a Sunday or on Christmas Day! For a discussion of hares and folklore, click here:
Hare’s Feet Totems
A jointed hare’s foot was considered very lucky and a remedy against gout, stomach pains and insomnia. (The Perpetual Almanack of Folklore by Charles Kightly, which I have used several times in this piece.) You can buy one on eBay. (Don’t click the links, it’s not an advert but a picture of an advert). I remember friends having rabbit feet which they carried around with them for luck. The foot would often be on a key rings.
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (Johann Heinrich Hurter after Angelica Kaufman). Photo by K Flude of the miniature at the Victoria and Albert Museum
The Gilbert Collection has been re-displayed in the V&A in London. It has just opened, and is one of the most opulent displays you could hope to see! But, I loved this miniature of Georgiana. She was one of the richest women in Britain, a compulsive gambler, and a powerful political force for the Whig Party. And despite the Georgian Hairstyle the artist has contrived to make a very down to earth portrait. I can imagine bumping into her at the local Overground Station! She became better known after the bio graphy by Amanda Foreman, followed by the Film starring Keira Knightly. The Museum label says the portrait is ‘after Angelica Kaufman’. But I cannot find a Kaufman of Georgiana, that has this charming informality.
I have just heard news that the Arts Council wants to charge overseas visitors to visit our wonderful free national Museums, while allowing British Citizens free entry. Now, there are lots of arguments to be made about it, particularly in a time where money is in short supply. But, one result will be longer waits to get into Museums and Galleries. I am not sure how we Brits, are going to be asked to prove our nationality. If they have to inspect our Electricity Bills, Drivers Licenses, Passports, Library Cards, or Bank Statements, expect chaos.
One more object from the Collection is made of minature mosaics, and the V&A has several, But I have chosen this fabulous image of the Colosseum in Rome:
Colosseum by Domenico Moglia c1851
First published March 28th 2023, revised 2024, 2025. 2026 Object of the Day added and post revised 2026
Study for Lady Lilith, by Rossetti. 1866, in red chalk. Now in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (Wikipedia) Lilith born at The Beginning of the Universe
This is now my most popular post. March 25th is the Annunciation—the day that the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary she is pregnant. (to see some very fine paintings of this meeting, look at my other March 25th post march-25th-feast-of-the-annunciation/). When I first wrote this post I was discovering how it all fitted together as I wrote. So I’m leaving it the way it was, proof reading and clarifying if necessary, but keeping the thrill of the discovery of the the significance of March 25th as the day that saw the Beginning of the Universe.
March 25th is also the anniversary of the birth of Adam and Eve (and Lilith); the death of Jesus Christ; the anniversary of the Immolation of Isaac; the Parting of the Red Sea; the Fall of Lucifer; and, (until 1752 in the UK) the beginning of the Year.
Of course, it isn’t. Or to put it another way, no one can, or ever could, prove any of these dates except 1752. So what they speak to is the way the Church saw the world as logically structured by God. Christian thinking about the year, the world, the universe, creation, developed over many years and took influences from many cultures. It is also very complicated to work out the sequence, so I’m going to summarise what I know (or at least what I think I know).
Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus.
Christians chose Christmas Day as the Birthday of Jesus, probably partly because it was a prominent birthday already shared with several Gods. Particularly, Attis, Mithras, Saturn and the Unconquered Sun. It was approximately at Solstice, the beginning of the Solar Year, and close to one of the main festivals of the Roman World, the Saturnalia. So it made it easier for new converts who could retain elements of their festivals after conversion.
December 25th might have been selected by the pagan religions because it is the time when the Sun begins to rise further north each day. The days stop shortening and start lengthening, light increases with the promise of warmer weather and budding plants. It was considered a rebirth of the Sun.
Solstice Anniversaries
So, Jesus was born on/or around the Solstice, so he must have been conceived approx. 9 months earlier. This is approximately at the Spring Equinox.
Ah, you are thinking! But today isn’t the equinox. It’s a few days after the equinox. Surely, God doesn’t do approximately?
I have always thought that the 4 or 5 days difference between the Solstice, the Equinox and the Christian festivals was down to the fact that the Calendars were not well coordinated with the actual movements of the Sun (because the Sun does not circle the earth in 365 days, or in 365 and a quarter days, but 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes. Unless corrected for this means dates slip from their proper place in the Solar Year. It also makes lunar Calendars difficult to align with the Sun cycles, and vice versa.
But when I first wrote this a sudden revelation dawned upon me which will be revealed in the next few paragraphs.
So, God sends his Son to save the human race. God is a logical being, so she would send her Son at an appropriate time? If Jesus is born at or near the Solstice, which is an appropriate time for the Son of the Creator, then conception 9 months earlier, March 25th, is near the Equinox. This is the beginning of Spring. For many people, Spring is a new beginning, for example, the Anglo-Saxons saw Winter as the death of the year, and Spring as the young Year. It all makes sense.
The Creation
So to the Creation. God, having a free choice, would have created the world at the beginning of Spring. In fact, if you think about it, God creates everything necessary for life at the creation in 6 days. As soon as it has all been created and put together, it is bound to immediately spring into new life. The first season must, therefore, be Spring? Right? So March 25th?
This gives a nice symmetry with Jesus’s Life. Conceived on March 25th, born December 25th, and died 30–40 years later, according to the Church, at Easter, on March 25th. (the only other famous person I know, born and died on the same day is William Shakespeare).
Easter
Easter, when Jesus is martyred, isn’t March 25th I hear you saying. But remember, Easter is a lunar festival, so its date varies each year. In fact the next time is 2035. Births and deaths, on the other hand, are fixed to the Solar Calendar. Therefore, the Church chooses March 25th as the most appropriate day to pin the death of Jesus, on the anniversary of his conception and the anniversary of the creation of the Earth. I am guessing that this is also the preferred date for the Day of Judgement.
It is also the Birthday of Adam, and his first wife Lilith (or so some say), and Eve. More about Lilith below. I hope this is all making sense?
Why was Adam born on March 25th?
I had thought this date was just one of the parallels that the Church liked, Jesus and Adam born on the same day. But, I have just worked out why Adam is born on March 25th, and why these dates are not the Equinox, March 20th/21 but March 25th, which has been bugging me.
Let’s go back to the beginning of Creation as described in Genesis. It has the following sequence of Seven Days, beginning with the Equinox March 20th. I have added dates to the 6/7 day sequence of Creation:
Day 1: Light – March 20th
Day 2: Atmosphere / Firmament – March 21st
Day 3: Dry ground & plants – March 22nd
Day 4: Sun, moon & stars – March 23rd
Day 5: Birds & sea creatures – March 24th
Day 6: Land animals & Adam, Lilith and Eve – March 25th
So there you have it! Adam, Eve (and Lilith) were created on Day 6 with the Land Animals – March 25th. Jesus conceived, also on this date, and so 9 months later is born on December 25th. It all makes sense, and aligns the Jesus’s Life, the Christian year fully with the Solar Year and the Creation!
And that, dear Reader, is the very first time anyone has been able to explain to me why Christmas is not at the Solstice, and why the Annunciation was not at the Equinox. Maybe you all know this, but it is very exciting to work this out for myself. And believe me, I have done a lot of reading about calendars and not spotted an explanation.
When was the Creation?
The Anno Munda‘s is a Jewish Calendar which begins counting from a year before the Creation – the Year of Emptiness. This was 5500 years plus 2026 years ago so 7526 Before the Present. And it was supposed to have ended in 600AD, 6000 years after the Creation. So, they got that wrong.
Dionysius Exiguus replaced the Anno Mundo year with the AD/BC system in the 6th Century AD). This became popular when the Venerable Bede used it in his writings in the 8th Century.
Beginnings of the year
The Celts chose October 31st, Julius Caesar chose January 1st, other cultures have other dates, and the Spring Equinox is another choice sometimes made. The Church and Dionysius Exiguus choose March 25th, although secular society also recognised the claims of January 1st. Britain kept to March 25th until 1752 when we adopted the Gregorian Calendar. But people like Samuel Pepys celebrated New Year’s Eve on 31st December. So January 1st was the secular New Year, but the Christian year number did not change until March 25th. So King Charles I thought his head was being cut off on January 30th 1648; while history books will tell you it was cut off on January 30th 1649. Same day, same head, different reckonings.
January 1st, the New Moon and New Year
December 31st/January 1st is essentially a Solstice New Year Festival. And I have, previously, used the difficulty of keeping calendars as to why these days has slipped out of alignment with the Solstice. But, today I realised that it is as likely that the reason is the Solar/Lunar nature of our time keeping. The year, and its festivals, is largely arranged around the Solar Cycle. But our weekly and monthly cycles are orginally derived from the Moon.
The first of a month, was called the Kalends by the Romans, the Nones the half moon, and the Ides signified the New Moon. The kalends of January is then, originally, the First New Moon after the Winter Solstice. So, January 1st is not a slightly misdated Solstice Festival it is a Festival celebrating the first New Moon of the New Year! Sorry, to seem excited but this is the first time I have realised this.
Over time societies give up trying to sync the lunar and solar calendars. Roman and Christian cultures gave up and fixed the moon months, completely abandoning any attempt to keep the months to the actual lunar cycle. This is our current system, in which only Easter and festivals that depend on Easter remain true to the movements of the moon festival, much to our perennial confusion.
Maybe you all know this, but it’s put many things into perspective for me!
Lilith
The April 2023 Issue of ‘History Today’ had a short piece called ‘The Liberation of Lilith’ which suggests that the story of Lilith, a figure from Jewish Folklore, is first attested in a Medieval satirical text called ‘The Alphabet of Ben Sira’. The story goes that Lilith is created from the same clay as Adam. Adam then demands she lies below him during sex. She refuses, saying that they are both made from the same stuff and, therefore, equal. Adam refuses to accept this, and so Lilith leaves the Garden of Eden. So the story goes.
The story of Lilith, Sarah Clegg suggests, is one of a series of similar stories found around Europe and Asia. And Clegg assumes that it is gradually modified to make Lilith a demon who will kill babies unless the names of three angels are spoken out loud.
The story survived as a charm to keep babies safe, and perhaps to remind people of equality among the sexes. But this causes problems for, OK, let’s call them out, the Patriarchy. Lilith cannot be equal to Adam so she is made into a monster, not made from the same clay as Adam but from the scum and waste left over from Adam’s creation. I imagine the story then went on to propose that God creates Eve from Adam’s rib, and so she is created from Adam, and is, therefore, not equal, but subservient to him, although not as bad as Lilith. Lilith is now a significant figure in feminist folklore circles.
Attached to the watercolour of Lilith by Rossetti (at the top of the page), was a label with a verse from Goethe‘s Faust as translated by Shelley. (Wikipedia)
“Beware of her fair hair, for she excells All women in the magic of her locks, And when she twines them round a young man’s neck she will not ever set him free again.”
The model is Fanny Cornforth, Rossetti’s mistress. He painted another version a few years later, but the model in that is Alexa Wilding. His models are arguably more interesting than the man himself and include: Elizabeth Siddall, Jane Morris and Fanny Cornforth. Christina Rossetti, his poet sister, modelled for Rossetti’s painting, Ecce Ancilla Domini which you can see here.
For more on the Annunciation, look at my other March 25th post here.
I think I might have enough material to begin my own Cult.
The day after the Equinox we look at the cardinal points of the compass:
“chief, pivotal,” early 14c., from Latin cardinalis “principal, chief, essential,” (online etymological dictionary).
The Importance of South
On its annual cycle, the Sun is always on the move. At the Equinox the Sun now rises due East, and sets due West. It then rises every day further towards the north and sets further to the South until the Solstice. The Solstices mark the extreme Northerly and Southerly rising and settings. Dawn and Dusk vary accordingly.
So, the only real fixed point in the Sun’s entire journey (as seen from Earth) is Noon. Every day of the year, every day of our lives, the Sun is at the highest point at Noon. And this is the definition of South. But the Sun never strays into the North. So the North is the polar opposite of the South- cold, remote, more mysterious.
To my mind, it makes, of the Cardinal Points, the South very special. At Stonehenge, there are two exits. The biggest is aligned to the Midsummer Sunrise and Midwinter Sunset axis. But there is a smaller second entrance and this aligned due South. There is also a uniquely small standing stone in the main circle of Sarsens, which is aligned to the South. (Although we don’t know if this stone is original). However, there was some sort of corridor heading South through the mysterious wooden phase which precedent the stone Stonehenge. So, we can be sure South was important at Stonehenge.
Sketch of Stonehenge showing the smallest Sarsen stone near the Southern Entrance
Noon, derives from ‘nona hora’ in Latin and is ‘one of the seven fixed prayer times in traditional Christian denominations.’ (Wikipedia)
The Predominance of the North?
And yet, North, has come to be the principal of the cardinal points. It is shown on virtually all modern maps. It is the direction that people of my generation and hemisphere think of as being ‘up’.
The Google generation sees things differently. There are countless tourist maps on walls or plinths where North is no longer at the top. Up is shown as being the way you are facing. Users have to fight with Google Maps to put North at the top of the map. My children mock me when I say ‘Out of the Tube station, turn up the High street northwards.’ Their view of maps is completely contextual. They do not see any reason to know where the cardinal points are. I point out that the Tube probably has two exits on either side of the road. So, it doesn’t work to say ‘turn left out of the tube’.
There may also be an element of sexual difference, with men more likely to have a cardinal point view while women navigate more by landmarks. ‘Walk past the M&S, turn left to the Park and straight on’. One paper says: ‘during spatial navigation, women typically navigate an environment using a landmark strategy, whereas men typically use an orientation strategy.’
Although I see this decline of the north as being part of the Decline of the West. I also ‘things were better in my day’. But in fact it is simply returning to the way maps were produced in the past. Here is an example below, which has East at the top.
Representation of a Roman Map with the top being roughly East.
I have since looked further on this subject of North and Maps, particularly finding my answers on this web site: why-is-north-up-on-maps. It tells me that the earliest map the Turin Papyrus, has South at the top. This is probably because the Nile was the fount of all things in Egypt so it is in pride of place at the top of the Map. Other maps tend to have East at the top. The thinking is that the North was cold and who would want to go there?, The West was where the Sun went down, so the Sunrise direction should be at the Top. Often Jerusalem was in the middle with the East at the top. To this day, we talk about orienting ourselves, which means literally means finding your direction eastwards. But the 16th Century things flipped, and North became the top of the map. Was this because the Age of Exploration depended on the North Star? Maybe not because it was used for navigation for a long time before the 16th Century. Was it because of the use of the compass which pointed North? Perhaps not because the compass was first used in the 10th Century. The answer seems to be that Flemish geographer and mapmaker Gerardus Mercator in 1569 put North on top of the map. His projection became the most used map, and everyone started to follow suit.
Mercator projection of the world between 85°S and 85°N. Note the size comparison of Greenland and Africa, and the massive inflation of Antarctica’s landmass. CC BY-SA 3.0
The Magnetic Poles
Of course, there is another version of the cardinal points: the magnetic cardinal points. The magnetic North wanders over time. It does not necessarily coincide with geographic north. In recent times they are close enough. But in the past there have been huge variations. Occasionally, the earth has had geomagnetic reversals when the North Pole has pointed in different directions, including south. The last one was 780,000 years ago. On average, they take place very roughly every 500,000 years.
The magnetic pole is caused by the molten iron in the earth’s core and mantle, which creates a dipole. Fluctuations in the dynamo flow of the molten iron cause occasional reverses. The science is very complicated and, even now, not entirely understood. Is it a random consequence of flow dynamics? Or do external events, like sinking continents, or meteor strikes cause the reversal?
Since the first use of compasses for navigation in the 11th/12th Centuries, the magnetic pole hasn’t wandered enough to be of concern to navigation. It has wondered a few hundred miles over the last 500 years. Now, it is speeding up, from 9km a year to 52km (since 1970). This Wikipedia page is pretty good at an explanation.
My Job Tracking the Cardinal Points
My first proper job after university was as a technician then research assistant at Oxford University studying these phenomena. I say ‘proper’ because when I left University, I became an itinerant archaeologist. This led me to digs in Switzerland, Northampton, East Anglia and Nottingham. Then, I got the job at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, at Keble College, Oxford.
I worked for Dr. Mike Barbetti who was an expert on the wanderings of the Magnetic Pole. His interest was firstly in the pure science of the subject. But he was keen to explore the applied uses in Archaeology as well. So, after being appointed as a Research Fellow at Oxford, he set up an epic journey from his native Australia to Oxford. It went via some of the iconic sites of Palaeolithic Archaeology, including Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. The site of excavations by Mary and Louis Leakey.
To plot the movements of the magnetic north, scientists needed dated samples. Early human sites provided dated sites over a long time span. Also, archaeomagnetism, as the discipline became known, offered the possibility of dating sites. Another application was to determine whether deposits were fired or not. One of the sites Mike sampled was a candidate for the first evidence of fire in human existence.
Cutting up Samples
As I said, Mike’s interest was discovering how the magnetic field of the earth changed over time. And, more importantly, what was the mechanism. He shipped back to Oxford samples of soil cast in Plaster of Paris. My job was to cut the samples up. I cut them up with an electric saw in a shed in the backyard of the Laboratory. Then we measured the direction and intensity of the magnetic field in the samples.
Soil contains particles of iron, and they align randomly. So a sample of soil has a low magnetic intensity and a random direction of magnetic field. But once heated up, the iron particles align to the current direction of the magnetic pole. Its intensity is proportional to the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field. These measurements provide a method of plotting the changes of the magnetic field over time. And from these data, models can be constructed explaining how the iron in the earth’s core worked as a giant magnet.
Once we had built a reference curve for the movements and intensity of the magnetic pole over time, we hoped to develop another dating method. Other methods such as radio carbon, thermoluminescence, and tree ring dating, were being developed at the Research Laboratory in Oxford at the same time.
My part in Digital Heritage Part 1
Having got the results, I took them to the Oxford University Computer Centre. There, I typed them up onto machine-readable cards. Added a copy on cards of our computer programme written in Fortran, and gave them to the Computing Staff. The program and data were run through the Centre’s mainframe computer. (probably an IBM or ICL computer, the size of a house!) 24 hours later, I received a print-out to proofread.
I located mistakes, ran an editing run of punched cards, essentially instructing the computer: ‘on card two replace 2.5 with 2.6, and run the programme again’. I would pick up the results 24 hours later. It seems extraordinarily primitive now, but then it was an enormous saving of time.
And that, patient reader, was my early contribution to Digital Heritage and pure science. Mike published many articles of which I was joint author of three articles, two in the prestigious Science Journal Nature. And it is annoying that my citations in the groves of academia are still dominated by articles I co-wrote in the late 1970s/80s!
Mike’s work was important in the development of the study of the earth’s magnetic field. However, the use of archaeomagnetism has never risen above strictly limited. Occasionally, in specific circumstances, it can be useful. But those circumstances tend to be times when no other methods have worked. Most often, it is used in attempting to date kilns.
These are the papers:
Barbetti. M and K. Flude, ‘Palaeomagnetic Field Strengths from Sediments baked by Lava flows of the Chaine des Puys, France.’ Nature, Vol. 278 No 5700. 1979
Barbetti M., Y. Taborin, B. Schmider and K. Flude ‘Archaeomagnetic Results from Late Pleistocene Hearths at Etoilles and Marsangy, France’. Archaeometry 22. 1980
More on my contribution to Digital Heritage in posts to come.
OnThis Day
630 – Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem. (see my post on the True Cross and Roodmas)
1152 – Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. She went on to marry Henry II of England which makes this one of the most amazing events of the medieval period. The transfer of lands from French control to English control as a result was huge. She eventually was imprisoned by her new husband for supporting their children’s rebellion.
1556 – Former archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer executed for heresy in Oxford. He had recanted, but recanted his recantation when he discovered there were still going to burn him. By rights, he should have been reprieved, but Queen Mary was determined to make an example of the man who help Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell make England a Protestant state. The fire was on Broad Street, and he is said to have thrust his arm that signed the recantation into the fire, calling it ‘that unworthy hand.’
1829 – Duel Day is celebrated at Kings College when the Duke of Wellington fought a duel against George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, because of disagreement about Roman Catholic Emancipation. The duel took place in an asparagus fields which would later become Battersea Fields. Wellington shot first and either missed or deliberately shot wide, and Winchilsea aimed high. He then apologised to Wellington. For more details see www.kcl.ac.uk/duel-day.
First written March 2023, revised 21st March 2024, Revised and Mercator added 2026
Video by Heike Herbert of Druids at the Spring Equinox at Tower Hill, London
New content will be found at the bottom in the ‘On This Day section.’ So, Spring has sprung, not only meteorologically speaking but also astronomically. We are 20 days into the meteorological Spring which started on 1 March (see my post here.) Today, we are starting the astronomical or solar Spring.
The 20th of March is the Spring Equinox, or Vernal Equinox, midway between the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice. The sun has been rising further north each day since December 21st. Today it rises due East, and sets due West. The day and night are roughly equal in length (although by no means exactly). At 14:45 today, the Sun is directly overhead at the Equator.
The term vernal comes from the Latin for Spring, and today is the Primavera, the first day of Spring. The Anglo-Saxons originally used the word lencthen (Lent) for Spring. But later adopted the idea of the ‘springing’ of the year when the plants bud. In Middle English, the word Spring is also used for sunrise, the waxing of the moon and the rising tides. These are called spring tides. But also for the sprouting of the beard and the first appearance of pubic hair! Happy Spring Time!
Printemps
Up to the 15th Century, the English also used the French term ‘prime-temps’ in the sense of ‘first times’. This follows the idea that the year is young, while Winter represents old age. As we shall see, on March 25th, there was also a belief that the world was created in Spring at the Equinox. Jesus was also conceived at this point of the annual cycle. (see my post /march-25th-the-beginning-of-the-universe-as-we-know-it-birthday-of-adam-lilith-eve-conception-of-jesus-start-of-the-year)
Zodiacally, if that is a word, Spring is Aries (brave and impulsive); Taurus (sensual and stubborn), and Gemini (dynamic and talented).
Druids at Tower Hill
Druids at the Spring Equinox Tower Hill London, Photo by Heike Herbert
The Druids have a ceremony at Tower Hill every year on the Spring Equinox. When I last attended I remember the druid costumes were often made with nylon sheets, and their footware was mostly tennis shoes. I see from the photos the nylon has at least been replaced with cotton, and the plimsolls with trainers. Not quite sure what that pair of black trainers are doing in the picture!
As my photos are getting long in the teeth, I have used photos by Heike Herbert. She attends most years. The ones above from 3 years ago. In 2025, she reported that the atmosphere has been affected by a street food market,. This restricted the space for the Druid Circle. The food stalls are there every Thursday, so it only impacts the Druid assembly once every 7 years! In 2026 the Druids meet at Tower Hill at 12 noon.
Tower Hill, Spring Equinox, 2025 and street food, Photo by Heike Herbert
Modern Druids
I say modern druids because there is no convincing evidence that the modern fellowships of Druids can trace their origins back to prehistory. Druidry was reinvented in the 18th Century — for example, the Ancient Order of Druids was formed in 1781. They were set up as societies in the tradition of the Freemasons. They held to belief in the fundamental importance of nature. However, one group, the British Circle of the Universal Bond, claim descent from a group persecuted by the Bishop of Oxford in 1166. Look at their website for more details and for an idea of their beliefs.
Prehistoric Spring Equinox
When did the Equinox first had importance for human society? The answer is, probably, at least as long as we have been reasoning creatures. On January 14th, I draw attention to a recent discovery by an amateur ‘citizen scientist’. He suggested there was evidence in Cave Painting for the use of a Palaeolithic Calendar. Follow this link to see the post.
Stonehenge and the Sun
At Stonehenge, in the old Car Park, they found three huge Pine post-holes in a line. Dating evidence shows they were erected in the Mesolithic period, thousand of years before Stonehenge. They align to the direction of the Mid-Summer Sunrise and Mid-Winter Sunset (NNE/SSW). If, and it’s a big if, you were sighting from Stonehenge itself, which was built some 5000 years in the future.
Imaginary reconstruction of the Carpark Postholes
It is a bit of a stretch using two pieces of evidence so far apart in time. But recent excavations have revealed that there are natural periglacial striations in the soft chalk bedrock at Stonehenge. These lines point to the Solstices. They not only predate Stonehenge but also the three post holes. The striations may well have been visible from the time they were created when the glaciers melted.
Around 12,000 years ago (date from my memory so approximate), the climate changed and the glaciers melted. This left a lot of water rushing around the landscape. At Stonehenge, it gouged out striations in the chalk. By chance, or as ordered by the Gods/Goddesses/Divine Nature, the striations pointed to the Solstice Axis. Richard Jacques excavations in the Stonehenge area revealed that the aurochs came to the Stonehenge area for grazing and water. Aurochs are huge wild cows with enough meat on them to feed 200 people. So, the solar axis is near a place where the Gods/Goddesses/Divine Nature provided super-abundance in the guise of herds of Aurochs.
Foreground shows the periglacial striations aligned on the Solstice. Source Current Archaeology?
Burial Mounds aligned to the Equinox
That the major movements of the Sun were of interest to Neolithic and Bronze Age society is confirmed by the alignment of many megalithic monuments dating from 3,600 BC onwards, including, of course, Stonehenge. All around the UK are long barrows and other burial mounds, many of which are indeed sited/sited E-W to the Equinoxes. Many are fairly approximate. But at Loughcrew, County Meath in Ireland the Vernal Equinox shines right into the burial chamber. The sun’s light shines onto a stone marked by stone carvings. Similar alignments exist at Knowth and Dowth in the Boyne Valley. More about Loughcrew in my post here)
Harmony & the Spring Equinox.
The Equinox also has another role, which is to be the anchor of the cardinal points. The world is orientated to North, South, East, West. The Equinox is a time when there is a harmony, a balance in the universe. Therefore, it is a fortunate, a lucky time, a time to fall in love or undertake notable undertakings. But, in the Christian world marriage traditionally had to wait a little longer, until after the commemoration of the death of the Messiah,
On This Day
Today, is The International Day of Happiness. This was set up by the UN on 28 June 2012. This year’s theme:
‘explores the relationship between social media and happiness, highlighting thepotential challenges for our wellbeing as well as ways we can all use tech for good.‘
Go to the web site for more information. But these are the three steps they suggest: (I’ve cut and pasted them from the site)
Step 1: Choose
Be mindful of if, when and how much you are on social media.
Pause and ask yourself, “What do I really want to do right now?” Keep a list of analogue activities you can do instead, like playing music, drawing, gardening or going outside for a walk.
Set a timer so scrolling is a short snack rather than a wormhole.
Give your mind space to think, keep the bedroom phone free, try a ‘digital sabbath’.
Step 2: Connect
Don’t let scrolling be a substitute for real connection.
Phone a friend for a chat, or send some voice notes, instead of scrolling.
Make plans offline, get excited about your next adventure with loved ones.
Use social media to connect with supportive friends and communities that are meaningful to you.
Step 3: Curate
Personalise your experience to support your wellbeing.
Share and amplify uplifting stories, messages and ideas, be aware of misinformation.
Be kind in the comments, it matters more than you think.
If you have found this useful, spread the word and encourage others to do the same. Use the hashtag #InternationalDayOfHappiness.
The World Happiness Report
This is published annually by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. More details here. Finland is top for the 9th year in a row. US is 23rd, UK is 29th. These are the top 25 happy countries:
