Monday, January 5, 2009

Patron Saints

Whilst thinking random thought on the plane from Paris to Prague last night, it hit me that of the 6 nations in the British Isles (that the Scots, Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Manx and English for those who don't know what I am talking about), only one is actually from that nation. The saints are as follows:

Scotland - St Andrew, brother of Saint Peter therefore Jewish
Ireland - St Patrick, either from Scotland or Wales
Wales - St David, actually from Wales!
Isle of Man - St Maughold, an Irishman
Cornwall - St Piran, another Irishman
England - St George, a Roman born in Palestine

Perhaps it would be better to have patron saints who were actually from the nations they purport to represent? May I suggest the following:

Scotland - St Mungo, also known as Kentigern, founder of Glasgow
Ireland - St Aidan, the man that converted the Northumbrians
Isle of Man - erm, any suggestions
Cornwall - St Geraint, one time King of Dumnonia which included Cornwall
England - St Cuthbert, quite possibly the holiest Englishman in history

Just some thoughts/

2 comments:

Reuben Gray - TaleOfAle said...

Interesting, but then St Patrick did drive out the snakes in Ireland (as is claimed).
What did St Aidan ever do for us?

Alistair Reece said...

If you looking for someone who did something for you then how about St Columba? Ok he was exiled for a large chunk of his life, but he etablished the monastery at Derry and as a result of his followers you got the Book of Kells.