As always it is fantastic to share some of the best articles which appeared in ASH Magazine over the years. This offering is from well known midlands folklore author and publisher Bob Trubshaw, and is the second of the three articles he wrote for us to appear in the archive. So without further ado, we let Bob ask the question...Is George-Michael a God?
by Bob Trubshaw
Fear not, this is not hero-worship of the pop star kind. The heroes of this article are those strange saints, George and Michael. Their pervasive enigmatic appeal has been the subject of much previous debate and not a few books. Neither are very Christian by upbringing - Michael is mentioned but once in the Bible (Revelation 12:7-9) and, in the words of Pope Gelasius in 494 ce George was "one of those saints whose names are justly revered by men, but whose actions are known only to God." (Cited in [1]).
Michael came to popularity in a succession of spectacular visions from the 490s to the early 8th century. These were mostly experienced in elevated places and the eminent 18th century antiquarian, John Aubrey, remarked how frequently St Michael's churches stood on high ground, or had a lofty steeple. There are many associations between Michael and the Roman cult of Mercury: but it must also be recognised that Mercury shares the attributes of the Celtic god Lugh [2]. Many have speculated that the interest in St Michael is a thinly disguised continuation of the pagan worship of Lugh.
The development of St George as an eastern saint was pre-dated by the now lost cult of St Mena, who shared similar attributes - including the essential of dragon-slaying. Mena in turn, seems to have been the successor to an even more ancient demon-destroyer - near Alexandria a 4th century church to St Mena was discovered, and underneath was an Egyptian temple with figures of Horus triumphing over Set [3].George is a late intruder into Britain - not until 1222 did the National Synod of Oxford institute St Georges day as a national holiday. He may not have been recognised as the patron saint of England until 1395. Although in 1415 George's Day was recognised as one of the chief feasts, in 1969 the Vatican reduced his status to a local saint [4]. It is worth noting that the previous patron saint of England was King Edward the Confessor.
Alternatively, it is possible to trace George back to the Babylonian deity Bel, who slayed the sea- beast Tiamat. In the British traditions Belinus was, like George, usually depicted mounted on a horse. Beli slew his brother, Bran, just as George kills the Turkish Knight in innumerable mummer's plays. In folklore George is closely associated with Green George and other Green Men [5]. He appears to signify the return of like after winter, which fits in well with George's Day on April 23rd.
It seems certain therefore that George is not a late intruder into English folk customs, brought in as part of the cultural contacts of the Crusaders, but he is an authentic indigenous pagan god who was "conveniently" absorbed with the Christian career of his eastern namesake - just as , at the same time, the pagan goddess was re-introduced into the church by absorption with the
Mediterranean cult of the BVM.
Somewhat later Henry VIII seems to have deliberately replaced the "popish" St Michael with the "home grown" St George - both by altering the images on coins accordingly and within the Order of the Garter [6]. George's subsequent success is still clearly felt.
A network of inter-linked deities emerges: Horus - Mena - Bel - Belinus - Lugh - Mercury. The overlap between Lugh and Belinus is not, as many will already recognise, simply geographical. They are aspects of the same deity separated partly in time, and more especially, by the different roots of the people who migrated through Britain. It seems that paganism has not survived as a secret cult, but in full view of those who have maintained our traditional customs. And that should be no surprise to us - as Stewart states "There was no hard dividing line between orthodox and pagan worship in England at the time of George's rise to prominence. The bulk of the population was pagan
, as it had always been". [7]But what of the essential counterpart to these notorious serpent-slayers, the dragons? I have suggested previously that such dualism's should not be read, as naive Christian opinion would want us to, as a once and for all conquest of evil by good, but rather as a Tao-like dualism where the strength of the light can only be seen when surrounded by darkness [8]. Indeed many Christians appear to need reminding that the closer to the light the larger the shadow. Killing the dark aspects within oneself simply makes room for a different demon to dwell; the message of the macho monster-marauders in the masonry is that their conflict is permanent, an expression of the two inseparable aspects of the psyche.
At a much more practical level, as Eric Swift has observed, Green Dragon pubs refer to a very different animal to the Red Dragon. Earliest records suggest that the Green Dragon and George/Green Man were commonly linked together. After the Reformation, when all the saints were regarded as popish, many dragons survived their slayer. Similarly , at the accession of the Hanoverian Dynasty many a George and Dragon that had survived thus far tended to become the George and take the head of the reigning monarch as its sign [9]. It is not fortuitous that earth mysterians tend to take a special interest in pubs - there may be much to be gained apart from the essential sustenance they serve.
References.
[1] R. Stewart, Where is St George?, Blandford 1977; [2] R. Morris, Churches in the Landscape, Dent, 1989; [3] Stewart, op. cit.; [4] ibid.; [5] ibid.; [6] ibid.; [7] ibid.; [8] R. N. Trubshaw, Ancient amd Modern Myths of Dragon Slaying Saints in Hidden History, vol. 2, No. 3 & 4.; [9] E. Swift, Inns of Leicestershire, Chamberlain Music and Books, no date (c. 1975).
Illustrations.
The illustrations were not part of the original article, but have been added for visual enhancement of the articles content. Green Man drawing by Paul Atlas-Saunders. Statue of St Michael from St Michael's Mount. Photograph: Paul Atlas-Saunders.
