We pray today, O God, for King Harold Godwinson, his thanes and housecarls and all the men who died with him fighting for this land on this day, 1066. Welcome them, O Lord, into the light of your face. May they find in your presence the light, happiness, refreshment and peace they deserve.
Harold lost at Hastings, as it were, out of the goodness of his heart. Had he been sensible, had he been prudent, he would have rested his troops after his triumph at Stamford Bridge and gathered as many extra forces to his standard as he could. But he knew that William was ravaging his own Earldom, Wessex, and he could not sit and wait and let his people suffer.
Even against a tired, denuded army the Normans could find no way through. Harold's tactics were spot on and he should have won the day. But as with Hector in his duel with Achilles, the gods had turned against him, and his supporters (myself, for instance) have to accept that at some level the Conquest must have been your will.
So when our time comes to take a stand, may we enjoy the luck that deserted Harold that day on Senlac Hill. He fought fand died for Old England, a Christian Kingdom that once formed part of the wider, united body of European Christendom, Catholic and Orthodox at the same time. This was a country that remembered the old gods too, and it is these religious impulses - at once universal and deeply-rooted - that we must seek and find anew at this hour. Because as Martin Heidegger put it so well, 'Only a god can save us now.'
The Normans were brutal and cold-heated but they at least believed in God and left us some wonderful cathedrals. Their descendants, however, who sit now in Westminster, have ceased believing in God. They have turned instead - subconsciously at first, maybe, but more and more openly now - to the Father of Lies who squats in the depths of Hell below.
As for ourselves though - sons and daughters of Albion - we turn to you, the Father of Lights, Blake's 'Countenance Divine', shining down upon us from above. Send Michael the Archangel to our aid, O God, and with him Athelstan, Alfred and Arthur. And at the heart of this sacred English host let us see once more the standard of King Harold - the 'Fighting Man' - rallying the men and women of this isle to the True King's side. Together again with our Sovereign - once fallen, now risen - we will cut to shreds the clouds of evil and illusion which assail our realm and build that New Jerusalem on England's green and pleasant land.
King Harold of England, pray for us. Pray for our country. Pray for Europe and for Christendom.
Christus Regnat! Christus Vincit! Christus Imperat!
Beautiful prayer John!
ReplyDeleteThis is what's needed now - far more than all the 'finger pointing' (stone throwing) blog posts I see lately...
Carol
...sorry - I meant what "I see" on other blogs, not yours..
ReplyDeleteOf course building 'New Jerusalem on England's green and pleasant land's a reference to William Blake's hymn/poem Jerusalem. In it Blake asks the question 'And did those feet in ancient time walk upon England's mountain green?' Those feet being a reference to Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware that there's a great deal of literature that suggests this actually happened. That during his 'lost' years from the age of 12 to 30 he came here with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea a tin merchant.
This in turn links into another intriguing possibility. One that I investigated with a view to debunking but which, several years on, I haven't yet been able to do. That is that the Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Scandinavian and Celtic peoples are the 'lost' tribes of Israel. It's a fascinating subject. Current events when viewed through that particular prism make far more sense.
Is this anything you're aware of and have investigated for yourself? I'd be interested in your take on it. If it is new to you let me know and I'll send you some links to some material on the subject.
@Carol - Thanks! Even if I wanted to I couldn't be a 'finger-pointing' type of writer. Arguments, even debates, aren't my strong suit. I get too worked up. And anyway, they generate more heat than light. Certainly seems that way at the moment. I'll stick to what I know and what I'm good at and leave the stone-throwing to those more fitted to the task.
ReplyDelete@Harry - The story of Joseph of Arimathea bringing the boy Jesus to Cornwall with him can never be proved or disproved. It's a long-standing tradition, as you say, however, and given what we know of the trading links between Cornwall and the Middle-Eastern seaboard at that time, there's no reason at all why it couldn't have happened.
As for the Anglo-Saxon/Celtic races forming part of a lost tribe of Israel, well to be honest, I've got to say that's something that's neither really here nor there for me. We owe so much to the Jews, of course, but the Anglo-Saxons, Celts and Norse peoples don't need any kind of Biblical link or validation from Israel to make us holy and chosen, in our own way, by God. We're already holy! We're already chosen! That's my take.