THE
P RTAL
April 2019
Joanna Bogle with a lovely account
T he Anglo-Saxon
exhibition at the British Library in
Jan/Feb was magnificent – fabulous manuscripts, beautifully
bound, gloriously decorated with enchanting detail. Psalters,
Gospel books, missals…
And much more – things that spoke of battles and
homesteads, legends and baffling stories, a culture
slowly evangelised with the Christian faith. Thousands
came to see it all, and discovered and pondered on
these years of our country’s history.
Following this up, LOGS held an Anglo-Saxon
evening, with Sara de Nordwall and Daniel Cote
Davies from The Bard School. Bards, Sarah explained,
are those who tell the history, nourish the culture,
and speak truth to power. An important task today.
We advertised the meeting through Catholic History
Walks (www.catholichistorywalks.com) and got a full
house.
The room was extremely crowded – party because the
church of the Most Precious Blood is being renovated
at present so the parish room we were using was simply
crammed with statues, candle-stands, missals, hymn
books, lectern, and much more. This gave it all a, well,
cosy sort of feeling. Snug.
LOGS and
Shrovetide
Page 4
na
wri tes
from Crediton
in Devon and
Alphage, the great Archbishop of Canterbury,
martyred by the pagan Vikings at Greenwich, just
along the river from where we were gathered at the
Church of the Most Precious Blood at London Bridge.
We learned about Vikings, and their conversion, and
St Olaf, still commemorated along the Thames with
two churches named after him in the City, and St Olaf
House, now part of London Bridge hospital.
We finished the evening by saying the Hail Mary
together in Anglo-Saxon, and here it is:
Nal Wes du, Maria, mid gyfe gefylled, Drihten midde
Du eart begletsod on wium and
Gebetsod dines innodes waestumm se Naeland.
Nalige Maria, Godes modor
Gebide for us synfullum
Nu and onpaere ures fordsides. Amen.
LOGS is seeking to continue the evangelistic work
The evening worked well for Shrovetide – we had
snacks and wine, and LOGS went into overdrive begun by the unknown first Christians who brought
with pancakes galore. Lemon and sugar. Syrup. It was the Faith to Britain in Roman times, and continued by
Augustine and his successors.
superb.
Our 2019 schools project is under way, with children
We learned the story of the Roman rule in Britain –
starting with Julius Caesar and Veni, vidi, vici and all learning the Lord’s Prayer – the first batch of entries
that – and of how Christianity came here as it spread arrived shortly before the Shrovetide evening and we
across the whole Roman Empire following Christ’s hope there will be lots more.
giving of the great commission to his disciples. And
You are invited to join the
then, with the slow collapse of Roman rule, the
invasion of the barbarians from beyond the Empire’s
Rosary Fellowship
frontiers…and thus, slowly, on to the conversion of
For full details and an application form
these barbarians and 597 and Augustine coming to
please contact Br Robert Augustine at:
Kent…
The Retreat of Our Lady and St Benedict,
63a Wells Road, Walsingham NR22 6DX
We had extracts from Beowulf, and from the Dream
[email protected]
01328 820130
of the Rood, and we heard St Luke’s Gospel account
of the Annunciation read in Anglo-Saxon…and we
Please could clergy bring this initiative to the attention of any of
learned about Saxon saints like Boniface (Wynfrith)
your people who do not have access to this publication