Horrible Histories' Greg Jenner has recently put forward a very decent case against St George being the patron saint of England. As he says, ol' Georgie is "a long dead Roman soldier who never set foot in this nation" and "King Richard's adoption of the cult of St George went hand in hand with his zealous butchery of innocent civilians in the Holy Land." Oops.
So we're with Greg. Maybe it's time for a change, and we should adopt a new patron saint for England. But who should it be?
Well, the good news is that the person doesn't have to be dead. Indeed, as Mr Jenner tells us, "Saintliness in the Middle Ages was decided by public popularity. The church only canonised people with strong support - so many contenders were still alive when their cults began. In death they were canonised to make it official."
As Jenner explains, this canonisation process was very elaborate. "It required a legal trial to prove saintliness - and medieval legal proceedings could often take several years to approve a saint," he says. "Witnesses would be called, much like a murder case, and the local church would have to pay for the Pope's lawyers to come over from Italy."
Blimey. Well, fortunately here at Huffington Post UK Comedy, we've devised a new process that's a little easier, and lot less expensive: voting in our online poll below. Let us know who you think should oust St George - and if your favourite Englishman/woman isn't on our list, then tell us in the comments section.
Cry God for Harry, England and Saint... Who? Come back on Monday 23 April to find out who won the public vote!
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The Huffington Post UK | By Andrea Mann Posted: 19/04/2012 12:50 Updated: 19/04/2012 12:50