For as the Latin scholar uttered his invocation he felt something between a shudder and an electric shock pass through his body. The roar of the battle died down in his ears to a gentle murmur; instead of it, he says, he heard a great voice and a shout louder than a thunder-peal crying, “Array, array, array!”
His heart grew hot as a burning coal, it grew cold as ice within him, as it seemed to him that a tumult of voices answered to his summons. He heard, or seemed to hear, thousands shouting: “St. George! St. George!”
“Ha! Messire, ha! sweet Saint, grant us good deliverance!”
“St. George for merry England!”
“Harow! Harow! Monseigneur St. George, succor us!”
“Ha! St. George! Ha! St. George! a long bow and a strong bow.”
“Heaven’s Knight, aid us!”
And as the soldier heard these voices he saw before him, beyond the trench, a long line of shapes, with a shining about them. They were like men who drew the bow, and with another shout, their cloud of arrows flew singing and tingling through the air towards the German hosts.
The other men in the trench were firing all the while. They had no hope; but they aimed just as if they had been shooting at Bisley.
Suddenly one of them lifted up his voice in the plainest English.
“Gawd help us!” he bellowed to the man next to him, “but we’re blooming marvels! Look at those gray … gentlemen, look at them! D’ye see them? They’re not going down in dozens nor in ‘undreds; it’s thousands, it is. Look! look! there’s a regiment gone while I’m talking to ye.”
“Shut it!” the other soldier bellowed, taking aim, “what are ye gassing about?”
But he gulped with astonishment even as he spoke, for, indeed, the gray men were falling by the thousands. The English could hear the guttural scream of the German officers, the crackle of their revolvers as they shot the reluctant; and still line after line crashed to the earth.
All the while the Latin-bred soldier heard the cry:
“Harow! Harow! Monseigneur, dear Saint, quick to our aid! St. George help us!”
“High Chevalier, defend us!”
The singing arrows flew so swift and thick that they darkened the air, the heathen horde melted from before them.
“More machine guns!” Bill yelled to Tom.
“Don’t hear them,” Tom yelled back.
“But, thank God, anyway; they’ve got it in the neck.”
In fact, there were ten thousand dead German soldiers left before that salient of the English army, and consequently there was no Sedan. In Germany, a country ruled by scientific principles, the Great General Staff decided that the contemptible English must have employed shells containing an unknown gas of a poisonous nature, as no wounds were discernible on the bodies of the dead German soldiers. But the man who knew what nuts tasted like when they called themselves steak knew also that St. George had brought his Agincourt Bowmen to help the English.
Arthur Machen, The Bowmen, 1914
Faithful servant of God and invincible martyr, Saint George;
favored by God with the gift of faith, and inflamed with an ardent love of Christ, thou didst fight valiantly against the dragon of pride, falsehood, and deceit. Neither pain nor torture, sword nor death could part thee from the love of Christ. I fervently implore thee for the sake of this love to help me by thy intercession to overcome the temptations that surround me, and to bear bravely the trials that oppress me, so that I may patiently carry the cross which is placed upon me; and let neither distress nor difficulties separate me from the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Valiant champion of the Faith, assist me in the combat against evil, that I may win the crown promised to them that persevere unto the end.
tears up
And thus was the Legend of the Angel of Mons born.
Yep. Never underestimate the power of fiction in a time of crisis. Reports started coming in from British soldiers finding arrows on battlefields and seeing phantom warriors.
Any reports after the battle from the German side?
This was a piece of fiction that quickly became accepted as fact. Battle reports quickly began to come in of arrows being found on battlefields. Lots of bizarre unexplained things happened in World War I, but this was not one of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_of_Mons
Catholic Spain had St. James: San Diego or Santiago. Santiago y adelante! Santiago y cierra!
In August 1914, the contemptibly small BEF was composed of professional soldiers whose .303 Enfield rifles and rapid-fire marksmanship were superb. Surely the artillery was equally well disposed.
On the other side were hordes of highly trained serfs, along with many reservists and students, sent in in the thousands singing guttural martial songs. The Germans thought they were facing battalions of machine guns – the British rifle fire was that effective.
Apparently, the imperial general staff had learned a hard lesson in the second Boer war when battalions were torn up from 600 yards.
Happy St George Feast Day to all. And to all who carry the name George.
I took two of the kids to the Maronite Service at our local St George Parish. The Monsignor recounted some incredible anecdotes about the life of this martyred Saint. That he was an orphan, a brave man with a good character (undoubtedly) and that he began to know of Christianity through the Christian persecution around him in the Roman Empire, bit by bit.
The Monsignor ended his Homily with the words along the lines of encouraging the Faithful to hold fast and hard to the Faith, which was built and fought for on the blood of our Christian ancestors who were martyrs.
It’s good to be reminded that our Christian heritage came at the expense of many who were willing to fight and die for it. I pray we continue to do the same.
The Englishman
St George he was for England,
And before he killed the dragon
He drank a pint of English ale
Out of an English flagon.
For though he fast right readily
In hair-shirt or in mail,
It isn’t safe to give him cakes
Unless you give him ale.
St George he was for England,
And right gallantly set free
The lady left for dragon’s meat
And tied up to a tree;
But since he stood for England
And knew what England means,
Unless you give him bacon
You mustn’t give him beans.
St George he is for England,
And shall wear the shield he wore
When we go out in armour
With battle-cross before.
But though he is jolly company
And very pleased to dine,
It isn’t safe to give him nuts
Unless you give him wine.
~ G.K. Chesterton