Aidan was an Irish monk from the monastery on the island of Iona in Scotland. Christianity had been introduced to Britain during the Roman Empire, but following the Anglo-Saxon invasion, paganism had once again become the dominant religion.

In 634, Oswald regained the kingship of Northumbria and was determined to restore Christianity among his largely pagan people. He asked the monastery at Iona to send missionaries. They first sent a bishop named Cormán, but his mission met with little success, and he soon returned to Iona, claiming that the Northumbrians were too stubborn to convert.

Aidan criticised Cormán’s approach, believing it to be too harsh. As a result, Aidan was sent in his place in 635.

Aidan chose Lindisfarne as the seat of his diocese. Like Iona, it was an island, and it lay close to the royal fortress of Bamburgh. An inspired and gentle missionary, Aidan travelled on foot from village to village, speaking politely with the people he met and gradually awakening their interest in Christianity.

According to legend, the king once gave Aidan a horse so that he would not have to walk, but Aidan gave the horse away to a beggar instead. By patiently engaging with people at their own level, Aidan and his monks slowly and faithfully brought Christianity to the communities of Northumbria.

In 651, a pagan army led by Penda attacked Bamburgh and attempted to set its walls on fire. According to legend, Aidan prayed for the city, and the wind changed direction, blowing the smoke and flames back toward the attackers and forcing them to retreat. Because of this story, Aidan later became a patron saint of firefighters.

Later that same year, Aidan fell ill while visiting Bamburgh Castle. He died on 31 August 651, leaning against the buttress of a church on a royal estate near Bamburgh.

The monastery Aidan founded continued to grow after his death, helping to establish churches and monasteries throughout the region. It became an important centre of learning and a storehouse of scholarly knowledge. The Venerable Bede later wrote Aidan’s biography, recording both his life and the miracles attributed to him.

Saint George is widely associated with England and with English ideals of honour, bravery, and gallantry, yet he was not English at all. In fact, very little is known for certain about the man who became known as Saint George. He is believed to have been born in Cappadocia, in what is now eastern Turkey, around the year 270.