On June 5th the Church commemorates St. Boniface - Bishop, Missionary and Martyr - and of course Patron Saint of our Church at Bunbury.
Perhaps most folk, when thinking about Boniface, would be reminded first of his felling of the sacred oak at Geismar, whose pagan gods failed to protect their followers or to avenge this 'outrage'. However he was also responsible for a dietary 'taboo' that was once observed by Christians.
Many other faiths have strict rules as to what food can be eaten and what is prohibited. In the main, Christianity is not distinguished by such rules. But, back in the years of the 730's, such a food prohibition became a feature when Boniface found the people's devotion to feasting on sacrificed horses was seriously hindering his work and his mission.
As a result, Pope Gregory Ill supported a ban on this 'filthy and execrable' custom. His successor, Zacharias I confirmed the ban, and added 'beavers, hares, jays, crows and storks' to the list of prohibited foods!
And so, gradually these favourite and widely eaten dishes became considered 'inherently unwholesome'. Only far away Iceland and Russia were unaffected.
By the 1450's a wily Prior of Hatfield rid himself of a burdensome annual 'harvest' dinner for tenants by serving up horsemeat. A couple of centuries later, the general fate of dead horses was indicated by a rather sad reference of a preacher in 1669 to worn out beasts 'cast into a ditch for dog's meat!'
The recent BSE disaster along with hygiene problems and a concern for animal welfare has brought the eating of beef into the spotlight - but horsemeat, as being eaten by humans, is still generally 'taboo' in this country.
Can it be that the patron saint of our parish Church at Bunbury, continues to have a shadowy influence on our national diet?
W.W.W