0:00:02 > 0:00:07This is the story of the English and how God made them.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24The United Kingdom was originally made up of four separate nations,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
0:00:28 > 0:00:34The four only became united at different stages over the last 300 years.
0:00:34 > 0:00:40We live in a time when those ancient national identities are being reasserted,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42with a devolved Scottish parliament,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45the Welsh and Northern Ireland National Assemblies,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49and calls for greater independence.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51But what about English identity?
0:00:51 > 0:00:56Where does the idea of an English nation originally come from?
0:00:57 > 0:01:00To understand the roots of the English as a people
0:01:00 > 0:01:02we need to go back to the seventh century,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06to the time when there were no English as such,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09what is now England was then a land
0:01:09 > 0:01:14of separate tribes and kingdoms run by Anglo-Saxon chiefs and kings.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22It's here in what was the Anglo Saxon kingdom of Northumbria
0:01:22 > 0:01:26that the idea of England really began,
0:01:26 > 0:01:31with the work of a monk who was the greatest historian of his age in Europe.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35At the end of the 7th century,
0:01:35 > 0:01:37a seven-year-old boy was brought here by his parents.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39This was a monastery.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41And the boy they left here
0:01:41 > 0:01:44was devoted to a life of prayer and learning.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48His name was Bede and in the course of his life as a monk
0:01:48 > 0:01:50he wrote books that, more than anything else,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54shaped the soul of the English.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04The monastery's biggest treasure was its library.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Well, the library's long gone, but I'm standing where it once stood.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15And these paving stones mark out the lines of its walls.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Now, Bede hardly left the confines of this monastery for half a century
0:02:19 > 0:02:24but all the time he was making journeys of the mind, right across the known world,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27simply through the manuscripts in this room.
0:02:32 > 0:02:40Bede was inspired to write about the church, the bible and the history of his people.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50His masterpiece was a brilliant and engaging book called
0:02:50 > 0:02:54The Ecclesiastical History Of The Gens Anglorum.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57That's Latin for The English people.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01It tells the story of how Roman Christianity arrived on these shores
0:03:01 > 0:03:07and how the conversion of the people to Catholicism changed English society.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11One of the earliest copies of it dates back to the 9th century,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14and I'm excited about getting my hands on it.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Thank you.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Well, historians like me, even if we read Bede in Latin,
0:03:26 > 0:03:30generally do it from a modern text
0:03:30 > 0:03:34but this book is only 100 years younger than Bede himself.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Now Bede's story starts in Rome where Pope Gregory I,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42on his own initiative, decided to send a mission
0:03:42 > 0:03:44to this northern island.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47He sent out a party of monks led by a monk called Augustine.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50And in 597 they arrived in the kingdom of Kent.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55From there, Roman Christianity spread through the land.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02This was this was the very first time that a Pope had ever sent a mission anywhere.
0:04:02 > 0:04:11And for Bede this sense of being singled out for special treatment, chosen, was hugely significant.
0:04:11 > 0:04:17He paints a picture of the English as a people who adored the memory of Pope Gregory,
0:04:17 > 0:04:23who were absolutely committed to this Roman Christianity and united by it.
0:04:23 > 0:04:30For Bede, to be English is to be one people with one Christian God.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38But what's intriguing about this history,
0:04:38 > 0:04:44is that Bede was describing something which didn't actually exist.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48The Christian mission from Rome was true.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52But the people they came to convert were far from united.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56The Anglo-Saxon world wasn't a single nation - England -
0:04:56 > 0:04:58but a collection of Kingdoms,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Mercia, Wessex, Northumbria,
0:05:00 > 0:05:07ruled by individual leaders and often at war with each other.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12Until Bede wrote this history, there was no such thing as the English.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Even less, a people united by God.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21So why was this unity so important to Bede?
0:05:21 > 0:05:23A unity which didn't in fact exist.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Well, the answer lies in another of book of Bede's
0:05:27 > 0:05:29and we have a copy here.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34It's quite a surprising subject for a medieval best seller
0:05:34 > 0:05:37because what it is, is a Biblical commentary,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41a detailed description of only four chapters of the Bible.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44But the chapters describe something very particular.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49They describe a building, a temple, in fact,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53which once stood in the heart of the city of Jerusalem 3,000 years ago.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01"The house of the Lord which King Solomon built in Jerusalem."
0:06:03 > 0:06:09In other words, the temple in Jerusalem, the centre of the identity of Israel.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12For the Jews, the place where God lived.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16And the description in the Bible is elaborate enough,
0:06:16 > 0:06:21but Bede just dwells on it, he can't leave it alone.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27It seems strange that a monk from Sunderland should be so obsessed
0:06:27 > 0:06:30by a temple from a land thousands of miles away.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34But for Bede it was a potent symbol,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37and he saw in it meaning for his own land.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41The temple was built following the unification
0:06:41 > 0:06:45of once-warring tribes into one holy nation - ancient Israel.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50And from this unity followed wealth and God's protection.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Now all that resonated with Bede.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57And now he applied it to his own people, the Angli, the Gens Anglorum.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03The Pope had chosen them above all others.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06And if the warring tribes of the Angli could unite,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11under this Catholic Christianity, they could be a new chosen nation.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15That would make them a great people
0:07:15 > 0:07:20and they would be a beacon for all Europe in their Christianity.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24So Bede gave the Angli, the English,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28the idea that they would be a Chosen People.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34It was a vision full of promise.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37But, of course, a vision is all it was, a theory.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40It needed someone to take it out of the dusty library
0:07:40 > 0:07:43and make it real.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48And so it was, two centuries later, that a succession of Anglo-Saxon kings
0:07:48 > 0:07:50took this Christian monk's idea
0:07:50 > 0:07:55and used it to bring together one nation, the English.
0:07:56 > 0:08:02So it was an idea that created England, a biblical idea.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07But if the roots of English identity lie in a religious idea,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11can the idea of English identity have any future?
0:08:19 > 0:08:21All Jewish men have something in common.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24The mark of every Jewish boy or man
0:08:24 > 0:08:27is the fact that his foreskin has been removed at birth.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30But what is the meaning of this act?
0:08:30 > 0:08:32And how important is it
0:08:32 > 0:08:34in creating Jewish identity?
0:08:36 > 0:08:39I've been invited to attend a ceremony which is
0:08:39 > 0:08:42one of the most important moments in a Jewish boy's life -
0:08:42 > 0:08:46his initiation into the faith, his circumcision.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54To understand the significance of Jewish circumcision,
0:08:54 > 0:08:59we need to go back in time to the moment of the foundation of the Jews as a people.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04The Jews believe that their history goes back 4,000 years.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09The story of Jewish origins is contained in the Hebrew Bible,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11also known as the Tanakh.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13THEY SING
0:09:15 > 0:09:18It's set at a time when the ancestors of the Jews,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22the Israelites, were nomads, wandering in what is now the Middle East.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28The Scriptures say that a man by the name of Abraham
0:09:28 > 0:09:31was called by a voice in the wilderness.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37It was the voice of God, calling Abraham to be the father of a great nation,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40the founder of the Israelites.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44According to the story,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48God and Abraham entered into an agreement,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50what the Hebrew Bible calls a covenant.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54It's the foundation of the Jews as a people.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59They promise to be faithful, and worship no other gods.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03God would treat them favourable, as his chosen people
0:10:03 > 0:10:06and give them a land to settle and call their own.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13This historic agreement was marked with a very personal and solemn ritual.
0:10:13 > 0:10:19The removal of the foreskin of every Jewish boy - circumcision.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32The Jews believe that in this ceremony,
0:10:32 > 0:10:37their identity as God's Chosen People is literally carved into the flesh.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43The idea that the Jews are somehow specially favoured by God,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47a chosen people, could sound like a conceited claim.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50So, I quizzed the Rabbi about its meaning.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53One thing people might say about the idea of the Chosen People
0:10:53 > 0:10:57is that it's an arrogant idea. What's the comeback on that one?
0:10:57 > 0:11:01It wasn't so much that the Jewish people were chosen,
0:11:01 > 0:11:02to exclude anybody else.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05It's not based on race or genetics,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08because any person who would like to can join this mission.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13And the concept of being chosen is more one of a person's obligation, so to speak, for service.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18That seems to be the point, being a Chosen People involves duties, it involves service.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21It's not actually luxuriating in the idea of being a Chosen People.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Exactly, it's completely and wholly about duties.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27As an example, in Judaism, there's an obligation to give to charity,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31it's not a luxury, you have to give ten percent of your earnings.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34The object is to represent the concepts
0:11:34 > 0:11:37that God hands down to the world.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39THEY SING
0:11:39 > 0:11:434,000 years after Abraham, this famous agreement with God
0:11:43 > 0:11:47still affects the life of every Jewish baby boy.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53It's one of the oldest known rituals in the world still practised today.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58But does such a ritual affect a person's identity?
0:11:58 > 0:12:02What are the additional responsibilities and duties
0:12:02 > 0:12:05that Jewish people believe God has placed upon them?
0:12:05 > 0:12:10And what challenges to these are presented by contemporary British culture?
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Who is British?
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Can you tell from the faces you see in public?
0:12:24 > 0:12:26It's not as easy as it looks.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31It's often assumed that white people are British,
0:12:31 > 0:12:37but large numbers of Eastern Europeans, Canadians, Australians now also live in Britain.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44Black or Asian people, maybe first, second or third generation
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi, who came to Britain 60 years ago
0:12:49 > 0:12:51as citizens of the British Empire.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55And then there's foreign nationals who come to Britain to live.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58They're not British but they can become so.
0:12:59 > 0:13:05Every year people from across the globe flock here to start a new life.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10One of the things this country does really well
0:13:10 > 0:13:13is to invent brand new rituals.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15And one of the latest is a citizenship ceremony,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18which is for those who want to settle here.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22And I've come to Camden Town Hall just to see how it's done.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32In 2004, the government introduced a compulsory citizenship ceremony
0:13:32 > 0:13:36for anyone who'd been successful in applying for British nationality.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42So, we're now ready to start seeing people in.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Could those becoming citizens please get together their photo ID
0:13:46 > 0:13:48and their invitation letter.
0:13:50 > 0:13:56Every week, about 4,000 immigrants from all over the world take part in these ceremonies.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01That's just over 200,000 new citizens a year.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06The numbers of people who actually enter the UK as immigrants is, of course, much larger.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11But if their intentions are to stay and become British citizens,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14they have to chalk up five years residence,
0:14:14 > 0:14:15or three if they are married.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the entrance of the Mayor of Camden.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28The event is presided over by the Mayor.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32And at the heart of the ceremony is an oath
0:14:32 > 0:14:35or affirmation of allegiance to the Queen.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38If you could all, please, repeat these words after me.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45- I swear by Almighty God... - I swear by Almighty God...
0:14:45 > 0:14:49- ..that on becoming a British citizen...- ..that on becoming a British citizen...
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- ..I will be faithful... - ..I will be faithful...
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- ..and bear true allegiance... - ..and bear true allegiance...
0:14:56 > 0:14:59- ..to Her Majesty... - ..to Her Majesty...
0:14:59 > 0:15:00Queen Elizabeth II...
0:15:00 > 0:15:05If you have a religion, you swear the oath on a holy book of your choice.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08If you're not religious, you're given the option instead
0:15:08 > 0:15:12to swear your allegiance solemnly, sincerely and truly.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16If you could all, please, repeat these words after me.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20- I do solemnly... - I do solemnly...
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- ..sincerely and truly... - ..sincerely and truly...
0:15:23 > 0:15:27But what exactly does allegiance to the Queen mean?
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Well, there's a clue in the pledge given after the oath.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- ..I will give my loyalty... - ..I will give my loyalty...
0:15:34 > 0:15:38- ..to the United Kingdom... - ..to the United Kingdom...
0:15:38 > 0:15:40..and respect its rights and freedoms...
0:15:40 > 0:15:43..and respect its rights and freedoms...
0:15:43 > 0:15:47It's a commitment to uphold the United Kingdom's democratic values,
0:15:47 > 0:15:49observe its laws
0:15:49 > 0:15:53and fulfil one's duties and obligations as a British citizen.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56..as a British citizen.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Ladies and gentlemen we will now have the playing of the national anthem,
0:16:00 > 0:16:06so any gentlemen wearing hats, may I please ask you to remove them out of respect, thank you.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS
0:16:10 > 0:16:13The ceremony isn't a test, you can't fail it,
0:16:13 > 0:16:18but there's a great deal of debate as to whether it's a good idea.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS
0:16:24 > 0:16:30Some Scots and some Welsh have objected to having to sing the national anthem.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34Other critics say there shouldn't be a ceremony at all because it's just a gimmick.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39Others think it should be more demanding and include a language test.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46But supporters, like Prince Charles, think it's a good idea
0:16:46 > 0:16:49because it's a way of celebrating and welcoming new citizens.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Ladies and gentlemen, we have now come to the end of the ceremony.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Thank you all very much for attending.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04I would like to wish all every success for the future.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06APPLAUSE
0:17:09 > 0:17:14But what I find fascinating is why people decide to take British citizenship.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Tell me where you've come from.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18I came from Philippines.
0:17:18 > 0:17:25I came to work here in England as a staff nurse way back in 2004.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30Right, and why England in particular, was there any good reason for England?
0:17:30 > 0:17:33The freedom of speech in our country is a bit limited.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38Erm, unlike in England, you can voice out your own opinions freely.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44- I guess you might say you can be yourself here more than you might be in the Philippines?- Definitely.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49I belong to a minority Muslim community
0:17:49 > 0:17:53it's in minority in Pakistan, and there's a lot of persecution against the community as such.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58We're not considered Muslims, per se, by the state
0:17:58 > 0:18:01which puts us in a very sort of awkward situation.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05We're not very free to practice the religion.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09And I think one of the things that I absolutely love about this country
0:18:09 > 0:18:14is that I feel free to do whatever I want to do.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21Through such ceremonies, Britain will continue to welcome new citizens.
0:18:22 > 0:18:28But does going through a citizenship ceremony actually help people feel part of a culture?
0:18:31 > 0:18:35For example, does it make you tolerant?
0:18:35 > 0:18:39Does it make you British?
0:18:39 > 0:18:42But then again, what exactly is it to be British?
0:18:54 > 0:18:59England's reputation for tolerance is widely acknowledged.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02But before the English get too pleased with themselves,
0:19:02 > 0:19:06behind this modern day story of freedom and individual self expression,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10there is a rather more discreditable tale.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14The English once did persecution and intolerance
0:19:14 > 0:19:17in a way which would make any modern dictator proud.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24It's a shocking story of bloodshed and treachery.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29In fact, the evidence from historical research is that
0:19:29 > 0:19:33for most of the last 1,500 years, the English have been characterised
0:19:33 > 0:19:38not by their tolerance but by their intolerance of other peoples.
0:19:43 > 0:19:44It may be hard to believe,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48but it was a rumour that started in England in the 12th century
0:19:48 > 0:19:53that provided a precedent for Nazi Germany in its treatment of the Jews.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05The street names in the ancient heart of the City of London
0:20:05 > 0:20:10bear witness to a thriving Jewish population.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14They arrived here in 1070,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17when William the Conqueror brought them over from Normandy.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24William had a very particular purpose for the Jews.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29When they arrived, he gave them strict guidelines as to what they could or could not do.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32They couldn't own their own land because they were not Christians
0:20:32 > 0:20:35and the only trade they could practice was medicine.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39But what they could do was lend money.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42The reason for that is entirely religious.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Medieval England was a zealously Catholic nation,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52fervently religious and devoted to the Pope.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57But the Catholic church insisted that lending money at interest was a sin.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01And since everyone in England was Catholic, that was a problem.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05So it was a stroke of financial genius on the part of King William,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09to import a set of non-Christians to do the money lending.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13After all, what's it matter if Jews do the sinning.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20It seemed a perfect solution to a difficult economic problem.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25But just over 200 years later, all Jews were driven out of England
0:21:25 > 0:21:28after years of alienation and abuse.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36And their persecution was largely driven by religious differences.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56Anti-Jewish feeling in England can be traced back to the story of an horrific murder.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08On Easter Saturday 1144,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11the dead body of a 12-year-old boy was found here.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19He was gagged and half naked.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24His name was William
0:22:24 > 0:22:27and he'd been missing since the previous Tuesday.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Over the Easter weekend people came out here from the city
0:22:30 > 0:22:34to gawp at the site of the killing and the rumours started.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39Some members of the family said that he'd been murdered by Jews.
0:22:39 > 0:22:40Well, that was horrific enough,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43but then came the story came that he'd been crucified
0:22:43 > 0:22:46in mockery of the death of Christ.
0:22:51 > 0:22:57The boy's uncle, a priest, claimed that William's body was mutilated
0:22:57 > 0:22:59with the marks of crucifixion.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07The argument went that if the Jews could kill Jesus, as the Gospels claimed,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11then they could easily kill a child in the same way.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20It was the start of a potent Christian myth, known as The Blood Libel.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26A false accusation that the Jews murdered Christian children
0:23:26 > 0:23:29and used their blood in their own religious rituals.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39William was made a Saint
0:23:39 > 0:23:43and his body was brought here to Norwich Cathedral.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49His shrine no longer exists.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53But I've come here to meet the historian, Miri Rubin,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55to discuss why the Jews were blamed for his murder.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Did the Jews really kill little William of Norwich?
0:24:01 > 0:24:05No, and we have absolutely no evidence from the period
0:24:05 > 0:24:07that's at all reliable to suggest so.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10So why do the Jews get the blame for it?
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Well, just like we know from our own times,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16a child disappears, a child dies, it's absolutely appalling.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21You look to blame people. Who would want to do this? Who might do it?
0:24:21 > 0:24:26Families tend not to look at themselves or those closest to them
0:24:26 > 0:24:33but rather to seek someone already thought to be evil or different or other.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38And the Jews are the only religious minority in Norwich and, indeed, in England.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42So they're, you know, the typical sort of outsider group,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44a group of different people,
0:24:44 > 0:24:48in whose houses one can imagine appalling things happening.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51So what were the consequences for the Jews of England?
0:24:51 > 0:24:56Well, that is so interesting. Very soon, indeed the second half of the 12th century
0:24:56 > 0:25:01we have a number of what I would call copycat cases, really, where it was rumoured
0:25:01 > 0:25:09that Jews might have been involved in the killings of little children, usually boys.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12We know also that in 1255 in Lincoln
0:25:12 > 0:25:18such an accusation unfolds fully whereby Jews of the city are accused,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21they're arrested, they're interrogated, there's a trial,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24they're taken to London and ultimately executed.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27So over a century of the aftermath of Norwich, really,
0:25:27 > 0:25:32this becomes a very powerful, well known, resonant narrative
0:25:32 > 0:25:35about Jews and what they might do to Christians.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44So, first Norwich, then England, then the world.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49The English had set in motion a rumour which has had terrible echoes throughout human history.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54That rumour fostered an atmosphere of hatred
0:25:54 > 0:25:58that triggered pogroms and massacres of the Jews across Europe.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02And not just in the medieval period.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12In 21st century England, with its synagogues and flourishing Jewish communities,
0:26:12 > 0:26:18it's painful to acknowledge the English invention of this most poisonous of lies.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25The Jews were ruthlessly used and then abused by the English.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31And this story of child murder gives a depressing insight into the murky past
0:26:31 > 0:26:35of a country that now prides itself on its religious tolerance.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45Is St George a true symbol of English identity?
0:26:45 > 0:26:52Today more and more people are asking the question, who are the English?
0:26:52 > 0:26:57One way of looking for an answer is in the traditional images of the nation.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05But there's a problem with such images.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11They can easily become stereotypes.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21The trouble with stereotypes is that they blind you to reality.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26It's time to take off the blinkers and find the real core of Englishness.
0:27:26 > 0:27:32Take for example, England's patron saint, Saint George,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34bound to be English, isn't he?
0:27:34 > 0:27:36And a Christian to the core.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39From football fans to some political parties,
0:27:39 > 0:27:46St George and his flag have come to symbolise a particular sort of exclusive Englishness.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52But, in my opinion, he stands for the very opposite,
0:27:52 > 0:27:53inclusiveness!
0:27:53 > 0:27:59And to see why, we have to travel many thousands of miles from these shores.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16You might not expect me to go to Israel to start my search,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20but according to local tradition, this town of al-Ludd,
0:28:20 > 0:28:25which the Israelis now call Lod, was the home of the English saint.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38The story of George is that he was a soldier in the Roman army,
0:28:38 > 0:28:44but when the Emperor, Diocletian, began persecuting Christians, George objected.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50He was imprisoned for his defiance and eventually killed.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03This church is on the spot where he's said to be buried.
0:29:06 > 0:29:12So it's in a Middle-Eastern crypt that you'll find the English saint.
0:29:14 > 0:29:20And straightaway you see what we all remember about Saint George, the soldier-saint.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23And that's what appealed to Kings of England from the 13th century.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28Soon the royal spin doctors were making him the symbol of the nation.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36They gave George a make-over. Out went the Roman armour
0:29:36 > 0:29:41and instead he donned the chain-mail and tabard of an English crusader.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45But that's not how he's remembered here.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47He's very much a Middle-Eastern saint.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53Well, Father, tell me a little about the place of Saint George in Lod.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57Here, Saint George is widely venerated among the Christian community.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01The members of our congregation dedicate their children
0:30:01 > 0:30:05by dressing them up in costume
0:30:05 > 0:30:08which is similar to Saint George's clothes.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12They also name their children after Saint George
0:30:12 > 0:30:16and that's why we've got a lot of grown-ups and kids today
0:30:16 > 0:30:18that are called George or Julius.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20Julius is also the parallel to Saint George.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25What do you think about the idea that the English want Saint George to be English?
0:30:25 > 0:30:28He's considered to be a local saint in many, many communities.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31The same thing happens in Greece as well.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33The Greeks think he is a Greek saint
0:30:33 > 0:30:36or the Russians think that he's a Russian saint
0:30:36 > 0:30:39and also the Palestinians think that he's a Palestinian saint.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Uh, I know that in England,
0:30:41 > 0:30:46Saint George is considered to be from England, but, no, he isn't.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50I mean, he might be venerated in the Western church, but he's not from England.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58So, on any reckoning,
0:30:58 > 0:31:02Saint George is ethnically Mediterranean or Middle-Eastern.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06For the people in this town, he's an Arab.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09But perhaps the most surprising thing of all
0:31:09 > 0:31:12is that he's not just a hero for Christians here.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16He's also admired by Muslims.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22Maha is a Muslim.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Her family traditionally joined with their Christian neighbours
0:31:26 > 0:31:28to celebrate Saint George.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31They would light candles
0:31:31 > 0:31:33and even pray to the Christian saint for help.
0:31:35 > 0:31:41Christian and Muslim used to live in al-Ludd as one family.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44My mother and my grandmother
0:31:44 > 0:31:48took olive oil as a gift for church
0:31:48 > 0:31:53and Saint George and ask him to help them.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57So Saint George is a symbol of unity between different communities for you?
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Yes, yes he is.
0:31:59 > 0:32:04Now, this may surprise you, but some people, English people, think that Saint George is English.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07Mm-hmm. This is surprising me.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11Actually this is the first time that I heard that,
0:32:11 > 0:32:16but I think it's very natural behaviour
0:32:16 > 0:32:22because human beings, if they love a holy symbol,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25they want it to belong to them.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30But, unfortunately, I have to tell them that he's from al-Ludd.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32THEY LAUGH
0:32:41 > 0:32:45After hearing all the noisy argument about Saint George in England,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48I find it refreshing that here he can be seen
0:32:48 > 0:32:52as a symbol of friendship between Muslims and Christians.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57Saint George isn't the property of any one people.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00He's the patron saint of England, but he's the patron saint of Gozo in the Mediterranean,
0:33:00 > 0:33:03the Republic of Georgia up in the Caucasus.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08Saint George is a hero to all sorts of people.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14His legend neatly sums up the muddle that is English identity.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17Saint George is not who many people think he is.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20And neither are the English.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23So, what's the reality?
0:33:23 > 0:33:26Who does history tell us the English really are?
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd