Helith
A short legend about an idol or god/goddess called either Helith or Helia is found in several sources that concerns the conversion of Dorset and it's people by St Augustine. The first mention of it was by Gotselin, a Frenchman, who settled in Canterbury in the 1090's. His information concerning the story came from an earlier Saxon source that told how the worshippers of Helia taunted and drove away St Augustine and his fellow missionaries. It's said that after converting the people of Kent, St Augustine travelled over all the land under the control of king AEthelbert. He finally came to a place called Cernel where he was jeered and taunted by the Heathen community. Augustine and his companions are said to have been driven three miles out of the town, and as an insult the Heathens fastened fish tales to the clothes of the missionaries. But it's said that with the help of god St Augustine returned, and the locals finaly gave in to the gospel.
Another similar version tells how in 603 c.e, St Augustine arrived in the village of Cerne (Cernel), and destroyed the idol of Heil or Hegle that the locals venerated. This version also mentions the fastening of fish tales to the clothes of the missionaries as an insult by the Heathens. And yet later in another version in the thirteenth century, the area of Cernel is described as a place, 'in which the god Helith was worshipped.' We also read that Augustine 'chased away the fog of paganish superstition' when he founded Cerne Abbey, after he broke into pieces the idol which the Heathen English-Saxons called Heil. It's not known who Helith was, or even if s/he ever existed, but if s/he did, Helith could purely have been a local god or idol, which the people of Cerne in Dorset worshipped. But we can use a letter written by Saint Aldhelm who wrote about the worship of pillars and idols in the kingdom of Wessex, which is where Dorset is situated. He wrote the following:
'where once the crude pillars (ermula) of the same foul snake and the stag were worshipped with coarse stupidity in profane shrines'
So it could be that one of these crude pillars that Aldhelm made mention of may have been associated, in some way, with the worship of Helith.
For more information regarding the quote by
Saint Aldhelm please visit the page
About stag symbolism.
