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martyrdom and burial of Simon Zelotes in Britain. The Norman Royal Line was
of Israel
Of Simon Zelotes, Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constan-
tinople and Byzantine historian (A.D. 258 to A.D.
329), writes "Simon born in Cana of Galilee who for In his book A Monograph of Benjamin, Mr. Landseer
his fervent affection for his Master and great zeal that Mackenzie mentions indications and probabilities that
he showed by all means to the Gospel, was surnamed are worthy of consideration. The late arrival of the
Zelotes, having received the Holy Ghost from above, Normans (or Northmen) in the West suggests a late
travelled through Egypt and Africa, then through migration from their original habitat. It is accepted that
Mauretania and all Lybia, preaching the Gospel. And they had first settled in Scandinavia, before moving
the same doctrine he taught to the Occidental Sea, and into France, where they adopted the language of that
the isles called Britanniae." country, though Norman French differed from the met-
ropolitan. The Normans have always been acknowl-
edged as racially different from the French people in
In A.D. 300 Dorotheus Bishop of Tyre, wrote in his general.
work Synopsis de Apostle: "Simon Zelotes traversed
all Mauretania, and the region of the Africans, preach-
ing Christ. He was at last crucified, slain and buried in He emphasizes the escape of Christians from Palestine
Britain." during the siege of Titus (A.D. 69-70). He makes the
plausible suggestion that many Benjamites must have
been among them and that these may well have formed
There are some who think that because Simon perished a late, final westward migration of Israelites. We know
in Britain that he must have been slain by the British. that the wolf was the emblem of the tribe of Benjamin,
However, only the Romans practised crucifixion and but its general use by the Normans is not capable of
this form of death was reserved as a gesture of con- positive proof. Mr. Mackenzie gives as an authority the
tempt in executing those whom they regarded as their Bayeux Tapestry. There are pictures of birds and ani-
meanest criminals. During the Christian era it was mals along its border and these were doubtless in-
more viciously employed on Christians in defiant tended as symbols of significance. Among them is one
mockery of all that the cross stood for.
known as "the fox" which could easily be interpreted as
a wolf. Though it appears frequently on the tapestry de-
Some also entertain the belief that Simon was the first sign, it is never in direct relation to William [the Con-
British Christian martyr. However, of the elect, it queror]. It is noteworthy to observe that it is
would appear that he was the second and that Aristobu- confronting, as though to attack, a bird described as
lus, brother of Barnabas and father-in-law of Peter, was "the crow," in another place a lion and in a third place
the first. four lions of the European leopard type. It is a matter
of the greatest interest that Hugh Lupus, nephew of
Aristobulus would have preceded Simon, at what is William the Conqueror, used the wolf as his personal
now St. Albans, by a couple of years, in what the re- device at the time that heraldry was introduced.
cords state to be "the second year of Nero" -- A.D. 59.
His even more famous ancestor was, of course, Rollo
So, unknown to most, the remains of Simon Zelotes the Wolf. Though established as a practice from the
would appear to be buried right here in Lincolnshire, at days of pre-history, authorities affirm that heraldry
Caistor and one can only wonder if any artifact remains was not codified until after the Norman Conquest and
to be a potential archaeological find of the future to cite the Bayeux Tapestry as proof that no devices of an
confirm the wealth of documentary evidence. heraldic nature were used on the armour during the
Battle of Hastings. They state that the ladies who em-
(We appreciate the enterprise of a Lincolnshire reader broidered the tapestry did so soon after 1066 and that
in drawing the attention of the Grimsby Evening Tele- they gave all the correct details, and would have incor-
graph to this fascinating item of the history of the Ap- porated armorial bearings if such had been used.
ostolic Church.)
So we must look elsewhere for evidence. Heraldry is a
precise art and its exponents are obviously here think-
ing in terms of formal coats of arms. What we are con-
cerned to discover is whether a person or family had a

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