Who was Saint Andrew?

0:00 Welcome to History's Not Boring by Kudopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Before we start, a huge shout out to Leo, who is five and lives near Glasgow in Scotland. Leo listens every single day. And after he loved our St. Patrick episode, he asked us to cover another famous saint. St Andrew! Great pick, Leo!

0:22 And a big hello to Matty in Boston, Massachusetts, who always asks for the show in the car.

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0:33 So, Mira, what's so special about St. Andrew? Did he chase snakes out of a country like St. Patrick?

0:40 Not exactly. But how did a fisherman from the Middle East over 2,000 years ago end up becoming the patron saint of Scotland?

0:49 Wait, Scotland? That's thousands of miles away from the Middle East.

0:53 Exactly! It involves a furious ancient Roman governor, a legendary battle, and a mysterious giant X drawn in the clouds.

1:03 A giant X in the sky? Like a cosmic treasure map! Let's go!

1:08 Our story starts around the year 5 AD, which is about when Andrew was born, in a tiny fishing village called Beth Seda, near the Sea of Galilee. Where is that exactly? Like what country? It's in the Middle East, in the modern-day region between Israel and Syria. Back then, it was part of the massive Roman Empire, and life for a regular person was incredibly hard.

1:34 As they grew up, Andrew and his brother, Simon Peter, became professional fishermen. Oh, so they sailed big pirate ships and caught giant sharks. Not quite. They had small, heavy wooden fishing boats. There were no motors, just oars and sails. They worked day and night, hauling massive, soaking wet rope nets full of fish out of the water.

1:59 It was backbreaking, exhausting work.

2:02 Wow, hauling heavy wet nets all day? They must have been super strong.

2:08 They definitely were. But Andrew's life completely changed when he met someone famous. Before this, he followed a man named John the Baptist. But then he met Jesus. In fact, Andrew was the very first follower, or apostle, to join Jesus. The very first one? That's a huge deal. It was! He even ran to get his brother Simon Peter to join too.

2:35 And after Jesus was gone, Andrew didn't just go back to catching fish. He became a traveller, walking thousands of miles across the ancient world to tell people about his faith. How far did he walk? Did he go to Scotland? Not quite. He travelled north around the Black Sea. He visited places that are now Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia.

2:58 He walked through harsh deserts, freezing mountains, and crossed dangerous seas. But by the year 60 AD, he ended up in a bustling city called Patras in Greece.

3:12 I have a feeling something dramatic is about to happen in Greece.

3:15 You're right, Finn. In the year 60 AD, Patras was ruled by a Roman governor named Igiates. And Igiates was known for being strict and sometimes very cruel. What did the governor do? Was he mad at Andrew? Well, Andrew was in the city teaching people about Christianity, and he was a brilliant speaker. He was so convincing that hundreds of people started following him.

3:43 In fact, even the governor's own wife decided to become a Christian.

3:48 Oh no! I bet the angry Roman governor didn't like that one bit.

3:53 He was absolutely furious. Aegeates ordered his guards to arrest Andrew immediately. The governor sentenced him to the most severe punishment in the Roman Empire: crucifixion. Oh, that's terrible. And scary. It was a very dark and scary moment. But Andrew was incredibly humble and brave. He told the Roman guards that he simply wasn't worthy to die on the exact same shape of cross that Jesus did.

4:24 Wait, so he actually asked for a different shape? Yes, he did. He requested to be tied to a cross shaped like a giant diagonal letter X. In Latin, this shape is called a crux decusata. Today we call it a soltire.

4:41 A giant X! Like a mark on a treasure map. That is so unusual.

4:46 It is! And the Roman guards agreed. But here is the most amazing part. Andrew was so brave that even while he was tied to this giant X for two whole days, he didn't stop speaking. He was still talking? Yes. A massive crowd gathered around to watch, and he kept teaching and encouraging them right up until he passed away on November 30th.

5:12 Okay, so he was an incredibly brave fisherman from the Middle East, who died on an X-shaped cross in Greece. But Mira, I still don't understand how he became the hero of Scotland.

5:24 For that, we have to fast forward exactly 772 years to the year 832 AD.

5:32 Whoa, that is a massive time jump! Where are we now? Did someone build a time machine?

5:39 No time machine needed. We are now in a village called Athelsteinford, which is in East Lothian Scotland. And King Ungus II is in very big trouble. What kind of trouble? Like dragon trouble or army trouble? Definitely army trouble. King Ungus ruled the Picts and the Scots, two ancient groups in Scotland.

6:02 But his lands had been invaded by a massive army of Angles, led by a fearsome warrior named Athelstan. How many soldiers did the invaders have? We don't have the exact historical numbers, but the old stories tell us Ungus was terribly outnumbered. His men were exhausted, trapped, and facing a massive wall of enemy shields.

6:23 It was like a little league team trying to play against professional champions. They were absolutely sure they were going to lose. What did King Ungus do? Did they try to run away? They couldn't run. So the night before the battle, knowing his army might be totally destroyed, Ungus prayed for a miracle.

6:41 He knew the story of the brave fisherman, so he specifically prayed to St Andrew for help. And did Andrew answer him? Legend says that the very next morning, the Scottish soldiers woke up and looked into the bright blue sky. Suddenly, the strange white clouds started to shift and move. They formed a giant, perfect, bright white X across the blue heavens.

7:05 No way! The soul tyre, the exact same shape as St Andrew's cross. Exactly!

7:11 Seeing this giant cross hovering over the battlefield, King Ungus was filled with hope. He promised right then and there that if they won the battle, St Andrew would forever be the patron saint of Scotland. And they won, didn't they? Against all impossible odds, yes! The smaller Scottish army charged forward with newfound courage and completely defeated the invaders.

7:35 The miracle of the clouds had saved them.

7:37 So that giant white X in the sky is the reason why the Scottish flag is blue with a white X.

7:44 You got it! The Scottish flag is called the Soltire, and it's one of the oldest national flags in the whole world that is still used today. Scottish soldiers started wearing the white X on their uniforms back in the 1300s, so they could recognise each other in battle. That's super smart. But did St Andrew ever actually go to Scotland himself?

8:06 Well, his bones did. Hundreds of years after he died, a monk named Saint Rule is said to have been shipwrecked on the rocky coast of Scotland. He was carrying a few of Andrew's bones, which are called relics.

8:21 Let me guess, they built a town right there where he crashed.

8:24 Yes, the town is literally called Saint Andrew's. It became home to a massive, beautiful cathedral, and today it's actually world famous for being the place where the game of golf was invented.

8:38 So every time someone plays a game of golf, they are playing in a town named after a fisherman from the year 5 AD. Exactly.

8:46 And his legacy is still huge. Every single year on November 30th, the exact anniversary of his passing in Greece, Scotland throws a massive nationwide party for St Andrew's Day.

9:00 What kind of party? Are there snacks? I hope there are snacks.

9:04 So many snacks. People eat traditional Scottish foods like haggis, nieps, and tatties, which are mashed turnips and potatoes. There's also tons of dancing to loud bagpipe music at wild parties called Cayleys.

9:20 I want to go to a Cayley. Are there any other weird fact about him?

9:24 Oh, definitely. He isn't just the patron saint of Scotland. Because he travelled so far during his life, he's also the patron saint of Greece, Russia, and Ukraine. And he is the patron saint of the sunny island of Barbados, because British settlers named part of it after Scotland. Wow, he is everywhere!

9:45 He must be the busiest saint in history. And that's not all. He's the patron saint of fishermen, singers, miners, and strangely enough, people with sore throats.

9:59 Sore throats? So next time I have a bad cough, I should think of Saint Andrew.

10:03 You definitely should. He is a symbol of strength and speaking up, no matter what. Alright, Finn, it's time for the quiz. Are you ready?

10:12 Okay, I'm ready. I've been paying close attention.

10:16 First question. What job did Saint Andrew have before he became a follower of Jesus? Next one. What shape was the cross Saint Andrew asked to be tied to? Question 3. In what year did King Ungus fight the famous battle of Athol Staniford? Here's number four. What colours are on the Scottish flag to match the sky from the legend?

10:56 Last question. On what exact date is St Andrew's Day celebrated every year? Great job! Let's see how you did. The first answer is he was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. For question two, he asked for a diagonal X-shaped cross, also known as a saltyre. The answer to number three is the Battle of Athol Staniford happened in the year 832 AD.

11:28 For question four, the Scottish flag is a bright blue background with a white X. And the final answer is St Andrew's Day is celebrated on November 30th.

11:40 I still can't believe a fisherman from the Middle East ended up giving Scotland its flag thousands of miles away.

11:47 History is full of wild connections. It just goes to show how one person's brave story can travel across the whole world.

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