Cornwall in Focus News

Did the boy Jesus visit Cornwall?

Published 06 Dec 09 19:56

The film, 'And Did Those Feet', suggests that the boy Jesus came to the South West with his uncle Joseph of Arimathea.

Joseph, a well-to-do merchant specialising in trading tin, visited several mines. He is said to have taken his young relative to Penzance, St. Michael's Mount, Falmouth and St Just-in-Roseland, before heading east to Looe and ultimately to Glastonbury in Somerset.

The film continues, claiming that Jesus learned mathematics from the priests of the old religion - The Druids. It also states that Jesus set up a church in the Somerset town.

Can any of this be proved? Well, a good starting point would seem to be the early books of the New Testament. Unfortunately, what Jesus did between his birth and his rise to prominence aged about 30 remains a mystery. There is a dearth of information.

Until more definitive proof is discovered, it may be wise to take these latest claims with a healthy dose of scepticism.

Did the legend gain creedence from the ancient historians such as the Sixth Century Gildas? Did the monks of Glastonbury Abbey spread a rumour about Joseph and his 'relative' Jesus: The Scriptures never make a family connection between the tin trader and the Son of God, in order to promote the Abbey to pilgrims so that it could be rebuilt in the late 12th century? They also claimed to have unearthed the bodies of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in 1191, for good measure.

Is the timing of these latest claims purely a publicity stunt to promote the film?

You Decide.

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