Sovereign Mercia

Sovereign Mercia
Formation 18 March 1985 (1985-03-18)
Type Activism, Neopaganism
Region
 English Midlands
Slogan Campaigning for a Sovereign & Pagan Mercia in the Midlands
Website sovereignmercia.webs.com

Sovereign Mercia is an organisation that campaigns to establish a sovereign Mercian state in the English Midlands, and to generally promote the culture and identity of the region.[1] Sovereign Mercia recognises the traditional Saint Alban's Cross charged with the white, double-headed Eagle of Leofric as the Mercian national flag, and has proposed Life is a Beautiful Book (Stephanie de Sykes, 1974) as the Mercian national anthem, since it was used as the ATV Midlands start-up theme and therefore has a strong regional association.[2]

Overview

Sovereign Mercia was founded in Birmingham in 1985, as the Ordo Anno Mundi (current name adopted 2008), with the aim of promoting the pre-Christian Mercian religion, a branch of Anglo-Saxon paganism, taking as its inspiration texts such as the Prose Edda and Oera Linda Book.[3][4][5][6][7] It also became involved in the campaign for access to ancient sacred sites, such as stone circles.[8][9][10] From 1993 it has held its annual conference during the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance each September in Staffordshire, and from 2015 at the Middle Earth Festival, Sarehole Mill, Birmingham.[11] Its policies include the establishment of a legislature chosen by lot (sortition), an annually elected head of government, and a Pagan religious order of priestesses to serve as the judiciary and provide the head of state.[12] Birmingham, the largest city in the Midlands, and located at the centre of its transport network, is proposed as the Mercian capital, and is the venue for Pagan & Magickal Birmingham, Sovereign Mercia's weekly public meetings.[13]

The following 22 historic counties of England are recognised by Sovereign Mercia as constituting Mercia: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Holland, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Ely, Kesteven, Leicestershire, Lindsey, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

References

  1. ↑ Devolution and Localism in England, Prof. David M. Smith & Prof. Enid Wistrich, ISBN 978-1472430793, Ashgate Publishing, 2014
  2. ↑ Sovereign Mercia
  3. ↑ Central News, Central Independent Television, 25 April 1994
  4. ↑ Hex Files, Mike Mercer, ISBN 978-0879517830, Penguin Putnam Inc, 1997
  5. ↑ Water Witches, Tony Steele, ISBN 978-1861630490, Capall Bann Publishing, 1998
  6. ↑ Pagan Paths: A Guide to Wicca, Druidry, Asatru Shamanism and Other Pagan Practices, Peter Jennings, ISBN 978-0712611060, Rider Publishing, 2002
  7. ↑ Pagan Resurrection: A Force for Evil or the Future of Western Spirituality?, Richard Rudgley, ISBN 978-0712680967, Century Publishing, 2006
  8. ↑ Prediction Magazine, July 1985
  9. ↑ Birmingham Evening Mail, 3 November 1989
  10. ↑ Solihull Times, 30 August 1991
  11. ↑ Sovereign Mercia: Meetings
  12. ↑ Rites and Rituals of Traditional Witchcraft, Tony Steele, ISBN 978-1861631404, Capall Bann Publishing, 2001
  13. ↑ Pagan & Magickal B'ham

External links

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