Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle

There is a beautiful entry in the Irish Martyrology of Oengus on November 30 to mark the feast day of Saint Andrew the Apostle:

E. Pridie cal. Decembris.

30. Andrew who is boldest,
against a cross -step most perfect-,
puts a top, which I declare
on November's hosts.

The 12 Apostles feature in a number of the Irish sources, including a most interesting 12th-century poem in the Codex Maelbrighte, which describes the physical appearance of Christ and His Apostles. It describes Saint Andrew along with Saint James:

James (and) Andrew the comrades,

Fair their hairs, long their beard.

Dear, great deacons were the pair,

Both James and Andrew.

And thus, the Apostle Andrew, as Saint Oengus the Martyrologist says, 'puts a top on November's hosts'!

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