It is unusual to see a Devonian honoured on a German stamp. But that was the case in 1954, when Germany issued a stamp for St. Bonifatius. It is not only a memorial to a Benedictine monk, who was born in Crediton, it is also an attractive stamp, and has a “blind’ embossed centre and a good design.
For the record, and for “writing up” the stamp the following few details may be of interest. Winraith was born in or about A.D. 680 and became a Benedictine monk in Exeter, from where he was sent by Pope Gregory II to preach the Gospel to the heathen tribes of Germany.
He toured Bavaria, thuringia, Friesland and Hesse from A.D. 719 to 723 when he was consecrated as Bonifatius, Bishop. He became Archbishop and Primate of all Germany in A.D. 732, and Archbishop of mainz in 748, from which he later resigned to return to friesland.
He and fifty-three of his companions, were massacred in A.D. 754, and his remains were later interred at Fulda Abbey.
The image below (courtesy of Wikipedia) shows the abbey (Fulda Cathedral), as it is today:
The Netherlands also issued a stamp to his memory in the same year…
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