of all the legends surrounding the "hidden years" of jesus, which according to luke's gospel weren't hidden at all but rather usual for a jewish boy growing up in first-century nazareth, my favourite is that he was taken by his foster-father joseph of arimathea on a trip to cornwall to trade for tin.
the legend continues that after the resurrection joseph returned to cornwall to become a missionary to the british. and although there's certainly a big of perhaps-unwanted gnosticism to william blake in general, and a certain chiliasim in the last verse, i of course still love the the great hymn, "jerusalem".
(of course, there's another and wonderfully ancient legend about the conversion of britain, too, connected to st. aristobulus of 16 march.
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