medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
John Dillon wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> Today (23. April) is the feast day of:
>
> 1) George of Lydda (?). We know nothing about the historical George.
> The church's dedication to G. begins in the eighth century, when pope St. Zachary brought to it from Cappadocia a relic believed be of G. Here's a view of the purported relic of G.'s cranium venerated there now:
> http://www.stgeorge.org.mt/images/july_2003/Picture1.jpg
>
Au contraire, the Venetians brought the head to Venice, from the island
of Aigina, in the 15thC, to S. Giorgio Maggiore where it can sometimes
be located in a cabinet. Kenneth Setton wrote a very funny article
about searching for the head at S. Giorgio, & the casualness of the
monks there. I'm sorry to say I have lost the reference. There are
dragon bones from Aigina in S. Donato on Murano, but no one claims they
came from THE dragon.
Churches to St. George appeared in Greece in the wake of the 4th
Crusade. There is one dedicated to St. George on the castle hill at
Argos. Much lower on the hillside is a placemat-size carving of the
Thracian Rider, a horseman often shown charging at a large serpent.
Presumably this was translated into a St. George. He has often appealed
to Turks, & there is a particular church in No. Greece, which we are
trying to keep unidentified, dedicated to St. George where the Orthodox
worship during their hours, & the local Moslems worship during theirs.
A wonderful 13th C Russian George from the British Museum
http://nauplion.net/George.html
DW
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