PORTMEIRION POTTERY

Botanic Garden

Introduced in 1972, you could be forgiven for thinking that Botanic Garden was the only design Portmeirion produced such was it's popularity for at least two decades. It was charming. Delicate illustrations of garden delights in feminine hues with Moths and Butterflies recalled the then highly sought after Victorian and Edwardian botanic drawings. The shape of the china was beautiful too.

But this well known design is only one of the many wonderful collections produced by Portmeirion.

My favourite era for the pottery is the 1960s when founder Susan William-Ellis had just begun to design shapes.  Everything about her early designs scream 60s from the astonishing shapes, colours and magical glazes.  I love the raised patterns she borrowed from native American Indians on Totem, hence the name she gave it.



Totem coffee set

Totem was produced in amber, olive green, dark blue and white. The white items are hard to find today and considered rather rare. They produced coffee and tea sets, dishes, bowls and cheese and serving dishes.

The coffee set was iconic but proved not all that practical with it's tall pot and thin handle and spout. Many were broken, but the glaze held up and although examples may now be crazed it is usually superficial. They are such beautiful designs that even to have them to look at is a joy.



Coffee cup in the dark blue glaze

Totem tea pot and cup
From here:

Totem plate, canister and tureen.

They say copying is the greatest form of flattery and copied it was. This is my own teapot, a Scandia design. I love it, it's short strong silhouette, glaze and raised decoration recall Totem, but I do long for the real thing which is so much more refined. 

My teapot

Another look-alike, this one is by Lord Nelson Pottery.
It is nice .... but still not quite Totem.

Portmeirion Village, where it all began.

For those who do not know, Portmeirion Pottery was founded in 1960 when pottery designer Susan Williams-Ellis (daughter of Clough Williams-Ellis the creator of Portmeirion the fantastic fantasy holiday village where The Prisoner was filmed) and her husband, Euan Cooper-Willis took over A.E. Gray Ltd,  a small pottery decorating company in Stoke on Trent.

Susan had been commissioning her designs with A.E. Gray in order to produce items to sell in the gift shop at Portmeirion Village.  In 1961 Susan and Euan expanded when they bought Kirkhams Ltd, another small pottery. This which allowed them to manufacture pottery, and not just decorate it. Having previously only designed surface pattern she now began to design her iconic shapes as well.

These two businesses were combined and Portmeirion Potteries was born.

Susan Williams-Ellis' early Portmeirion designs include Malachite (1960) and Moss Agate (1961). In 1963 Susan launched Totem. Totem's bold, tactile and abstract pattern coupled with its striking cylindrical shape propelled Portmeirion to the forefront of fashionable design. they stayed there for many years to follow.

In the latter half of the 60s she remained right on target with her visions. In the era of hippies, pschedelia pattern and colours fuelled by the trippy drug culture her designs had a fairytale air about them.

Magic City

The original design was sketched while at the 'Monte Sol' hotel in Ibiza,
the 'Marrakesh' colourway with its striking lime green colourway appeared a few years later, 1960's.
From Flicker Here:

Susan died in 2007 but her great talent lives on in much coveted pieces she designed which are still being copied even today. 

Further reading:

Portmeirion Own site

Retro Wow site

OBJECTS OF DESIRE - DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols

Dior 1950s. Sparkly, yes. Gorgeous, yes.
And yet I would not buy this.  

I like to share the work of artists I admire. Like most ladies my eye is attracted by a bit of sparkle but I've never been a great beauty and do no justice to ostentatious adornment - and real jewels just do not fit into my lifestyle.  These days to hold my attention and make me part with hard earned monies items need todo more than sparkle. Much more.

What I really love are things which sparkle AND tell a story. This skill is known to a few wordsmiths, painters, and the magic hands that can bring life to a lump of clay. What these artists create are my Objects Of Desire.

I have always been interested in folklore, the telling of it and how it came to be. My dream home would be in a wood. We live close but not quite in among the trees. I need a pale hound to walk beside me while I ramble. I have caught sight of many beasts therein, some real, some imagined. Some timid as this Roe Deer, some clever like a Fox, some fierce like the Wolf.

A Roe Deer in the woods by our cottage

I think that wild things beckon to us because we see something in them which we have lost or hidden deep inside ourselves. I have Native American ancestors whose beliefs enthralled me while growing up. I was alternatively fascinated and frightened by Totem Poles and the ancient carvings of beasts you see all over Europe remind me of them. I like the stories that lie within the images of Totems and Idols.

So it is no surprise that I am attracted to the work of certain fairy tale artists of old, my favourite being Arthur Rackham. Today there are also very gifted artists and illustrators who can spin anew characters of old, or give life to untold tales and characters we may have only dreamed. I admire the work of many,  Ruthie Redden, Jackie Morris, Jessie Lilac, Rima Staines, Joanne May, and Karen Davies, to name just a few.

There is something very romantic and magical about working with your hands whether it be with wood, paints, jewels or clay. Today I am featuring a sculptor,  Midori Takaki of DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols. She creates items which tell a story and has the discipline required to produce a perfectly shaped traditional bowl or jug and yet she can also give her imagination free flight to create items of fairy tale and mythic origin. On her blog Midori shares wonderful photographs of all the animals who inhabit her life including the dogs Pearl and Topaz and the Hen named Pumpkin.

I especially love this most perfect little milk jug adorned by the rabbit on the handle and a paw mark at the lower end of the handle.



I am enchanted by her interpretation of the story of Red Riding Hood and The Wolf which she has shared with us on her blog. I hope that she will not mind me posting this here.

Red Riding Hood plaque by DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols
http://dogoo-midori.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/test-pieces-before-firing-and-pearls-joy.html

I think what she has written on the profile of her Etsy shop perfectly captures the spirit of her work and explains her strong tie to nature and the world around her which she has great love and respect for.

"I make ceramic figures inspired by nature, fairy tales and myth. I was fascinated by metamorphoses in Greek myth, and love the world of Narnia.

My figures usually have stories behind them. When I make faces, they often start talking to me and they build their own characters from there. Although I make shapes for them, I don't feel I create them. I just help them appear. The deep almost unconscious dialogue that I have with the subjects is the source of my joy of making them.

My work will bring smile to those who see them. That makes me happy.

I also make tableware too. They are inspired by plants, especially flower buds and leaf buds.

I am taking an MA course in Applied and Fine Arts in Canterbury Christ Church University as a part-time student. I used to work as interior designer in Tokyo. I had my first exhibition at Artists' Open Houses in October 2011.

I have studied sociology and anthropology for BA and MA, and interior design at a professional level. My most favourite place to visit is V&A, and the place I have liked to visit most is Hermitage at St. Petersburg.

I live with the husband, three parrots, two dogs, one finch and one chicken in a beautiful old city in Kent.

I love life, feel optimistic and lucky. I am sometimes too imaginative for my social reputation!"

DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols blog

Midori's Etsy Shop



Red Riding Hood meets a wolf, by Arthur Rackham
My favourite Red illustration which graces a wall in our cottage.

I keep meaning to write a post about Little Red Riding Hood but my love of this tale is so great that I am frightened of not doing it justice. Where to begin? Where to end? While I continue to collect, dissect and mull it over in my mind and eye, Kristin over at Tales Of Faerie has posted this recently about Red Riding Hood and werewolves in Europe, and it offers another bit of information in the unraveling of the story.

http://talesoffaerie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/werewolves-and-little-red-riding-hood.html

ENCHANTED - Edinburgh

 

The dark and gothic Edinburgh skyline

It is impossible to be in Edinburgh and not think of gothic horror stories. The skyline is hopelessly romantic, all dark tracery cut into stone towers jutting out over the city. Just being there sets the imagination off.

The Scott Monument, a Victorian Gothic monument
to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott

The Frankenstein Pub pays homage to Mary Shelley's classic gothic horror story

 

You can see that Harry Potter might have been very different had JK Rowling written it in a cafe in London or Dublin instead of here.

The Elephant House cafe, beloved of authors, where Harry Potter was born.



 

Diagon Alley is Edinburgh more than any other place. Potter is here!

 

Diagon Alley in the Potter films

Edinburgh is an enchanted gothic wonderland full of arches, crowns, Stags, Unicorns
and spooky gates that beckon you inwards - if you dare.




Doctor Who is represented in Edinburgh too



I fell in love with the city.
There are evenancient pink timbered houses!

 

CELEBRATIONS - May Day

The Maypole by Peter Miller

It is a glorious day today. The sun is shining, Bluebells are blooming in the woods, Swallows and House Martins swoop overhead, bright Brimstone Butterflies flit amongst the May blossom in the hedgerows and the children at the school in the back garden have celebrated the first day of May.

The old ritual of dancing round a Maypole would not be with us today had the Puritans had their way for they banned this ancient tradition of paying homage to Nature and to the feminine in particular.  When the throne was restored under Charles II he was more tolerant of merry making (he was known as The Merry Monarch!) and the day was celebrated all over Britain. According to Tradamis, 'a notable one was in the Strand. This was 134 foot high (41m) and stood there until Sir Isaac Newton used parts of it as a base for his telescope!'

Alphonse Mucha
Nature Sculpture 1899-1900
Mucha Museum, Prague, Czech Republic

We can credit the Pre-Raphaelite John Ruskin for the Maypole as we know it in the present day. He was very keen on Nature and believed that along with learning to read and write children needed to  take exercise. He thought this should include being out of doors and learning to dance.  In 1881 while at Whitelands College (a training college for teachers) he initiated a May Festival for which he created a series of dances. His idea was embraced by the teachers who passed them on, and carried them with them on their teaching assignments.  By the time of Ruskin's death in 1900 this vision  he had was looked upon as tradition. 

Some of these early Maypoles survive on village greens and are still used today for festivities. I love these countryside traditions and they are quite wondrous to see knowing that people have enjoyed them for centuries. 

The Bluebells at Queen Charlotte's Cottage in Kew Gardens

 

 

 

Read more here at Tradamis:

STYLE - Vintage Clothes on Celebrities

Pure Silk Flapper Dress of the 1920's - made by Martha Battaglia & Louise M. Battaglia
in their factory in New York City. Sold at auction in  2000

When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s it was easy to come by the vintage treasures of the 20s/30s and 40s and even farther back to the Victorian era ethereal lace blouses with impossibly tiny mother of pearl buttons. Beaded embroidered dresses, velvet opera capes, oriental satin kimonos and fur coats could be picked up at flea markets for very little money. The items our Grandmothers wore were a far cry from the modern attire of the current day, and some of it was a little Hammer Horrorish, but fascinating. I remember the crocodile handbags with heads on the catches, and the fox fur stoles with heads and tails attached. I was tiny in those days and often wore unimaginably fine cotton children's smock dresses which were adorned with hand made lace and embroidery with my jeans and boots.  Over the years and the many moves they were lost in time.

Victorian child's dressvictorian elegance




Hammer Horrorish - Fox shawl

Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac rocks the top hat
with her own design clothes and vintage mix.

Many people wore vintage items, especially celebrities. The look for women was very feminine with a touch of Hollywood starlet. Although some were more restrained than others it was also okay to pile it all on together making for a real vintage queen bohemian look. Janis Joplin wore her vintage clothes all the time, not just onstage. Later this look would become known as 'Rock Chick' or even 'Groupie Couture' a term the infamous Los Angeles groupie Pamela Des Barres used for a label she came out with 30 years later.



Janis Joplin, the cover shot "Pearl" album cover,
Hollywood, California, 1970

© Barry Feinstein

Men went through a period of romantic revival as they strutted in their finery like the dandies of the Victorian and Georgian ages. Dickensian orphans meet steampunk before steampink was invented. The Kinks were resplendent in ruffled shirts. Some men took to wearing ladies blouses with mixed results. Roger Daltrey was one who really wore it well.



The Who shot by Jim Marshall. Roger is pretty in vintage pink. Pete is a Pearly King.

THE SHAWLS AND QUILTS

Victorian embroidered shawls and diamond patterned patchwork quilts were draped over sofas, hung at windows and piled high on beds with cushions. Sadly some were cut up to make clothes which perished with wear or were discarded as fashion moved on. (Yes, even I was guilty of this ....) But how bright they blazed while they lasted!



Vintage embroidered 'piano' shawl



Jimmy Page wearing a coat made from a vintage shawl and in his peacock chair adorned with one.



Victoria Vanderbuilt so rocked the Victorian patchwork blanket coat.

VINTAGE JEWELS

 

1920s lariat rope necklace
From Suzanne Duffy's Maisonette de Madness on Etsy

When I was a teenager I inherited  jewellery from one of my Grandmothers which included several 1920's beaded necklaces like the one above from Suzanne Duffy's lovely Etsy shop, Maisonette de Madness. They were good quality glass bead, all hand strung. Intricately put together necklaces, many strands twisted into plaited strings, long with tassles at the end. Brightly coloured with copper and silver beads woven in, they were definitely evening wear but I remember wearing them all of the time. Once while dancing a strand broke and the floor of the old Fillmore West dance hall was covered with tiny glistening beads. Some quite good looking boys helped me pick up some of the beads but as we were all immortal then it never occurred to me that it would be hard to find another necklace like that one. Or that one of the precious links with my Grandmother was gone forever.

Kate Middleton and the tiara

Of course the vintage look comes most naturally to those from old families. On her wedding day Catherine Middleton kept to the tradition of 'something borrowed' by wearing a tasteful but stunning tiara from the royal collection. The Cartier 'Halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen was made in 1936 and  purchased by King George VI for his wife, Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) just three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King. The tiara was presented to Elizabeth II by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday. As the tiara is part of the Crown Jewels, it can only be lent to Catherine, and will return there when she dies, or when the Queen requests. I always liked the way that the truly very wealthy, especially of the landed gentry variety, tend to hand things down rather than buy new and think nothing of wearing clothes and items which are from their relatives.

THE VINTAGE LOOK TODAY

Over the years the vintage look peaked and was replaced by the power dressing of the 90s with the horribly large shoulder pads and the tight short skirts. I kept as many of my old items as my gypsy lifestyle allowed. After much searching for a wedding dress I decided to wear a 1960s Chanel style little black wool and lace dress I'd bought at Antiquarius in the King's Road for £6.00 many years before. I have always preferred vintage to modern. It's better made, the fabric is higher quality and it fits better. Unless you can afford couture the high street shops just do not compare to vintage. Of course vintage couture is the ultimate! Sadly Antiquarius is no more and now another fashion emporium is located there and does carry on the vision, Anthropologie.



 

Jo Wood wears a vintage green
beaded dress

Recent fashion saw the bohemian look return and vintage is massive with nearly everyone admitting they look in charity shops or at markets. It is nice to see but does make it harder to find bargains. I dream of finding out that a long lost Aunt has left me trunks full of her clothes and jewels.

Many modern celebrities have kept the vintage look alive for a new generation of fans, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and still all of those rock stars and their ladies who rocked the vintage look so well that they remain icons 40 years later.  

Television and film wield a mighty influence on fashion - or is it the other around? The Victorian look has been in for sometime on television with  Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes and films continue to showcase vintage costume. I love the Dickens meets Vivienne Westwood look. Today the clothes which we wore in the 80's are making a comeback, but I will always prefer something older and more elegant.

Helena Bonham-Carter wears vintage costume
 for a photo shoot in North London in February 2013

Matt Smith as Doctor Who in the Tardis with the HG Wells Victorian time machine look
in a frock coat, bow tie, waistcoat and pocket watch.  

And those victorian shawls? Some did survive and are still enthralling beautiful creative people (and cats!) today.



Jane Aldridge of Seaofshoes
Her blog

CELEBRATIONS - St George's Day

"St. George's Battle with the Dragon" (80 x 70cm) by Vitale da Bologna, dating c.1350, at Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna. Image from Web Gallery of Art.

Cry "God for Harry, England and Saint George!"

The year was 1415, Henry V and his soldiers, so outnumbered,  were about to fight and win the battle against the French at Agincourt. These famous lines, written by William Shakespeare and dear to so many, are from Henry's speech to those soldiers before the battle. That year following the battle of Agincourt St George became the Patron Saint of England.

But who was st George? And why is he most famous for having rescued the Damosel in Distress when he slayed that Dragon? 




The George And Dragon pub in Potterne, Wiltshire
Photo by Mrs Black

St George is among the most famous of Christian figures in many countries and yet almost nothing can be said to be certain about his origins.  It would appear that he was a soldier of noble birth who held the rank of tribune in the Roman army and was beheaded by Diocletian for protesting against the Emperor's persecution of Christians.  He died at Nicomedia on 23 April, 303 and rapidly became venerated throughout Christendom as an example of bravery in defence of the poor and the defenceless and of the Christian faith.

So little is known about the man and even early on in history Pope Gelasius in 'De libris recipiendis' mentions that he is among those saints 'whose names are rightly reverenced among us, but whose actions are known only to God'.

By the eighth century George had become well known in England and The Acts of St George, written about his visits to Glastonbury, Somerset and to Caerleon in Wales while on service in England, were translated into Anglo-Saxon.  Because of his widespread following, particularly in the Near East, and the many miracles attributed to him, George became universally recognized as a saint sometime after 900.  Churches had begun to be dedciated to him as early as 1061.  At the Battle of Antioch in 1098 it is said that George appeared to the Crusader army who adopted him  as the patron saint of soldiers. Already myths and legends were circulated about George and  Richard I (the Lion-Heart) put the army under the protection of St George while campaigning in Palestine in 1191-92.  A lesser holiday in honour of St George, to be kept on 23 April, was declared by the Synod of Oxford in 1222; and St George had become acknowledged as Patron Saint of England by the end of the fourteenth century. In 1415, the year of Agincourt, Archbishop Chichele raised St George's Day to a great feast and ordered it to be observed like Christmas Day. In 1778 the holiday reverted to a simple day of devotion for English Catholics.

St George in stained glass window of The Wiltshire Regiment
photo by Mrs Black

St George is different to most saints in that he was a soldier and he bore arms. It is thought that for this reason he may have fallen out of favour despite the fact that his legend lives on in so many military honours. It is ironic that he was largely overlooked while the knightly deeds of King Arthur and his round table were being read by boys throughout the land. Arthur became the greater legend for those same virtues which were so admired in St George centuries before.  Living by a system of Chivalry which accords respect and kindess to those less fortunate, showing courage and honour and keeping the faith.

Today St George is still venerated in the Church of England and by Orthodox churches and by the Churches of the Near East and Ethiopia. South-east of Tel-Aviv thee lies the tomb belived to be his and in Cairo a convent has some objects claimed to have belonged to him.

Unlike St Patrick's Day in Ireland or St David's Day in Wales St George's Day is not a holiday in England. It seems sad that his flag has become associated with violent groups who he himself would not have condoned and that his memory and all he stood for is being eroded by them and by the sands of time. Perhaps that Dragon he slayed was the last of his kind, like St George and today the evils our society faces cannot be brought down by one gallant knight and his sword. More's the pity.

Although ..... there is a backlash and you do see the flag flying in places today. Perhaps there is hope after all.

The Royal Society of St George


The subject in more depth - link to the page at end.

ST GEORGE by Michael Collins MA (Oxon) MPhil

In this short essay compiled from secondary sources, I have identified three main themes:

1. the historical St George
2. the growth and influence of legends about him in England
3. the place of St George in English history, literature and institutions

Because the themes are interrelated and affect each other, I present them chronologically

The banner of St George, the red cross of a martyr on a white background, was adopted for the uniform of English soldiers possibly in the reign of Richard 1, and later became the flag of England and the White Ensign of the Royal Navy. In a seal of Lyme Regis dating from 1284 a ship is depicted bearing a flag with a cross on a plain background. During Edward 111's campaigns in France in 1345-49, pennants bearing the red cross on a white background were ordered for the king's ship and uniforms in the same style for the men at arms. When Richard 11 invaded Scotland in 1385, every man was ordered to wear 'a signe (sic) of the arms of St George', both before and behind, whilst death was threatened against any of the enemy's soldiers 'who do bear the same crosse or token of Saint George, even if they be prisoners'.  

The fame of St George throughout Europe was greatly increased by the publication of the Legenda Sanctorum (Readings on the Saints), later known as the Legenda Aurea (The Golden Legend) by James of Voragine in 1265. The name 'golden legend' does not refer to St George but to the whole collection of stories, which were said to be worth their weight in gold. It was this book which popularized the legend of George and the Dragon. The legend may have been particularly well received in England because of a similar legend in Anglo-Saxon literature.

St George became a stock figure in the secular miracle plays derived from pagan sources which continued to be performed at the beginning of spring. The origin of the legend remains obscure. It is first recorded in the late sixth century and may have been an allegory of the persecution of Diocletian, who was sometimes referred to as 'the dragon' in ancient texts. The story may also be a christianized version of the Greek legend of Perseus, who was said to have rescued the virgin Andromeda from a sea monster at Arsuf or Jaffa, near Lydda (Diospolis), where the cult of St George grew up around the site of his supposed tomb.  In 1348, George was adopted by Edward 111 as principal Patron of his new order of chivalry, the Knights of the Garter. Some believe that the Order took its name from a pendant badge or jewel traditionally shown in depictions of Saint George. The insignia of the Order include a Collar and Badge Appendant, known as the George. The badge is of gold and presents a richly enamelled representation of St George on horseback slaying the dragon. A second medal, the Lesser George, also depicting George and the dragon, is worn attached to the Sash. The objective of the Order was probably to focus the efforts of England on further Crusades to reconquer the Holy Land. The earliest records of the Order of the Garter were destroyed by fire, but it is believed that either in 1348 or in 1344 Edward proclaimed St George Patron Saint of England.

Although the cult of St George was suppressed in England at the Reformation, St George's Chapel, Windsor, completed in stages from 1483 to 1528, has remained the official seat of the Order, where its chapters assemble. The Monarch and the Prince of Wales are always members, together with 24 others and 26 Knights or Ladies Companion.  Much later, in 1818, the Prince Regent, later George IV, created the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George to recognize exemplary service in the diplomatic field. The Order was founded to commemorate the British protectorate of the Ionian islands and Malta, which had begun in 1814. Originally membership was limited to inhabitants of the islands and to Britons who had served locally. In 1879 membership was widened to include foreigners who had performed distinguished service in Commonwealth countries. The Order was reorganized by William 1V into three classes: Knight Grand Cross (GCMG); Knight Commander (KCMG); and Companion (CMG). Nowadays there are women members of each class with the title 'Dame'. The medal of the Order shows St George and the Dragon on one side, and St Michael confronting the Devil on the other with the inscription,'auspicium melioris aevi' ('augury of a better age'). The Chapel of the Order is St Paul's Cathedral. Saint George is a leading character in one of the greatest poems in the English language, Spencer's Faerie Queene (1590 and 1596). St George appears in Book 1 as the Redcrosse (sic) Knight of Holiness, protector of the Virgin. In this guise he may also be seen as the Anglican church upholding the monarchy of Elizabeth1:

But on his breast a bloody Cross he bore
The dear remembrance of his dying Lord,
For whose sweet sake that glorious badge we wore
And dead (as living) ever he adored.

The legend of St George and the dragon took on a new lease of life during the Counter Reformation. The discoveries in Africa, India and the Americas, in areas which maps had previously shown as populated by dragons, presented vast new fields for Church missionary endeavour, and St George was once again invoked as an example of danger faced and overcome for the good of the Church. Meanwhile, the Protestant author, John Bunyan (1628-88), recalled the story of George and the Dragon in the account of the fight between Christian and Apollyon in Pilgrim's Progress (1679 and 1684).

The cult of St George was ridiculed by Erasmus after his visit (sometime between 1511 and 1513) to the saint's shrine at Canterbury, where the supposed arm of George attracted a large pilgrim traffic. Edmund Gibbon claimed that St George was originally George of Cappadocia, the Arian opponent of St Athanasius, but this theory, says Gibbon's nineteenth-century editor, J.B.Bury, 'has nothing to be said for it'. Research which established what little we actually know about the historical George was carried out around the turn of the century by the Bollandists, a scholarly society within the Jesuits. On the evidence of fourth century inscriptions found in Syria, one dating from c346, and the testimony of the pilgrim Theodosius, who visited Lydda in 530 and is the first to mention the tomb of St George, they concluded that George had indeed actually existed. In more modern times, St George was chosen by Baden-Powell, its founder, to be patron of the Scouting Movement, and on St George's Day, scouts are bidden to remember their Promise and the Scout Law. Baden-Powell recounted in Scouting for Boys that the Knights of the Round Table 'had as their patron saint St George because he was the only one of all the saints who was a horseman.

He is the patron saint of cavalry, from which the word chivalry is derived'.  In 1940, when the civilian population of Britain was subjected to mass bombing by the Luftwaffe, King George V1 instituted the George Cross for 'acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger'. The award, which is second only to the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration, is usually given to civilians and can be given posthumously. The award consists of a silver cross. On one side is depicted St George slaying the dragon, with the inscription,'For Gallantry'; on the other appear the name of the holder and the date of the award. For lesser, but still outstanding acts of courage, the King created the George Medal. This also is a silver cross, with on one side the reigning monarch and on the other St George slaying the dragon. The island of Malta was awarded the George Cross for its heroism in resisting attack during World War 11.

Some confusion has arisen from the revision of its Calendar of Saints by the Roman Catholic Church in 1969. Saints have long been honoured with different degrees of solemnity. What the Catholic Church did was to downgrade the recollection of St George to the lowest category, commemoration, an optional memorial for local observance. The Church did not abolish St George. Indeed, it maintains a fine Cathedral named for him, opposite the Imperial War Museum in London. The reason the Church now simply commemorates St George is that, although he certainly existed, so little is definitely known about him. Most of the legends about George are apochryphal and indeed incredible. The Church has never officially held that these legends are literally true, but made use of them to illustrate some of its teachings in times when people were more comfortable with such materials. As early as 496, Pope Gelasius in De libris recipiendis includes George among those saints 'whose names are rightly reverenced among us, but whose actions are known only to God'. The virtues associated with St George, such as courage, honour and fortitude in defence of the Christian faith, indeed remain as important as ever. St George is also, of course, venerated in the Church of England, by the Orthodox churches and by the Churches of the Near East and Ethiopia. The supposed tomb of St George can still be seen at Lod, south-east of Tel-Aviv; and a convent in Cairo preserves personal objects which are believed to have belonged to George.  

St George is still venerated in a large number of places, by followers of particular occupations and sufferers from certain diseases. George is the patron saint of Aragon, Catalonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Germany and Greece; and of Moscow, Istanbul, Genoa and Venice (second to St Mark). He is patron of soldiers, cavalry and chivalry; of farmers and field workers, Boy Scouts and butchers; of horses, riders and saddlers; and of sufferers from leprosy, plague and syphilis. He is particularly the patron saint of archers, which gives special point to these famous lines from Shakespeare's Henry V, Act 3, Scene 1, l. 31:

'I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit; and, upon this charge
Cry God for Harry, England and St George!'.

Indirectly, the spirit of George the soldier saint played a part in modern English history when Sir Laurence Olivier's film of Henry V was issued in 1944 as an encouragement to our armies fighting for the liberation of France.

H.Delehaye, Les legendes grecques des saints militaires, Paris 1909 I.H.Elder, George of Lydda, 1949 E. Hoode, Guide to the Holy Land, Jerusalem 1962 G.J.Marcus, Saint George of England, 1939 Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend : Readings on the Saints, Tr. William Granger Ryan, 2 vols (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993)

This article appears on the website -

Britannia History


Further Reading:

The Wiki page for St George

STYLE - The Fae

a house; Korte Beeldekensstraat (16may09)
　
Photo by geert geenen

This charming house was found in Antwerp, Belgium. I wonder who lives there?