Day Twenty Nine
It’s St. George’s
Day.
St George is the
Patron Saint of England and The Cross of St. George seen below, forms the English flag.
According to ancient
texts, he was born in Cappadocia, Greece and on being orphaned as a teenager, joined
the Roman army during the reign of Emperor Diocletian.
Regarded in many parts of the world as a heroic soldier, George was 'adopted by the Crusaders who took his
flag as their military symbol: white for purity of heart and red for the blood
they were prepared to shed to take the Holy Land back from what they termed ‘the
infidel’.
Mythology tells us St
George slew a dragon and may have saved a fair maiden and here is where fact
and fiction become mixed.
The Greek version of George’s
story tells of the Empress Alexandra of Rome, wife of Diocletian, who witnessed the courage and stoicism of George and his determination to stick to his
Christian faith despite torture and imminent beheading. She was so moved by this, she too accepted the
faith and was, in her turn martyred.
So if you see the
dragon as representing the Emperor, the leader of powerful forces which waged a 10 year persecution to ‘kill’ Christianity,
it’s not too far a stretch to say George fought and beat him by prevailing as a
martyr.
Christianity continued and fair maiden Alexandra
was ‘saved’ by her faith.
I particularly like this depiction from Debre Sina in Tblisi, where both George and his horse look cutely surprised and the chap at bottom right seems to be saying, 'I knew we'd have trouble if we bought him a horse.'
Sharing this day is
the most English of writers, William Shakespeare who is said to have been born
and died on 23rd April, although 52 years apart.
He made his first entrance upon the world's stage in the house of his father, John, a businessman and worthy who served on local committees and as a magistrate in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire.
Academics have been up in arms for decades about his works - did
he or others write them? It's neither here nor there.
At 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children but whether he played fast and loose with her or simply wanted to be fancy free, it seems she was more sinned against than sinning.
The long and short of it was, he very soon decamped to London to earn a living as an actor and playwright.
He
collaborated with many other writers and was widely influenced by texts from various parts of the world including Greek and Roman mythology. In those days, a foregone conclusion for an educated writer.
Seven years after his
death, two of his close friends, actors John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the
First Folio, a collection of Shakespeare's works.
There was method in their madness; London continued to demand Will's plays and sonnets.
Ben Jonson wrote the introduction, saying Shakespeare was : "not of an age, but for all time"
It is believed William is buried at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford but a radar scan in 2016, revealed that the skeleton beneath the stones had no skull.
Alas, poor Yorick
All the phrases marked in italic and bold are those Shakespear introduced into the language.
