CHESTER CATHEDRAL NEWS
SAINTS WINDOWS IN THE CLOISTERS St George was a Soldier and a Martyr and that’s all we know for sure. Sev- eral stories have been attached to Saint George, the best known of which is the Golden Legend. In it, a dragon lived in a lake near Silena, Libya. Whole armies had gone up against this fierce creature, and had gone down in painful defeat. The monster ate two sheep each day; when mutton was scarce, lots were drawn in local villages, and maidens were substituted for sheep. Into this country came Saint George. Hearing the story on a day when a princess was to be eaten, he crossed himself, rode to battle against the serpent, and killed it with a single blow with his lance. George then held forth with a magnificent sermon, and converted the locals. Given a large reward by the king, George distributed it to the poor, then rode away.
Due to his chivalrous behaviour (protecting women, fighting evil, depend- ence on faith and might of arms, largesse to the poor), devotion to Saint George became popular in the Europe after the 10th century. In the 15th century his feast day was as popular and important as Christmas. Many of his areas of patronage have to do with life as a knight on horseback. The celebrated Knights of the Garter are actually Knights of the Order of Saint George. The shrine built for his relics at Lydda, Palestine was a popular point of pilgrimage for centuries.
Saints Day: 23 April Died:
Patronage: tortured and beheaded c.304 at Lydda, Palestine
agricultural workers, archers, boy scouts, butchers, eques- trians, farmers, knights, lepers, plague, skin diseases, skin rashes, soldiers, syphilis
The Quaker Tapestry This was on display in the South Transept during February. Over 12,000 visitors were welcomed to the exhibition, which has now returned to its home in Kendal.
May 2008 page 15
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