The cult of Saint George in medieval England
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The cult of Saint George in medieval England
Boydell Press, 2009
- :hbk
- Other Title
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The Cult of St. George in medieval England
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Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Award 2010
Recently, St George has enjoyed a modest revival as a specifically English national symbol. But how became the patron saint of England in the first place has always been amystery. He was not English, nor was his principal shrine there - the usual criteria for national patronage; yet his status and fame have eclipsed all others. Instead, it was Edward III's use of the saint in his wars against theFrench that really established him as a patron and protector of the king. Unlike other such saints, however, George was enthusiastically adopted by other English people to signify their membership in the "community of the realm".This book traces the origins and growth of his cult, arguing that, especially after Edward's death, George came to represent a "good" politics (in this case, the shared prosecution of a war with spoils for everyone) and could beused to rebuke subsequent kings for their poor governance. Most kings came to realize this fact, and venerated St. George in order to prove their worthiness to hold their office. This political dimension of the cult never completely displaced the devotional one, but it was so strong that St. George survived the Reformation as a national symbol - one that grows ever more important in the wake of devolution and the recovery of a specifically English identity.
JONATHAN GOOD is Associate Professor of History at Reinhardt College.
Table of Contents
Introduction
George the Saint, England the Nation
The Cult of St. George: Origins, Development, and Arrival in England
Royal St. George, 1272-1509
Popular St. George in Late Medieval England
St. George's Post-Medieval Career
Appendix
Bibliography
by "Nielsen BookData"
