St. George [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Samantha Riches (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 2000

Who was St George and how did he become patron saint, not only of England, but many other European countries? The author explores the wealth of myth and legend, art and inspiration which surrounds this obscure 4th-century Christian martyr.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Whoever St. George really was--perhaps a Christian Roman military officer executed around A.D. 300--he became a hugely popular icon in the late Middle Ages, especially in England. As a consequence, a rich tradition of visual imagery exists, ripe for interpretation by an author thoroughly fascinated by the saint. The central support of Riches' writing is her close examination of more than 100 paintings and sculptures of St. George (not seen in the prepublication proof). This evidence of veneration layered several stories over an original substrate of St. George's piety and martyrdom. Somehow the tale of the hero saving a damsel from a monster, a stock motif probably borrowed from folklore and Greek mythology, became attached to the saint, as did an increasing variety of tortures inflicted on him, depicted in medieval versions of the horror film, as Riches observes. St. George really arrived with the patronage of English kings, and the saint's association with English nationalism (St. George's red-cross-on-white-shield is the English flag) remains alive today. An illuminating excursion into a potent religio-national symbol. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Dr Sam Riches, Teaching Fellow at the School of Art History, of St Andrews, is a historian and art-historian who has made a special study of quasi-historical saints. She is a noted authority on St George and on the iconography of the dragon, of which she has made a radical reappraisal. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: Sutton Publishing; illustrated edition edition (January 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750924527
• ISBN-13: 978-0750924528
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #981,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly researched, beautifully presented - a quality book, May 17, 2006

By 

Ingrid Heyn "No man is an Iland, intire of it... (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: St. George (Paperback)

There's no doubt that this is the best resource for those wishing to know about the real man behind the mythic figure of St George. Samantha Riches, an extremely able scholar whose breadth of research into this area is almost staggering, has produced what may well be the definitive work on the subject of St George.

Beautifully illustrated with lavish illustrations of mediaeval and later depictions of St George, showing the various aspects of the St George cult/myth, this hardcover edition is a treat to read through and look at.

Ms Riches covers the separate elements of the St George myth in detail: the tortures (which strike us today as sado-masochistic and horrible, but probably were intended and taken by the mediaevals as reminders of Christian patience under suffering); the association of St George with the princess and dragon; the depiction of St George as the chivalrous and probably chaste knight of the Virgin; the legend of St George having been resurrected; and so on. The fascinating association of St George with England is traced in thorough and very readable detail, as well as the tendency of various countries, cities and towns to claim St George as peculiarly their own.

Occasionally the writing slipped into a little too much of the passive mode, but overall it was a delight to read, and highly informative.

Very highly recommended.