Saint George in the context of "Demetrius of Thessaloniki"

⭐ In the context of military sainthood during the Middle Ages, Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki is considered…

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Saint George

Saint George (Ancient Greek: Γεώργιος, romanizedGeṓrgios; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr, born in Cappadocia in Anatolia, who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the Roman army. Saint George’s mother Saint Polychronia is believed to have come from Syria Palaestina and his father Saint Gerontios is believed to be of Syrian Cappadocian origin. He became a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian, but was executed as part of the Diocletianic persecution. He is one of the most venerated saints, heroes, and megalomartyrs in Christianity, and he has been especially venerated as a military saint since the Crusades. He is also prominently venerated by the Druze, and by some Muslim groups, as a martyr of monotheistic faith.

In hagiography, he is immortalised in the legend of Saint George and the Dragon and as one of the most prominent military saints. In Roman Catholicism, he is also venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. His feast day, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on 23 April. Historically, the countries of Portugal, England, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine, Malta, Ethiopia, the regions of Catalonia and Aragon, and the cities of Moscow and Beirut have claimed George as their patron saint, as have several other regions, cities, universities, professions, and organizations. The Church of Saint George in Lydda, now Lod in Israel, has a sarcophagus traditionally believed to contain St. George's relics.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Saint George in the context of Demetrius of Thessaloniki

Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessalonica (Greek: Ἅγιος Δημήτριος τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης, Hágios Dēmḗtrios tēs Thessaloníkēs), also known as the Holy Great-Martyr Demetrius the Myroblyte (meaning 'the Myrrh-Gusher' or 'Myrrh-Streamer'; 3rd century – 306), was a Greek Christian martyr of the early 4th century AD.

During the Middle Ages, he came to be revered as one of the most important Orthodox military saints, often paired with Saint George of Lydda.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Saint George in the context of Yaroslav the Wise

Yaroslav I Vladimirovich (c. 978 – 20 February 1054), better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, uniting the principalities for a time. Yaroslav's baptismal name was George after Saint George.

Yaroslav was a son of Vladimir the Great and Rogneda of Polotsk. Yaroslav ruled the northern lands around Rostov before being transferred to Novgorod in 1010. He had a strained relationship with his father and refused to pay tribute to Kiev in 1014. Following Vladimir's death in 1015, Yaroslav waged a complicated war for the Kievan throne against his half-brother Sviatopolk, ultimately emerging victorious in 1019.

↑ Return to Menu

Saint George in the context of Great martyr

A great martyr (also spelled greatmartyr or great-martyr) or megalomartyr (from Byzantine Greek μεγαλομάρτυς, megalomártus, from μέγας, mégas 'great' + μάρτυς, mártus 'martyr'; Church Slavonic: великомꙋ́ченикъ; Romanian: mare mucenic; Georgian: დიდმოწამე) is a classification of saints who are venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Rite of Constantinople. The term is also used in Malta especially by parishes dedicated to Saint George in reference to him (San Ġorġ Megalomartri).

Generally speaking, a greatmartyr is a martyr who has undergone excruciating tortures—often performing miracles and converting unbelievers to Christianity in the process—and who has attained widespread veneration throughout the Church. These saints are often from the first centuries of the Church, before the Edict of Milan. This term is normally not applied to saints who could be better described as hieromartyrs (martyred clergy) or protomartyrs (the first martyr in a given region).

↑ Return to Menu

Saint George in the context of Military saints

The military saints, warrior saints and soldier saints are patron saints, martyrs and other saints associated with the military. They were originally composed of the early Christians who were soldiers in the Roman army during the persecution of Christians, especially the Diocletianic Persecution of AD 303–313.

Most of the early Christian military saints were soldiers of the Roman Empire who had become Christian and, after refusing to participate in Imperial cult rituals of loyalty to the Roman Emperor, were subjected to corporal punishment including torture and martyrdom.

↑ Return to Menu

Saint George in the context of Saint Nino

Saint Nino (sometimes St. Nune or St. Ninny; Georgian: წმინდა ნინო, romanized: ts'minda nino; Armenian: Սուրբ Նունե, romanizedSurb Nune; Greek: Ἁγία Νίνα, romanizedHagía Nína; c. 296 – c. 338 or 340) was a woman who preached Christianity in the territory of the Kingdom of Iberia in what is now Georgia. Her preaching led to the Christianization of Iberia.

According to most traditional accounts, she belonged to a Greek-speaking Roman family from Kolastra, Cappadocia, was a relative of Saint George, and came to Iberia from Armenia.

↑ Return to Menu

Saint George in the context of Saint George and the Dragon

Saint George and the Dragon is a legend in which Saint George—a soldier venerated in Christianity—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tribute once a day. One day, the princess herself was chosen as the next offering. As she was walking toward the dragon's cave, St. George saw her and asked her why she was crying. The princess told the saint about the dragon's atrocities and asked him to flee immediately, in fear that he might be killed too. But the saint refused to flee, slew the dragon, and rescued the princess. The narrative was first set in Cappadocia in the earliest sources of the 11th and 12th centuries, but transferred to Libya in the 13th-century Golden Legend.

The narrative has pre-Christian origins (Jason and Medea, Perseus and Andromeda, Typhon, etc.), and is recorded in various saints' lives prior to its attribution to Saint George specifically. It was particularly attributed to Saint Theodore Tiro in the 9th and 10th centuries, and was first transferred to Saint George in the 11th century. The oldest known record of Saint George slaying a dragon is found in a Georgian text of the 11th century.

↑ Return to Menu

Saint George in the context of Reinbot von Dürne

Reinbot von Dürne (fl. 1230s/1240s) was a German poet active at the court of Duke Otto II of Bavaria. He was probably a native of the region around Wörth an der Donau or possibly Walldürn.

Reinbot wrote Der heilige Georg, also called the Georgslegende, a Middle High German epic recounting the life and martyrdom of Saint George in 6,000 lines divided into rhyming couplets. It was written during the reign of Otto II from 1231 to 1253, but scholars disagree on a more precise dating. The Oxford Companion to German Literature dates it to the first years of Otto's rule (1231–1236). Internal evidence suggests that it was written after Otto established a marital alliance with the imperial Staufer family. This could be either the betrothal of his (unnamed) daughter to Conrad IV in 1235 or else Conrad's actual marriage to Otto's other daughter, Elizabeth, in 1246.

↑ Return to Menu

Saint George in the context of John, Duke of Bedford

John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford (20 June 1389 – 14 September 1435) was a medieval English prince, general, and statesman who commanded England's armies in France during a critical phase of the Hundred Years' War. Bedford was the third son of King Henry IV of England, brother to Henry V, and acted as regent of France for his nephew Henry VI. Despite his military and administrative talent, the situation in France had severely deteriorated (for the English) by the time of his death.

Bedford was a capable administrator and soldier, and his effective management of the war brought the English to the height of their power in France. However, difficulties mounted after the arrival of Joan of Arc, and his efforts were further thwarted by political divisions at home and the wavering of England's key ally, Duke Philip of Burgundy and his faction, the Burgundians. In the last years of Bedford's life, the conflict devolved into a war of attrition, and he became increasingly unable to gather the necessary funds to prosecute the conflict.

↑ Return to Menu

Saint George in the context of Fresco-secco

Fresco-secco (or a secco or fresco finto) is a wall painting technique where pigments mixed with an organic binder and/or lime are applied onto dry plaster. The paints used can e.g. be casein paint, tempera, oil paint, silicate mineral paint. If the pigments are mixed with lime water or lime milk and applied to a dry plaster the technique is called lime secco painting. The secco technique contrasts with the fresco technique, where the painting is executed on a layer of wet plaster.

Because the pigments do not become part of the wall, as in buon fresco, fresco-secco paintings are less durable. The colors may flake off the painting as time goes by, but this technique has the advantages of a longer working time and retouchability. In Italy, the fresco technique was reintroduced around 1300 and led to an increase in the general quality of mural painting. This technological change coincided with the realistic turn in Western art and the changing liturgical use of murals.

↑ Return to Menu