April 14
St. George's Feastday
Saint George and the Dragon by
Paolo Uccello
Saint George is one of
the most celebrated saints in the
Eastern Orthodox Church
and venerated as the
patron saint of of Aragón,
Canada, Catalonia, England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Montenegro, Portugal,
Serbia, Russia, and Palestine. He is also the patron saint of soldiers,
Boy
Scouts, the Corinthians (the Brazilian football team), and people with herpes
and syphilis. (George's connection to
syphilis in murky, but soldiers and syphilis have long been connected.
Herpes appears to be an almost endemic Brazilian infection which may be that
connection.) The
soldier/saint's legend
survives primarily because of the myth of George as the knight who slew the
dragon (the symbol of the devil) to protect a virgin. This story was a medieval embellishment of the
saint's life
that has captured the imagination of artists for centuries.
The details of George's life are sketchy. He was a third
century Roman officer from the Anatolia, now
modern day Turkey, .during the third century and a
favorite of the Emperor Diocletian. However, George became revolted at
Diocletian's increasing sadism in the persecution and torture of the
Christians and eventually rebuked the Emperor in public. Diocletian took
revenge on George and subjected him to several days of torture including
laceration on a wheel of swords, after which he was executed by decapitation.
The story of St George
and the Dragon was brought back with the Crusaders.
According to the legend, a dragon made its nest
at the spring that provided water for a city in Libya. The local residents
had to dislodge the dragon from its nest in order to collect water. To do
so, each day they offered the dragon a human sacrifice. The victim is chosen
by drawing lots. One day, the victim was the princess. The monarch begs
for her life with no result. She is offered to the dragon, but suddenly George appears. He slays the dragon and rescues the princess. The
grateful citizens abandon their ancestral paganism and convert to
Christianity.
St. George's cult was very strong in the Eastern Orthodox Church for several
centuries before the saint became venerated in the West. The cult
surrounding St. George. however, rapidly spread after several prominent
military figures had visions of the saint, including Richard the
Lionhearted. During the Crusades, St. George allegedly appeared to Richard in a
vision, mounted on a white horse, and led the Christian army to victory.
Subsequent appearances to other English military leaders including Henry V resulted in his
appointment as the patron saint of England.
St. George's macho image had made him a popular saint in Spain where
machismo appears to be the country's third major industry.
His feast date, is one of the most important holidays
in Catalonia, where it is traditional to give a present to the loved one;
red roses for the women and books for the men.
His feastday is celebrated in Barcelona with a cake called
Pastel Sant Jordi.
Pastel Sant
Jordi
(St.
George's Cake)
Ingredients
| Cake |
Frosting |
|
6 eggs |
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled 1 egg yolk 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 TB Marsala wine confectioners sugar for dusting |
Preheat over to 450º F.
Make frosting. Cream butter, beat in chocolate, yolk, vanilla, and Marsala. Set aside.
Separate whites and yolks from 6eggs. Beat egg whites and sugar until stiff. Fold in flour and zest very gently.
Pour batter into a buttered 8"x12" cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove cake from oven and invert over a cake rack to remove. Allow to cool thoroughly.
Cut cake lengthwise into three equal pieces. Place first piece on cake place and frost. Place second piece over first and frost. Top with third piece and frost. Dust with confectioners sugar.