April 23 |
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Saint George and the Dragon by
Paolo Uccello |
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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. George 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. According to military.com, "herpes genitalis., acute or chronic, not amenable to treatment" is a medical disqualifications for joining the US Army includes . So praying to St. George for untreatable herpes might be an effective strategy in times of war for those less patriotic who otherwise might be dratted. 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. Enjoy a slice with a viewing of George and the Dragon (2004), an enjoyable comedy/adventure retelling of the medieval legend in which a dragon kidnaps a princess (Piper Perabo) to help protect its egg. She is rescued by her fiancé Patrick Swayze whom she detests and James Purefoy (George) who later only pretends to have slain the dragon, because he feels sympathy for her. The dragon eventually saves George's life by swallowing Patrick Swayze, and George and the the Princess live happily ever after.
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Pastel Sant
Jordi
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Ingredients | |||||||||||
Cake | Frosting | ||||||||||
6 eggs 3/4 cup sugar 1 & 3/4 cup flour 2 TB grated orange zest butter for greasing pan 1/2 cup butter |
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled 1 egg yolk 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 TB Marsala wine confectioners sugar for dusting |
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Instructions |
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© 2013 Gordon Nary