Introduction
It is sometimes said that England’s patron saint, St George, is not very English. Yet Britain in his day was part of the Roman Empire, and George refused to help the Roman Emperor send troops against his own people, meddle with the Church or impose cruel and arbitrary punishments — all key provisions of The Great Charter of 1215. You can’t get more English than that.
IN 1552, the government of King Edward VI forbade banners depicting Christian saints, as the Protestant Reformers who now dominated the English Church considered all sacred imagery idolatrous. An exception was made, however, for banners of St George. George, a Roman soldier executed in 303 for defying an order to persecute Christians,* had been enduringly popular in the army and at Court since Richard the Lionheart went to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade in 1189-1192.
Outside the army, ordinary English people thought more fondly of King Edward the Confessor, who reigned just before the Norman invasion, of King Edmund, martyred by Danish invaders in the ninth century, and of Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, whose banner was carried to victory against France’s Scottish allies at Neville’s Cross in 1346.* But in 1348, Edward III dedicated the royal chapel at Windsor Castle to St George and instituted the Knights of the Garter in his honour, in gratitude for the saint’s intervention at Crécy two years earlier.
The Church commemorates the martyrdom of St George on 23rd April, and the translation of his relics to Lod on 3rd November. On the martyrdom of St George, see St George the Triumphant Martyr. On the spirit of the Great Charter of 1215, see The Signing of the Great Charter.
Précis
Prior to the Reformation in the sixteenth century, a number of different English saints were regarded as national patrons, though the royal family had adopted St George, a soldier’s saint brought back from the Third Crusade. When the veneration of the saints was suppressed by the Protestants, royal patronage left St George as the sole candidate for England’s patron. (59 / 60 words)
Prior to the Reformation in the sixteenth century, a number of different English saints were regarded as national patrons, though the royal family had adopted St George, a soldier’s saint brought back from the Third Crusade. When the veneration of the saints was suppressed by the Protestants, royal patronage left St George as the sole candidate for England’s patron.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, not, or, otherwise, since, unless, whereas, who.
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
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