Happy st george's day to you all

[Geo]

Geo..

[jacob marley]

St George was allegedly born in Coventry so local boy done good.
So have a good one it aint against the law to celebrate so go on....jacob

[pdblake]

Have good one.

[Two_Sheds]

St George was allegedly born in Coventry so local boy done good.

Oh.
I thought he was a Turk ?

[Two_Sheds]

BBC - Religion & Ethics - Saint George: Introduction

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch...stgeorge3.html

[pdblake]

BBC - Religion & Ethics - Saint George: Introduction

That article does actually say to take it's contents with a pinch of salt though

[Two_Sheds]

There probably was a historical figure called George, who was a prominent Christian in the reign of the pagan Roman Emperor, Diocletian, and was killed in 303.

One version of his life records that he was an officer who refused to carry out the Emperor's order that all soldiers must make sacrifices to pagan gods, for which he was hideously tortured to death.

How did he become England's patron saint?

George's fame had certainly reached England by the reign of Alfred the Great, but it really took off after the Crusades, when it was reported back that he had appeared before the crusaders outside Jerusalem in 1099, spurring them on to martial valour.

He was much admired by European knights, and began to appear on banners taken into battle. In 1222, the Synod of Oxford declared that St George's Day was a feast day in England.

Not being English actually gave him an edge over other saints The Big Question: Who was St George, and why is celebrating him so contentious? - This Britain, UK - The Independent

[StephenH]

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let it pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English,
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

Exeunt. Alarum, and chambers go off within.

[Two_Sheds]

It is thought that St George was a cavalry soldier in the Roman army from the 3rd century AD - about 1,800 years ago.

He probably came from Capadoccia in modern-day Turkey.

The story says he was ordered to kill some Christians who the Romans didn't like. George refused because he was secretly a Christian himself.

When his commander found out he was furious and had George executed. The tale of his bravery became well known and George was made an important saint. Who was St George?

[Two_Sheds]

this from the Society of St. George: "Most authorities on the subject seem to agree that he was born in Cappadocia in what is now Turkey, in about the year 280 AD. It is probable that from his physical description, he was of Darian origin"
A History of St George

[StephenH]

And, just for good measure:


Speech by King Henry V on the eve of the battle of Agincourt

WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!

KING. What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day!

[StephenH]

And again:


This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,
For Christian service and true chivalry,
As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,
Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son,
This land of such dear souls, this dear, dear land...

Richard II, Act 2

[Glutton4...]

Blimey !!





Happy Saint George's day anyway LOL!

[bluemoon]

Happy St George's Day. I knew there was something notable about the date, but couldn't think what. I asked number one son and he said it was Adolf Hitler's birthday.

[Irie Jan]

Blimey !!





Happy Saint George's day anyway LOL!

Yeah what she said! lol + Have a good one all of you!