St.+George+and+the+Dragon+and+other+superstitions

This page is under construction by TaylorB-GMS. =Saint George and the dragon and other superstitions=

Saint George, known for bravery, honor and gallantry inspired many stories and legends. Identified with England, but actually born in Turkey, he defended Christians during the third century being persecuted by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. He stayed true to his Christian faith in spite of torture and persecution (Project Britain). Many legends regarding Saint George and other superstitions developed across Europe during a time of ignorance known as the Middle Ages. =Superstitions= During this time of ignorance, Medieval people believed that certain superstitious acts could grant riches, power, love, protection, beauty, and luck. Though some acts brought illnesses, exposed them to evil spirits, and even killed them. Most would not admit to it, but we still use these superstitions today (Schwartz 11).


 * [[image:http://neveryetmelted.com/wp-images/StGeorge.jpg width="365" height="399" caption=" Saint George neveryetmelted.com" link="Dragons"]] ||

=The legends of St. George=  Subsequently, the legends of Saint George impacted England greatly in the dark ages. These legends inspired the common people. Saint George, a Christian martyr, probably lived sometime around the 3rd century A.D (Morgan 9). Historians do not know what Saint George really did. Martyred in Lydda, Palestine, Saint George became a very popular source of hope for people during the crusades. This was due to stories that told of him ascending from Heaven to assist Christians in battle (Pettulla). On April 23 303, throngs of people gathered to watch the beheading of Saint George, executed for being Christian (Morgan 13). Throughout his life, Saint George turned down all rewards for his deeds, but then he asked only that Brittania be a Christian country (Pettulla). Later, during the reign of King Edward III, George was named patron saint of England (Pettulla). =St. George and the dragon=  Although most known about Saint George seems to be fantasy. Regardless, these deeds make him so popular. Perhaps the most well known of these legends would be Saint George and the Dragon. While many versions of this story exist, the basis says that a town, terrorized by a dragon, gives a princess to the dragon as an offering (woodlands-junior). Later, George hears of this, and rushes to the scene. He then slew the dragon and saved the town and rescued the princess. =Superstitions of the middle ages=  On the other hand, superstitions proved to be much more influential, and affected almost everything that medieval people did. People had an extremely wide array of superstitions that, if not followed, could result in =**The lucky Horse shoe **= One superstition, the lucky horseshoe, supposedly warded off witches. Though not just any horseshoe can be used. It must be made of iron, and naturally have fallen off the horse (helium ). They would then nail the horse shoe above the door, and consequently, no witch could enter their home. They could not forget to nail the horseshoe prongs up in order to prevent any of the “luck” from spilling (Schwartz 104). == Another old superstition from the dark ages says that if one walked underneath a ladder, they would have bad luck. This phrase has a very interesting origin. During the middle ages, a triangle represented the church, and an open ladder formed a triangle. But if somebody walked under the ladder, the triangle would be broken, and evil spirits would come to attack (Schwartz 33). =Breaking mirrors= = =  Likewise, Bad luck was though to come from breaking mirrors. We still believe this because uneducated peasants perceived one’s reflection as their soul (Helium). Therefore, if someone broke a mirror that held their reflection, they waited seven hours before picking up the pieces. Then they buried them in the moonlight for fear that if they did not, their soul would leave them (Schwartz 32).

To summarize, everyone had superstitions in the middle ages. Some resulted in happiness, yet others in tragedy. Superstitions seemed so important that we find ourselves using them even today. In addition, Saint George proved to be a real person with unrealistic legends built around him (Morgan 13). One of these legends, for example, tells that he slew a dragon. These legends impacted English history greatly, and gave hope to all the common Christians.