page_title: Saint George in devotions, traditions and prayers
section_title: Battles and patronages
hierarchical_section_title: Saint George in devotions, traditions and prayers / Battles and patronages
caption_attribution_description: English: Life of Saint George, Woodcut of St George Slaying the Dragon, 1515, by Alexander Barclay (1476-1552) Português: Vida de São Jorge, gravura de São Jorge matando o dragão, 1515, obra de Alexander Barclay (1476-1552)
context_page_description: Saint George is one of Christianity's most popular saints, and is highly honored by both the Western and Eastern Churches. A wide range of devotions, traditions, and prayers to honor the saint have emerged throughout the centuries. He has for long been distinguished by the title of "The Great Martyr" and is one of the most popular saints to be represented in icons. Devotions to Saint George have a large following among Christians, and a large number of churches are dedicated to him worldwide.
  Since the Middle ages, the story of the life of Saint George, both as fact and legend, has come to symbolize the victory of good over evil, and become part of local Christian traditions, festivals and celebrations that continue to date. Saint George has been widely represented in Christian art in multiple media and forms, from paintings and sculptures to stained glass and reliefs, through the ages, and has become the subject of multiple prayers and devotions.
context_section_description: The invocation of Saint George as a protector during the Middle Ages is well exemplified by the conduct of the soldiers participating in the Battle of Iconium in 1190, during the Third Crusade. As Frederick I Barbarossa marched through Anatolia, his troops were involved in group prayer and the bishops would hold camp-wide religious rites for them to strengthen their faith and morale. Priests would celebrate special votive Masses with the troops to pray for divine support. These Masses focused on Saint George and the soldiers always invoked him for he was said to appear whenever the crusaders were in their greatest need for help. In a letter sent to his son in November 1189, Fredrick stated that despite having superb troops, it was necessary for him to place his trust in prayers for divine assistance for: "A King is saved by the Grace of the Eternal King which exceeds the merits of any individual".
  A few days before Pentecost, one of Fredrick's soldiers named Ludwig of Helfenstein reported that he had seen a white clad warrior, identified as Saint George, on a white horse attacking the Turks, and the chronicled accounts provide no evidence that anyone doubted him. On the evening of May 13, 1190, Frederick's troops were ordered to confess their sins and received penance. During the battle on May 14, the priests and bishops (at the risk of injury or death) went to the front, among the troops, to pray, wearing their white stoles that made them obvious targets for the Muslims. The invocation of Saint George for help had by then become the standard battle cry of the soldiers. The crusaders prevailed in the battle and captured Iconium on May 16, 1190.
  Another example is provided by the Battle of Montaperti in 1260. Here, the pleas for help to Saint George and the ensuing victory led to donations by the soldiers for the construction of the Church of San Giorgio in Siena and an annual festival that grew so large that it had to be moved to a larger location. As of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Saint George had come to be seen as the normal defender of the crusaders, and even the standard-bearer of their army. And in a wider context, he came to be seen, and was depicted in art, as "a protector", his raised sword symbolizing both protection and sacrifice. In some medieval paintings, Saint George even came to be represented as an intercessor to Christ.
  During the eleventh century Crusades many of the Normans under Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy and son of William the Conqueror, took Saint George as their patron. Pendants bearing the image of Saint George were used for protection. The inscription on an enamel pendant at the British Museum specifically asks the saint to protect the wearer in battle. Songs were composed to Saint George for the English peasantry, e.g.:
  As for Saint George O'
  
  Saint George he was a knight, O!
  
  Of all the knights in Christendom,
  
  Saint George is the right, O!
  Early patron saints in England were Edmund the Martyr and Edward the Confessor. But when Richard the Lionheart was crusading in the Middle East in the twelfth century he had a vision of Saint George who promised him victory in the battle. Eventually Saint George was proclaimed the patron saint of England in the mid-thirteenth century and protector of the royal family by Edward III in the fourteenth century. More than 190 Medieval churches in England were dedicated to Saint George, and stained glass bearing his image could be found in many more.
  English crusaders who helped in the conquest of Lisbon in the twelfth century, brought the devotion to Saint George to Portugal with them. By the fourteenth century "São Jorge" (i.e. St. George) had become the battle cry of Portuguese troops and Saint Constable attributed their victory in the Battle of Aljubarrota to Saint George. King John I of Portugal was specially devoted to the saint and declared him the patron saint of Portugal. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Portuguese explorers carried the devotion across the oceans to India and South America.
caption: Woodcut Frontispiece from Alexander Barclay's "Lyfe of Seynt George" Westminster 1515.
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