Museum Of London Object Of The Month April 2009
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Object of the month for April 2009
Pewter badge of St George 15th century This little religious badge shows St George, in a full suit of armour, standing over a dragon and driving a spear into its mouth.
The original tale of St George’s victory over the dragon had long been popular in England but it gained further significance when it was said that he appeared in the sky during the Battle of Antioch in 1098 during the First Crusade, causing the enemy to flee. As the telling of these stories continued over the intervening years St George became a potent symbol of English strength and endeavour. By the end of the 14th century St George's feast-day was a national holiday and Henry V, following his victory at Agincourt in 1415 under the battle cry ‘St George for England!’, declared the festival as important as Christmas and Easter. For many Londoners in the15th century undertaking a pilgrimage to a holy place, such as a shrine of a saint, was a popular pursuit as well as a religious duty. There they could buy badges and bring them back not just as souvenirs, but as proof of piety, in the belief that they could bring good fortune and help protect from or cure illness. What was said to be the heart of St George was preserved as a holy relic in St George’s Chapel in Windsor, and Windsor became a popular pilgrimage destination for Londoners in the 15th century. Due to the saint’s popularity with English Kings, reverence for St George survived the reformation of the Church by Henry VIII, when the cults of other saints were prohibited and their shrines destroyed. John Clark, the Senior Curator of our medieval collections, suggests: ‘If you are out and about in London around St George’s Day on 23 April, why not come and see this badge of St George and other pilgrim badges for yourself in our Medieval gallery?’ http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Permanent/medieval/The mes/1040/1045/Page+2.htm
Pewter badge of St George 15th century This little religious badge shows St George, in a full suit of armour, standing over a dragon and driving a spear into its mouth.
The original tale of St George’s victory over the dragon had long been popular in England but it gained further significance when it was said that he appeared in the sky during the Battle of Antioch in 1098 during the First Crusade, causing the enemy to flee. As the telling of these stories continued over the intervening years St George became a potent symbol of English strength and endeavour. By the end of the 14th century St George's feast-day was a national holiday and Henry V, following his victory at Agincourt in 1415 under the battle cry ‘St George for England!’, declared the festival as important as Christmas and Easter. For many Londoners in the15th century undertaking a pilgrimage to a holy place, such as a shrine of a saint, was a popular pursuit as well as a religious duty. There they could buy badges and bring them back not just as souvenirs, but as proof of piety, in the belief that they could bring good fortune and help protect from or cure illness. What was said to be the heart of St George was preserved as a holy relic in St George’s Chapel in Windsor, and Windsor became a popular pilgrimage destination for Londoners in the 15th century. Due to the saint’s popularity with English Kings, reverence for St George survived the reformation of the Church by Henry VIII, when the cults of other saints were prohibited and their shrines destroyed. John Clark, the Senior Curator of our medieval collections, suggests: ‘If you are out and about in London around St George’s Day on 23 April, why not come and see this badge of St George and other pilgrim badges for yourself in our Medieval gallery?’ http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Permanent/medieval/The mes/1040/1045/Page+2.htm
