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Happy St. George's Day

http://www.mezzo-mondo.com/arts/mm/raphael/RAF003.html

and, if that weren't enough,

Happy Shakespeare's birthday!

http://bartleby.com/70/


#101544 04/23/03 06:25 PM
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Saint George is the Patron Saint of not only England but of Portugal and Catalonia, as well. His name derives from the Greek "Georgios" which derives from the Greek "georgos" which means farmer or one who works with the earth, which derives from two roots: "ge" meaning earth and "ergon" meaning work. The part about the dragon is, perhaps, apocryphal.

(How curious that both the first president of the United States and the present president of the United States are named George. No other connection is imagined.)

The Feast of Saint George is eclipsed, displaced and over-written by falling, this year, on the Wednesday in Easter Week, which has precedence over all days celebrating dragon slayers.

Father Steve




#101545 04/23/03 08:42 PM
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The Feast of Saint George is eclipsed, displaced and over-written by falling, this year, on the Wednesday in Easter Week, which has precedence over all days celebrating dragon slayers.

Well, that's somebody's loss, I'm sure, but the dragons are probably not exactly crying in their brimstone!


#101546 04/23/03 08:50 PM
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Pfranz, can't you just behave yourself for once, bless your curmudgeonly heart?

Faather Steve, good to see you back among us and thanks for your historical input here and on the Easter thread.


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"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!'"

~Shakespeare, Henry V (1599) act 3, sc. 1, l. 31


#101548 04/23/03 08:54 PM
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WhadidIsay, for pete's sake? I was merely pointing out that the confusion over Easter/dragonslayers and the deprioritisation of the dragonslayers was good news for the dragon. Giza break!


#101549 04/23/03 08:58 PM
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The rise of knights and the decline of dragons can be explained in terms of the historical imperatives of economics: the knights had a better union.

Padre



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Shakespeare's Big Day!

And, today, Shakespeare's birthday is also his Death Day!


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Yes, the knights had a better union, but they did not have a total monopoly on dragon slaying. Forsooth, the following story so illustrates.

One of the lesser-known knights of the Round Table was Sir Humphrey, who was as talentless as he was without talents of silver, though beloved by all. He couldn't afford the charges for a charger, so he rode about on a cart pulled by a goat, and was affectionately yclept Sir Humphrey Goat-cart.

Some months after having sent Sir Humphrey on his annual quest, Arthur awoke one morning to the realization that no one had seen or mentioned Sir Humphrey in quite some time, so he began to seek answers. No one had any, and Arthur decreed that the knight next on the duty roster would have to scout up Sir Humphrey. To his dismay, the next person on the list wasn't a knight at all, it was Lady Pamela.

Summoned into the royal presence (and without even bearing any for him) Lady Pamela explained that women could do everything a man could do and she would find Sir Humphrey and rescue him if such action was required.


After Guenevere announced privately that he would be cut off if he didn't comply, Arthur acquiesced, and Lady Pamela put on her femail and went in search of Sir Humphrey. Find him she did, wounded and captured by a foul dragon, held captive in a forbidding cave. Pamela lopped off the dragon's head and entered the cave, where she began to bind Sir Humphrey's wounds. Humphrey looked over her shoulder and espied the dragon, magically arisen from the dead, bearing down on them with fire in its eyes. Alerting Lady Pamela to the danger, he said to her, "Slay it again, Pam."




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Musta worked bloody hard in the few hours he had, then! Maybe Bacon's supporters have got summat going for them.


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