Tag: Medieval Section AGM

April 2016 AGM followed by St George & England

 

The next Medieval Section AGM will take place on Saturday 9th April 2016 2pm at the Swarthmore Education Centre. Our AGM will be followed by a talk on St George and England by Samantha Riches who will be talking about the material in this largely international cult, and how St George relates to England, including the late Medieval material culture at Windsor, as seen in wall paintings, jewellery, etc.

The image of St George – the medieval knight on his horse, slaying a dragon – is so familiar that it is tempting to assume his history is a simple one, but the reality is very different. St George is one of the most significant mythic characters in Christian culture but he can also be found in other religious traditions, appearing in numerous different guises in cultures the world over. An important figure in Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and western European churches, his analogues can be found in Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and the Afro-Brazilian belief system Candomblé; he also makes frequent appearances in ‘pagan’ belief systems due to his identification with nature, springtime and healing.

With or without his dragon, St George has been repeatedly reinvented over the last 1,700 years. Samantha Riches explores this saint’s significance in nations as varied as Lebanon, Ethiopia and Estonia as well as his totemic role for the Roma people, and provides first-hand accounts of celebrations in Georgia, Greece, Malta and Belgium. She describes the inspiration that artists, poets and playwrights have found in myths of St George and considers the sometimes controversial political uses to which the saint has been put.

The first book to draw together many aspects of the international cult of St George alongside some of the evidence for elements in his English cult that have been largely forgotten, St George: A Saint for All published by Reaktion Books is a fascinating history of an enduring icon.

Samantha Riches is a cultural historian based at Lancaster University. She is the author of Gender and Holiness: Men, Women and Saints in Late Medieval Europe (2011) and St George: Hero, Martyr and Myth (2005).

 

Medieval Section AGM

Medieval Section AGM at Claremont 12th April 2014
Medieval Section AGM at Claremont 12th April 2014

Yesterday’s Medieval Section AGM was one of the best-attended and longest-lasting AGMs that I can remember in all the years that I have been a member. Twenty-one people were present. Unfortunately Axel Muller (Chairman), Jo Heron (Treasurer) and Steve Moorhouse (Hon. Editor) could not come so I read their respective reports to the gathering. Janet Senior kindly stepped in to chair the meeting which meant I was not talking all of the time.

Basically we are in much better shape than we were a year ago.The twin strategy of reviving the Saturday afternoon monthly lectures and creating a section blog has stimulated interest so that once again members are offering themselves for election to committee. Craig Fletcher has joined the committee and replaces Marta Cobb who has stepped down. Thanks to them both for serving. It was the absence of volunteers willing to stand for committee that prompted last year’s proposal that the section be wound up. The membership is about the same at 130, although there are still subscriptions outstanding.

The main point of discussion was the Section journal Medieval Yorkshire. David Asquith kindly offered to facilitate the production of the journal. Whilst David has not said he will become Hon. Editor this is a most welcome step that hopefully will enable us to resume publication of Medieval Yorkshire. Sadly due to the ill-health  of Stephen Moorhouse there has not been any progress with the catch-up volumes 38 and 39/40.

Dr Hugh Willmott addressing the section about Monk Bretton Priory.
Dr Hugh Willmott addressing the section about Monk Bretton Priory.

The AGM was followed by Dr Hugh Willmott (University of Sheffield) who talked to us about recent work at Monk Bretton Priory. I’ll put a summary of this talk on the blog in due course.