Happy St George’s Day and merry Shakespeare Day!
Pictured: Roving players the Aldworth Mummers (who by convention remain anonymous) perform their traditional play outside the village pub The Bell around the midwinter solstice. Mummers plays are based loosely on the legend of St George and the dragon and show the struggle between good and evil, death and rebirth.
We might be celebrating England’s Patron Saint today (April 23), but did you know he wasn’t English at all?
In fact he was an early Christian martyr venerated as a warrior saint and was born in Cappadocia, which is in modern-day Turkey, although at that time the people who lived there were mostly Greek. Some sources say his father was Turkish and mother from Palestine.
The cult of St George had a strong association with England since the Crusades, when he was adopted by Norman and English knights. The St George's flag was adopted by Richard The Lion Heart and brought to England in the 12th century. Soldiers wore the striking red cross on their white tunics to be identified in battle.
While the most popular story about St George is his slaying of a dragon, it is unlikely that he did. During the Middle Ages, dragons often represented the devil, so it is more likely that he chased away bad spirits.
It was during the Hundred Years War with France in the 14th century that he became established as a national saint, and St George’s Day became a major feast day in the early 15th century, but this tradition was lost over time.
George, a devout Christian, enlisted in the Roman army, but fell foul of the formidable Emperor Diocletian, who led purges against Christian believers. He refused to denounce his religion and seeing trouble ahead, gave his property to the poor and freed his slaves. He was imprisoned, tortured and finally beheaded on April 23, 303AD.
“Cry God for Harry, England and St George!”
That’s the immortal rallying cry at the end of the ‘Into the Breach’ speech in William Shakespeare’s Henry V, as he leads his army into battle.
Today, we also celebrate Shakespeare Day. One of England’s greatest playwrights, the Bard of Avon was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564 – most probably on this day. He died on April 23, 1616, so we commemorate both his birth and death at the same time.
And finally, to blow Newbury’s trumpet here…
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, an authentic reconstruction of his original which opened in 1997 has become a successful performance space and a top tourist attraction.
For nearly a decade, Stanford Dingley craftsman Peter McCurdy and his team were closely involved in the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s original ‘wooden O’, carrying out much of the early research and analysis, together with the detailed design and fabrication of the entire oak frame.
They were selected for the project after Sam Wanamaker had seen McCurdy & Co at work on the reconstruction of Barley Hall, a 14th century timber framed building in the centre of York.
As there were no building records in existence the Globe team had to rely on historic reference material, Peter McCurdy’s own knowledge of carpentry methodology of the period and analysis of the relevant contemporary buildings to help determine the overall design. Then in keeping with tradition the phased fabrication of the oak frame was carried out off site at McCurdy’s own local workshops. The shaped timbers were then transported to site for erection.
The greatest challenge was resolving the design for the complex stage and tyring house. Peter McCurdy spent six months surveying timber structures to find historic precedents and also sourcing suitable oak trees from which to shape the 28 foot columns and cross beam supporting the 16 tonne ‘pentice’ roof.
