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St George’s Day at Landguard Fort
What do we know of our patron saint,
St George? To be truthful, very little!
Possibly he was born at Lydda
about 270 AD. In 303 under the rule
of Emperor Diocletion in ancient
Niconedia, a young Christian soldier
was arrested for tearing down edicts
ordering torture of Christians and
destruction of churches. For this, he
was put to death, some say by roasting
alive. His bravery and composure
astonished his executioners. This was
probably “our” George. Forward to the
Crusades of C11th – C15th when the
likes of England’s King Richard I (the
Lionheart) and nobility of Christendom
were in the Middle East embroiled in
battle for control of contested Holy
Lands. The knights were captivated by
stories of St. George and adopted him
as a role model.
His feast day was ordered to be a
national festival in England (April
23rd) and when Edward III founded
George’s Chapel at Windsor and
instituted the Order of the Garter St
George became the patron saint of
England.
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Probably because we have so few facts
about him, legend abounded fuelled
by art, literature, fable and forever
embedded in the chivalric tales of
the Crusaders. Thus we picture him in
chain mail and the white tunic with
the familiar red cross as shown in the
English component of our national
union fl ag.
So much for history and the
embellishments of myth. What are we
left with to celebrate on April 23rd?
Dragons a-plenty, fair maidens, as
many as will be rescued from peril,
swordplay to rival d’Artagnan and
brave knights on the battlements.
Nothing of this sadly is part of the
history of our Felixstowe stronghold of
Landguard Fort. Its dates are modern
compared with the times of the real
George, and even of the Middle Ages
where we (wrongly) have always
pictured him. Usually we like to stick
to the facts and be as accurate as
possible with our information. We
aim to teach and bring the past to life
as much as possible. And yet - let’s
break a few rules and have some fun,
TH E FLYER | A PR IL 2017
including the grammatical error of
starting a sentence with “and”. St
George’s day at the Fort will be a day
of dress-up (some of us volunteers
and some of you, the visitors, young
or as young as you feel). Please come
as a knight, maid (or dragon) and let’s
hear it for derring-do and blowing
a trumpet for England’s special day.
There will be one of our super treasure
trails, colouring, model making and
sword practice, and there is as always
our amazing fort to explore. Dragons
will be in evidence.
Join us at Landguard Fort, Felixstowe,
Viewpoint Road IP11 3TW, Sunday
April 23rd.
We are open every day from 1st April
10:00 hrs – 17:00 hrs (last entries
16:00 hrs) but you may fi nd us more
sensible and hysterical – I mean
historical – on other days than St
George’s day.
For further information on St. Georges
day contact Penny or Roger on
01394 283633.
Pl ease menti on ‘The Fl yer’ when respondi ng to adv e rti s e me nts