Wolof

Notable Wolof: Abdoulaye Wade, Djibril Diop Mambéty
Total population
6,207,083[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Senegal 5,689,710 [1]  The Gambia 287,658 [1]  Mauritania 229,715
Languages
Wolof French (Senegal and Mauritania), English (The Gambia), Hassānīya Arabic (Mauritania)
Religion
Sunni Islam (90%), Animism (6%), Christianity (2%)[2]
Related ethnic groups
Lebou Serer

Locator map for Wolof ethnic distribution. Note that this shows areas of traditional concentration of Wolof communities. Distribution of self-identified Wolof people is wider, populations are intermixed, and use of Wolof language has come to be near universal in Senegal.

A Wolof young man, The Gambia

The Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.

In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 43.3% of the population are Wolofs.^[3] Note however that, this figure is somewhat misleading because other tribes who have been Wolofized and speak the Wolof language are added to this figure while they are not originally Wolofs.^[4]

In The Gambia, about 16% of the population are Wolof. Here, they are a minority, where the Mandinka are the plurality with 42% of the population, yet Wolof language and culture have a disproportionate influence because of their prevalence in Banjul, The Gambia's capital, where majority of the population are Wolof.^[5]

In Mauritania, about 8% of the population are Wolof. They live largely in the southern coastal region of the country.

Orthography[link]

In older French publications the spelling "Ouolof" is often used instead of "Wolof". In some English publications, predominantly those referring to Gambian Wolof, the spelling "Wollof" is used, because this spelling will induce native English speakers to pronounce the term correctly as a Wolof speaker.^[6] In publications of the 19th century and before the spelling "Volof" and "Olof" can also be found. Rarely used are also the spellings "Jolof", "Jollof" and "Dyolof". - The term "Wolof" itself may also refer to the Wolof language or to things originating from Wolof culture or tradition.

It is thought the Wolof people originated from a Baffouri population in the Sahara before it became hostile to farming due to desertification. As the environment deteriorated some of them drifted into the Senegalese areas of Futa Toro and modern-day south eastern Mauritania. With the Arab conquests of around 640 AD they were forced to move into north and east Senegal where over time villages developed into autonomous states such as Baol, Kayor, Saloum, Dimar, Walo and Sine the overall ruling state being that of Jolof who came together voluntarily to form the Jolof Empire.

Legend has it that in Walo the fishermen from several villages argued vehemently over firewood which lay along the edge of a lake at Mengen. Just before matters developed into violence a mysterious person called Ndyadyane Ndyaye (Njanjan Njie) arose from the lake and shared out the firewood fairly among the men and promptly vanished much to their bafflement. The decision was made to try and catch him so they feigned another argument and when he appeared he was caught. When Mansa Wali Jon the ruler of Sine, who was himself endowed with supernatural powers, heard about the strange goings on in Mengen he shouted "Ndyadyane Ndyaye" which is an expression of utter amazement. This name was given to the strange visitor (actual name: Amadu Bubakar Ibn Muhammed). He became the first ruler of the new empire with the title Burba Jolof and other states voluntarily pledged allegiance to him. Thus the new empire arose around 300 AD in the Senegambia valley which stretched from the Gambia River and encompassed most of modern-day Senegal.

Historical state[link]

The Wolof Empire was a medieval West African state that ruled parts of Senegal and The Gambia from approximately 1350 to 1890. While only ever consolidated into a single state structure for part of this time, the tradition of governance, caste, and culture of the Wolof dominate the history of north-central Senegal for much of the last 800 years. Its final demise at the hands of French colonial forces in the 1870s-1890s also marks the beginning of the formation of Senegal as a unified state.

By the end of the 15th century, the Wolof states of Jolof, Kayor, Baol and Walo had become united in a federation with Jolof as the metropolitan power. The position of king was held by the Burba Wolof and the rulers of the other component states owed loyalty to him while being allowed local sovereignty in internal state matters. Saloum and Sine were later brought within the union. Before they became involved in trading with the Portuguese merchants on the coast, the Wolof people enjoyed the benefits of long established trading and cultural ties with the Western Sudanese empires and had also benefited from trading with Futa Toro and the Berbers from North Africa. Through these early trading links and organisation the Wolof states grew wealthy and had formidable strength.

Culture[link]

The Wolof people’s traditional culture and practices have survived the colonial era and are a strong element of the Senegalese culture .

Language[link]

"Wolof" is the name of the native language of the Wolof people. At least 50% of Senegal's population are native speakers of Wolof. Members of neighboring groups are often bilingual and can understand Wolof. Wolof culture and language have an enormous influence, especially in urban areas. Wolof is strongly linked to Serer and Fulani in structure with minor Arabic influence.

Religion[link]

The vast majority of the Wolof people are Sufi Muslims. The Senegalese Sufi Muslim brotherhoods, appearing in Wolof communities in the 19th century, grew tremendously in the 20th. Their leaders, or marabouts, exercise a huge cultural and political influence amongst most Muslim communities, most notably the leader of the Mouride brotherhood, Serigne Cheikh Maty Leye Mbacké. The Islam of the Wolof is very tolerant and puts an emphasis on meditation and spirituality.

Wolof ceremonial traditions[link]

Ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, and baptisms, while not unique, have traditional elements distinctive to the Wolof. Many aspects of these traditional ceremonies have merged and been modified through the 20th century.

Weddings[link]

Prior to traditional Wolof wedding ceremonies, the parents of the groom-to-be sends elders to the girl's parents with kola nuts and money to ask for her hand in marriage. The girl's parents consult their daughter and either consent to or reject the proposal.^[7]. If accepted, the parents of the bride to be distribute the kola nuts among the family and neighbours. This distribution is an informal way of announcing the impending wedding. In more traditional practices, the family of the groom-to-be paid the girl's bride price in the form of money. This tradition, where surviving, has been modernized and dowry is paid in money, cars or even houses. After the completion of the groom's obligations, the two families set a wedding day. Before the wedding day, the groom's family gives a party to welcome their daughter-in-law and to prepare her to live with her new family. The imam and elders advise the groom with the presence of some representatives of the bride's parents.

Weddings traditionally take place at the groom's home. Parents receive guests with food and drink (but not alcohol), while guests bring gifts of money, rice, drinks, ships, sugar, or spices. After the ceremony people feast and dance with guests hiring a griot (praise-singer) and giving further gifts to the groom's parents.

Notable Wolof people[link]

This section requires expansion.

• Abdoulaye Wade

Bibliography[link]

• Cissé, Mamadou (2004). Dictionnaire Français-Wolof. Paris: L’Asiathèque. ISBN 2-911053-43-5. 
• Cissé, Mamadou (1994). Contes wolof modernes. Paris: L’Harmattan. ISBN 2-7384-3016-3. 
• Malherbe, Michel; Sall, Cheikh (1989). Parlons Wolof – Langue et culture. Paris: L'Harmattan. ISBN 2-7384-0383-2. 
• Bichler, Gabriele Aïscha (2003). Bejo, Curay und Bin-bim? Die Sprache und Kultur der Wolof im Senegal (mit angeschlossenem Lehrbuch Wolof). Europäische Hochschulschriften. 90. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Verlagsgruppe. ISBN 3-631-39815-8. 
• Fal, Arame; Santos, Rosine; Doneux, Jean Léonce (1990). Dictionnaire wolof-français (suivi d'un index français-wolof). Paris: Karthala. ISBN 2-86537-233-2. 
• Goetz, Rolf (1996). Senegal – Gambia: Praktischer Reiseführer an die Westküste Afrikas. Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Peter Meyer Reiseführer. ISBN 3-922057-09-8. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• Info page about the Wolof people
• Yahoo group about Wolof (English) (German)

Portrait of the Chevalier de Saint-George.

Joseph Bo(u)logne, Chevalier de Saint-George (sometimes erroneously spelled Saint-Georges) (December 25, 1745 – June 10, 1799) was an important figure in the Paris musical scene in the second half of the 18th century as composer, conductor, and violinist. Prior to the revolution in France, he was also famous as a swordsman and equestrian. Known as the "black Mozart"^[1] he was one of the earliest musicians of the European classical type known to have African ancestry.

Youth[link]

Joseph Bologne was born in Guadeloupe to Nanon, a Wolof former slave, and a white French plantation owner, Georges Bologne de Saint-George. Although his father called himself de Saint-George, after one of his properties, he was not born into the nobility. Some biographers have mistaken him for Pierre Tavernier-Boulogne, Controller-General of Finances, whose nobility dated back to the 15th century. The confusion surrounding the nobility of Saint-George's father originated with Roger de Beauvoir’s novel of 1840 ("Le Chevalier de Saint-George"). However, Georges Bologne was not ennobled until 1757, when he acquired the title of Gentilhomme ordinaire de la chambre du roi, and noble rank was hereditary only for children born in wedlock.

In 1747 George Bologne was falsely accused of murder and fled to France with Nanon and her child to prevent their being sold. After two years he was granted a royal pardon and the family returned to Guadeloupe. In 1753, George took Joseph, who was then eight, to France permanently where he was enrolled in a private academy.

At the age of 13 Saint-George became a pupil of La Boëssière, a master of arms, and excelled in all physical exercises, especially fencing. When still a student, Saint-George beat Alexandre Picard, a fencing-master of Rouen, who had mocked him as ‘La Boëssière’s upstart mulatto’, and was rewarded by his father with a horse and buggy. He also studied literature and horseback riding, and became an exceptional violinist.

On 5 April 1762, King Louis XV decreed that people of color (blacks (nègres) and mulattos) must register with the clerk of the Admiralty within two months. Saint-George's mother, Nanon, registered herself as age 34 at that time. On 10 May 1762, La Bossière registered Saint-George as "Joseph de Boulogne".

On graduating at the age of 19, he was made a Gendarme de la Garde du Roi (member of the royal guard). After the end of the Seven Years' War, George Bologne returned to his Guadeloupe plantations, leaving his son in France with a handsome annuity. The young chevalier became the darling of fashionable society; contemporary accounts speak of his romantic conquests. In 1766 the Italian fencer Giuseppe Faldoni came to Paris to challenge Saint-George. Faldoni won, but proclaimed Saint-George the finest swordsman in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

He studied music in Saint-Domingue with the black violinist Joseph Platon before emigrating to Paris in 1752. Platon would later play an unspecified Saint-George violin concerto at Port-au-Prince (Haiti) on April 25, 1780.

After 1764, works dedicated to him by Lolli and Gossec suggest that Gossec was his composition teacher and that Lolli taught him violin. Saint-George’s technical approach was similar to that of Gaviniés, who may also have taught him. In 1769 he became a member of Gossec’s new orchestra, the Concert des Amateurs, at the Hôtel de Soubise, and was soon named its leader.

The Chevalier de Saint-George in a 1787 painting probably commissioned by the future George IV of the United Kingdom.

While still a young man, he acquired multiple reputations; as the best swordsman in France, as a violin virtuoso, and as a composer in the classical tradition. He composed and conducted for the private orchestra and theatre of the Marquise de Montesson, morganatic wife of the King's cousin, Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. In 1771, he was appointed maestro of the Concert des Amateurs, and later director of the Concert de la Loge Olympique, the biggest orchestra of his time (65-70 musicians). This orchestra commissioned Joseph Haydn to compose six symphonies (the "Paris Symphonies" Nr. 82-87), which Saint-George conducted for their world premiere. In respect of his skill as both a composer and musician, he was selected for appointment as the director of the Royal Opera of Louis XVI. But this was prevented by three Parisian divas who petitioned the Queen in writing against the appointment, insisting that it would be beneath their dignity and injurious to their professional reputations for them to sing on stage under the direction of "a mulatto". To spare St. George public humiliation, the King decreed that henceforth the position of director could only be filled by promotion from within the ranks of the orchestra.

Thwarted in his musical career, Saint-George earned fresh renown as a competitive fencer. He had already been dubbed "chevalier" by appreciative crowds at the Palais Royal. There is a famous portrait of him crossing swords in an exhibition match with the French transvestite spy-in-exile, the Chevalier d'Eon, in the presence of the Prince of Wales, Britain's future king George IV.

Like many others associated with the aristocracy and the royal court at Versailles, Saint-George served in the army of the Revolution against France's foreign enemies, although he is not known to have joined the domestic revolutionary struggle prior to the imprisonment of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Nonetheless, Saint-George would pay dearly for consenting to become the first black colonel of the French army, in its fight for the Revolution. He took command of a regiment of a thousand free colored volunteers, largely consisting of former slaves from the region of his birth. With these troops, he arrested General Miaczinski at Lille, thwarting the betrayal of General Dumouriez. Repeatedly denounced, however, because of his aristocratic parentage and past association with the royal court, Saint-George was dismissed from the army on September 25, 1793, accused of using public funds for personal gain. He was acquitted after spending 18 months in jail.

After the revolution, Saint-George continued to lead orchestras but, abandoned by his former patrons, his circumstances became straitened and his lifestyle bore little resemblance to that he enjoyed under the monarchy. Joseph de Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George died in 1799 at the age of 54. In the ensuing 200 years, he fell largely into obscurity.

Music[link]

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In 1787, Saint-George conducted the premières of Joseph Haydn's six "Paris symphonies." Marie-Antoinette had them performed several nights in a row, such that one of these symphonies, No. 85, was subtitled "The Queen," in her honor.

Mozart stayed in Paris in 1778 during the time of Saint-George's triumph.

Saint-George's second opera, La Chasse (The Hunt, now lost), first performed on October 12, 1778, was enthusiastically received by the audience and the press alike.

Saint-George owed his fame as much to his virtuosity as to his compositions. His concertos attracted crowds to the Hôtel de Soubise (now the National Archives), and to performances by the Concert des Amateurs (eighty musicians), led by Saint-George. The composer's operas (including one for which the libretto was written by Choderlos de Laclos) enjoyed undeniable popularity at the Italian Comedy. Saint-George's qualities as a conductor were such that his orchestras were considered to be among the best in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Selected works[link]

Saint-George wrote symphonies, roughly 25 concertos for violin and orchestra, string quartets, sonatas, and songs in the style of Mozart, Haydn and the composers of the "Mannheim school". He also wrote at least five operas with a possible sixth opera, Le droit de seigneur, disputed among music scholars. Excerpts from his first opera, Ernestine, were also used in an opera pastiche, Recueil d’airs et duos, along with music by other composers.

G 2 \ String Quartet Op. 1 No. 1 in C major
G 3 \ String Quartet Op. 1 No. 2 in E flat major
G 4 \ String Quartet Op. 1 No. 3 in G minor
G 5 \ String Quartet Op. 1 No. 4 in C minor
G 6 \ String Quartet Op. 1 No. 5 in G minor
G 7 \ String Quartet Op. 1 No. 6 in D major
G 10 \ Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 1 in D major
G 11 \ Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 2 in C major
G 21 \ Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 10 in D major
G 22 \ Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 11 in G major
G 23 \ Symphony Concertante in E flat major
G 24 \ Symphony Concertante in G major
G 25 \ Violin Concerto Op. 2 No. 1 in G major
G 26 \ Violin Concerto Op. 2 No. 2 in D major
G 27 \ Violin Concerto Op. 3 No. 1 in D major
G 28 \ Violin Concerto Op. 3 No. 2 in A minor
G 29 \ Violin Concerto Op. 4 in D major
G 31 \ Violin Concerto Op. 5 No. 1 in C major
G 32 \ Violin Concerto Op. 5 No. 2 in A major
G 37 \ Symphony Concertante Op. 6 No. 1 in C major
G 38 \ Symphony Concertante Op. 6 No. 2 in B flat major
G 39 \ Violin Concerto Op. 7 No. 1 in A major
G 40 \ Violin Concerto Op. 7 No. 2 in B flat major
G 49 \ Symphony Concertante Op. 10 No. 2 in A major
G 50 \ Violin Concerto Op. 8 in G major
G 64 \ Symphony Concertante Op. 10 No. 1 in F major
G 65 \ Symphony Concertante Op. 9 No. 1 in C major
G 66 \ Symphony Concertante Op. 9 No. 2 in A major
G 67 \ String Quartet No. 7 in B flat major
G 68 \ String Quartet No. 8 in G minor
G 69 \ String Quartet No. 9 in C major
G 70 \ String Quartet No. 10 in F major
G 71 \ String Quartet No. 11 in G major
G 72 \ String Quartet No. 12 in B flat major
G 73 \ Symphony Op. 11 No. 1 in G major
G 74 \ Symphony Op. 11 No. 2 in D major
G 75 \ L'amant anonyme
G 76 \ Sonata for keyboard & violin in B flat major
G 77 \ Sonata for keyboard & violin in A major
G 78 \ Sonata for keyboard & violin in G minor
G 79 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 3 in D major
G 80 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 1 in C major
G 81 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 5 in B flat major
G 82 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 10 in F major
G 83 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 4 in D major
G 84 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 8 in D major
G 85 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 2 in G minor
G 86 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 6 in E flat major
G 87 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 9 in D major
G 88 \ Harpsichord Sonata No. 11 in C major
G 89 \ Variations for keyboard & violin in G major
G 191 \ String Quartet Op. 14 No. 1 in D major
G 192 \ String Quartet Op. 14 No. 2 in B flat major
G 193 \ String Quartet Op. 14 No. 3 in F minor
G 194 \ String Quartet Op. 14 No. 4 in G major
G 195 \ String Quartet Op. 14 No. 5 in E flat major
G 196 \ String Quartet Op. 14 No. 6 in G minor
G 209 \ Violin Sonata Op. posth. 1 No. 1 in B flat major
G 210 \ Violin Sonata Op. posth. 1 No. 2 in E flat major
G 211 \ Violin Sonata Op. posth. 1 No. 3 in A major
G 212 \ Violin Sonata Op. posth. 1 No. 4
G 213 \ Violin Sonata Op. posth. 1 No. 5
G 214 \ Violin Sonata Op. posth. 1 No. 6
G 215 \ Violin Concerto Op. posth. 2 in D major

Operas[link]

• Ernestine (1777)
• La partie de la chasse (1778)
• La fille-garçon (1787)
• Aline et Dupré (1788)
• Guillaume tout coeur (1790)

Ballet[link]

• L’amant anonyme (1780)

Selected discography[link]

• AFKA 557 - Quartetto Concertans 1777

String Quartet No. 7 in B flat major - G 067
String Quartet No. 8 in G minor - G 068
String Quartet No. 9 in C major - G 069
String Quartet No.10 in F major - G 070
String Quartet No.11 in G major - G 071
String Quartet No.12 in B flat major - G 072
Coleridge String Quartet - String Quartet

• Arion 55445 - Sonates pour violon

Sonata for keyboard & violin in A major - G 077
Variations for keyboard & violin in G major - G 089
Sonata for keyboard & violin in B flat major - G 076
Sonata for keyboard & violin in G minor - G 078
Kantorow, Jean-Jacques - Violin
Haudebourg, Brigitte - Harpsichord

• Assai 222622 - Six quatuors à cordes Op. 14

String Quartet Op. 14 No.6 in G minor - G 196
String Quartet Op. 14 No.1 in D major - G 191
String Quartet Op. 14 No.3 in F minor - G 193
String Quartet Op. 14 No.4 in G major - G 194
String Quartet Op. 14 No.2 in B flat major - G 192
String Quartet Op. 14 No.5 in E flat major - G 195
Quatuor Atlantis - String Quartet

• Avenira 9985 - Symphonies & Violin Concertos vol 1

Symphony Op. 11 No.2 in D major - G 074
Violin Concerto Op. 3 No.1 in D major - G 027
Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 1 in D major - G 010
Violin Concerto Op. 2 No.2 in D major - G 026
Vilimec, Miroslav - Violin
Radio Symphony Orchestra Pilsen

• Avenira 9986 - Symphonies & Violin Concertos vol 2

Violin Concerto Op. 8 in G major - G 050
Violin Concerto Op. 4 in D major - G 029
Violin Concerto Op. 2 No.1 in G major - G 025
Vilimec, Miroslav - Violin
Radio Symphony Orchestra Pilsen

• Avenira 9987 - Symphonies & Violin Concertos vol 3

Symphony Concertante Op. 9 No.2 in A major - G 066
Violin Concerto Op. 5 No.1 in C major - G 031
Symphony Concertante in E flat major - G 023
Violin Concerto Op. 7 No.2 in B flat major - G 040
Vilimec, Miroslav - Violin
Radio Symphony Orchestra Pilsen

• Avenira 9988 - Symphonies & Violin Concertos vol 4

Symphony Concertante Op. 10 No.1 in F major - G 064
Violin Concerto Op. 5 No.2 in A major - G 032
Symphony Concertante in G major - G 024
Violin Concerto Op. 1 No.10 in D major - G 021
Vilimec, Miroslav - Violin
Radio Symphony Orchestra Pilsen

• Avenira 9989 - Symphonies & Violin Concertos vol 5

Symphony Concertante Op. 9 No.1 in C major - G 065
Violin Concerto Op. 3 No.2 in A minor - G 028
Symphony Concertante Op. 10 No.2 in A major - G 049
Violin Concerto Op. 1 No.11 in G major - G 022
Vilimec, Miroslav - Violin
Radio Symphony Orchestra Pilsen

• BNL 112934 - Les 10 Sonates pour clavecin

Harpsichord Sonata No.11 in C major - G 088
Harpsichord Sonata No. 2 in G minor - G 085
Harpsichord Sonata No. 9 in D major - G 087
Harpsichord Sonata No. 3 in D major - G 079
Harpsichord Sonata No. 5 in B flat major - G 081
Harpsichord Sonata No. 1 in C major - G 080
Harpsichord Sonata No. 6 in E flat major - G 086
Harpsichord Sonata No. 4 in D major - G 083
Harpsichord Sonata No. 8 in D major - G 084
Harpsichord Sonata No.10 in F major - G 082
Robert, Anne - Harpsichord

• CBC 5225 - Le Mozart Noir

Symphony Op. 11 No.1 in G major - G 073
L'amant anonyme - G 075
Violin Concerto Op. 3 No.1 in D major - G 027
with works by Leclair and Gossec
Tafelmusik
Lamon, Jeanne - Conductor

• Naxos 8.555040 - Saint-Georges: Violin Concertos Op. 5, Nos. 1-2 and Op. 8

Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Helmut Mueller-Bruehl; Takako Nishizaki, violin

• Naxos 8.557322 - Saint-Georges: Violin Concertos No. 1, Op. 3 and Nos. 2 and 10

Toronto Camerata, Kevin Mallon; Qian Zhou, violin

Notes[link]

1. ^ "On l'appelait le « Mozart noir »." La Presse, 20 February 2010.

References[link]

• (French) Pierre Bardin, Joseph de Saint George, le chevalier noir, Guénégaud, 2006 (ISBN 2-85023-126-6)
• (French) Claude Ribbe, Le Chevalier de Saint-George, Paris, Perrin, 2004 (ISBN 2-262-02002-7)
• Gabriel Banat, The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow, Pendragon Press, 2006 (ISBN 1-57647-109-8)
• (French) Daniel Marciano, Le chevalier de Saint-Georges, le fils de Noémie, Thespis (ISBN 2-9521894-1-2)
• (French) ScérEn-CRDP de la Guadeloupe et Association pour l'Étude de la vie et de l'œuvre du Chevalier de Saint-George, Le Chevalier de Saint-George, 2005, ouvrage collectif
• (French) Emil F. Smidak, Joseph Boulogne, nommé Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Lucerne, Avenira Foundation, 1996 (ISBN 3-905112-08-6)
• (French) Alain Le Bihan, Francs-maçons et ateliers parisiens de la Grande Loge de France au XVIIIe siècle : 1760-1795, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, 1973
• (French) Luc Nemeth, « Un état civil chargé d'enjeux : Saint-George, 1745-1799 », Annales historiques de la Révolution française, n. 339, janvier 2005, pp. 79–97.
• Alain Guédé, Monsieur de Saint-George: Virtuoso, Swordsman, Revolutionary. New York: Picador, 2003.
• Leslie Bethell, The Cambridge history of Latin America, Volume I, Colonial Latin America, published by Cambridge University Press, 1984 (ISBN 0-521-23223-6, ISBN 978-0-521-23223-4)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joseph Boulogne de Saint-George

• Free scores by Chevalier de Saint-George at the International Music Score Library Project
• Free scores by Chevalier de Saint-Georges in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
• Joseph Boulogne - Chevalier de Saint-George, 1745 - 1799
• Le Mozart Noir Film: Reviving a Legend
• Life and list of works
  • (French) Fameuxchevalier.net
  • (English) Chevalierdesaintgeorge.com,
• Chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com

Saint George of Lydda
Saint George, 1472, by Carlo Crivelli
Martyr
Born	between c. AD 256 and 285 Lydda, Syria Palaestina, Roman Empire[1][2]
Died	April 23, 303 Nicomedia, Bithynia, Roman Empire[1][2]
Honored in	Roman Catholicism Anglicanism Lutheranism Oriental Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Church of Saint George, Lod
Feast	April 23
Attributes	Clothed as a soldier in a suit of armour or chain mail, often bearing a lance tipped by a cross, riding a white horse, often slaying a dragon. In the West he is shown with St George's Cross emblazoned on his armour, or shield or banner.
Patronage	Many Patronages of Saint George exist around the world

Saint George (c. 275/281 – 23 April 303) was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a soldier in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic (Western and Eastern Rites), Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox churches. He is immortalized in the tale of Saint George and the Dragon and is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. His memorial is celebrated on 23 April, and he is regarded as one of the most prominent military saints.

Many Patronages of Saint George exist around the world, including: Georgia, England, Egypt, Bulgaria, Aragon, Catalonia, Romania, Ethiopia, Greece, India, Iraq, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Serbia, Ukraine and Russia, as well as the cities of Genoa, Amersfoort, Beirut, Botoşani, Drobeta Turnu-Severin, Timişoara, Fakiha, Bteghrine, Cáceres, Ferrara, Freiburg, Kragujevac, Kumanovo, Ljubljana, Pérouges, Pomorie, Preston, Qormi, Rio de Janeiro, Lod, Lviv, Barcelona, Moscow, Tamworth and the Maltese island of Gozo, as well as of the Scout Movement^[3] and a wide range of professions, organizations and disease sufferers.

Life of saint George[link]

Historians have debated the exact details of the birth of Saint George for over a century, although the approximate date of his death is subject to little debate.^[4][5] The Catholic Encyclopedia takes the position that there seems to be no ground for doubting the historical existence of Saint George, but that little faith can be placed in some of the fanciful stories about him.^[6]

The work of the Bollandists Danile Paperbroch, Jean Bolland and Godfrey Henschen in the 17th century was one of the first pieces of scholarly research to establish the historicity of the saint's existence via their publications in Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca and paved the way for other scholars to dismiss the medieval legends.^[7][8] Pope Gelasius stated that George was among those saints "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God."^[9]

The traditional legends have offered a historicised narration of George's encounter with a dragon: see "St. George and the Dragon" below. The modern legend that follows below is synthesised from early and late hagiographical sources, omitting the more fantastical episodes, to narrate a purely human military career in closer harmony with modern expectations of reality. Chief among the legendary sources about the saint is the Golden Legend, which remains the most familiar version in English owing to William Caxton's 15th-century translation.^[10]

It is likely that Saint George was born to a Christian noble family in Lod, Syria Palaestina during the late third century between about 275 AD and 285 AD, and he died in Nicomedia.^[1][2] His father, Gerontius, was a Roman army official from Cappadocia and his mother, Polychronia, was from Palestine. They were both Christians and from noble families of Anici, so the child was raised with Christian beliefs. They decided to call him Georgius (Latin) or Geōrgios (Greek), meaning "worker of the land". At the age of 14, George lost his father; a few years later, George's mother, Polychronia, died.^{[11][12][13][14]} Eastern accounts give the names of his parents as Anastasius and Theobaste.^{[citation needed]}

Saint George Killing the Dragon, 1434/35, by Martorell

Then George decided to go to Nicomedia, the imperial city of that time, and present himself to Emperor Diocletian to apply for a career as a soldier. Diocletian welcomed him with open arms, as he had known his father, Gerontius — one of his finest soldiers. By his late 20s, George was promoted to the rank of Tribunus and stationed as an imperial guard of the Emperor at Nicomedia.^[15]

In the year AD 302, Diocletian (influenced by Galerius) issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Roman gods of the time. However George objected and with the courage of his faith approached the Emperor and ruler. Diocletian was upset, not wanting to lose his best tribune and the son of his best official, Gerontius. George loudly renounced the Emperor's edict, and in front of his fellow soldiers and Tribunes he claimed himself to be a Christian and declared his worship of Jesus Christ. Diocletian attempted to convert George, even offering gifts of land, money and slaves if he made a sacrifice to the Roman gods. The Emperor made many offers, but George never accepted.^[16]

Recognizing the futility of his efforts, Diocletian was left with no choice but to have him executed for his refusal. Before the execution George gave his wealth to the poor and prepared himself. After various torture sessions, including laceration on a wheel of swords in which he was resuscitated three times, George was executed by decapitation before Nicomedia's city wall, on April 23, 303. A witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become Christians as well, and so they joined George in martyrdom. His body was returned to Lydda in Palestine for burial, where Christians soon came to honour him as a martyr.^[17][18]:166

Although the above distillation of the legend of George connects him to the conversion of Athanasius, who according to Rufinus was brought up by Christian ecclesiastical authorities from a very early age,^[19] Edward Gibbon^[20][21] argued that George, or at least the legend from which the above is distilled, is based on George of Cappadocia,^[22][23] a notorious Arian bishop who was Athanasius' most bitter rival, who in time became Saint George of England. According to Professor Bury, Gibbon's latest editor, "this theory of Gibbon's has nothing to be said for it". He adds that: "the connection of St. George with a dragon-slaying legend does not relegate him to the region of the myth".^[24]

In 1856 Ralph Waldo Emerson published a book of essays entitled "English Traits". In it, he wrote a paragraph on the history of Saint George. Emerson compared the legend of Saint George to the legend of Amerigo Vespucci, calling the former "an impostor" and the latter "a thief".^[25][26] The editorial notes appended to the 1904 edition of Emerson's complete works state that Emerson based his account on the work of Gibbon, and that current evidence seems to show that real St. George was not George the Arian of Cappadocia.^[25] Merton M. Sealts also quotes Edward Emerson, Ralph Waldo Emerson's youngest son as stating that he believed his father's account was derived from Gibbon and that the real St. George "was apparently another who died two generations earlier".^[27]

Saint George and the dragon[link]

Eastern Orthodox depictions of Saint George slaying a dragon often include the image of the young maiden who looks on from a distance. The standard iconographic interpretation of the image icon is that the dragon represents both Satan (Rev. 12:3) and the Roman Empire. The young maiden is none other than the wife of Diocletian, Alexandra. Thus, the image as interpreted through the language of Byzantine Iconography, is an image of the martyrdom of the saint.

The episode of St George and the Dragon was a legend^[28] brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances belonging to the genre of Romance. The earliest known depiction of the legend is from early eleventh-century Cappadocia, (in the iconography of the Eastern Orthodox Church, George had been depicted as a soldier since at least the seventh century); the earliest known surviving narrative text is an eleventh-century Georgian text.

White George on the coat of arms of Georgia.

In the fully developed Western version, which developed as part of the Golden Legend, a dragon or crocodile makes its nest at the spring that provides water for the city of "Silene" (perhaps modern Cyrene in Libya or the city of Lydda in the Holy Land, depending on the source). Consequently, the citizens have to dislodge the dragon from its nest for a time, to collect water. To do so, each day they offer the dragon at first a sheep, and if no sheep can be found, then a maiden must go instead of the sheep. The victim is chosen by drawing lots. One day, this happens to be the princess. The monarch begs for her life to be spared, but to no avail. She is offered to the dragon, but there appears Saint George on his travels. He faces the dragon, protects himself with the sign of the Cross,^[29] slays the dragon, and rescues the princess. The grateful citizens abandon their ancestral paganism and convert to Christianity.

The dragon motif was first combined with the standardised Passio Georgii in Vincent of Beauvais' encyclopaedic Speculum Historiale and then in Jacobus de Voragine's "Golden Legend," which guaranteed its popularity in the later Middle Ages as a literary and pictorial subject.

The parallels with Perseus and Andromeda are inescapable. In the allegorical reading, the dragon embodies a suppressed pagan cult.^[30] The story has other roots that predate Christianity. Examples such as Sabazios, the sky father, who was usually depicted riding on horseback, and Zeus's defeat of Typhon the Titan in Greek mythology, along with examples from Germanic and Vedic traditions, have led a number of historians, such as Loomis, to suggest that George is a Christianized version of older deities in Indo-European culture.

In the medieval romances, the lance with which St George slew the dragon was called Ascalon, named after the city of Ashkelon in the Levant.^[31]

Veneration as a martyr[link]

The martyrdom of Saint George, by Paolo Veronese, 1564

A church built in Lydda during the reign of Constantine I (reigned 306–37), was consecrated to "a man of the highest distinction", according to the church history of Eusebius of Caesarea; the name of the patron^[32] was not disclosed, but later he was asserted to have been George.

By the time of the Muslim conquest in the seventh century, a basilica dedicated to the saint in Lydda existed.^[33] The church was destroyed in 1010 but was later rebuilt and dedicated to Saint George by the Crusaders. In 1191 and during the conflict known as the Third Crusade (1189–92), the church was again destroyed by the forces of Saladin, Sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty (reigned 1171–93). A new church was erected in 1872 and is still standing.

During the fourth century the veneration of George spread from Palestine through Lebanon to the rest of the Eastern Roman Empire – though the martyr is not mentioned in the Syriac Breviarium^[18] – and Georgia. In Georgia the feast day on November 23 is credited to St Nino of Cappadocia, who in Georgian hagiography is a relative of St George, credited with bringing Christianity to the Georgians in the fourth century. By the fifth century, the cult of Saint George had reached the Western Roman Empire as well: in 494, George was canonized as a saint by Pope Gelasius I, among those "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to [God]."

In England the earliest dedication to George, who was mentioned among the martyrs by Bede, is a church at Fordington, Dorset, that is mentioned in the wars of Alfred the Great. "Saint George and his feast day began to gain more widespread fame among all Europeans, however, from the time of the Crusades."^[34] The St. George's flag, a red cross on a white field, was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the Genoese fleet during the Crusades, and the English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege.^{[citation needed]} An apparition of George heartened the Franks at the siege of Antioch, 1098, and made a similar appearance the following year at Jerusalem. Chivalric military Order of St. George were established in Aragon (1201), Genoa, Hungary, and by Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor,^[35] and in England the Synod of Oxford, 1222 declared St George's Day a feast day in the kingdom of England. Edward III put his Order of the Garter under the banner of St. George, probably in 1348. The chronicler Froissart observed the English invoking St. George as a battle cry on several occasions during the Hundred Years' War. In his rise as a national saint George was aided by the very fact that the saint had no legendary connection with England, and no specifically localized shrine, as of Thomas Becket at Canterbury: "Consequently, numerous shrines were established during the late fifteenth century," Muriel C. McClendon has written,^[36] "and his did not become closely identified with a particular occupation or with the cure of a specific malady."

The establishment of George as a popular saint and protective giant^[37] in the West that had captured the medieval imagination was codified by the official elevation of his feast to a festum duplex^[38] at a church council in 1415, on the date that had become associated with his martyrdom, 23 April. There was wide latitude from community to community in celebration of the day across late medieval and early modern England,^[39] and no uniform "national" celebration elsewhere, a token of the popular and vernacular nature of George's cultus and its local horizons, supported by a local guild or confraternity under George's protection, or the dedication of a local church. When the Reformation in England severely curtailed the saints' days in the calendar, St. George's Day was among the holidays that continued to be observed.

Sources[link]

The Coat of Arms of Moscow depicts a horseman often informally identified with Saint George.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the earliest text preserving fragments of George's narrative is in an Acta Sanctorum identified by Hippolyte Delehaye of the scholarly Bollandists to be a palimpsest of the fifth century. However, this Acta Sancti Georgii was soon banned as heresy by Pope Gelasius I (in 496).

The compiler of this Acta, according to Hippolyte Delehaye "confused the martyr with his namesake, the celebrated George of Cappadocia, the Arian intruder into the see of Alexandria and enemy of St. Athanasius". A critical edition of a Syriac Acta of Saint George, accompanied by an annotated English translation was published by E.W. Brooks (1863–1955) in 1925. The hagiography was originally written in Greek.

In Sweden, the princess rescued by Saint George is held to represent the kingdom of Sweden, while the dragon represents an invading army. Several sculptures of Saint George battling the dragon can be found in Stockholm, the earliest inside Storkyrkan ("The Great Church") in the Old Town.

The façade of architect Antoni Gaudi's famous Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Spain depicts this allegory.

In Islamic cultures[link]

Saint George is somewhat of an exception among saints and legends, in that he is known and respected by Muslims, as well as venerated by Christians throughout the Middle East, from Egypt to Asia Minor.^[40] His stature in these regions derives from the fact that his figure has become somewhat of a composite character mixing elements from Biblical, Quranic and folkloric sources, at times being partially identified with Al-Khidr.^[40] He is said to have killed a dragon near the sea in Beirut and at the beginning of the 20th century Muslim women used to visit his shrine in the area to pray to him.^[40]

Feast days[link]

In the General Calendar of the Roman Rite the feast of Saint George is on April 23(or an easier way to remember it is 23/4). In the Tridentine Calendar it was given the rank of "Semidouble". In Pope Pius XII's 1955 calendar this rank is reduced to "Simple". In Pope John XXIII's 1960 calendar the celebration to just a "Commemoration". In Pope Paul VI's 1969 calendar it is raised to the level of an optional "Memorial". In some countries, such as England, the rank is higher.

St George is very much honoured by the Eastern Orthodox Church, wherein he is referred to as a "Great Martyr", and in Oriental Orthodoxy overall. His major feast day is on April 23 (Julian Calendar April 23 currently corresponds to Gregorian Calendar May 6). If, however, the feast occurs before Easter, it is celebrated on Easter Monday instead. The Russian Orthodox Church also celebrates two additional feasts in honour of St. George: one on November 3 commemorating the consecration of a cathedral dedicated to him in Lydda during the reign Constantine the Great (305–37). When the church was consecrated, the relics of the St. George were transferred there. The other feast on November 26 for a church dedicated to him in Kiev, ca. 1054.

In Egypt the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria refers to St George as the "Prince of Martyrs" and celebrates his martyrdom on the 23rd of Paremhat of the Coptic Calendar equivalent to May 1. The Copts also celebrate the consecration of the first church dedicated to him on June 10.

Patronages[link]

St George's monument in Tbilisi, Georgia.

A highly celebrated saint in both the Western and Eastern Christian churches, a large number of Patronages of Saint George exist throughout the world.^[41]

St. George is the patron saint of England; his cross forms the national flag of England, and features within the Union Flag of the United Kingdom. Traces of the cult of Saint George in England pre-date the Norman Conquest in the eleventh century;^{[citation needed]} by the fourteenth century the saint had been declared both the patron saint and the protector of the royal family.^[42]

The country of Georgia, where devotions to the saint date back to the fourth century, is not technically named after the saint, but is a well-attested backward derivation of the English name. However, a large number of towns and cities around the world are. Saint George is one of the patron Saints of Georgia; the name Georgia (Sakartvelo in Georgian) is an anglicisation of Gurj, derived from the Persian word for the frightening and heroic people in that territory.^[43] However, chronicles describing the land as Georgie or Georgia in French and English, date from the early Middle Ages "because of their special reverence for Saint George",^[44] but these accounts have been seen as folk etymology;^{[citation needed]} compare Land of Prester John.

There are exactly 365 Orthodox churches in Georgia named after Saint George according to the number of days in a year. According to myth, St. George was cut into 365 pieces after he fell in battle and every single piece was spread throughout the entire country.^[45][46][47] According to another myth, Saint George appeared in person during the Battle of Didgori to support the Georgian victory over the Seldjuk army and the Georgian uprising against Persian rule. Saint George is considered by many Georgians to have special meaning as a symbol of national liberation.^[48]

Devotions to Saint George in Portugal date back to the twelfth century, and Saint Constable attributed the victory of the Portuguese in the battle of Aljubarrota in the fourteenth century to Saint George. During the reign of King John I (1357–1433) Saint George became the patron saint of Portugal and the King ordered that the saint's image on the horse be carried in the Corpus Christi procession. In fact, the Portuguese Army motto means Portugal and Saint George, in perils and in efforts of war.^[49]

Saint George is also one of the patron saints of the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo. In a battle between the Maltese and the Moors, Saint George was alleged to have been seen with Saint Paul and Saint Agata, protecting the Maltese. Besides being the patron of Victoria where St. George's Basilica, Malta is dedicated to him, St George is the protector of the island Gozo.^[50]

Interfaith Shrine[link]

Saint George dragged through the streets (detail), by Bernardo Martorell, 15th century

There is a tradition in the Holy Land of Christians and Muslim going to an Eastern Orthodox shrine of St. George at Beith Jala, Jews also attending the site in the belief that the prophet Elijah was buried there. This is testified to by Elizabeth Finn in 1866, where she wrote, "St. George killed the dragon in this country Palestine; and the place is shown close to Beirut (Lebanon). Many churches and convents are named after him. The church at Lydda is dedicated to St. George: so is a convent near Bethlehem, and another small one just opposite the Jaffa gate; and others beside. The Arabs believe that St. George can restore mad people to their senses; and to say a person has been sent to St. George's, is equivalent to saying he has been sent to a madhouse. It is singular that the Moslem Arabs share this veneration for St. George, and send their mad people to be cured by him, as well as the Christians. But they commonly call him El Khudder —The Green—according to their favourite manner of using epithets instead of names. Why he should be called green, however, I cannot tell—unless it is from the colour of his horse. Gray horses are called green in Arabic."^[51] A possible explanation for this colour reference is Al Khidr, the erstwhile tutor of Moses, gained his name from having sat in a barren desert, turning it into a lush green paradise.

William Dalrymple reviewing the literature in 1999 tells us that J. E. Hanauer in his 1907 book Folklore of the Holy Land: Muslim, Christian and Jewish "mentioned a shrine in the village of Beit Jala, beside Bethlehem, which at the time was frequented by all three of Palestine's religious communities. Christians regarded it as the birthplace of St. George, Jews as the burial place of the Prophet Elias. According to Hanauer, in his day the monastery was "a sort of madhouse. Deranged persons of all the three faiths are taken thither and chained in the court of the chapel, where they are kept for forty days on bread and water, the Eastern Orthodox priest at the head of the establishment now and then reading the Gospel over them, or administering a whipping as the case demands.'^[52] In the 1920s, according to Taufiq Canaan's Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine, nothing seemed to have changed, and all three communities were still visiting the shrine and praying together."^[53]

Dalrymple himself visited the place in 1995. "I asked around in the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem, and discovered that the place was very much alive. With all the greatest shrines in the Christian world to choose from, it seemed that when the local Arab Christians had a problem – an illness, or something more complicated: a husband detained in an Israeli prison camp, for example – they preferred to seek the intercession of St George in his grubby little shrine at Beit Jala rather than praying at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem or the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem."^[53] He asked the priest at the shrine "Do you get many Muslims coming here?" The priest replied, "We get hundreds! Almost as many as the Christian pilgrims. Often, when I come in here, I find Muslims all over the floor, in the aisles, up and down."^[53][54][55]

The Encyclopædia Britannica quotes G.A. Smith in his Historic Geography of the Holy Land p. 164 saying "The Mahommedans who usually identify St. George with the prophet Elijah, at Lydda confound his legend with one about Christ himself. Their name for Antichrist is Dajjal, and they have a tradition that Jesus will slay Antichrist by the gate of Lydda. The notion sprang from an ancient bas-relief of George and the Dragon on the Lydda church. But Dajjal may be derived, by a very common confusion between n and l, from Dagon, whose name two neighbouring villages bear to this day, while one of the gates of Lydda used to be called the Gate of Dagon."^[56]

Colours and flag[link]

St George's cross

The "Colours of Saint George", or St George's Cross are a white flag with a red cross, frequently borne by entities over which he is patron (e.g. the Republic of Genoa and then Liguria, England, Georgia, Catalonia, Aragon, etc.).

The cross was originally the personal flag of another saint and key Christian figure, St. Ambrose. Adopted by the city of Milan (of which he was Archbishop) at least as early as the Ninth century, its use spread over Northern Italy including Genoa. Genoa's patron saint was St. George and through the flag's use by the vast Genoese trading fleet, the association was carried throughout Europe.^{[citation needed]}

The same colour scheme was used by Viktor Vasnetsov for the façade of the Tretyakov Gallery, in which some of the most famous St. George icons are exhibited and which displays St. George as the coat of arms of Moscow over its entrance.

In 1606, the flag of England (St. George's Cross), and the flag of Scotland (St. Andrew's Cross), were joined together to create the Union Flag.^[57]

Iconography and models[link]

Byzantine icon of St. George, Athens Greece

St. George is most commonly depicted in early icons, mosaics and frescos wearing armour contemporary with the depiction, executed in gilding and silver colour, intended to identify him as a Roman soldier. After the Fall of Constantinople and the association of St George with the crusades, he is more often portrayed mounted upon a white horse.

At the same time St George began to be associated with St. Demetrius, another early soldier saint. When the two saints are portrayed together mounted upon horses, they may be likened to earthly manifestations of the archangels Michael and Gabriel. St George is always depicted in Eastern traditions upon a white horse and St. Demetrius on a red horse^[58] St George can also be identified in the act of spearing a dragon, unlike St Demetrius, who is sometimes shown spearing a human figure, understood to represent Maximian.

A 2003 Vatican stamp issued on the anniversary of the Saint's death depicts an armoured Saint George atop a white horse, killing the dragon.^[59]

During the early second millennium, George came to be seen as the model of chivalry, and during this time was depicted in works of literature, such as the medieval romances.

Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, compiled the Legenda Sanctorum, (Readings of the Saints) also known as Legenda Aurea (the Golden Legend) for its worth among readers. Its 177 chapters (182 in other editions) contain the story of Saint George.

Modern Russians interpret the icon not as a killing but as a struggle, against ourselves and the evil among us.^{[citation needed]} The dragon never dies but the saint persists with his horse (will and support of the people) and his spear (technical means).^{[citation needed]} In Eastern Orthodox Christianity it is possible to find Icons of St.George riding on Black horse, as well, there are various examples in Russian Iconography, like the Icon in British Museum Collection.

See also[link]

St George's statue at Prague Castle

• Bristol, England, which has a district called Saint George and also a park bearing that name
• Diada de Sant Jordi
• Dragon Hill, Uffington
• Frithjof Schuon
• Georgslied, 9th-century Old High German poem about the life of Saint George
• Knights of St. George
• One Good Knight (a novel) Andres Dealencar.
• Paladin
• Uastyrdzhi
• St George's Church, churches dedicated to St. George
• St. George Dragons (sports)
• St. George's, Bermuda
• The Magic Sword, 1961 film loosely based on the legend of St. George and the Dragon
• Patrick Woodroffe, author of several poems about St George collated in a book called Hallelujah Anyway

Gallery[link]

For a larger gallery, please see: Saint George gallery.

• 

  A 15th-century icon of St. George from Novgorod.

• 

  Raphael, 1505-1506

• 

  Bulgarian Orthodox icon of St. George fighting the dragon.

• 

  A Saint George sign on a seminary gate, Germany

• 

  Scenes from the life of St. George, Kremikovtsi Monastery, Bulgaria.

• 

  St. Georg as a martyr: St. George's Collegiate Church in Tübingen

• 

  12th century depiction of St. George in a church at the Russian village of Staraya Ladoga.

• 

  A 15th-century battle-flag of Stephen the Great of Moldavia representing St. George.

• 

  British

• 

  Russian

• 

  Thessaloniki, Greece

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Brooks, E.W., 1925. Acts of Saint George in series Analecta Gorgiana 8 (Gorgias Press).
• Burgoyne, Michael H. 1976. A Chronological Index to the Muslim Monuments of Jerusalem. In The Architecture of Islamic Jerusalem. Jerusalem: The British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
• Alban Butler, Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. 2, pp. 148–150. "George, Martyr, Protector of the Kingdom of England" (on-line text^{[dead link]})
• Gabidzashvili, Enriko. 1991. Saint George: In Ancient Georgian Literature. Armazi – 89: Tbilisi, Georgia.
• Good, Jonathan, 2009. The Cult of Saint George in Medieval England (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press).
• Loomis, C. Grant, 1948. White Magic, An Introduction to the Folklore of Christian Legend (Cambridge: Medieval Society of America)
• Natsheh, Yusuf. 2000. "Architectural survey", in Ottoman Jerusalem: The Living City 1517–1917. Edited by Sylvia Auld and Robert Hillenbrand (London: Altajir World of Islam Trust) pp 893–899.
• Whatley, E. Gordon, editor, with Anne B. Thompson and Robert K. Upchurch, 2004. St. George and the Dragon in the South English Legendary (East Midland Revision, c. 1400) Originally published in Saints' Lives in Middle English Collections

(Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications) (On-line Introduction)

• Prof. George Menachery, Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India. Vol.II Trichur – 73.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saint George

• St. George and the Dragon, free illustrated book based on 'The Seven Champions' by Richard Johnson (1596)
• Archnet
• Saint George and the Dragon links and pictures (more than 125), from Dragons in Art and on the Web
• Story of St. George from The Golden Legends
• Saint George and the Boy Scouts, including a woodcut of a Scout on horseback slaying a dragon
• A prayer for St George's Day
• St. George
• St. George and the Dragon: An Introduction
• Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George Orthodox icon and synaxarion for April 23
• Dedication of the Church of the Greatmartyr George in Lydia Icon and synaxarion for November 3
• Dedication of the Church of the Greatmartyr George at Kiev Icon and synaxarion for November 26
• St. George in the church in Plášťovce,(Palást) in Slovakia
• The St George Orthodox Military Association
• Famous Georgian Pilgrim Center in India St. George Orthodox Church Puthuppally, Kerala, India

Thione Seck, moers festival 2011

Thione Ballago Seck (born March 12, 1955) is one of Senegal's greatest singers and musicians in the mbalax genre, on par with Baaba Maal and Youssou N'dour although he hasn't achieved the same level of fame outside his country. Seck comes from a family of "griot" singers from the Wolof people of Senegal. His first job was with Orchestre Baobab, but he later formed his own band, Raam Daan, which he still heads.

Seck's album Orientation was one of four nominated for BBC3 Radio's World Music Album of the Year in 2006. In much of his music, and notably on this album, Seck experiments with the use of Indian & Arabic scales. This supplements his laid back vocals and the band's intense sabar driven rhythms, and displaces the band's more usual guitars, horns, and synthesizers. This album was made in collaboration with a range of more than 40 North African, Arab, and Indian musicians, playing diverse instruments and creating a fusion of styles. Seck has stated that Bollywood films were a longstanding musical influence for him, and the experiment in a fusion style reflects this.

Other albums include XV Anniversary Live! (his second international release) and Daaly. He contributed "Laye M'Boup," a tribute to the late Orchestre Baobab leader, to the The Music In My Head soundtrack. Seck also wrote "Entends-tu le monde?" which was the lead single from Australian singer Tina Arena's seventh studio album 7 vies.

Albums[link]

• Orientation
• XV Anniversary Live!
• Daaly
• Diaga

External links[link]

• Artist info at AfroPop

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (January 2008)

This section requires expansion with: Basic biographical data (birth date and place).

Ashley Maher is a singer and songwriter who has meshed the rhythmic impulses of West Africa and Latin America with Western song structures.

Biography[link]

Ashley Maher was born to British parents in Montreal, Canada, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of five. Her parents encouraged her singing from an early age, and she tried out many styles, including jazz, choral and medieval music. She even studied opera for a year in Italy.

The turning point was a chance visit to a class in African music at UC Berkeley held by C.K. Ladzekpo, a master drummer from Ghana. An instant convert to West African rhythms, she studied with him for two years before finishing her degree and moving to London.

In London, Ashley performed with an Afro-pop band for two years before making her first demo tape, featuring her intricate vocals woven with Ghanaian drumming. The demo soon led to her signing a contract with Virgin Records and Virgin released her first two albums: "Hi" and Pomegranate. Both received excellent reviews worldwide.

When EMI bought Virgin Records, Ashley left the label and went on to independently record a third CD, The Blessed Rain, in Paris and London with top West African musicians.

Returning to Los Angeles shortly after completing The Blessed Rain," Ashley has been building her career there ever since. She has performed extensively and opened for major world music icons like Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Vusi Mahlasela, Orchestra Baobab, Zap Mama, and Dobet Gnahore. Ashley released a fourth CD, Flying Over Bridges in 2006. Produced by Cameroon's Andre Manga, it features some of the Los Angeles' finest world/jazz musicians. Cameroonian saxophone legend, Manu Dibango co-wrote the song Club Dibango and the Rising Son and Youssou N'Dour's guitarist Jimi Mbaye guests.

Ashley co-wrote a song called Boul Bayekou for Youssou N'Dour's 2006 Senegalese release Alsaama Day and his international CD Rokku Mi Rokka. (Boul Bayekou is available only on ITunes in the USA.)

In April 2008, Youssou flew Ashley to Dakar, Senegal, to rehearse with his group as a dancer for two weeks. She then performed with Youssou and Les Super Etoiles de Dakar for two huge shows: first at the Sorano Theater in Dakar and then in front of 15,000 at Paris' Bercy Arena. Since this time, online videos of Ashley dancing sabar (a complex dance of Senegal's Wolof people) have been viewed by over half a million people.

Ashley spent the month of September 2008 in Dakar, Senegal, recording her 5th CD, Amina, with key members of Youssou N'Dour's band, Les Super Etoiles. She spent 2009 completing the CD (with Andre Manga again producing) and touring England, Scotland, and Spain.

In November 2009, Ashley returned to Dakar Senegal to promote Amina. She opened for Orchestra Baobab, did many interviews for radio, TV, and press, and filmed her second video. She is currently planning her promotion for 2010.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Amina, Spin Wild Records (swcd 004), 2010
• Flying Over Bridges, Spin Wild Records (swcd 03), 2006
• The Blessed Rain, Spin Wild Records (swcd 001), 1997
• Pomegranate, Virgin Records (CDV 2687), 1992
• Hi, Virgin Records (CDV 2611), 1990

Singles[link]

• Dreaming re-dreaming / Step by Step, Virgin Records (VS 1253), 1990
• Step by Step, Virgin Records (VSCDT 1253), 1990
• So Many Times, Virgin Records (VSCDT 1287), 1990
• Laughter in the Rain, Virgin Records (VSCDT 1385), 1991
• Stumbling Block, Virgin Records (VSCDT 1409), 1992

External links[link]

• Ashley Maher's Official Home Page
• Calabash Music - Ashley Maher's music page
• MySpace - Ashley Maher's page
• Blogspot - Ashley Maher's Blog
• YouTube - Ashley Maher's videos
• Facebook - Ashley Maher's page