CELEBRATING SAINT GEORGE'S DAY IN NOTTING HILL, LDN

What do Sant Boi de Llobregat and London have in common? Many things, but perhaps the most important is that Catalonia and England share a patron saint, Sant Jordi / Saint George.

For this reason, The Morgans have wanted to celebrate such an important and significant day for Catalan and English culture and have visited William Thacker's bookstore in Notting Hill, where they have shared a fantastic day among books and roses. It has been a beautiful day, especially for Jordi Morgan. They have been talking about the uncertain origins of Saint George, about the importance of the Gypsy community in European history and about the transmission of culture orally through nursery rhymes and children's songs like Jean Petit.

Download The Game of The Goose (Sant Jordi)

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Saint George's Day, also called the Feast of Saint George, is the feast day of Saint George as celebrated by various Christian Churches and by the several nations, old kingdoms, regions, states, countries and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Cáceres, Alcoi, Aragon and Catalonia. The saint also has his state holiday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the difference that St. George is not the patron saint of the region, but with his populism and the day of local festivals and masses, in addition to being part of the history of the suburb of Rio by syncretism, made the saint the most venerated in the city.

Saint George's Day is normally celebrated on 23 April. However, Church of England rules denote that no saints' day should be celebrated between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter Day, so if 23 April falls in that period the celebrations are transferred to after it. 23 April is the traditionally accepted date of the saint's death in the Diocletian Persecution of AD 303.

Saint George became the patron saint of the former Crown of Aragon, when King Pere I won the Battle of Alcoraz in 1096 commending his army and people to the auspices of the saint. He is also patron of several former territories under the Crown of Aragon, including Valencia, Catalonia, Sicily, Sardinia, and several regions of Italy.

In most cases, the reason for those cities' adoption of the Saint as their holy Patron and shared flag is linked to the Aragonese colonial influence and various battles that occurred throughout the Mediterranean during the Reconquista. The international expansion of the Reconquista that followed over the next two centuries across the Mediterranean also led to the adoption of the cross of Saint George as a coat of arms by Christian Crusaders.

More information: English Heritage

The Catalan version of the legend of Sant Jordi says that after a fierce battle between the knight and the dragon, the beast fell through the sharp iron and that from the drops of blood that reached the ground a rose was born that bloomed profusely every April. This is the explanation that the oral tradition gives to the custom of giving roses on St. George's Day, April 23.

Legends and imaginary stories aside, we know that the tradition of giving roses to lovers comes from afar. St. George's bond with the world of chivalry and courtly love may have been the germ of tradition. We also know that in the 15th century the so-called Fira dels Enamorats was held in Barcelona and that sellers of this flower settled around the Palau de la Generalitat. At the same time, it was customary to present with a rose the women who attended the Eucharist officiated in the chapel of St. George in the palace. And finally, there are those who say that the custom of giving roses has Roman roots, specifically the festivals in honour of the goddess Flora, which were later Christianized.

In the symbolic universe, the red rose, the colour of passion, is the flower of female love, while the carnation is reserved for male love. The decoration of the rose, for Sant Jordi, is also quite curious and mixes elements from different sources. On the one hand, female love represented by the rose of red, velvety and fragile petals, and sometimes accompanied by a spike representing fertility, gives rise to a very ancient interpretation of cereal seeds. But there are also those who make a more prosaic reading of it and relate it to the arrival of good weather. On the other hand, the flower of Sant Jordi is also usually decorated with elements that evoke Catalan culture, such as ties or ribbons with the flag, which recall the vindictive content of the day.

Today, florists, corners, avenues, streets and squares become points of sale and distribution of thousands and thousands of roses that are given to loved ones, as tradition dictates, but also to friends, girlfriends, parents, co-workers and clients. Because this flower has transcended the original meaning of love and has also become a gift of courtesy and friendship. As you can see, the rose has become the protagonist of the festival, to the point that domestic production does not cover the demand, so it is necessary to resort to imports from other parts of the world far away.

In the 15th century, a rose fair was held in Barcelona on the occasion of Sant Jordi. It was attended mainly by grooms, fiancés and young couples, and this suggests that the custom of giving a rose has its origins in this festival, which was held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya. It was proposed to turn this date into a precept festival for the first time in 1436, when the proposal was formulated in the Catalan Parliament. The proposal would take effect in 1456.

Since the 15th century, in Catalonia, St. George's Day has been a special day, and it is customary for couples to give each other a red rose like blood and a book. The monarchs Pere the Catholic, Jaume I or Pere the Ceremonious contributed to the saint's popularity. Despite being traditional, the popularization of giving roses was actively restored in 1914, thanks to the impetus of the Commonwealth.

Sant Jordi has been declared a National Day of Catalonia by the Generalitat, but this day is not a work holiday: it is a work and school day for students. For Sant Jordi, official receptions are held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya and in the world of education, where Floral Games are held, it is a day of big celebration and participation in which the printed and recited word has all the prominence.

The town of Montblanc, according to the Catalan Customs of the folklorist Joan Amades, was the place in Catalonia where Saint George killed the dragon and saved the princess. That is why, since 1987, the people of Montblanc have been reviving the Medieval Week of the Legend of Sant Jordi. The high point of the celebration is the representation of the legend of the noble horseman, hero and saviour of princesses, in the scenes picked up by the popular tradition.

The day has a vindictive aspect of Catalan culture and many balconies are decorated with the flag of Catalonia. There are stops with political demands, to help humanitarian organizations, to raise funds for schools or just to get some extra money. The media broadcast live from the most emblematic points. But above all it is necessary to emphasize the festive atmosphere that generates the day. There are activities in libraries and concerts in the streets that add to the busy Catalan cultural agenda.

Books and roses are sold all over Catalonia, but it is on the Rambla de Barcelona where the event reaches its maximum expression. Storms are added to the usual stops on the Rambla. There are also readings of poems or excerpts from books and theatres and performance halls do special promotions.

More information: Casa Batlló

 

Cavaller, bon cavaller,
alerta al drac,
que s'amaga rere els núvols
ran d'aquest llac.

Knight, good knight,
dragon alert,
which hides behind the clouds
ran of this lake.

Gabriel Janer Manila

LLUÍS COMPANYS, THE EXECUTED CATALAN PRESIDENT

Today, The Grandma wants to remember and homage Lluís Companys i Jover, the President of Catalonia who was executed by firing squad in 1940 under the dictatorship of Franco.

Companys was born on a day like today in 1882 and lived the proclamation of the Catalan Republic, the Spanish Civil War, the exile, a fake trial and an illegal execution. 

 

He is the only European elected President executed in the history.

History helps us to understand our present because we are the result of our past. The words of Lluís Companys are alive as never were and now, Catalan people know that we will suffer again, we will fight again, and we will win again.

Lluís Companys i Jover (June 21, 1882-October 15, 1940) was a Catalan politician. He was the President of Catalonia, from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War.

He was a lawyer and leader of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) political party. Exiled after the war, he was captured and handed over by the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo, to the Spanish State of Francisco Franco, who had him executed by firing squad in 1940.

Born in El Tarròs, on June 21, 1882, into a peasant family with aristocratic roots, he was the second child of ten. His parents were Josep Companys and Maria Lluïsa de Jover. His parents sent him to Barcelona in order to study at the boarding school of Liceu Poliglot. Later, after obtaining his degree in law from the University of Barcelona, where he met Francesc Layret, Companys participated in the political life of Catalonia from a young age.

In 1906, as a result of the military attack on the offices of Catalan newspapers Cu-Cut! and La Veu de Catalunya, and after the passing of the Ley de Jurisdicciones, Law of Jurisdictions, which made speech against Spain and its symbols a criminal offence, he participated in the creation of Solidaritat Catalana.

Later, he became affiliated with the ephemeral Unió Federal Nacionalista Republicana, where he was president of the youth section. He was investigated for his intense youth activities and was jailed fifteen times, being classified after the Tragic Week of Barcelona as a dangerous individual in police records.

With Francesc Layret, Companys represented the left-wing labour faction of the Partit Republicà Català, Catalan Republican Party, for which he was elected local councilor of Barcelona in 1916.

More information: The Culture Trip

In November 1920, he was arrested together with Salvador Seguí, known as El Noi del Sucre, Martí Barrera and other trade unionists and he was deported to the Castell de la Mola in Maó, Menorca. Shortly afterward, Layret was assassinated while preparing his defence.

Despite having been deported, Companys was elected member of parliament for Sabadell in the 1920 Spanish legislative elections, taking the place of Layret, who would have taken that seat had he not been assassinated. This gave him parliamentary immunity, which secured his release from prison.

Companys was one of the founders of the Unió de Rabassaires in 1922, where he worked as lawyer and director of the La Terra magazine during the years of the Primo de Rivera regime in the 1920s

Detained again, he was unable to attend the Conferència d'Esquerres, Conference of Leftists, held from March 12 to 19, 1931 that produced the political party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Republican Left of Catalonia; however, he was elected as an executive member of that party, representing the Partit Republicà Català.

Thanks to the bonds between the Spanish labour movement and the Spanish trade union movement, the election of Companys to this position gave the ERC great prestige amongst left-wing public opinion as it would otherwise have been regarded as a party of the progressive petty bourgeoisie.

In the 1931 Spanish local elections ERC won a surprise victory in Barcelona and other municipalities of Catalonia.

After knowing the results, in April 14, Companys, who was elected a city representative, and other ERC candidates together with the Party's leader Francesc Macià, decided to take over by surprise the office of Mayor and assaulted the City Hall.

At gunpoint, the transitional Mayor was deposed and Companys was proclaimed new Mayor. Subsequently, he hung a tricolour Spanish Republican Flag from the City Hall's balcony and proclaimed the Republic. Shortly after, Francesc Macià proclaimed the Catalan Republic within the Federation of Iberian Republics, a project that was later abandoned after gaining the promise of regional devolution and the restitution of the Catalan Generalitat, as an autonomous government, from the new Republican government.

More information: Barcelonas

After controlling the Barcelona City Hall, Macià ordered Companys to take the office of Gobernador Civil of the Barcelona province, provincial political authority, which at that time held considerable powers, policing included, which had been controlled by republican radicals during the process of the Republic proclamation.

Macià probably wanted a less public office for Companys, whom he thought of as a political rival. Companys ran as a Barcelona provincial candidate in the December 1931 Spanish Legislative Elections. After gaining a seat he led the ERC representation and the Catalan minority group in the new Republican Parliament.

He described his political objectives in Madrid as: We, the Catalan members of the Parliament, have come here not only to defend our law of autonomy, Statute, and the fraternal and democratic understanding of the members of Parliament; but, also to participate in matters that affect the greatness of Spain: the Constitution, the agrarian reforms and social legislation. 

In 1932 Companys was elected Speaker of the Parliament of Catalonia.

After the death of Francesc Macià in December 1933, at that time presiding over the Generalitat of Catalonia, Companys was elected the successor President of the Generalitat by the Catalan Parliament.

In October 6, 1934, Companys led a Catalan Nationalist uprising not supported by the centre and conservative Catalan representatives, against the centre and right-wing republican government, and proclaimed the Catalan State, Estat Català, within the Spanish Federal Republic, for which action he was arrested and sentenced to thirty years in prison.

This action was seen as an attempt at a Coup d'État as Companys revolted against the newly elected center-right republican government and joined the Asturias miners revolution.

Companys asked Manuel Azaña, who happened to be in Barcelona during the events, to lead a newly proclaimed Spanish Republican government, a proposition that Azaña rejected. After the 1936 election and the victory of the left-wing coalition Frente Popular, he was set free by the new government and the Catalan government was restored.

More information: El Nacional

When the Spanish Civil War began shortly after, in July 1936, Companys sided with the Second Spanish Republic against the Nacionales rebels and was instrumental in organizing a collaboration between the Central Committee of Anti-Fascist Militias, which was sponsored by his Catalan government, and the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), a revolutionary anti-Stalinist communist party, and Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), an anarchist syndicalist trade union.

During the war, Companys attempted to maintain the unity of his political coalition, but after the Soviet Union's consul, Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, threatened that his country would cut off aid to Catalonia, he sacked Andreu Nin from his post as minister of Justice in December 1936.

Exiled to France in 1939 after the Civil War, Companys had passed up various chances to leave France because his son Lluís was seriously ill in a clinic in Paris.

He was arrested in La Baule-les-Pins near Nantes on August 13, 1940, and detained in La Santé Prison. He was then extradited by Nazi German authorities to the Spanish government in Madrid in early September 1940 and imprisoned in the cellars of the headquarters of the Dirección General de Seguridad, State Security, at the Real Casa de Correos in Puerta del Sol.

He was held there for five weeks, kept in solitary confinement, tortured and beaten, while senior figures of the Francoist State visited his cell, insulted him and threw coins or crusts of bread at him.

In a military trial which lasted less than one hour and lacked legal guarantees, he was accused of military rebellion and sentenced to death.

During the trial Companys was defended by Ramón de Colubi, a young soldier who had fought the war on the side of the rebels. Surprisingly, Colubí defended Companys with courage to the point of receiving threats and risking his own life. Colubí asked Franco to pardon Companys, but was ignored.

As a consequence of his role as defence attorney, Colubí was forced to go into exile. Víctor Gay Zaragoza, a Catalan writer found that Companys and Colubí were relatives.

More information: ARA

All these efforts were useless and Companys was executed at Montjuïc Castle in Barcelona at 6:30 a.m. on October 15, 1940. Refusing to wear a blindfold, he was taken before a firing squad of Civil Guards barefoot and, as they fired, he shouted Per Catalunya!, For Catalonia!.

He is buried at the Montjuïc Cemetery, near the castle. The cause of death was given as traumatic internal haemorrhage.

The main stadium used for the 1992 Summer Olympics, located on Montjuïc, is officially named in his memory. 

In 1998 a monument to Companys was installed near Arc de Triomf, on Passeig de Lluís Companys in Barcelona. A friend of Companys, Conxita Julià, is portrayed next to Companys' image in the monument. Several streets and squares in many cities and villages of Catalonia are named Lluís Companys after him.

His personal archive is located in the Pavelló de la República CRAI Library -University of Barcelona. It consists of correspondence about him, as well as discourses and declarations between 1936-1938.

More information: Pinterest

 

 

My smallness could not hope 

for a more dignified death.

MHP Lluís Companys i Jover

'LA FLAMA DEL CANIGÓ', FIRE THAT JOINS CATALAN LANDS

June 23. The Grandma is going to participate in one of her favourite traditions, La Flama del Canigó.

 

Every year, she participates in this traditional event, carrying the flame some kilometres. It is her way to collaborate in this tradition that evokes the common roots of the Catalan Countries.

Due to the current situation, The Grandma has taken all the possible precautions, but she has reached her goal. Today, she wants to talk about this tradition linked to the summer solstice and Sant Joan, the patron of the Catalan Countries.

La Flama del Canigó is a Catalan tradition linked to the summer solstice that takes place in various places in the Catalan Countries every year, between 22 and 23 June.

It begins with the renovation of the fire at the top of the Canigó and culminates with the lighting of the bonfires on the night of Sant Joan after the flame, carried by volunteers, spread throughout the country.

It is related to other summer solstice fire festivals in the Pyrenees, such as the Isil, Alins, Durro, Vilaller, Barruera, Pont de Suert and Andorra faults or the Haro burn of the Val d'Aran, where the fire coming down from the mountain is also the protagonist of the night. But beyond this festival, the Canigó Flame has a symbolism linked to the persistence and vitality of Catalan culture.

More information: Omnium

In 1955, Francesc Pujada, a villager from Arles de Tec (Vallespir, Northern Catalonia), driven by his enthusiasm for the Canigó massif and inspired by the epic poem by Jacint Verdaguer (Canigó, 1886) took the initiative, together with Esteve Albert and Josep Deloncle, to light the fires of the Night of Sant Joan at the top of this mountain and, from there, to spread the flame throughout all the regions of the Catalan Countries.

Thus began the tradition of the Canigó Flame, which connected with the millennial celebration of the summer solstice linked to fire and its collective significance.

The new tradition gained strength in a short time, so that, according to Òmnium Cultural, today it is practically impossible to find a single bonfire in Northern Catalonia that is not lit with the Canigó Flame.

La Flama del Canigó

In 1966 the fire crossed the border between the French and Spanish states for the first time and reached Vic. Despite the Franco dictatorship, the tradition spread throughout the Principality of Catalonia, often underground, as a symbol of the survival of Catalan culture.

Gradually the network spread, and the fire that descends from the Canigó also reached the Valencian Country and Balearic Islands.

There are currently dozens of organizations that celebrate the festival by spreading the flame that is lit on the beautiful top of the Canigó and is preserved in the Castellet de Perpinyà. Barcelona receives the flame in Plaça de Sant Jaume with the cobla, the eagle and the giants of the city, and from there it goes to the neighbourhoods.

In Terres de l'Ebre and the Priorat, every year a different village welcomes it, and people from the neighbouring counties gather there, who go in a caravan of cars, with the heir and heiress of the major festival of each locality. Alacant has kept alive the tradition of the fires of Sant Joan in the Valencian Country. Other cities also have their tradition, such as Tarragona in the Serrallo.

Every June 22, a group of hikers from the Cercle de Joves de Perpinyà catch the fire that has been lit in the kitchen of the Casa Pairal Museum, in Castellet de Perpinyà, since 1965, and climb to the top of the Canigó, 2,784 metres, where they light a new bonfire, after reading a manifesto.

More information: Generalitat de Catalunya

At dawn on June 23, they begin the descent with the renewed Flame. Together with the group of hikers of the Cercle Jove many other people gather at the top to catch the flame and thus begin the journey to different parts of the Catalan Countries doing relays on foot, by bike, by car and even in lute in the Ebre to make it possible for the Flame to spread through towns and cities and arrive in time to light the bonfires on the night of Sant Joan.

Every year, the Canigó Flame is received by the Parliament of Catalonia in an institutional event, as well as by town councils, county councils and cultural, social and sports organizations in more than 350 municipalities in the Catalan Countries.

In this way, and thanks to hundreds of volunteers, the fire coming from the mountain illuminates the popular festivals that take place around the fire. It is estimated that about 3,000 bonfires were lit that night with the fire coming from the top of the Canigó.

To make this ritual possible, on the weekend before Sant Joan, hundreds of people from all over the Catalan Countries and, especially, from Northern Catalonia, are in the Cortalets refuge, in the Cadí valley, at the foot of the Canigó. They arrive on Saturday night and stay at the shelter or camp with tents nearby.

The next morning they perform the first ritual of the Focs de Sant Joan: go up to the top of the Canigó and leave the small bundles of firewood that each one has brought from their city, town, village or orchard. The branches and twigs are tied with a ribbon that bears the name of the place where they come from, and some have drawings and writings with wishes to burn at the bonfire of Sant Joan. All these bundles of firewood are left stacked around the iron cross at the top of the mountain until the night the bonfire is lit.

More information: Ajuntament de Barcelona

 

 

 Ja les podeu fer ben altes
les fogueres aquest any
cal que brillin lluny i es vegin
els focs d'aquest Sant Joan.
Cal que es vegin de València,
de Ponent i de Llevant...

I en fareu també en la Serra
perquè els vegin més enllà...
i el crit d'una sola llengua
s'alci dels llocs més distants
omplint els aires encesos
d'un clamor de Llibertat!

Joan Maragall

SAINT GEORGE, THE TRADITION BECOMES POPULAR

Today, The Fosters and The Grandma have continued celebrating Saint George, and preparing their A2 Cambridge Exam working some aspects like reading, writing and listening.

Download A2 Cambridge Model

 

Saint George (AD 275–281 to 23 April 303), according to legend, was a Roman soldier of Greek origin and officer in the Guard of Roman emperor Diocletian, who was ordered his death for failing to recant his Christian faith. As a Christian martyr, he later became one of the most venerated saints in Christianity and in particular the Crusades.

In hagiography, as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and one of the most prominent military saints, he is immortalised in the myth of Saint George and the Dragon. His memorial, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on April 23.

 

Numerous countries, cities, professions and organisations claim Saint George as their patron: England, Catalonia, Georgia, Malta, Armenia, Belgium, Egypt, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Montenegro, Palestine, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Aragon, Castile and Leon, Syria and the United States.

George's parents were Christians of Greek background, his father Gerontius was a Roman army official from Cappadocia, and his mother Polychronia was a Christian and a Greek native from Lydda in the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. Accounts differ regarding whether George was born in Cappadocia or Syria Palaestina, but agree that he was raised at least partly in Lydda.

 

More information: Independent

Some evidence links the legend back to very old Egyptian and Phoenician sources in a late antique statue of Horus fighting a dragon. This ties the legendary George, though not necessarily the historical George, to various ancient sources using mythological and linguistic arguments. In Egyptian mythology, the god Setekh murdered his brother Osiris. Horus, the son of Osiris, avenged his father's death by killing Setekh. This iconography of the horseman with spear overcoming evil was widespread throughout the Christian period.

As a highly celebrated saint in both the Western and Eastern Christian churches, Saint George is connected with a large number of patronages throughout the world, and his iconography can be found on the flags and coats of arms of a number of cities and countries.

Traces of the cult of St George predate the Norman Conquest, in 9th-century liturgy used at Durham Cathedral, in a 10th-century Anglo-Saxon martyrology, and in dedications to Saint George at Fordington, Dorset, at Thetford, Southwark and Doncaster. He received further impetus when the Crusaders returned from the Holy Land in the 12th century.

 

More information: Parliament UK

At the Battle of Antioch in 1098, St George, St Demetrius and St Maurice were said to have been seen riding alongside the crusaders, and depictions of this event can be seen in a number of churches. King Edward III (reigned 1327–77) was known for promoting the codes of knighthood and in 1348 founded the Order of the Garter. 

During his reign, George came to be recognised as the patron saint of the English monarchy; before this, Saint Edmund had been considered the patron saint of England, although his veneration had waned since the time of the Norman conquest, and his cult was partly eclipsed by that of Edward the Confessor. Edward dedicated the chapel at Windsor Castle to the soldier saint who represented the knightly values of chivalry which he so much admired, and the Garter ceremony takes place there every year.

In the 16th century, Edmund Spenser included St. George, Redcross Knight, as a central figure in his epic poem The Faerie Queene. William Shakespeare firmly placed St George within the national conscience in his play Henry V, in which the English troops are rallied with the cry God for Harry, England and St George, and in Richard III, and King Lear.

 

More information: Coptic Cairo

A late 17th-century ballad also claims St. George as an English patron. The ballad compares other mythic and historical heroes with the merit of St. George and concludes that all are less important than St. George.

Above the Palace of Westminster, there are six shields above each of the four clock faces of Big Ben, twenty-four in total, all depicting the arms of St George, representing the Flag of England, London as the capital city of England, and St. George as the patron saint of England. This symbolism is also repeated in the central lobby of the Houses of Parliament, in an enormous mosaic created by Sir Edward John Poynter in 1869, depicting St George and the Dragon with these arms, entitled St George for England.

Saint George, Sant Jordi in Catalan, is the patron saint of Catalonia. His cross appears in many buildings and local flags, including the one of the Catalan capital, Barcelona. The Catalan tradition usually locates the events of his legend in the town of Montblanc, near Tarragona.

By the 15th century Catalan men used to celebrate Saint George's Day by giving roses to women. Nowadays Saint George is not a public holiday anymore but is a very popular celebration. Women receive roses and books and, since the 20th century, men receive books and roses and the celebration is also used to celebrate Catalan national identity, culture and literature and romantic love. 

One of the highest civil distinction awarded in Catalonia is the Saint George's Cross (Creu de Sant Jordi).

More information: The Culture Trip

 

  

A people without the knowledge of their past history, 

origin and culture is like a tree without roots. 

Marcus Garvey

APRIL 23-SAINT GEORGE, BOOKS & ROSES IN CATALONIA

Today is Saint George, the favourite Grandma's day. It is a beautiful festivity, especially if you live in Catalonia, because Catalan people pay homage to their patron (Sant Jordi) with books and roses. It is the greatest Catalan culture day.

 

The Fosters and The Grandma have celebrated this beautiful day, which is also a National Day in England, visiting Notting Hill.

Saint George's Day, also called the Feast of Saint George, is the feast day of Saint George as celebrated by various Christian Churches and by the several nations, old kingdoms, regions, states, countries and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Cáceres, Alcoi, Aragon and Catalonia. The saint also has his state holiday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the difference that St. George is not the patron saint of the region, but with his populism and the day of local festivals and masses, in addition to being part of the history of the suburb of Rio by syncretism, made the saint the most venerated in the city.

Saint George's Day is normally celebrated on 23 April. However, Church of England rules denote that no saints' day should be celebrated between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter Day, so if 23 April falls in that period the celebrations are transferred to after it. 23 April is the traditionally accepted date of the saint's death in the Diocletian Persecution of AD 303.

Saint George became the patron saint of the former Crown of Aragon, when King Pere I won the Battle of Alcoraz in 1096 commending his army and people to the auspices of the saint. He is also patron of several former territories under the Crown of Aragon, including Valencia, Catalonia, Sicily, Sardinia, and several regions of Italy.

In most cases, the reason for those cities' adoption of the Saint as their holy Patron and shared flag is linked to the Aragonese colonial influence and various battles that occurred throughout the Mediterranean during the Reconquista. The international expansion of the Reconquista that followed over the next two centuries across the Mediterranean also led to the adoption of the cross of Saint George as a coat of arms by Christian Crusaders.

More information: English Heritage

The Catalan version of the legend of Sant Jordi says that after a fierce battle between the knight and the dragon, the beast fell through the sharp iron and that from the drops of blood that reached the ground a rose was born that bloomed profusely every April. This is the explanation that the oral tradition gives to the custom of giving roses on St. George's Day, April 23.

Legends and imaginary stories aside, we know that the tradition of giving roses to lovers comes from afar. St. George's bond with the world of chivalry and courtly love may have been the germ of tradition. We also know that in the 15th century the so-called Fira dels Enamorats was held in Barcelona and that sellers of this flower settled around the Palau de la Generalitat. At the same time, it was customary to present with a rose the women who attended the Eucharist officiated in the chapel of St. George in the palace. And finally, there are those who say that the custom of giving roses has Roman roots, specifically the festivals in honour of the goddess Flora, which were later Christianized.

In the symbolic universe, the red rose, the colour of passion, is the flower of female love, while the carnation is reserved for male love. The decoration of the rose, for Sant Jordi, is also quite curious and mixes elements from different sources. On the one hand, female love represented by the rose of red, velvety and fragile petals, and sometimes accompanied by a spike representing fertility, gives rise to a very ancient interpretation of cereal seeds. But there are also those who make a more prosaic reading of it and relate it to the arrival of good weather. On the other hand, the flower of Sant Jordi is also usually decorated with elements that evoke Catalan culture, such as ties or ribbons with the flag, which recall the vindictive content of the day.

Today, florists, corners, avenues, streets and squares become points of sale and distribution of thousands and thousands of roses that are given to loved ones, as tradition dictates, but also to friends, girlfriends, parents, co-workers and clients. Because this flower has transcended the original meaning of love and has also become a gift of courtesy and friendship. As you can see, the rose has become the protagonist of the festival, to the point that domestic production does not cover the demand, so it is necessary to resort to imports from other parts of the world far away.

In the 15th century, a rose fair was held in Barcelona on the occasion of Sant Jordi. It was attended mainly by grooms, fiancés and young couples, and this suggests that the custom of giving a rose has its origins in this festival, which was held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya. It was proposed to turn this date into a precept festival for the first time in 1436, when the proposal was formulated in the Catalan Parliament. The proposal would take effect in 1456.

More information: GenCat (Catalan Version)

Since the 15th century, in Catalonia, St. George's Day has been a special day, and it is customary for couples to give each other a red rose like blood and a book. The monarchs Pere the Catholic, Jaume I or Pere the Ceremonious contributed to the saint's popularity. Despite being traditional, the popularization of giving roses was actively restored in 1914, thanks to the impetus of the Commonwealth.

Sant Jordi has been declared a National Day of Catalonia by the Generalitat, but this day is not a work holiday: it is a work and school day for students. For Sant Jordi, official receptions are held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya and in the world of education, where Floral Games are held, it is a day of big celebration and participation in which the printed and recited word has all the prominence.

The town of Montblanc, according to the Catalan Customs of the folklorist Joan Amades, was the place in Catalonia where Saint George killed the dragon and saved the princess. That is why, since 1987, the people of Montblanc have been reviving the Medieval Week of the Legend of Sant Jordi. The high point of the celebration is the representation of the legend of the noble horseman, hero and saviour of princesses, in the scenes picked up by the popular tradition.

The day has a vindictive aspect of Catalan culture and many balconies are decorated with the flag of Catalonia. There are stops with political demands, to help humanitarian organizations, to raise funds for schools or just to get some extra money. The media broadcast live from the most emblematic points. But above all it is necessary to emphasize the festive atmosphere that generates the day. There are activities in libraries and concerts in the streets that add to the busy Catalan cultural agenda.

Books and roses are sold all over Catalonia, but it is on the Rambla de Barcelona where the event reaches its maximum expression. Storms are added to the usual stops on the Rambla. There are also readings of poems or excerpts from books and theatres and performance halls do special promotions.

More information: Casa Batlló

Cavaller, bon cavaller,
alerta al drac,
que s'amaga rere els núvols
ran d'aquest llac.

Knight, good knight,
dragon alert,
which hides behind the clouds
ran of this lake.

Gabriel Janer Manila

TROUBADOURS & TROBAIRITZES, OCCITAN LYRIC POETRY

Today, The Grandma has been reading about the troubadours, the composers and performers of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages.

A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). 

Since the word troubadour is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz.

The troubadour school or tradition began in the late 11th century in Occitania, but it subsequently spread to the Italian and Iberian Peninsulas.

Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe: the Minnesang in Germany, trovadorismo in Galicia and Portugal, and that of the trouvères in northern France.

Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia defined the troubadour lyric as fictio rethorica musicaque poita: rhetorical, musical, and poetical fiction. After the classical period around the turn of the 13th century and a mid-century resurgence, the art of the troubadours declined in the 14th century and around the time of the Black Death (1348) it died out.

The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes of chivalry and courtly love. Most were metaphysical, intellectual, and formulaic. Many were humorous or vulgar satires.

Works can be grouped into three styles: the trobar leu (light), trobar ric (rich), and trobar clus (closed). Likewise there were many genres, the most popular being the canso, but sirventes and tensos were especially popular in the post-classical period.

More information: Midi-France

The English word troubadour was borrowed from the French word first recorded in 1575 in an historical context to mean langue d'oc poet at the court in the 12th and 13th century.

The first use and earliest form of troubador is trobadors, found in a 12th-century Occitan text by Cercamon.

The French word itself is borrowed from the Occitan trobador. It is the oblique case of the nominative trobaire composer, related to trobar to compose, to discuss, to invent.

Trobar may come, in turn, from the hypothetical Late Latin *tropāre to compose, to invent a poem by regular phonetic change. This reconstructed form is based on the Latin root tropus, meaning a trope. In turn, the Latin word derives ultimately from Greek τρόπος (trópos), meaning turn, manner. Intervocal Latin shifted regularly to in Occitan (cf. Latin sapere → Occitan saber, French savoir, to know). The Latin suffix -ātor, -ātōris explains the Occitan suffix, according to its declension and accentuation: Gallo-Romance *tropātor → Occitan trobaire (subject case) and *tropātōre → Occitan trobador (oblique case).

The 450 or so troubadours known to historians came from a variety of backgrounds. They made their living in a variety of ways, lived, and travelled in many different places, and were actors in many types of social context. 

The troubadours were not wandering entertainers. Typically, they stayed in one place for a lengthy period of time under the patronage of a wealthy nobleman or woman. Many did travel extensively, however, sojourning at one court and then another.

More information: TrobEu

The Consistori de la Gaya Sciència de Barcelona, Academy of the Gay Science of Barcelona, was a literary academy founded in Barcelona by Joan I El Caçador, John the Hunter, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona, in 1393 in imitation of the Consistori del Gay Saber founded in Toulouse in 1323.

The poetry produced by and for the Consistori was heavily influenced by the troubadours.

The Consistori's chief purpose was to promote correct styles and themes and discourage vices (vicis) by awarding prizes in competition to poets who adhered to the rules of poetic composition.

The names of few poets laureate have come down to us and despite some excellent descriptions of the Consistori's activities, associated persons and poems are obscure.

At Pentecost, 31 May 1338, a contest was held at Lleida before Pere El Cerimoniós, Peter the Ceremonious, Joan's predecessor, at which those poems adjudged the best were given awards. A panel of judges was designated in advance by the king. It was to pass judgement super arte dictandi et faciendi pulcra carmina sive cantars, on the art of speaking and composing beautiful songs, that is, cantars.

The winning poets received a rosa d'or (golden rose) and piece of expensive golden satin called diasprell. With its floral prize, the 1338 contest emulated the Jocs Florals (floral games) already being held in Toulouse and to be held eventually in Barcelona as well.

Much about this event, however, remains unknown: the language of composition was vernacular (cantars), but which vernacular is uncertain (Occitan or Catalan), and the names of the poets or any portions of their work have not survived.

More information: British Library

Les poèmes racontent des libertés, des fratries unies;
ils dessinent des pays fidèles comme aucun homme,
qui mêlent l'haleine tiède des arbres
à la peau diaphane des rivières, des landes,
des dunes et des marais.
Mon pays.
Les troubadours me le rendent à chaque fois.

The poems tell of freedoms, of united siblings;
they draw countries faithful like no man,
which mingle the warm breath of the trees with
the diaphanous skin of the rivers, the wastelands,
the dunes and the marshes.
My country.
The troubadours give it back to me every time.

Clara Dupont-Monod

SANT JORDI, UNKNOWN ORIGINS & VENERATED PATRON

Today, The Grandma has received the wonderful visit of their closest friends Claire Fontaine, Joseph de Ca'th Lon, Tonyi Tamaki, Laura Collins, Tina Picotes and Jordi Santanyí. They have celebrated Sant Jordi together. 

Sant Jordi is the patron of Catalonia and much more places and his origin is unknown. Some studies talk about his Palestinian origin while other talk about his Egyptian one.

The Grandma has been reading the legend of Saint Jordi based in The Golden Legend, in Latin Legenda aurea or Legenda sanctorum, the collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived. It was likely compiled around the years 1259–1266, although the text was added to over the centuries.

More information: Catch Penny

Georgius tribunus, genere Cappadocum, pervenit quadam vice in provinciam Libyae in civitatem, quae dicitur Silena. Iuxta quam civitatem erat stagnum instar maris, in quo draco pestifer latitabat, qui saepe populum contra se armatum in fugam converterat flatuque suo ad muros civitatis accedens omnes inficiebat.

Quapropter compulsi, cives duas oves quotidie sibi dabant, ut eius furorem sedarent, alioquin sic muros civitatis invadebat et aerem inficiebat, quod plurimi interibant. Cum ergo iam oves paene deficerent (maxime cum harum copiam habere non possent), inito consilio ovem cum adiuncto homine tribuebant.

Cum igitur sorte omnium filii et filiae hominum darentur et sors neminem exciperet, et iam paene omnes filii et filiae essent consumpti, quadam vice filia regis unica sorte est deprehensa et draconi adiudicata.

Tunc rex contristatus ait: «Tollite aurum et argentum et dimidium regni mei et filiam mihi dimittite, ne taliter moriatur.»

Quod rex videns coepit filiam suam flere dicens: «Heu me, filia mea dulcissima, quid de te faciam? Aut quid dicam? Quando plus videbo nuptias tuas?» Et conversus ad populum dixit: «Oro, ut indutias octo dierum lugendi mihi filiam tribuatis.»

Quod cum populus admisisset, in fine octo dierum reversus populus est cum furore dicens: «Quare perdis populum tuum propter filiam tuam! En omnes afflatu draconis morimur.»

Tunc, rex, videns quod non posset filiam liberare, induit eam vestibus regalibus et amplexatus eam cum lacrimis dixit: «Heu me, filia mea dulcissima, de te filios in regali gremio nutrire credebam et nunc vadis, ut a dracone devoreris.

Heu me, filia mea dulcissima, sperabam ad tuas nuptias principes invitare, palatium margaritis ornare, tympana et organa audire, et nunc vadis, ut a dracone devoreris. «Et deosculans dimisit eam dicens: «Utinam, filia mea, ego ante te mortuus essem, quam te sic amisissem.»

Tunc illa procidit ad pedes patris petens ab eo benedictionem suam. Quam cum pater cum lacrimis benedixisset, ad lacum processit.

Quam beatus Georgius casu inde transiens ut plorantem vidit, eam quid haberet interrogavit. Et illa: «Bone iuvenis, velociter equum adscende et fuge, ne mecum pariter moriaris.» Cui Georgius: «Noli timere, filia, sed dic mihi quid hic praestolaris omni plebe spectante!»

Et illa: «Ut video, bone iuvenis, magnifici cordis es tu, sed mecum mori desideras! Fuge velociter.» Cui Georgius: «Hinc ego non discedam donec mihi, quid habeas, intimabis.» Cum ergo totum sibi exposuisset, ait Georgius: «Filia noli timere, quia in Christi nomine te iuvabo.»

 Et illa: «Bone miles, sed te ipsum salvare festines, mecum non pereas. Sufficit enim, si sola peream. Nam me liberare non posses et tu mecum perires.» Dum haec loquerentur, ecce draco veniens caput de lacu levavit. Tunc puella tremefacta dixit: «Fuge, bone domine, fuge velociter.»

Tunc Georgius equum ascendens et cruce se muniens draconem contra se advenientem audaciter aggreditur et lanceam fortiter vibrans et se Deo commendans ipsum graviter vulneravit et ad terram deiecit dixitque puellae: «Proice zonam tuam in collum draconis nihil dubitans, filia.»

Quod cum fecisset, sequebatur eam velut mansuetissima canis. Cum ergo eum in civitatem duceret, populi hoc videntes per montes et colles fugere coeperunt dicentes: «Vae nobis, quia iam omnes peribimus!»

Tunc beatus Georgius innuit iis dicens: «Nolite timere, ad hoc enim me misit Dominus ad vos, ut a poenis vos liberarem draconis. Tantummodo in Christum credite et unusquisque vestrum baptizetur et draconem istum occidam.»

Tunc rex et omnes populi baptizati sunt, beatus Georgius evaginato gladio draconem occidit et ipsum extra civitatem efferri praecepit. Tunc quattuor paria boum ipsum in magnum campum foras duxerunt.

Baptizati autem sunt in illa die XX milia exceptis parvulis et mulieribus. Rex autem in honorem beatae Mariae et beati Georgi ecclesiam mirae magnitudinis construxit.

De cuius altari fons vivus emanat, cuius potus omnes languidos sanat. Rex vero infinitam pecuniam beato Georgio obtulit, quam ille recipere nolens pauperibus eam dari praecepit.

Tunc Georgius de quatuor regem breviter instruxit, scilicet ut ecclesiarum dei curam haberet, sacerdotes honoraret, divinum officium diligenter audiret et semper pauperum memor esset; et sic osculato rege inde recessit.

In aliquibus tamen libris legitur quod dum draco ad devorandum puellam pergeret, Georgius se cruce muniuit et draconem aggrediens interfecit.

More information: Michael H. Collins

Cavaller, bon cavaller
Alerta al drac
Que s'amaga rere els núvols
Ran d'aquest llac.

Knight, good knight
Dragon alert
That hides behind the clouds
over this lake.

Vicent Ferragut

ENJOY BESALÚ & SANT FELIU DE PALLEROLS WITH MAYTE

Today, The Grandma has received wonderful news of Mayte, one  of her closest friends, who is spending some days in Besalú and Sant Feliu de Pallerols.

Besalú is a town in the comarca of Garrotxa, in Girona, Catalonia.

The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current comarca of Garrotxa but sometime extended as far as Corbières, Aude, in France.

Wilfred the Hairy, credited with the unification of Catalonia, was Count of Besalú.

The town was also the birthplace of Raimon Vidal, a medieval troubadour.

Besalú was designated as a historical national property in 1966. The town's most significant feature is its 12th-century Romanesque bridge over the Fluvià river, which features a gateway at its midpoint.

The church of Sant Pere was consecrated in 1003. The town features arcaded streets and squares and also a restored mikveh, a ritual Jewish bath dating from the eleventh or twelfth century, as well as the remains of a medieval synagogue, located in the lower town near the river.

Besalú also hosts the Museum of miniatures, created by jeweller and art collector Lluís Carreras.

More information: Catalunya

The name Besalú is derived from the Latin Bisuldunum, meaning a fort on a mountain between two rivers. It is also the historical capital of the county of La Garrotxa.

One key date is the year 894, when Besalú was converted to a county with its own dynasty. The county changed from L'Empordà to El Ripollès.

In the year 1111, Besalú lost its independence, for historical reasons in favour of the county of Barcelona. Centuries later, Besalú started a decadent period, worsened by the redemptions, wars with the French and Carlists.

In 1966, Besalú was declared a site of historical and artistic importance.

The monument is circled by the ancient wall from the c. XII-XIV. Unfortunately only parts of the original walls still exist. The urban configuration of the site is almost identical to the original layout. Without a doubt, the Medieval Bridge is the emblem of the town, of an angular design with seven uneven arcs and two towers. In the part of the town nearest to the bridge, there are many narrow streets that belong to the ancient Jewish quarter.

It is in this area where you will find the Miqvé, the purification baths, which date from c. XII, and demonstrate the presence of an important Jewish community. The street from the medieval bridge leads to Plaça Major, a square whose arcades date from c. XVI, and used to be the centre of the medieval town. Significant buildings are the Ajuntament, dating from c. XVII, the Cúria Reial, dating from c. XIV, and the Casa Tallaferro. The street Tallaferro leads to the entrance to the Castle precinct.

More information: The Culture Trip

Inside the precinct there remains one of the towers from the ancient County Castle, and the apse of Santa Maria that dates from c. XI. Along with the street Portalet these are the remains which best retain the medieval appearance, along with panoramic views of the Romanic Bridge.

Leading up from Carrer Major, there are the Casa Romà (c. XIV) and the parish church of Sant Vicenç”dating from c. XI-XII, which has very sculpturesque doors and windows.

Near to Plaça Major, there is the Prat de Sant Pere, wide and spacious, which used to be the Cemetery of the Benedictine monastery of Sant Pere.

Today there only remains the three-nave church and one apse, dating from the c. XI. Also, there is the small chapel of Sant Jaume (c. XII) and the Casa Cornellà (Llaudes) dating from c. XII and, which has a patio with three galleries. Behind the monastery there is the church of the hospital of Sant Julià, with one nave and no apse, dating from c. XII, and an outstanding entrance portal.

More information: Turisme Garrotxa

Sant Feliu de Pallerols is a village in Girona, Catalonia.

The municipality covers an area of 34.8 square kilometres and the population in 2014 was 1,353.

More information: Catalunya

I seem to be quite drawn to the medieval,
magical fantasies, as it were.

Sean Bean