Saint George Between Media and Functions

Abstract

The figure and story of Saint George, one of the most popular Christian saints of all time, has been represented in many places and in several historical periods. The cult of the saint has even transcended the confessional borders of Christianity, and his martyrdom was an exemplary manifestation of Christian belief, associated with the fight against older religions, perceived by Christians as pagan idolatry. His battle against the dragon, even if it was only later included in his legends, can be interpreted as an important archetypal image, embodying some of the basic tendencies of the human psyche. The current article focuses on this issue in the context of the visual art of a short period – the second decade of the sixteenth century – and of the geographical area of Central Europe. It is an attempt to compare several ways in which narratives about the saint were constructed and used for the purposes of political or religious propaganda. The construction of narratives was closely associated with the unwritten rules of a system of representation, valid in a particular medium.