Burgundian Cast of St. George Slaying The Dragon

This concrete cast of St. George & the Dragon was purchased by me on the Rue de Romont in Fribourg, Switzerland when I was a student there in 1969. The shop owner said that it was most likely cast made from an original in a Burgundian Church or Monastery. He estimated that the original carving dated from the 13th or 14th Century, when Burgundy was at the height of its power.

My fondness for St. George and his history aside, I purchased this as a gift for my late father, who had been a POW in Germany during WWII and whose name was George. Dad, an Iowa farm boy, was 19 years old when he left Iowa State University to join the Army Air Corps in 1941. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant, became a Bombardier, and was shot down over Croatia in 1943 or 44. Somehow he parachuted to safety and survived the crash of his B-17 Flying Fortress airplane.

Taken hostage by partisans, he was "sold" to the Wehrmacht and sent to the German POW Camp known as Stalag Luft III. The site of this former POW camp is now in present day Poland but was part of German Silesia for centuries. Dad survived this experience and a Death March through his abiding faith in God. He made sure that his kids were brought up in the Faith and that we were never to doubt the power of the Lord to protect us from the perils of this world.

Saint George, also known as George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier in the Roman army. Saint George was a soldier of Cappadocian Greek origin and a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian. He was sentenced to death — martyred — for refusing to recant his Christian faith.

During the Middle Ages, St. George became a symbol of martial valor and selflessness. He is the patron saint of England and of Georgia and is venerated as one of the 14 Auxiliary Saints (Holy Helpers). My father George was named after his English-born father, George Marshall, so the connection with Saint George, England, and my dad is obvious.

I can't help but think that St. George protected my father at crucial moments in his life, and thus he was able to return home to Iowa and eventually have five children, including myself. Would I be here without St. George's intervention on behalf of my dad?

The cast statue has great meaning for me. I part with it somewhat reluctantly because there is nobody left in my family to appreciate it, or the memories it evokes.

The statue is 13 inches high, 6 inches wide, 1/1/2 inches thick and weighs about 10 lbs. It needs a good home to be appreciated... and perhaps protect?