The vicar and parishioners of St Cadoc's (Church of Wales) Church in Llancarfan, near Cardiff are excited about finding 'mind blowing' rare medieval frescoes beneath the white plastered walls of the church. The paintings (ironically, one depicts St George (of England) slaying the dragon (symbol of Wales) are many and varied and the church, to its credit, has taken all the required conservation steps in order to preserve them for posterity.This is great news and all seem suitably surprised but why? Most pre Reformation Churches in England and Wales were lavish in their wall paintings, bright vivid colours are an accepted part of Catholic Church history. It was only after Henry VIII had his evil way with the monasteries and churches that they were first pillaged and sacked and then commandeered by the new Protestant faith for their own acts of worship.
This meant that all "Romish" imagery was destroyed and defaced and, in the case of the frescoes, lime plastered over. The puritan streak ran strongly through the early Church of England and Wales.
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| St George slaying the dragon |
Such acts of vandalism have largely destroyed the
works of art beneath and that is why the St Cadoc
discovery is so important.
But in all the website offerings and media excitement,
there is not one mention of the dreaded "C" word - Catholic!
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| The King and Queen observing from the battlements |
Hi Richard,
ReplyDeleteLiked your post.
I never knew St. George and the Dragon represented England and Wales (or did I misunderstand you?).
Kiran.
Hi Kiran, St George represents England as its patron saint and the dragon is a relatively newly adopted symbol of Wales. I think it came into being c. 1953. Before then the Welsh flaf was a yellow cross on a black ground.
ReplyDelete[...] the dragon is a relatively newly adopted symbol of Wales. I think it came into being c. 1953. Before then the Welsh flaf was a yellow cross on a black ground.
ReplyDeleteThis is about as wrong as can be.
There is some debate about precisely how ancient the Red Dragon as a symbol of Wales is, but it dates back to the Middle Ages. The present form of the Welsh flag is not so old, but Henry VII used it on the way to Bosworth (long before 1953!). [You may be thinking of the Royal Badge of Wales, which incorporates the familiar design with an augmentation of honour; this was produced in the Coronation year.]
The so-called Cross of S. David (yellow cross on black) was devised in the 1920s or 1930s as an unofficial flag for the recently disestablished Church in Wales; it was superseded by the Church's present, official flag in 1954.
It was never a national flag and is not ancient. Its mistaken use as an alternative to the Red Dragon only dates back about ten or twenty years.
S. George's dragon has no connexion with the Welsh one. It is mere coincidence that Wales (having a dragon as its symbol) was conquered by a country whose patron saint was a dragon slayer.