St. George and the Dragon (Nuremberg) Poster

St. George and the Dragon is a modern colorized version of an antique woodcut from The Nuremberg Chronicle (Liber Chronicarum). Written by Hartmann Schedal, The Chronicle is an illustrated, encyclopedic account of world history to the end of the 15th century (and beyond to the Last Judgment). Its content was derived from mythology, the Bible, and various Medieval Chronicles. It was published in the city of Nuremberg by Anton Koberger in July 1493 in Latin and, a few months later, in December in vernacular German. The Chronicle is especially noteworthy for its unprecedented use of illustrations: 645 original woodcuts were produced for its publication. While many woodcuts were reused more than once in the text with the captions simply changed, nevertheless, the volume boasts 1089 pictures in toto. Some copies have contemporary hand-colored illustrations. + Our modern, colorized version of the woodcut is shown against the Flag of England (not to be confused with The Flag of the United Kingdom) which is derived from St. George's Cross. In heraldic-speak, St. George’s Cross is argent, a cross gules, that is, a red cross on a silver or, more commonly, on a white field. The symbol is an old one. In the Middle Ages, representations of Saint George as a crusader knight depicted him bearing shields with red-on-white crosses. + St. George is the patron saint of England. + Feast: April 23 + Image Credit (St. George and the Dragon): This colorized version of the Nuremberg woodcut is a Saints_Aplenty Exclusive (SAE). + Image Credit (Flag of St. George): Saints_Aplenty.