Did any German State have St George as an emblem?

Started by bagerap, July 01, 2021, 02:01:11 PM

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bagerap

I ask because the central motif a pinchbeck brooch is irritatingly familiar to me, but I can't place it.  It should be easy to place because the rider is slaying the dragon with a mace and not a sword or lance. My brain remains convinced that it comes from a German City State CoA, but I can find no trace.

malj1

In hagiography, as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and one of the most prominent military saints, he is immortalized in the legend of Saint George and the Dragon. His memorial, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on 23 April. England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Catalonia and Aragon in Spain, Moscow in Russia, and several other states, regions, cities, universities, professions and organizations claim George as their patron.

In 1469 the Order of St. George (Habsburg-Lorraine) was founded in Rome by Emperor Friedrich III. of Habsburg in the presence of Pope Paul II in honor of Saint George. The order was continued and promoted by his son, Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg. The later history of the order was eventful, in particular the order was dissolved by Nazi Germany. Only after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe was the order reactivated as a European association in association with Saint George by the Habsburg family

see more on Wikipedia
Malcolm
Have a look at  my tokens and my banknotes.

chrisild

Could be St. George of course, but there is something strange about the scene. Not only does the rider hold a mace or stick, but the "beast" looks like a (male) boar to me ...

Christian

bagerap

Christian, you are correct. Younger eyes than mine have double checked.
So now we have a boar hunting scene. It still looks familiar.

Siberian Man

Eisleben.

Figleaf

Thank you for thinking along on this piece that has remained mysterious, Siberian Man. These emergency tokens show St. George, killing a dragon, a well-known part of early christian tales. St. George is used as a heraldic symbol in Moscow and by extension in Russia as well as in the United Kingdom after the Napoleonic wars. However, there is no connection between Eisleben and either Russia or the UK. The closest reason for the dragon-killing scene I could find is that Eisleben is the birthplace of Martin Luther.

Be that as it may, the piece in the post does not show a fight with a dragon, but a fight with a boar.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

chrisild

Then again, there is a reference to Mansfeld on that Notgeld. And the CoA of Mansfeld does have St. George fighting a dragon. The Mansfeld mining company still exists, it seems, but it uses neither a dragon nor a boar as its emblem. ;)

Christian

Figleaf

That's a good solution for why Eisleben tokens would have St. George. The counts of Mansfeld were Eislebens overlords until Saxony took over.

As a side note, the arms of Eisleben are a pair of wings, said to be part of the Mansfeld arms. This suggest that at one time at least, the arms of Mansfeld showed the archangel Michael, who is another notorious dragon killer. The two are easily confused, but whereas angels need wings, saints don't.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.