Dying Again and Again: Remarks on the Legend of Saint George in Jindřichův Hradec (Neuhaus)

In the legend of Saint George, painted on the walls of one of the rooms of the castle at Jindřichův Hradec (Neuhaus/Böhmen) in 1338, the Saint is tortured and killed repeatedly, even if the unbelievable moments of his legends had been criticized by the Church several centuries ago. The narrative about his repeated dying survived the criticism, because it answered the needs of believers. The pictorial legend was an effective illustration of general Christian doctrines about life and death, but it integrated some older traditions, too. The resurrections of George did not result in a spiritual body, but in a material recreation of the natural body, in which the person of the Saint could continue his activities in this world. More specifically, the pictorial legend addressed the participants of the Northern crusades. The images offered the knights powerful inspiration: a hope in supernatural intervention and a shining role model on how to confront the physical suffering.