Exploring the enigmatic Medieval wall paintings of the quaint "All saints Church", Little Kimble.
/
All Saints has been described as a “charming jewel of a church adjacent to the beautiful Chilterns’ countryside”. Once inside, one look at the walls demonstrates why it has been given this description. Star of the paintings is a virtually complete St George, St John the Evangelist and St James. Others are not quite so clear but with a little effort and time, various features from the stories of other saints can be interpreted can be recognised. An example of this is St Francis of Assisi, who can be identified by the presence of birds. There are also six medieval tiles and clues that show that the Church was built in two distinct phases.
Above; a mural of St George, unfortunately without his dragon and not on horseback as he is usually depicted. Some experts have suggested that the dragon was once near his right foot but has sadly disappeared. On his chest and on his shield is the ubiquitous cross on a white background and below his foot is his name Georgius. At the top left is the English Coat of Arms, with three lions which, in earlier times, were interpreted as three leopards. In the top right of the photo is the princess that he supposedly saved from a dragon.
Who was St George?
He was an officer in the Roman army who was an ethnic Greek born in Cappodocia, which is in Anatolia, Turkey. He was not British and never visited Britain. He was born in about 280 AD, a long time before "knights in shining armour" using lances whilst on horseback. Unfortunately therefore, he couldn't have killed a dragon in the manner that he is usually portrayed. There is no mention of a dragon in the earliest records of his life known as hagiographies
How did St George become a saint?
He was, however, a Christian and as a consequence sentenced to death on April 23rd 303 AD for refusing to recant his Christian faith. A different account states that he refused to make a sacrifice to honour the Roman pagan gods and was beheaded. Another account talks of Emperor Diocletian issuing an edict against Christians in 303 AD with George tearing up the document in front of him and “professing his faith in Christ”. This is after giving away all of his possessions away to the poor. His execution occurred in Lydda, Palestine, now known as Lod in Israel. In 494 AD, he was made a saint by Pope Galasius who maintained that, George was”one of those revered among men but whose acts are known only to God”. Later on, St George becomes popular because he is seen as a great symbol of piety, chivalry and bravery.
A basilica was built in the place where St George was executed in Lydda and today it is said that his relics are held there. Oddly, the Church of St Georgio in Rome claims to have his skull, St George’s chapel in Windsor also claimed to possessing two of his fingers, part of his heart and part of his skull. Even King Edward III claimed to own some of his blood!
How did St George become the patron saint of England?
It is believed that St George became known to the English in the 8th century and later on during the “Crusades” 1096-1300, his red cross was worn and the cult of St George developed. He was seen as a “military saint” helping the Crusaders, especially the Franks in the Battle of Antioch in 1098. The Crusaders transformed St George from a martyr to a holy warrior and from this the story of St George slaying a dragon developed. St George became the symbol of goodness and the Dragon as the symbol of evil. King Richard the Lionheart cited St George as the protector of all soldiers.
The key person who raised the status of St George in England was Edward III. Thinking along the lines of the legendary King Arthur and his Round Table of chivalrous knights held in high esteem, in 1348, Edward created the “Most Noble Order of The Garter” with its base, St Georges Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle. This was the highest honour a person could get with its emphasis of chivalry. Knights were expected to follow a set of rules, a moral and social code whereby they were to be polite, kind, show unselfish behaviour and hold women in high esteem. It was therefore Edward III who made St George the patron saint of England, displacing the former patron saints, St Edmund and St Edward the Confessor.
What is the story of St George and the Dragon?
In Silene in Libya, a dragon was causing mayhem and could only be placated by offering him two sheep to devour every day. However, the two sheep had become not enough to satisfy the dragon and the only thing the citizens could do was to substitute a human for the two sheep. A lottery was drawn and the victim was the King of Libya’s daughter. When St George heard of this, he sought out the dragon and slaughtered him with his lance. Overjoyed, the King offered St George treasure but he refused to accept it and told the King to give it to the poor. The King’s subjects responded by converting to Christianity. An alternative version states that St George killed the dragon having been given a promise that they all would be baptised. Unfortunately, the story of the dragon post dates the death of St George by several centuries and as stated earlier, he never was a knight with a warhorse and a lance.
How did Shakespeare promote St George and make him more of a national hero?
In his famous play, Henry V, Shakespeare gives Henry some immortal lines during the Battle of Harfleur. In Henry’s speech which begins, “Once more unto the breach dear friends”, he ends with the loud call, “ God for Harry, England and St George”.
Who were St Edmund and St Edward the Confessor, England’s previous patron saints?
St Edmund was born in 841 AD and executed by Danes in 870AD. In the 9th century, England did not exist as a country but was made up of the kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia of which Edmund was king. Unfortunately for King Edmund, his country was invaded by the “Great Heathen Army” (Danes) and after being captured they decided to make him renounce his christian religion. Having refused, he was tied to a tree and arrows were repeatedly fired at him. He was then decapitated and his body was eventually interred at Bury St Edmunds after a wolf had discovered his head and brought it to his searchers.
Below; St Edmund being shot by Danes. This is in the Morgan Library, New York, ie not Little Kimble.
Public Domain
St Edward the Confessor is known to most people as the Old King who died in 1066 and his lack of an heir resulted in the Battle of Hastings. He is also known as the King who built the first Westminster Abbey and was a very pious king. After his death a cult of Edward the Confessor began to grow and, in 1161, he was made a saint after several miracles had been attributed to him.
Above; St John the Evangelist, one of the “Twelve Apostles” of Jesus and the author of “The Gospel according to St John”. John and his elder brother James were two of the first disciples called by Jesus. With his brother James and St Peter, he is said to have been part of an inner nucleus of disciples close to Jesus.
Above: St James, brother of St John the Evangelist. Like his brother, he was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus. St James was beheaded by order of King Herod Agrippa I of Judaea and then carried off to Spain by his supporters. His remains are allegedly in Santiago de Compostela and have become a popular pilgrimage venue.
Above; the full image of “The Martyrdom of St Margaret”.
Below ; a close up of her execution.
Margaret was executed during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305) for refusing to marry one of his officials, the “Prefect Olybrius” at Antioch. Marriage was based on her renouncing her Christianity and this was something that she could not bear. As is the usual case, she was horrifically tortured but never gave in and so was beheaded. Apparently, at one stage she was swallowed by Satan, who, was in the form of a dragon but fortunately, the cross she had with her irritated the dragon’s throat so much that he coughed her up fully alive! Sadly, many experts state that the story of St Margaret is entirely fiction. However, fiction or not, many Christians have believed her story over the centuries and have acted upon their beliefs including having her pictures painted here and having statues made.
Above; St Catherine of Alexandria is carried to her final resting place on Mt Sinai by angels.In the time of Emperor Maximian (Maxentius) 286-305, Catherine had a vision, of the Virgin Mary who went on to persuade her to be a christian. Apparently, she was meant to marry Emperor Maxentius but maintained she was the “Bride of Christ”. It is said that she successfully argued with 50 philosophers who were given the task of convincing her of the errors of Christianity. Catherine suffered horrific torture and was condemned to death on a spiked wheel. However, when she touched it, the wheel shattered and so she ended up being beheaded. She was martyred at the age of 18 and was a saint who appeared to and consoled, Joan of Arc 1100 years later. According to David Farmer, she is the patron saint of young girls, students and of nurses because milk rather than blood flowed from her severed head. Added to these people, we can add people whose craft is linked to wheels such as wheelwrights, spinners and millers.
Above; in the middle of the wall painting is St Christopher and on the right is St Edward the Confessor. (For information on him, see the heading, “Who were St Edmund and St Edward the Confessor, England’s previous patron saints?”)
St Christopher too is a saint that some experts believe may never have existed. However, over the years, many St Christopher necklaces have been bought and worn by travellers hoping that he will look after them on their journeys. He was a giant of a man who devoted his life to God and carrying people across a river. His story goes that he was asked by a child to be carried across the river but this time the child became so heavy that St christopher struggled to reach the far bank. When he complains about the weight, he was told that “he had borne upon his back the world and Him who created it.” After this he went travelling and converted many people to Christianity. When he got to Lycia in Asia minor, he heard that many Christians had been martyred and he too was arrested and asked to perform a sacrifice to the emperor Decius but he refused. Attempts were made to bribe him with money and when that failed, two ladies were sent to seduce him but that failed too. Consequently, he was executed!
St Edward the Confessor, was the King of England who died in 1066 resulting in the Battle of Hastings and Norman rule. His name Confessor means he was a very pious man and he later became somewhat of a cult figure. An author for Britannica summed it up by writing, “In the late 11th and the early 12th century, Edward’s childless marriage came to be understood as the consequence of his devotion to virginity and the chaste life.” Various miracles were attributed to him and it was Henry II who did a deal with Pope Alexander III whereby, in return for Henry’s support for Alexanders bid to be Pope, Edward would become a saint!
Above; St Francis of Assisi. The arrow on the right points to his head or his “tonsure”, ie the top of his head is bald, the mark of a monk or friar. The arrow on the left points to birds that he is feeding. He was born in Italy in 1181 and died there in 1226. He was originally the son of a fairly rich cloth merchant but he renounced this life and chose lived a life of poverty. Britannica puts it simply; “Probably no one in history has set out as seriously as did Francis to imitate the life of Christ and to carry out so literally Christ’s work in Christ’s own way”. He founded the Franciscan Order and later, the “Women’s Order of St Clare” to follow his ideas and practices. They had to take three vows, poverty, chastity and obedience. He loved nature as the work of God and preached to the birds. Nowadays, on his “Feast Day” some churches have services where animals are blessed. The Catholic Church has estimated that over 40 miracles are down to people praying to St Francis and, as a consequence, he is one of the most venerated saints. It was only two years after his death that Pope Gregory IX made him a saint.
Above; I have read that one of the wall paintings is St Clare of Assisi and so I am guessing, that this might be her. She lived between 1194 and 1253 and was so moved by St Francis that she renounced all of her worldly possessions and became a nun. Later, she founded “The Poor Clares” and followed the rule of St Francis. Their poverty and austerity was said to be one of the hardest followed by nuns at that time. She was given a convent by St Francis for her nuns and in 1216 became its abbess. In 2011, her organisation was made up of 20 000 Poor Clare nuns in 75 countries. In 1253, Assisi was in grave danger from the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, that included some Moorish soldiers. Twice, despite being ill, Clare was carried to the town wall with a holy box called a Pyx which was used to carry the holy bread for the Eucharist. Each time Frederick’s armies fled. On the first occasion the Moors fled and on the second time, St Clare’s prayers resulted in a storm causing Frederick’s soldiers to retreat. There are needless to say, different versions of these stories but in all cases victory was down to St Clare. In 1958, she was made the Patron Saint of Television by Pope Pius XII. He did this by citing the miracle whereby, she was ill and couldn’t leave her convent in Assisi but still saw the midnight mass in the Basilica of San Francesco despite it being on the other side of town.
Above and below; Sorry, but I have not managed to discover who these two people are in these wall paintings. However, the bottom photo does include the coat of arms of Edward III.
Above; six medieval tiles made in a kiln at Chertsey Abbey in about 1290-8. At least two are part of the medieval tale of Tristram and Isolde.
Above; King Mark of Cornwall who is expecting Tristram to return from Ireland with King Mark’s fiancee Isolde.
Below; Tristram and Isolde drink a love potion, made by her mother for king Mark and Isolde. Tristram and Isolde are now very much in love and it all ends with sadness.
Below; One expert suggests this is Queen Eleanor of Castile with a squirrel on her lap.
Below; this tile is actually made of several sections of broken tile.
Above; a 12th century tub font.
Above and the next two below; medieval stained glass windows.
Essential information.
Address: All saints, Ellesborough Road, Little Kimble, Buckinghamshire, England, HP17 0XR
There is no parking opposite the church but we were able to park opposite the Little Kimble Memorial where Risborough road meets Ellesborough road.
Articles that might interest you.
Durham Cathedral is a very special building for a number of reasons to the extent that the author, Bill Bryson wrote it was “the best cathedral on Planet Earth.” Building began in 1093 and was to take 40 years to complete. If you are in the North-East of England, it should be number one on your list of places to visit. It is a good example of Romanesque architecture with its rounded or semi-circular arches, typical of architecture under the Normans (Norman castles have these arches too). When built it was Britain’s tallest building and must have amazed onlookers at a time when buildings were mainly made out of wood with wattle and daub walls and a thatched roof. It is home to the shrine of St Cuthbert, on of England's most important saints and the Venerable Bede.