Seven Champions of Christendom

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The Seven Champions of Christendom is a moniker referring to St. George, the Apostle Andrew, St. Patrick, St. Denis, St. James Boanerges, St. Anthony the Lesser, and St. David. They are patron-saints of, respectively, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, and Wales.

The champions have been depicted in Christian art and folklore as heroic warriors, most notably in a 1596 book by Richard Johnson titled Famous Historie of the Seaven Champions of Christendom.

The Apostle James is often portrayed, anachronistically, as fighting formidably against the Moors, whilst St. George is usually thought of as being a knightly dragon-slayer. The legend of St. Patrick casting all of the serpents out of Ireland is also quite famous. The stories of the Seven Champions were especially popular in the British Isles and Europe during the Dark Ages. Four of the Seven Champions, St. Andrew, St. George, St. James, and St. Denis, died as martyrs.

[edit] References

  • Compton's Encyclopaedia:21 (S-Sousa).
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise:Anthony of Padua, Saint
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