Last modified: 2018-05-25 by kryštof huk
Keywords: kvilda | st. stephen |
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What's the item in the lower part of the Coat of Arms?
Jarig Bakker, 26 Jul 2002
A silver stone, attributed to St. Stephan.
Jan Zrzavy, 28 Jul 2002
St. Stephen was one of the seven deacons, appointed by the Apostles
to distribute goods among the poor people of the first Christian commune.
He was accused of blasphemy and after a sham-trial was found guilty and
stoned to death, see Acts 6, 7.
His attribute is a stone, painted by van Eyck as a "dalmatic"
pressed together (a dalmatic was the tunic, in which the deacons
were dressed) - just like the stone on the Kvilda Coat of Arms.
St. Stephen was one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages,
about whom many legends were told. One of them has it that he was a servant
at the court of Herod. During a lavish meal a roast chicken stood up from
a plate and said: "Christus natus est" (Christ has been born). Herod
was furious and had Stephen stoned.
Source: "Heiligen van alle tijden", by Clemens Jöckle, 1995.
Jarig Bakker, 29 Jul 2002
St. Stephen was the first Christian martyre. His death in Jerusalem
(c. year 37) started a violent persecution against the Christians. Stephen
is called in French Étienne (but Stéphane is also used). However, the Greek
root "stephanos" (crowned) has been preserved in the name of the
inhabitants of Saint-Étienne (the supporters of the famous Green football
team in the 70s), called Stéphanois. The root "stephanos"
is also used in mycological terms such as "Stephanoascus", a yeast-like
fungus with "crowned" asci, asci being specific spore-producing structures.
Ivan Sache, 29 Jul 2002