Do you think the saints of medieval times are really saints?

Question

Do you think that just because saint george slayed and slaughtered many other dragons makes him a suitable saint?

Answer 1

Results 1 - 10 of about 89 from www.sacred-texts.com for medieval saints
Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland: Notes (W.B. Yeats)
Various medieval saints, and even certain witches, cured sick persons by taking the disease upon themselves. Christian Scientists and Mental Healers are ...
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Answer 2

Actually, this is a good question and deserves a very serious answer.

The Catholic Church has been declaring people who led exemplary lives and to whom, after death, miracles (at least two) can be documented and substantiated.

But that wasn't always so. In the early Middle Ages, a number of "saints" were declared based on stories about unusually holy people--only some of these people never existed. By the early 1960s, the Second Vatican Council removed a number of
saints of questionable authenticity from the Church's Calendar of Saints. Two famous ones who got axed were St. George (the Dragon Slayer) and St. Christopher. Still, today, you will find some Catholics wearing St. Christopher medals for protection when they are driving their cars or when they travel.

The Catholic Church now has a very thorough and lengthy investigation into the lives of people it is considering for sainthood, and the miracles attributed to the potential saint undergo extremely thorough scrutiny in which everything else must be ruled out.

One person who is now being considered for sainthood--and has been fast-tracked at the order of Pope John Paul II himself--is Mother Theresa of Calcutta, India. Still, even for her, so obviously exemplary in life and dedication, the process takes time and the investigations will go on and on.

Having said all this, I do think there are people from Medieval times who may have been declared saints who may not have existed, or who were declared such for political reasons. But the majority, I can say from my study, led exemplary lives according to the thinking of the times in which they lived. Some of them would be considered a bit bizarre today, however--like those who disciplined their bodies with scourges, with long fasting, or those who wore hairshirts or never bathed. . . .You get the picture, I think.

Lastly, no, "St. George" was not suitable. He never existed--and--surprise! neither did the dragons he allegedly slayed.

Answer 3

I think most like St. George were associated stories that told of extraordinary deeds rather than actually preforming miracles.
Some were made Saints because of their exemplary lives of servitude or self deprivation.
Others for their political and self sacrificing support of the Church during times of war or internal trouble.
There are Sainted individuals whose only claim was their claim they had experienced a visitation from God.
It appears the qualifications for Sainthood changed with the history of the Church.
Some are even known by different names and slightly different deeds according to country or area. This is particularly so in Eastern Europe and South America.

Answer 4

no, i think they were normal people for the most part that did something out of the ordinary and over the years extraordinary stories were told about them... becoming more and more unrealistic over time.

Answer 5

Don't think so