Known globally as a legendary 'dragon slayer', St George serves as the patron saint of England, as well as several other countries and cities including Georgia, Greece and Moscow.
Popular images of St George show him dressed as a medieval knight, rescuing a princess from a dragon. His symbol – a red cross on a white background – is on the English flag.
But England's patron saint never set foot in the country – which didn’t exist when St George is reputed to have lived.
Very little is known about this mysterious figure. The limited evidence suggests that George lived in the Roman Empire in the third century CE, several centuries before the earliest knights of the Carolingian Empire. If, as is believed, he was an officer in the Roman army, he would likely have worn armour.
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However, the dragon-slaying story is an early medieval embellishment, perhaps symbolising the battle between good and evil. In the Middle Ages, George came to be invoked in hope of protection from plagues or for armies in battle.
When Edward III (ruled 1327–77) created his great chivalric Order of the Garter for his noblest knights, he adopted St George’s cross as its symbol. George became England’s patron saint around this time.
Some of the earliest references to George appear in fourth-century sources, including a Syrian inscription from around 350 CE referring to his martyrdom. He was purportedly a Christian who was tortured and executed for his beliefs by Roman authorities under the Emperor Diocletian around 303 – possibly on 23 April, now celebrated as St George’s Day.
Certainly, many Christian shrines and early churches in the Near and Middle East were dedicated to George soon after this time, under the more sympathetic Constantine the Great (ruled 306–37) and his successors; clearly, the story became popular very quickly.
By tradition, George was born in Cappadocia, in what is now central Turkey. His father was probably also a soldier, and his mother may have come from what is now Israel. Some reports of early pilgrimages to his tomb locate it in Palestine.
Where is St George also a patron saint?
Though it is impossible to pin down facts with any certainty, George’s influence has spread widely. He is venerated not only in England but also in Lithuania, Portugal, Germany, Greece and Palestine, as well as in the Spanish regions of Catalonia and Aragon and the Italian cities of Venice and Genoa in Italy. He is famously the patron saint of Moscow and also, unsurprisingly, the patron saint of Georgia – which is, however, not believed to be named after him.
There may have been no dragons or shining bright armour, but the historical echoes of George’s life suggest he was a person of note whose life and death impressed his contemporaries.
St George's Day
St George’s Day is usually celebrated on 23 April in England but can be moved by the Church of England if it falls within Holy Week or the Octave of Easter.
