The story of St George and the dragon is well known. It takes place in the town of Silene in Libya. Silene had one major problem: a dragon. It appeared one day, and the people of the town tried to fight it off but were afraid of its might and fled.
From that day on the people of Silene appeased the dragon with sheep, but when that was not enough they begun to sacrifice the children and young people of the town. These would be chosen by lot every day. And so came the day that the daughter of the king’s name was chosen by lot, and she was sent off to be fed to the dragon.
The king, of course, did not want to see his daughter die, and offered to give up all his wealth that his daughter might be spared and another sent in her place. The people of the town refused, saying their own children had been fed to the dragon it was only right that his might now be sacrificed.
But it would come to pass that the king’s daughter would not perish, for her savior had arrived: St George. He was passing by when he saw her being taken to be slaughtered. Asking what was happening, the princess told him to flee lest he perish as well. The brave knight refused, and went with the princess to face the dragon.
St George, brandishing his spear, attacked the dragon, wounding it in the side and throwing it to the ground. He then asked for the princess’s girdle, which he tied around the dragon’s neck. The dragon then came under the control of the princess, and they brought it back to the town.
At the town, St George slew the dragon, and all the people of the town were baptized after seeing this display of the power of Christ. They offered St George all their wealth, but he told them to give it to the poor and then went on his way.
The Life of St George
The above story of St George and the dragon is the same as that told in the Aurea Legenda, the “Golden Legend.” This was one of the most popular collections of tales of the saints in the High Middle Ages and was responsible for popularizing the story of St George and the Dragon.
Where exactly the story of St George and the dragon comes from is unknown, but it appears to be late in origin. The earliest known reference is a tomb in England dating back to the earlier half of the 12th century. It portrays the princess in the clutches of the dragon with an abbot blessing St George as he prepares for battle.
Most scholars believe the story of St George and the Dragon is Eastern in origin and spread across Europe during the Crusades. It was during this same time that the red cross began to be associated with the saint: it was originally the cross worn by Crusaders. Both England and Georgia use what is now known as St George’s Cross as their national flags. Some other scholars state the legend comes from pagan myths, perhaps even Perseus of Greek mythology. However, most believers dispute this due to the late origin of the story’s attribution to St George.
The truth about the life of St George, however, is shrouded in mystery. In 495 AD Pope Gelasius counts St George as among those martyrs who is reverenced by men but whose “actions are known only to God.”
The earliest hagiographies of St George place him as living sometime at the turn of the 4th century. He is supposed to have been born in Cappadocia and was a soldier in the Roman Legion. It was about this time that then emperor Diocletian issued an edict commanding the persecution of Christians.
George, born to a Christian family, refused to take part in the persecution of other Christians and proclaimed his faith to his fellow soldiers. As punishment, he was decapitated. The date given for his martyrdom is April 23, 303, and it is on April 23 that his feast day is now celebrated.
The Cult of St George
Veneration of St George appears to have begun in Palestine, where a church was built during the reign of Constantine to an unnamed martyr. It is commonly believed that this unnamed martyr is St George. The earliest stories also claim that George’s mother came from Lydda in Palestine.
From Palestine, reverence of the saint spread throughout the Near East and eventually across Europe. He is revered as a saint among Orthodox churches and in Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions. Many nations hail him as their patron saint, most famously England.
The Roman Catholic Church downplayed the celebration of his feast day in 1969, giving it third-rate status. However, it was renewed to full status in the year 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Today, St George is renowned all over the world, and his most popular image remains of the slaying of the dragon, despite its late origin.
