Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Saint George & the Dragon

Origin: English History

Saint George is known as a Martyr and the Patron Saint of England. He was originally a Roman Calvary officer who was known for his courage in war. He was a mighty site on his white war-horse. He eventually converted to Christianity, and to show the people that Christians did not have to be meek, he sought out to fight a dragon who was destroying the area around Cappadocia. The people of the town tried to calm the beast with sacrafices of their best sheep. This worked for a while, but then the dragon attacked again. The poor people had to give up what they thought would rid the animal of their town: a virgin princess. George slayed the dragon with the lance he had in his hand while charging with his huge steed. Because of this heroic deed, other Christian Knights sought out to save damsels in destress from dragons, and how dragons eventually got slaughtered into being just a myth.

Saint George's red cross that he wore over his armor became the banner of England. Saint George Feast Day is April 23rd. Reynold's Metals even uses his image as their logo!

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Saint George probably lived during the 3rd century and died in Lydda, Palestine [now Lod, Israel]. His feast day is April 23. "He was an early Christian martyr who during the Middle Ages became an ideal of martial valour and selflessness. He is the patron saint of England."

".... Legends about him as a warrior-saint, dating from the 6th century, became popular and increasingly extravagant. Jacob de Voragine's Legenda aurea (1265-66; Golden Legend) repeats the story of his rescuing a Libyan king's daughter from a dragon and then slaying the monster in return for a promise by the king's subjects to be baptized. George's slaying of the dragon is nothing more than Christian version of the legend of Perseus, who was said to have rescued Andromeda from a sea monster near Lydda. It is a theme much represented in art, the saint frequently being depicted as a youth wearing knight's armour with a scarlet cross...."

The Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of Saint George on April 23. The life of "Great-Martyr George the Trophy- Bearer," according to church tradition, is related in Lives of the Saints (Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Washington, D.C.).

Icons bearing the image of Christ or saints are venerated as sacred in the Orthodox Church. They are painted on a wooden panel or done in mosaics. Icons of Saint George have been important in the Russian Orthodox Church since early times. The following collection of icons comes from the Novgorad Icon Gallery of the Novgorod State University in Russia. They date from the 12th to the 16th century.



From Britannica Online, Copyright © 1996 Encyclopędia Britannica, Inc. All Rights Reserved.