Saint George is the patron saint of England, though he was not English. He is also the patron saint of several other places and professions. According to legend, Saint George traveled to Libya and saved a princess from being sacrificed to a dragon by slaying the dragon. He struck it first with his spear, which broke against the dragon's scales, then used his sword to kill it under its wing where there were no scales. Saint George is popularly associated with bravery for defeating the dragon.
3. WHO IS SAINT GEORGE?
Saint George is the patron saint of
England. He's popularly identified with
England and English ideals of honour,
bravery and gallantry - but actually he
wasn't English at all
He is patron saint not only of England but
also of Aragon, Catalonia, Georgia,
Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Germany
and Greece; and of Moscow, Istanbul,
Genoa and Venice (second to Saint Mark).
He's also patron saint of soldiers, archers,
cavalry and chivalry, farmers and field
workers, riders and saddlers, and he helps
those suffering from leprosy, plague and
syphilis. In recent years he has been
adopted as patron saint of Scouts.
4. WHO WAS SAINT GEORGE?
Everything about Saint George is dubious, so the information below should be taken as
mythical rather than real.
• Born in Cappadocia, an area which is now in Turkey
• Lived in 3rd century AD
• His parents were Christian
• Later lived in Palestine
• Became a Roman soldier
• Protested against Rome's persecution of Christians
• Imprisoned and tortured, but stayed true to his faith
• Beheaded at Lydda in Palestine
• 23rd April was named as Saint George's day in 1222
5. S. GEORGE & THE DRAGON
Saint George travelled to Libya. When he arrived there he found it had a large
pond,almost as big as a lake, where a ferocious dragon lived. The dragon
was terrorising the country and, every day, the people had been feeding the
dragon a sheep to appease it.When the sheep had all gone, the dragon had
demanded that the people sacrifice a young maiden to him each day. Saint
George found that all the young girls had now been killed and only the King
of Egypt’s daughter was left. Unless a knight could be found to slay the
dragon, the princess would be sacrificed the next day. The King of Egypt had
promised his daughter’s hand in marriage to the knight who could
overcome the terrible dragon.
Saint George was determined to save the princess, and the next day he rode
out to the lake. When he arrived, he found the princess there, waiting to be
fed to the dragon. Saint George sent her home to the palace and
approached the dragon’s cave
6. When the dragon heard Saint
George’s horse approaching, he
came out of his cave and roared at
him. The dragon was huge and its
roar sounded like thunder, but
Saint George was not afraid. He
struck the monster with his spear,
but the dragon’s scales were so
hard that the spear simply broke
into pieces. Saint George fell from
his horse but did not give up.
Instead, he rushed at the dragon
and used his sword to slay it under
its wing where there were no
scales. The dragon fell dead at
Saint George’s feet
