There cannot be many saints like St George, in that so many people can tell you his story but there is so little evidence to support it, especially as he may never have existed at all!
If George was a real person, then he was a martyr who died
in Lydda, Palestine, possibly in the year 303 during the persecutions ordered
by Emperor Diocletian.
The story goes that he was a Roman soldier and a member of the imperial guard, one of several who were Christians. The emperor took offence when these Christian guards made the sign of the cross when witnessing some heathen priests performing a fortune-telling exercise. They were promptly dismissed from the emperor’s service.
The story goes that he was a Roman soldier and a member of the imperial guard, one of several who were Christians. The emperor took offence when these Christian guards made the sign of the cross when witnessing some heathen priests performing a fortune-telling exercise. They were promptly dismissed from the emperor’s service.
Things got worse when the emperor further ordered the
Christian clergy in the town to make sacrifices to the pagan gods. This was too
much for George, who tore down the edict when it was posted on the door of the
emperor’s palace. His punishment was, not surprisingly, a lot more severe than
for his earlier misdemeanour and he ended up being tortured and executed.
At least, that is one version of the story, and something
like it might actually have been true. However, the story that “everyone knows”
is far less likely to be based on reality!
The legend is that George was riding through the city of
Sylene in Libya when he was told about a terrible problem that the local people
were experiencing. This was that a fearful dragon lived nearby and the people
were forced to feed it on demand. They had run out of sheep and other livestock
and were now drawing lots to see who would be the first human sacrifice. On the day
of George’s visit the unlucky candidate was the king’s daughter, the ultimate
damsel in distress.
George made a bargain with the citizens to the effect that
he would kill the dragon on condition that they converted to Christianity. One
could imagine that the debate was a short one and George was soon given
permission to tackle the dragon, which he did with notable success. The net
result was that George made 15,000 converts to Christianity. Did he also win
the hand of the rescued princess? It depends on which version of the legend you
choose to believe – if any!
The earliest version of the dragon story dates from the 11th
century, this being part of a cult of veneration of George that spread across
Europe during the medieval period. In England his feast day of 23rd
April was declared in 1222 and he became the country’s official patron saint
and protector of the royal family in the 14th century. His banner of
a red cross on a white background became the flag of England and this forms the
central part of the union flag that is used to this day.
It is, however, highly unlikely that George ever set foot in
England or can be said to have done this country any favours in particular.
Of course, many people have tried to fill in the blanks of
George’s story, such as maintaining that he was born in Cappadocia (central
Turkey) to a Christian family and that he joined the Roman army at the age of
17. His name George was of Greek origin, which reflected his family background.
However, one is always free to believe as much or as little of the story of St
George as one likes!
© John Welford
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