Saint George is both man and myth. He is
considered “The Great Martyr” by the Greek Orthodox Church. He, in
fact, did exist, and his chivalric character led to the allegorical fable
of his slaying of the great dragon.
There are no known birth or death dates for Saint George, but it is known that he was born in Cappadocia in Asia Minor, which is now Turkey, into a Christian family of noble lineage. In Asia Minor, it was the reign of Emperor Diocletian, who, in 302 AD, took it upon himself to persecute the believers of Christianity. Saint George opposed the mistreatment and annihilation of these Christians. Upon speaking out against the harshness of Diocletian’s decrees against the Christians, Saint George was imprisoned and tortured, dragged through the streets and beheaded in Nicoimedia, which is presently Palestine, which makes him one of the earliest martyrs. The emperor's wife was so impressed by Saint George's unfaltering faith, she converted to Christianity and was put to death. Saint George was canonized in 494 AD by Pope Gelasius.
The legend and myth of Saint George was believed
to have begun at some point in the twelfth century and was continually
passed down, especially in the form of song by troubadours in the fourteenth
century. The story is believed to have been derived from that of
Virgin Andromeda and Perseus. In Silene, Libya, there was a dragon
doing his part to terrorize that portion of the country. The town
of Silene had fed it the majority of their livestock in order to try and
acquiesce the dragon, and had moved on to people. They were about
to sacrifice Cleolinda, the resident princess. At this precise moment,
Saint George appeared in Silene, killed the dragon and rescued Princess
Cleolinda. He married her, and the whole town converted to Christianity.
The fable is allegorical, yet there are some discrepancies in the correlation
of the characters. One online source referred to the dragon as Satan,
the Princess as the Christian Church, and therefore George was saving the
Christian Church from the Devil. A better interpretation was found
at another online source which referred to the dragon as Satan, the Princess
as the suffering of humanity and George as Christianity thereby creating
the idea that Christianity would save the suffering of humanity from the
Devil.
Why was this legend created? “One thinks in the first place of saints of the church and leaving our the most famous instance of all, Saint George, who may not have been a historical person, it seems almost that in the Middle Ages and particularly in France, no bishop no abbot achieved sainthood without first having slain a dragon” (Porter, 25) Could the legend of Saint George have been started in order to keep up with appearances of the time? During the Middle Ages, when the chivalric code developed and began to include dragon slayers, Saint George was already canonized and he was already of questionable historic existence, so a chivalric fable would not have been opposed.
When knights took their vows, they “were made before God, our Lady, and especially his patron Saint, and St. Michael and St. George, the patron Saints of Chivalry.” (Cornish, 365-6) Saint George was considered Saint of Battles by some because he appeared to the Christian army before the Battle of Antioch and he appeared to King Richard I during the Crusade he led against the Saracens. Yet, he was also portrayed as a protector of livestock and other domestic animals because the Cult of Saint George appeared in Syria in the fourth century and “in northern Russia there are iconographic traces of the cult of St. George as protector of stables and cattle.” (Porter, 196).
As the legend of Saint George developed, his fame grew. In 1222, the Council of Oxford appointed April 23 as Saint George's day, which incidentally is the date of Sir Victor Cervantes's and Shakespeare's deaths. Edward III created a chapel of Saint George in Windsor castle for his Order of the Garter, one of the highest honors in England. “As the scene of the annual St. George's day ceremonies, the chapel at Windsor castle, refounded by Edward III on a grand scale that quite transformed it, was the focal point of the Order [of the Garter].” (Vale, 83) He is Patron Saint of England, where King Henry V coined the phrase “Saint George for England!” He is also Patron Saint of Scouting, Portugal, Catalonia, Aragon, and Lithuania. The cross of Saint George, a rectangular cross on a white background was popular during the Crusades, and was used by the South when designing the Rebel flag, which they flew under during the Civil War. Saint George is the name of many cities, churches, and is one of the most popular figures for altar pieces in many churches as well. He has been a Saint for over 1500 years and his fame will continue on into the next century.
Vale, Juliet. Edward III and Chivalry. Suffolk: Boydell Press, 1982.
Porter, J. R., ed. And Russell, W.M.S., ed. Animals in Folklore. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer Ltd, 1978.
Groiler Multimedia Encyclopedia. Computer Software. Groiler, Inc. 1995. Mac. 968K. CD-ROM.
Saint George Patron Saint of Scouting
http://www.oln.com/scouts/st_george.htm
Artisan Publishers St. George by E.O. Gordon
http://www.artisanpublishers.com/bk_st_george.html
Saint George Patron Saint of England
http://www.innotts.co.uk/~asperges/george2.html
The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Washington D.C.
http://www.stjohndc.org/saints/9505a.htm