St. George and the Dragon.

Saint George is perhaps most famous for slaying a dragon. This is obviously a fictitious story and very little is known about the real St. George. The little we do know is as follows:

· Born in Turkey (either Anatolia or Cappadocia)
· 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 Nicomedia in Palestine

For a more detailed history please click here (.pdf format, 959kb).

St. George is probably England's most successful immigrant. Born in a foreign land, welcomed by the English and has worked hard for over 800 years in his adopted country. He has integrated so well that he has come to symbolise the very essence of 'Englishness'.

The story of St. George and the Dragon dates back to the Middle Ages when the dragon was commonly used to represent evil, so it's an excellent tale of good triumphing over evil.

Since then St. George has been popularly identified with English ideals of charity, chivalry and courage (now known as the 3 C's)

A fully illustrated children's story based on the 'The Seven Champions' by Richard Johnson (1596) is available for download by clicking here (.pdf format, 4281kb).

St. George's worldwide fame

He is not only patron saint of England but also of…

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 and plague. In recent years he has been adopted as patron saint of Scouts.