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Who was St. George, and what did he do to
become the Patron Saint of England? Very little is known about St. George’s
life, but it is thought he was a high ranking officer in the Roman army who was
killed in around AD 303.
The Emperor Diocletian had St. George tortured to make
him deny his faith in Christ. However despite torture, St George showed
incredible courage and faith and was finally beheaded in Palestine. His head was
later taken to Rome where it was interred in the church dedicated to him.
Stories of his strength and courage soon spread throughout Europe. The
best-known is his fight with a dragon, but it is highly unlikely that he ever
visited England, however his name was known there as early as the
eighth-century. In the Middle Ages the dragon was commonly used to represent the
Devil. Unfortunately the many legends connected with St. George’s name are
fictitious, and the slaying of the ‘Dragon’ was first credited to him in the
twelfth-century. St. George, so the story goes, killed a dragon on the flat
topped Dragon Hill in Berkshire, and it is said that no grass grows where the
dragon’s blood trickled down.
King Edward III made him the Patron Saint of England when he formed the Order of
the Garter in St. George's name in 1350, and the cult of the Saint was further
advanced by King Henry V, at the battle of Agincourt in northern France.
St Georges day is celebrated on
23rd of April
Shakespeare famously said
:
‘Cry God for Harry, England and St.
George!’
Back to Famous Englishmen and Women.
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