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A History of St George

St George's Day is celebrated on 23rd April every year.

George was born in Turkey in the late 3rd Century AD. He joined the army and was admired by his peers "for his virtuous behaviour and physical strength; his military bearing, valour and handsome good looks."

George became a martyr for refusing to give up his Christian faith, and was tortured and beheaded at the age of 23.
From then, he was seen as a symbol of virtue and Christian belief. He was made a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

It was Richard the Lionheart who first adopted St George as a Patron Saint, as an apparition of St George was seen above the walls of Jerusalem during the Crusades, egging the English on to a moral victory against the City. The symbol of the red cross against the white (or silver) background was used by the English Crusaders to stand for chilvalry and virtue.

It wasn't until Henry V won the Battle of Agincourt that St George was adopted as the official Patron Saint of England.

The story of St George and the Dragon originates from Libya, where a dragon lived outside a village and terrorised the villagers. They would feed animals to it in order to keep it calm, but when all the animals had gone, they had to feed it villagers. The king’s daughter was chosen to be sacrificed, but St George charged up on his horse and fought the Dragon, finally dragging it into the village and killing it in front of the people. The King offered gold to St George as a reward, but he refused it and asked that it be given to the poor instead.