Saint George

NAME Saint George

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Saint George is most famous as a Christian martyr, legendary dragon-slayer, and the patron saint of England. His red cross on a white background is a national emblem.

BIRTH Saint George was born approximately 270-280 AD in Cappadocia, an area in what is now modern-day Turkey. Some sources suggest he may have been born around 275-281 AD. There is some scholarly debate about whether he was born in Cappadocia or Syria Palaestina, but most sources agree he was at least partly raised in the Lydda area of Palestine.

FAMILY BACKGROUND George came from a Christian noble family. His father was Gerontius (or Gerontios), a Roman army official from Cappadocia. His mother was Polychronia, a Christian and Greek native from Lydda in Palestine. Both parents belonged to noble Christian families of the Anici and were of Greek heritage.

CHILDHOOD George's father died when he was approximately fourteen years old. Following his father's death, he returned with his mother to her homeland of Syria Palestina/Lydda, where she provided him with an education. He was secretly baptized by his mother without his father's knowledge according to some accounts.

EDUCATION His mother provided him with an education in Lydda after they moved there following his father's death. As a member of a noble family, he would have received appropriate training for his social status.  This would have included Latin and Greek languages, rhetoric, history, and potentially military strategy and tactics, preparing him for a career in the Roman army. His Christian upbringing would have also involved a significant theological education within his family.

CAREER RECORD George enlisted in the Roman Army at age 17 and followed his father's profession as a soldier. He rose rapidly through the military ranks due to his courage, chivalry and charity. By his late twenties, he had achieved the rank of Tribunus Militum (Tribune), commanding a regiment of 1,000 men. He became a member of Emperor Diocletian's personal guard at Nicomedia.

APPEARANCE George was described as having tall stature and fair hair, suggesting he was probably of Darian origin. He was noted for his handsome good looks and military bearing. Some later accounts describe him as youthful and beardless with rows of curly brown hair. He was depicted as having the physical characteristics typical of a Roman cavalryman. (1)

Portrait by Hans von Kulmbach, circa 1510

FASHION  George wore typical Roman military attire as befitting his rank as a Tribune. In iconography, he is traditionally shown dressed as a soldier and sometimes depicted wearing a jeweled diadem on his head, representing a Near-Eastern version of a royal crown relating to his "crown of martyrdom". (2)

CHARACTER Saint George is universally characterized by his unwavering faith, courage, and integrity. He was renowned for his moral fortitude and his refusal to renounce his Christian beliefs, even under torture and the threat of death. He embodies bravery, chivalry, and a strong sense of justice, as demonstrated in the dragon legend where he protects the innocent. 

SPEAKING VOICE George was noted for making an eloquent and courageous speech when he appeared before Emperor Diocletian. He stirred the populace with his powerful and convincing rhetoric against the Imperial Decree to persecute Christians. (1)

RELATIONSHIPS  Limited information exists about George's personal relationships beyond his family. 

Saint George’s legendary marriage to Princess Sabra is a late-medieval and early-modern romance episode that does not appear in the earliest hagiographies but became enormously popular through Renaissance prose fiction and, later, Victorian art. 

Most modern tellings of the wedding derive from Richard Johnson’s Elizabethan bestseller The Seven Champions of Christendom (1596). In Johnson’s expansive prose romance, George rescues Sabra—re-christened an “Egyptian” princess—from the dragon, catechises and baptises her, defeats a rival suitor who betrays him, and finally weds her in a feast that unites Egypt’s court with George’s fellow Champions. 

The episode hybridises chivalric romance, crusader myth, and Protestant hagiography, making Sabra both bride and convert. From there, the wedding migrated into chapbooks, children’s editions, stained glass cycles, and, most famously, Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s 1857 water-colour The Wedding of St George and Princess Sabra.

The Wedding of St George and Princess Sabra by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 

Some accounts mention that his courage and faith made him a martyr convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become Christians, suggesting he had influence over others through his witness.

MONEY AND FAME As a high-ranking Roman officer, George would have earned a respectable salary and enjoyed a certain degree of material comfort. Before his arrest and execution, George disposed of his property to the poor and freed his slaves. He gave his money to the poor in preparation for his death. 

His fame is entirely posthumous, stemming from his martyrdom and the widespread adoption of his legend. He achieved enduring fame as a saint and a symbol of Christian valor, far surpassing any earthly renown he might have had during his lifetime.

MUSIC AND ARTS Saint George has inspired countless works of medieval art and iconography, especially in depictions of the dragon legend.

LITERATURE . Posthumously, Saint George became a central figure in hagiography (the writing of saints' lives) and medieval romances. The most famous literary work associated with him is The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Varagine (13th century), which popularized the dragon legend and greatly influenced his veneration across Europe.

NATURE George is strongly associated with a dragon—though mythical, this creature represents his relationship to the forces of nature and chaos, which he subdues.

Saint George the Dragon-Slayer, 16th century, by Georgios Klontzas

HOBBIES AND SPORTS As a Roman soldier, Saint George's training would have involved physical exercises, combat drills, and equestrian skills, which could be considered forms of "sports" or "hobbies" for a soldier.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY You have to hand it to Saint George. While most of us struggle to stay patient in traffic or not mutter something regrettable when someone takes the last biscuit at Bible study, George — dear brave soul — went and stood up to the entire Roman Empire.

Yes, properly. Not just sent a slightly annoyed scroll to the council. He publicly declared he was a Christian when it was the absolute worst time to do so. Emperor Diocletian was not, shall we say, in a particularly open-minded phase. Christians were being hunted down, and there were all sorts of unpleasant things happening to those who didn’t play ball.

So what did George do? Quietly blend in and keep his head down? Not a bit of it. He marched in, tore up the emperor’s anti-Christian edict (as one does), and announced that he was, is, and always would be, a follower of Christ. No amount of threats, bribes, flattery, or well-meaning suggestions that he just "pretend to go along with things" could budge him.

The Romans offered him status, money, safety — and a slightly less grisly end — if he’d just sacrifice to a few gods he didn’t believe in anyway. But George, bless him, declined. Politely, firmly, and with what we must assume was quite a lot of internal trembling.

Before he was arrested, he actually went through his worldly belongings and gave them away to the poor. Even freed his servants. That’s the sort of thing that always sounds lovely in a sermon but hits quite differently when you realise he genuinely did it. No dramatic music, no Instagram post. Just quiet, premeditated, Christ-like generosity.

Now, if we’re being honest, what happened next was unspeakably grim. The stories talk of wheels, poison, boiling — basically, things you would not want to come across in a church fête raffle. But through it all, George simply refused to deny his faith.

There’s a story — and we may allow a little poetic license — that even during his tortures, people watching, including Empress Alexandra herself, were so moved by his calm confidence and refusal to hate anyone that they declared themselves Christians too. Some were martyred on the spot. Not the outcome you'd hope for at your first church meeting, but still — what an impression he made.

He died, as expected, but not before becoming the sort of person whose example lingers. In both Eastern and Western traditions, he’s known as a “Great Martyr.” Personally, I think "Greatly Brave, Slightly Mad, and Deeply Devoted" would also work.

And what of the dragon? Ah yes, the dragon. Legend tells of George rescuing a town in Libya from a devilish beast by killing it and converting the lot of them. The dragon likely symbolises evil, or perhaps bureaucracy. Either way, it made for an excellent story, especially in The Golden Legend, which was the medieval equivalent of a bestseller, only with fewer jokes.

These days, Saint George is the patron saint of England, Bulgaria, Georgia, scouts, and anyone trying to summon courage on a Monday morning. His red cross on a white background is still flying from flagpoles, scout neckerchiefs, and the occasional overambitious sock design.

What’s left to say, really? Saint George stood firm when the world turned ugly. He followed Jesus all the way to the end. And if nothing else, that’s worth remembering the next time you’re tempted to grumble during the intercessions. 

POLITICS George's political stance was opposition to the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian. He tore down the notice of the Emperor's edict against Christians and publicly confessed his Christian faith, which was a direct political challenge to imperial authority.

SCANDAL The "scandal" surrounding Saint George, from the Roman perspective, was his refusal to worship the Roman gods and his open confession of Christianity, which was seen as an act of treason and disobedience to the Emperor's decrees. This led to his arrest, torture, and execution. From a Christian perspective, this was an act of profound faith and heroism..

MILITARY RECORD George had a distinguished military career, rising to the rank of Tribune (Tribunus Militum) and serving as a member of Emperor Diocletian's personal guard. He was highly honored for his courage in battle and had established a reputation among his peers for his virtuous behavior and physical strength.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS George was noted for his physical strength and military bearing. He demonstrated remarkable endurance under torture, surviving being lacerated on a wheel of swords and requiring resuscitation three times before his final execution.

HOMES George lived in Cappadocia during his early years, then moved to Lydda, Palestine with his mother after his father's death. As a member of Diocletian's guard, he would have been stationed at Nicomedia.

TRAVEL Due to his military career, Saint George would have traveled extensively throughout the Roman Empire, particularly within the eastern provinces, potentially including Cappadocia, Syria, and Nicomedia (where Diocletian's court often resided).

DEATH Saint George was executed on April 23, 303 AD at Nicomedia (some sources say near Lydda in Palestine). He was tortured extensively, including being lacerated on a wheel of swords, before being beheaded. He died as a Christian martyr for refusing to renounce his faith. His body was returned to Lydda for burial.

The martyrdom of Saint George, by Cornelis Schut, 1643

VENERATION If you’ve ever wondered how a possibly real, possibly slightly apocryphal Roman soldier with an allergy to idolatry ended up as the poster boy for English patriotism, Bulgarian barbecues, and the international scouting movement, then congratulations — you’re thinking along the right lines.

Saint George, you see, became very famous for something he may or may not have done: slaying a dragon.

Now, according to the best available medieval sources — which is to say, well-meaning monks with vivid imaginations and lots of time on their hands — George turned up in a deeply distressed pagan town in Libya that had a dragon problem. This wasn’t your standard grumpy-lizard-in-the-garden sort of issue. No, this beast was terrifying the locals to the extent that they were feeding it sheep to keep it away from the high street. When they ran out of sheep, they switched to sacrificing members of the community. (Understandably, this did little to lift civic morale.)

Eventually, the king’s daughter — a sort of symbolic stand-in for the Church — drew the short straw. She was all ready to become dragon brunch when along came George, full of faith and presumably rather good at sword-fighting. He killed the dragon, converted the town to Christianity, and left people wondering why they hadn’t asked him to drop by earlier.

That was the story — give or take a few embellishments — and it spread like wildfire. By the 5th century, Christians in Syria and Egypt were building churches in his name. Western Europe caught the bug a century later. In 494, Pope Gelasius, hedging his bets, described George as one of those saints “whose names are justly reverenced among men but whose actions are known only to God.” Which is a lovely way of saying, “We’re fairly certain he was marvellous, but don’t ask us for details.”

Then came the Crusaders — men of faith, zeal, chainmail, and very little sunscreen — who brought George’s story back to England like a souvenir snow globe, only significantly bloodier. By 1222, the Council of Oxford had decided we should all be celebrating his feast day, and by the time The Golden Legend was published in the 13th century (a sort of medieval celebrity magazine for saints, complete with dragons, martyrdoms, and occasional resurrections), George was firmly installed as a spiritual superstar.

And then came the cheerleaders: "St George for England!" became the war cry of King Edward III and his troops, which does make one wonder what Saint George, who gave away all his possessions and was martyred for preaching peace, would have made of his name being used as a battlefield chant. Still, such is the mystery of sainthood.

Edward III made it official around 1348: Saint George was now the patron saint of England, demoting poor old Saint Edmund the Martyr (who barely had a dragon to his name). George’s red cross on white became our flag, our army standard, and eventually something you see painted on teenage faces during major football tournaments.

April 23rd — the traditional date of George’s martyrdom — was confirmed as the grand day of celebration. In 1415, the Church gave it the full treatment: a festum duplex, which is Latin for “this one really counts.” Even the Reformation, which wasn’t exactly kind to saints or feast days, made an exception and kept St George’s Day on the calendar. (Let’s be honest — even reformers liked a good story with a dragon in it.)

Of course, as time passed, a few people began to ask awkward questions. Historical ones. Scholarly ones. Questions like: Did Saint George actually exist? This led to a rather awkward moment in 1969 when Pope Paul VI quietly demoted George to “optional worship” — the liturgical equivalent of putting someone on the substitute bench and hoping no one notices.

But in a joyful act of ecclesiastical common sense (and perhaps fondness), Pope John Paul II reinstated him fully in 2000. Because let’s face it — dragon or no dragon, martyrdom, courage, and turning down power and wealth to follow Christ are all still worth remembering.

And it’s not just England that holds him dear. He’s also the patron saint of Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Georgia, Malta, Portugal, and Slovenia. Bulgarians, in fact, celebrate St George’s Day on May 6th, traditionally with a full roasted lamb, which strikes me as the sort of feast George would have pretended not to enjoy while secretly going back for seconds.

Even the Scouts have claimed him, seeing April 23rd as the ideal first day of the camping season. Which seems about right. If you’re going to spend a night in the wilderness armed only with faith, a torch, and half a packet of custard creams, who better to have watching over you than a saint who once wrestled a metaphorical (or possibly literal) dragon into submission?

In the end, Saint George remains — whether as man, myth, or mix of both — a symbol of faithful courage in the face of fear, a quiet refusal to bow to the easy option, and a champion of Christ-like heroism that still inspires us today.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA The legend of Saint George has appeared in numerous works throughout history, including Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend (13th century), Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, and countless artistic depictions by masters like Raphael, Albrecht Dürer, Peter Paul Rubens, and Salvador Dali. Modern adaptations include the Ben 10 animated series 

His image is central to the flag of England (St. George's Cross) and various coats of arms and emblems worldwide. He also appears in stained glass, paintings, sculpture, folklore, and children’s books. The image of George slaying the dragon has become an enduring motif across cultures.

ACHIEVEMENTS

– Martyrdom for his Christian faith

– Patron saint of England and numerous other countries

– Iconic dragon-slaying legend symbolising good overcoming evil

– Lasting place in religious, military, and cultural traditions around the world

Sources (1) Royal Society of Saint George (2) Icon Reader