Fact or Fiction Tours

St George

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by

Sue Duckworth
in ,

The 23rd April is known as St George’s Day with St George being the most revered saint in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

George is the patron saint of England and of twelve other countries too!

In AD 303, George was a tribune and a member of the Emperor Diocletian’s personal guard.

Diocletian had George subjected to various barbaric tortures in an effort to make him recant, before having him beheaded.

The legend of St George and the Dragon grew during the Crusades, with St George representing the forces of Christian good, fighting the dragon of Islam.

Many old English Inns were named ‘St George & the Dragon’ and today you can still see St George fighting the Dragon depicted in stained glass and wood as seen here.

George and Dragon, Castle Street, Salisbury
St George is shown here on a pub sign in Salisbury, Wiltshire (Trish Steel, CC BY-SA 2.0) on a 14th century bench end, from the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Osbournby, Lincolnshire, courtesy of (Spencer Means CC BY-SA 2.0) and in a stained glass panel at St John the Baptist Church in Barham, Kent, courtesy of (Pam Fray CC BY-SA 2.0)

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