Saint George

Saint George

Saint George is the patron saint of England. It is said he slew a dragon in Libya.

Background

Saint George is said to have been a real person, likely a solider, although it's been suggested his representation in Christian folklore is most likely a composite form of various different saints. He allegedly was born in Cappadocia (now Central Turkey) and was executed by the Persians or Romans (interpretations differ) in Diosplois while on his way on the path to Jerusalem from Jappa, becoming a martyr. Archeological remains of a cult devoted to him date back either to the fourth or sixth century at the earliest.

Iconography of saints slaying a dragon that apparently resembled Satan has been found on coins dating back to the seventh century, Saint George being indicated to be one of these saints. The dragon slaying legend itself dates back to the early eleventh century, the first narrative version being found in an eleventh century Georgian text. It is generally assumed that it was the crusaders who brought back the dragon-slaying legend back to the West. It has been considered that the legend of Saint George slaying the dragon was inspired by earlier made artwork, rather then the other way around.

Legend

Credit to Wikimedia Commons

Near the city of Silena in the province of Libya laid a lake-swamp which held a dragon. The creature had attacked the city's walls with its pestilential breath and every time the city took up arms, they were quick to flee. They began offering it two sheep each time it came around to appease it, but once they were running out of sheep, they turned to human sacrifices. Eventually, after giving the dragon most of the children, the citizens drew the king's daughter in the lot. Much to the king's dismay, the princess was sent to the lake where she awaited her fate.

By chance, Saint George found and approached her. The two had a brief conversation before the dragon came out of the lake and attacked them. Saint George delivered a heavy blow to the creature and told the princess to tie her belt around its neck. The princess then led the dragon to the city, the inhabitants initially fleeing before Saint George affirmed their safety. He then proclaimed that he would slay the dragon if the city converted to Christianity. The citizens did so, with the saint then slaying the dragon. The citizens were proceeded to be baptized and the king built a huge church in the saint's honor. The king also offered Saint George "unlimited money", however the saint refused it and said to give that money to the poor. Finally, Saint George taught the king that he should take care of God's churches, hold his priests in high regard, be cautious with the "divine offices", and always remember the poor. With that, he kissed the king and left.

Alternate Settings

In the Greek Miracula Sancti Georgii, the location of the event was in a city named Lasia and the king was given the name of Selbuis. This king is detailed as a "wicked idolator", with the princess later explaining to Saint George that the town worshiped the pagan Greek deities Heracles, Scamander, Apollo, and Artemis.

England has two locations that claim that it was there where Saint George slayed the dragon: Brinsop (Herefordshire) and Uffington (Oxfordshire). In Brinsop, the tale goes that the dragon lurked in a well in Duck's Pool Meadow, which is right near the church to the south, and the battle took place at Stank's Meadow. Uffington has perhaps a more solid claim, with the site they claim to be the location being a hill named Dragon's Hill. The location is abundant in folklore and has an engraving of a long slender animal, most likely a horse, on the hill, with that horse being claimed to be the steed of Saint George.

Comparative Mythology

The myth of Saint George and the dragon belongs to a universal type of myth where a heroic figure fights a dragon or humanoid figure associated with chaos, with similar myths coming from Greece (Perseus and Andromeda, Heracles and Hesione, Python and Leto), Egypt (Ra and Apep, Isis and Seth), Babylon (Marduk and Tiamat), Persia (Ahura Mazdah and Ahriman), India (Indra and Vrita), and even The Epic of Gilgamesh. Saint George is also not the only saint that slays a dragon, many dragon-slaying saints coming from the British Isles and France. In particular, the popular Saint Margaret, another dragonslayer, was coupled with Saint George in medieval depictions. In some interpretations, the female saint replaces the damsel in distress who Saint George saves.

Among similar myths, many scholars compare the myth of Saint George and the dragon to the tale of Perseus rescuing Andromeda from the sea monster of Ethiopia. While the myth does indeed have classical elements, the myth may be more familiar to the similar tale of Hesione being saved by Heracles from the sea monster of Troy. Characteristics that tie the Hesione story to Saint George's include that almost all of the deities referenced to be worshipped by the townsfolk prior to the slaying in Mircaula Saincti Georgii having connections to Troy and the fact that in the text the saint had come across the princess on his way back to his homeland of Cappadocia, making it within the region of Troy.

Adaptations

Saint George appears in the form of the Redcross Knight in book one of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen. (1590-6) This figure ends up slaying a dragon akin to the hagiographical sources. Saint George later appears in British novelist Kenneth Grahame's work "The Reluctant Dragon" (which appears in Dream Days (1898)). In this work, the dragon is tame but the villagers fear the dragon nonetheless and spread tales, with Saint George hoping to live up to the times of old when dragons were commonly slain. Allusions to the Saint George legend are also prevalent in English author E. Nesbit's stories in his The Book of Dragons (1901).

External Links

• Saint George and the Dragon on Wikipedia
• Saint George and the Dragon: Introduction on Robbins Library Digital Project