Today is St Georges day in the UK and while we all celebrate St Patricks day by smothering almost every object with clover and offering gallons of Guinness, not a lot is done to celebrate our patron saint.

History claimed that George a modest soldier showed example of bravery in defense of the poor and the defenseless and of the Christian faith. George apparently held the rank of tribune in the Roman army and was beheaded for protesting against the Emperor’s persecution of Christians. Legend has it that he also slayed a dragon but was first credited to him in the twelfth century, long after his death.

There are many versions of story of St George slaying the dragon, but most agree on the following:

St. George had travelled for many months by land and sea until he came to Libya. Where he met a hermit who told him that everyone in that land was in great distress, for a dragon had long ravaged the country.’Every day,’ said the old man, ‘he demands the sacrifice of a beautiful maiden and now all the young girls have been killed. The king’s daughter alone remains, and unless we can find a knight who can slay the dragon she will be sacrificed tomorrow. The king of Egypt will give his daughter in marriage to the champion who overcomes this terrible monster.’

So determined was George that the following morning he made his way to the village on his steed where he told the princess to return to her home and confronted the dragon and eventually slayed it, piercing it in its heart.

Popularity: 23% [?]

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!