As much as we’d love to live in Middle-earth or Westeros (or at least a version of them that has indoor plumbing), sadly in this boring, drab, grey existence that we call real life dragons don’t exist and never have.
But, wait, how can that be when England is literally over there with a patron saint most famous for slaying a dragon? That’s like if George Washington founded America after battling a legion of orcs. So who is St. George and did he really kill a dragon?
Who was St. George?
Despite being the patron saint of England, St. George — also known as George of Lydda — wasn’t actually English at all. Born in the 3rd century, George hailed from Cappadocia (which is these days known as Turkey) over 2000 miles away. Likewise, although he is traditionally depicted as an archetypal knight in shining armor, George wasn’t a knight at all but a soldier in the Roman army. Specifically, he was a member of the Praetorian Guard of Emperor Diocletian.
Although born in Cappadocia, George moved to his mother’s hometown of Lydda, Israel, following his father’s death, but he had the misfortune of falling foul of the Diocletian Persecution — the Emperor’s ruthless crackdown on the growing spread of Christianity. George refused to renounce his faith and was tortured and ultimately executed (via decapitation) for his insubordination in 303 AD.
It wasn’t until a thousand years later when King Edward III officially made him the patron saint of England in 1350. As April 23 is generally recognized to be the date of George’s death that was decreed to be known as St. George’s Day, a national day of celebration in England, as well as various other nations including Greece, Portugal, and Russia.
The legend of St. George and the dragon
I’m sorry to tell you this, people, but sadly George’s battle with a dragon is not a matter of historical fact and was a popular myth that grew out of George’s legend as one of the most famous saints and Christian martyrs. The story as we know it today only dates back to The Golden Legend, a collection of saintly stories, written in the 13th century — so hundreds of years after George lived and died.
Here’s how the story goes. The town of Silene, Libya, was being terrorized by a fearsome dragon. In order to appease the creature to spare their own lives, the townsfolk offered up two sheep per day, until its hunger grew so much that a couple of woolly snacks couldn’t satiate it. The people of Silene were then forced to sacrifice two of their own to the dragon instead. This worked out well — for all except the sacrifices — until the king’s daughter was tragically chosen to be the next victim.
Luckily for her, St. George rode into town right in the nick of time and took it upon himself to rescue the princess and slay the dragon. The weapon that brought down the beast was his trusty spear, named Ascalon after the ancient Israeli city, making it something of a holy relic. In return for saving the princess, the king gifted George much gold, but the religious man had no interest in wealth and so gave it all to the poor. The people of Silene were so touched by his bravery and generosity that the whole town is said to have converted to Christianity.
As for how this story sprouted in the first place, artwork dating back to the 9th century depicts George battling a dragon, in what is believed to be more of a symbolic depiction of the fight between good and evil.
Yes, everything you thought you knew about St. George was a sham. The most shocking lie of all, though? St. George never even set foot in England. England’s dragon-slaying saint isn’t English but every dragon in a movie ever has an English accent. Make it make sense.
