St George

St George (died about 303), Christian martyr and patron saint of England, born in Cappadocia (eastern Asia Minor). His life is obscured by legend, but his martyrdom at Lydda, Palestine, is generally considered a matter of historical fact, testified to by two early Syrian church inscriptions and by a canon of Pope Gelasius I, dated 494, in which St George is mentioned as one whose name was held in reverence. The most popular of the legends that have grown up around him relates his encounter with the dragon. A pagan town in Libya was victimized by a dragon (representing the devil), which the inhabitants first attempted to placate by offerings of sheep, and then by the sacrifice of various members of their community. The daughter of the king (representing the Church) was chosen by lot and was taken out to await the coming of the monster, but George arrived, killed the dragon, and converted the community to Christianity. In 1222 the Council of Oxford ordered that his feast, on April 23, be celebrated as a national festival, and in the 14th century he became the patron saint of England and of the Order of the Garter, despite the absence of any historical connection between him and England.