The Real St George - Patron Saint of England

April 23rd is the feast day of Saint George, who we like to think is best known for being the patron saint of England, and for possibly killing a dragon. But how did a Greek-speaking man, who lived nearly 2,000 years ago in what is now Turkey, come to be associated with England’s mountains green?

George was first venerated as a saint in Rome in the 8th century, and he started to appear in stories about saints in English soon after. According to these stories, George was a soldier in the Roman army who was horribly tortured and executed when he wouldn’t renounce his Christian faith (we’ll spare you the details) with the 23rd April being the traditionally accepted date of his death. The story of the incident with the dragon was invented a bit later.

Enter the Dragon!

George was travelling through Turkey, or perhaps Libya, when he comes across a weeping princess. Her distress is understandable – a local dragon demands human sacrifice, the victim is decided by lottery, and her number is up. She begs George to flee and save himself. He ignores her (typical) and slays the terrible, fire-breathing lizard in single combat. Or, so the story goes.

Elevation to Patron Saint

Legend has it that the special relationship between England and Saint George goes back to the Crusades, where Richard the Lionheart is said to have placed his army under the saint’s protection. The Saint George’s Cross – a red cross on a white field – was adopted by the crusading armies around this time, though they were not exclusively English. The symbol itself is thought to have been invented only shortly before this, as a century earlier sources had described Saint George’s banner as white. Even so the first surviving record that Saint George was celebrated by an English king only comes nearly 200 years later, when Edward III (known for starting the Hundred Years’ War between England and France) made him patron saint of his chivalrous Order of the Garter.

Even after this, the veneration of Saint George in England was not widespread until after Henry VIII reformed the English church. After the break from the Pope, England’s rulers wanted to forge a new identity for their kingdom and its people. Saint George seemed like a good bet – he was brave, committed to his faith, and warlike, perfect for a country at war with its heretical neighbours. The Tudors believed Saint George’s Cross represented a bloody crucifix, a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice.

Incidentally, the Henry VIII’s religious reforms led to the destruction of many of England’s monasteries, leaving many picturesque ruins all over the country many of which you can visit on our walking tours, such as Bolton Abbey at the start of The Dales Way or Lanercost Priory on our Hadrian’s Wall Walk.

Spanish Links

Saint George’s Day is also celebrated in other parts of the world, including the Spanish region of Catalonia! Here, it is tradition to give a book to a man you love, or a rose to a woman you love, on 23 April. If you like the sound of this, we have an incredible cycling holiday through the eastern Pyrenees that takes you from sleepy mountain towns like Olot, to the ancient city of Girona and the beautiful resorts of the Costa Brava. You can find out more here: The Pyrenees to the Mediterranean.

Today

For a long time, George was unique in the Church of England for being the only venerated saint who did not appear in the New Testament. His popularity says something about the way that Englishness has changed over time. Until the middle of the 20th century, the UK thought of itself as a great power, with a steely resolve (or stiff upper lip) committed to lofty-ish ideals. For example, Saint George appears in British recruitment posters from the First World War, urging young men to fight for their country. Today Saint George is immortalised in many a pub sign and reflects a more multicultural England (he was a Greek-speaker from Turkey, after all) that still stands up to bullies.