Saint George#The legend of George and the Dragon

File:Nuremberg chronicles f 124v 2.jpg of 1493]]

Very little is known about George's life. It is thought that he was a Roman military officer of Cappadocian Greek descent, who was martyred under Roman emperor Diocletian in one of the pre-Constantinian persecutions of the 3rd or early 4th century.{{Harvnb|Lampinen|Mataix-Ferrándiz|2022|p=14}}{{Cite web |date=23 April 2020 |title=Who was Saint George and why is he England's patron saint? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/st-georges-day-google-doodle-england-patron-saint-soldier-dragon-a9479816.html |access-date=21 August 2020 |website=The Independent}} Beyond this, early sources give conflicting information.

The English historian Edward GibbonEdward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 2:23:5{{citation |title=Emerson |page=520 |year=1996 |editor1-last=Richardson |editor1-first=Robert D. |quote=George of Cappadocia ... [held] the contract to supply the army with bacon ... embraced Arianism ... [and was] promoted ... to the episcopal throne of Alexandria ... When Julian came, George was dragged to prison, the prison was burst open by a mob, and George was lynched ... [he] became in good time Saint George of England |editor2-last=Moser |editor2-first=Barry}}. argued that George, or at least the legend from which the above is distilled, is based on George of Cappadocia,Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 2:23:5{{citation |title=Catholic Encyclopedia |contribution=Saint George |quote=it is not improbable that the apocryphal Acts have borrowed some incidents from the story of the Arian bishop}}. a notorious 4th-century Arian bishop who was Athanasius of Alexandria's most bitter rival, and that it was he who in time became George of England. This identification is seen as highly improbable. Bishop George was slain by Gentile Greeks for exacting onerous taxes, especially inheritance taxes. J. B. Bury, who edited the 1906 edition of Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, wrote "this theory of Gibbon's has nothing to be said for it". He adds that "the connection of St. George with a dragon-slaying legend does not relegate him to the region of the myth".{{Cite CE1913|last=Thurston|first=Herbert|authorlink=Herbert Thurston|wstitle=St. George}} "There seems, therefore, no ground for doubting the historical existence of St. George, even though he is not commemorated in the Syrian, or in the primitive Hieronymian Martyrologium, but no faith can be placed in the attempts that have been made to fill up any of the details of his history. For example, it is now generally admitted that St. George cannot safely be identified by the nameless martyr spoken of by Eusebius (Church History VIII.5), who tore down Diocletian's edict of persecution at Nicomedia. The version of the legend in which Diocletian appears as persecutor is not primitive. Diocletian is only a rationalised form of the name Dadianus. Moreover, the connection of the saint's name with Nicomedia is inconsistent with the early cultus at Diospolis. Still less is St. George to be considered, as suggested by Gibbon, Vetter, and others, a legendary double of the disreputable bishop, George of Cappadocia, the Arian opponent of St. Athanasius." Saint George in all likelihood was martyred before the year 290.{{citation |last=Hogg |first=John |title=Supplemental Notes on St George the Martyr, and on George the Arian Bishop |journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature of the United Kingdom |pages=106–136 |year=1863 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044090850256;view=1up;seq=9 |publisher=Royal Society of Literature}}

There is little information on the early life of George. Herbert Thurston in The Catholic Encyclopedia states that, based upon an ancient cultus, narratives of the early pilgrims, and the early dedications of churches to George, going back to the fourth century, "there seems, therefore, no ground for doubting the historical existence of St. George", although no faith can be placed in either the details of his history or his alleged exploits.

The Diocletianic Persecution of 303, associated with military saints because the persecution was aimed at Christians among the professional soldiers of the Roman army, is of undisputed historicity. According to Donald Attwater,

{{blockquote|No historical particulars of his life have survived, ... The widespread veneration for St George as a soldier saint from early times had its centre in Palestine at Diospolis, now Lydda (known as Lod to Israelis). St George was apparently martyred there, at the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth century; that is all that can be reasonably surmised about him.{{cite book|last1=Attwater|first1=Donald|title=Dictionary of Saints|year=1995|orig-year=1965|location=London|publisher=Penguin Reference|edition=Third|page=152}}}}

File:Martorell - Sant Jordi.jpg, 1434/35, by Bernat Martorell|305x305px]]

The saint's veneration dates to the 5th century with some certainty, and possibly even to the 4th, while the collection of his intercessory miracles gradually began during the medieval times.{{Harvnb|Cavallo|1997|p=71}} The story of the defeat of the dragon is not part of Saint George's earliest hagiographies, and seems to have been a later addition.

The earliest text which preserves fragments of George's narrative is in a Greek hagiography which is identified by Hippolyte Delehaye of the scholarly Bollandists to be a palimpsest of the 5th century.[https://archive.org/stream/actasanctorum12unse#page/n148/mode/1up Acta Sanctorum], Volume 12, as republished in 1866 An earlier work by Eusebius, Church History, written in the 4th century, contributed to the legend but did not name George or provide significant detail.Church History (Eusebius), book 8, chapter 5; [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0640%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D5%3Asection%3D1 Greek text here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114032922/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0640:book%3D8:chapter%3D5:section%3D1 |date=14 January 2022 }}, and [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/0265-0339,_Eusebius_Caesariensis,_Historia_ecclesiastica_%5BSchaff%5D,_EN.pdf English text here]. Eusebius's full text as follows:

{{blockquote|Immediately on the publication of the decree against the churches in Nicomedia, a certain man, not obscure but very highly honored with distinguished temporal dignities, moved with zeal toward God, and incited with ardent faith, seized the edict as it was posted openly and publicly, and tore it to pieces as a profane and impious thing; and this was done while two of the sovereigns were in the same city,—the oldest of all, and the one who held the fourth place in the government after him. But this man, first in that place, after distinguishing himself in such a manner suffered those things which were likely to follow such daring, and kept his spirit cheerful and undisturbed till death.}} The work of the Bollandists Daniel Papebroch, Jean Bolland, and Godfrey Henschen in the 17th century was one of the first pieces of scholarly research to establish the saint's historicity, via their publications in {{Lang|la|Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca}}.{{citation | first = Christopher | last = Walter | year = 2003 | title = The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition | publisher = Ashgate Publishing | isbn = 1-84014-694-X | page = 110}}.

Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca 271, 272. Pope Gelasius I stated in 494 that George was among those saints "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God".{{Cite EB1911|page=737|wstitle=George, Saint|volume=11|quote=In the canon of Pope Gelasius (494) George is mentioned in a list of those 'whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God'}}

The most complete version, based upon the 5th-century Greek text but in a later form, survives in a translation into Syriac from around 600. Text fragments preserved in the British Library enabled an English translation in 1925.{{cite book |editor1-last=Cross |editor1-first=Frank | editor-link1=F. L. Cross|editor2-last=Livingstone |editor2-first=Elizabeth |editor-link2=Elizabeth Livingstone|title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |date=1957 |pages=667–668 |edition=2005}}{{cite journal |last1=Brooks |first1=Ernest W. |title=Acts of S. George |journal=Le Muséon |date=1925 |volume=38 |pages=67–115 |issn=0771-6494}}, online [https://archive.org/details/actsofsaintgeorg0000ewbr here].{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Michael |title=St George and the dragons: the making of English identity |date=2012 |publisher=Fonthill |isbn=978-1-78155-649-8 |chapter=3 The Greek and Latin traditions}}

File:Saint George the Dragon-Slayer by Georgios Klontzas (Byzantine museum).jpg|195px]]

In the Greek tradition, George was born to noble Christian parents, in Cappadocia. After his father died, his mother, who was originally from Lydda, in Syria Palaestina (a part of the Eastern Roman Empire), returned with George to her hometown.{{cite book|last1=Guiley|first1=Rosemary|title=The Encyclopedia of Saints|page=129|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABkgU0GOBbcC&pg=PA129 |quote=George was an historical figure. According to an account by Metaphrastes, George was born in Cappadocia (in modern Turkey) to a noble Christian family; his mother was Palestinian.|isbn=978-1-4381-3026-2|year=2001|publisher=Infobase }} He went on to become a soldier in the Roman army; but, because of his Christian faith, he was arrested and tortured, "at or near Lydda, also called Diospolis"; on the following day, he was paraded and then beheaded, and his body was buried in Lydda. According to other sources, after his mother's death, George travelled to the eastern imperial capital, Nicomedia,{{citation |first= A. |last= Heylin |year= 1862 |title= The Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record |volume= 1 |page= 244}}. {{citation | first = John H | last = Darch | year = 2006 | title = Saints on Earth | publisher = Church House Press | isbn = 978-0-7151-4036-9 | page = 56}}. {{citation | first = Christopher | last = Walter | year = 2003 | title = The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition | publisher = Ashgate Publishing | isbn = 1-84014-694-X | page = 112}}. where he was persecuted by one Dadianus. In later versions of the Greek legend, this name is rationalised to Diocletian, and George's martyrdom is placed in the Diocletian persecution of AD 303. The setting in Nicomedia is also secondary, and inconsistent with the earliest cults of the saint being located in Diospolis.

George was executed by decapitation on 23 April 303. A witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra of Rome to become a Christian as well, so she joined George in martyrdom. His body was buried in Lydda, where Christians soon came to honour him as a martyr.{{citation | first = Fred | last = Hackwood | year = 2003 | title = Christ Lore the Legends, Traditions, Myths | publisher = Kessinger Publishing | isbn = 0-7661-3656-6 | page = 255}}.{{citation | first = Alban | last = Butler | year = 2008 | title = Lives of the Saints | isbn = 978-1-4375-1281-6}}.{{rp |166}}File:Saint George in the Acta Sanctorum.png, as collected in late 1600s and early 1700s. The Latin title De S Georgio Megalo-Martyre; Lyddae seu Diospoli in Palaestina translates as St. George Great-Martyr; [from] Lydda or Diospolis, in Palestine.]]

The Latin {{Lang|la|Passio Sancti Georgii}} (6th century) follows the general course of the Greek legend, but Diocletian here becomes Dacian, Emperor of the Persians. His martyrdom was greatly extended to more than twenty separate tortures over the course of seven years. Over the course of his martyrdom, 40,900 pagans were converted to Christianity, including the Empress Alexandra. When George finally died, the wicked Dacian was carried away in a whirlwind of fire. In later Latin versions, the persecutor is the Roman emperor Decius, or a Roman judge named Dacian serving under Diocletian.Michael Collins, St George and the Dragons: The Making of English Identity (2018), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Z95VDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT129 p. 129] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113181917/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z95VDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT129 |date=13 November 2022 }}.

{{Main|Saint George and the Dragon}}

File:S.George (Novgorod, mid. 14 c, GTG).jpg (mid 14th century), Novgorod|left|268x268px]]

The earliest known record of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon occurs in the 11th century, in a Georgian source,{{cite web|editor-last1=Thompson |editor-first1=Anne B. |editor-last2=Whatley |editor-first2=E. Gordon |editor-last3=Upchurch |editor-first3=Robert K. |url=https://metseditions.org/read/zK4gzmrPSgD6H51Rcvg4VINBMqzQbK7 |title=Saints' Lives in Middle English Collections |website=METS (Middle English Text Series) |publisher=The Rossell Hope Robbins Library |access-date=28 March 2025 }} reaching Latin Europe in the 12th century. In the Golden Legend, by 13th-century Archbishop of Genoa Jacobus de Voragine, George's death was at the hands of Dacian, and around the year 287.{{Cite book |last=de Voragine |first=Jacobus |url=https://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume3.asp |title=The Golden Legend or Lives of the Saints |date=1275 |publisher=Temple Classics |editor-last=Ellis |editor-first=F.S. |edition=6th |volume=3 |publication-date=1931 |pages=58–61 |language=en |chapter=The Life of S. George}}

The tradition tells that a fierce dragon was causing panic at the city of Silene, Libya, at the time George arrived there. To prevent the dragon from devastating people from the city, they gave two sheep each day to the dragon, but when the sheep were not enough they were forced to sacrifice humans, elected by the city's own people. Eventually, the king's daughter was chosen to be sacrificed, and no one was willing to take her place. George saved the girl by slaying the dragon with a lance. The king was so grateful that he offered him treasures as a reward for saving his daughter's life, but George refused it and insisted he give them to the poor. The people of the city were so amazed at what they had witnessed that they all became Christians and were baptised.{{cite book|first=Paolo O.|last=Pirlo|title=My first book of saints|date=1997|chapter=St. George|publisher=Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications|pages=83–85|isbn=971-91595-4-5}}

File:St George and the Dragon Verona ms 1853 26r.jpg)]]

Saint George's encounter with a dragon, as narrated in the Golden Legend, would go on to become very influential, as it remains the most familiar version in English owing to William Caxton's 15th-century translation.{{citation | first = Jacobus | last = De Voragine | year = 1995 | title = The Golden Legend | publisher = Princeton University Press | isbn = 978-0-691-00153-1 | page = 238}}.

In the medieval romances, the lance with which George slew the dragon was named Ascalon, after the Levantine city of Ashkelon, today in Israel. The name Ascalon was used by Winston Churchill for his personal aircraft during World War II, according to records at Bletchley Park.{{Cite web|url=https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-148/getting-there-churchills-wartime-journeys/|title=Getting There: Churchill's Wartime Journeys|date=1 May 2013|website=The International Churchill Society|access-date=9 November 2019}} Iconography of the horseman with spear overcoming evil was widespread throughout the Christian period.Charles Clermont-Ganneau, "Horus et Saint Georges, d'après un bas-relief inédit du Louvre". Revue archéologique, 1876

George ({{langx|ar|جرجس}}, {{Transliteration|ar|Jirjis}} or {{Transliteration|ar|Girgus}}) is included in some Muslim texts as a prophetic figure.{{clarify| reason = the page about Jesus describes Jesus as the "penultimate prophet" meaning there were no other prophets between Jesus and Mohammed, so this is inconsistent. If there's different interpretations that needs to be explained more clearly. |date=December 2024}} The Islamic sources state that he lived among a group of believers who were in direct contact with the last apostles of Jesus. He is described as a rich merchant who opposed the erection of Apollo's statue by Dadan, the king of Mosul. After confronting the king, George was tortured many times to no effect, was imprisoned and was aided by angels. Eventually, he exposed that the idols were possessed by Satan, but was martyred when the city was destroyed by God in a rain of fire.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNAWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA313|title=The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism|author=Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler|date=April 2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|page=313|isbn=978-1-4617-1895-6}}

Muslim scholars have tried to find a historical connection of the saint due to his popularity.{{cite journal|journal=Numen|title='Georgic' Cults and Saints of the Levant|author=H. S. Haddad|publisher=Brill|year=1968|page=37}} According to Muslim legend, he was martyred under the rule of Diocletian and was killed three times but was resurrected every time. The legend is more developed in the Persian version of al-Tabari wherein he resurrects the dead, makes trees sprout and pillars bear flowers. After one of his deaths, the world is covered by darkness which is lifted only when he is resurrected. He is able to convert the queen but she is put to death. He then prays to God to allow him to die, which is granted.{{cite book|title= Encyclopaedia of Islam|edition=Second|volume= I, Part 2|editor1=P. Bearman|editor1-link=Peri Bearman|editor2=Th. Bianquis|editor3=C. E. Bosworth|editor3-link=C. E. Bosworth|editor4=E. van Donzel|editor5=W. P. Heinrichs|editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs|publisher=Brill|author=Bernard Carra de Vaux|page=1047}}

Al-Thaʿlabi states that George was from Palestine and lived in the times of some disciples of Jesus. He was killed many times by the king of Mosul, and resurrected each time. When the king tried to starve him, he touched a piece of dry wood brought by a woman and turned it green, with varieties of fruits and vegetables growing from it. After his fourth death, the city was burnt along with him. Ibn al-Athir's account of one of his deaths is parallel to the crucifixion of Jesus, stating, "When he died, God sent stormy winds and thunder and lightning and dark clouds, so that darkness fell between heaven and earth, and people were in great wonderment." The account adds that the darkness was lifted after his resurrection.

{{See also|Saint George in devotions, traditions and prayers}}

File:Paolo Veronese 023.jpg, 1564]]

A titular church built in Lydda during the reign of Constantine the Great ({{Reigned|306|337}}) was consecrated to "a man of the highest distinction", according to the Church History of Eusebius; the name of the {{Lang|la|titulus}} "patron" was not indicated. The Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr located in the city is believed to have housed his relics.{{Cite journal |last=Walter |first=Christopher |date=1995 |title=The Origins of the Cult of Saint George |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3406/rebyz.1995.1911 |journal=Revue des études byzantines |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=295–326 |doi=10.3406/rebyz.1995.1911 |issn=0766-5598}}

The veneration of George spread from Syria Palaestina through Lebanon to the rest of the Byzantine Empire – though the martyr is not mentioned in the Syriac Breviarium – and the region east of the Black Sea. By the 5th century, the veneration of George had reached the Christian Western Roman Empire, as well: in 494, George was canonised as a saint by Pope Gelasius I, among those "which are known better to God than to human beings."{{Cite book |last=Gélase |title=The Letters of Gelasius I (492–496): Pastor and Micro-Manager of the Church of Rome |last2=Neil |first2=Bronwen |last3=Allen |first3=Pauline |date=2014 |publisher=Brepols |isbn=978-2-503-55299-6 |series=Adnotationes |location=Turnhout |pages=160}}

The early cult of the saint was localised in Diospolis (Lydda), in modern day Israel. The first description of Lydda as a pilgrimage site where George's relics were venerated is De Situ Terrae Sanctae by the archdeacon Theodosius, written between 518 and 530. By the end of the 6th century, the center of his veneration appears to have shifted to Cappadocia. The Life of Saint Theodore of Sykeon, written in the 7th century, mentions the veneration of the relics of the saint in Cappadocia.Christopher Walter, "The Origins of the Cult of Saint George", Revue des études byzantines 53 (1995), 295–326 (p. 296) ([https://www.persee.fr/doc/rebyz_0766-5598_1995_num_53_1_1911 persee.fr] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528183624/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rebyz_0766-5598_1995_num_53_1_1911 |date=28 May 2019 }})

By the time of the early Muslim conquests of the mostly Christian and Zoroastrian Middle East, a basilica in Lydda dedicated to George existed.{{citation | first = Denys | last = Pringle | title = The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-521-39037-0 | page = 25}}. A new church was erected in 1872 and is still standing, where the feast of the translation of the relics of Saint George to that location is celebrated on 3 November each year.Eastern Christian Publications, Theosis: Calendar of Saints (2020), pp. 75–76. In England, he was mentioned among the martyrs by the 8th-century monk Bede. The Georgslied is an adaptation of his legend in Old High German, composed in the late 9th century. The earliest dedication to the saint in England is a church at Fordington, Dorset, that is mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great.Samantha Riches, St. George: Hero, Martyr and Myth (Sutton, 2000), {{ISBN|0750924527}}, p. 19. George did not rise to the position of "patron saint" of England, however, until the 14th century, and he was still obscured by Edward the Confessor, the traditional patron saint of England, until in 1552 during the reign of Edward VI all saints' banners other than George's were abolished in the English Reformation.McClendon 1999, p .6Perrin, British Flags, 1922, p. 38.

File:Cornelis Schut - The beheading of Saint George.jpg, 1643]]

Belief in an apparition of George heartened the Franks at the Battle of Antioch in 1098,{{cite book|last1=Runciman|first1=Steven|title=A History of the Crusades I: The First Crusade|date=1951–1952|publisher=Penguin Classics|isbn=978-0-14-198550-3|pages=204–205}} and a similar appearance occurred the following year at Jerusalem. The chivalric military Order of Sant Jordi d'Alfama was established by king Peter the Catholic from the Crown of Aragon in 1201, Republic of Genoa, Kingdom of Hungary (1326), and by Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor.[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13350a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia 1913, s.v. "Orders of St. George"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022221745/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13350a.htm |date=22 October 2021 }} omits Genoa and Hungary: see David Scott Fox, Saint George: The Saint with Three Faces (1983:59–63, 98–123), noted by McClellan 999:6 note 13. Additional Orders of St. George were founded in the eighteenth century (Catholic Encyclopedia). Edward III of England put his Order of the Garter under the banner of George, probably in 1348. The chronicler Jean Froissart observed the English invoking George as a battle cry on several occasions during the Hundred Years' War. In his rise as a national saint, George was aided by the very fact that the saint had no legendary connection with England, and no specifically localised shrine, as that of Thomas Becket at Canterbury: "Consequently, numerous shrines were established during the late fifteenth century," Muriel C. McClendon has written,McClendon 1999:10. "and his did not become closely identified with a particular occupation or with the cure of a specific malady."

File:Igreja Matriz de São Jorge 20190812 184815 BURST002.jpg of George at São Jorge parish church, São Jorge, Madeira Island, Portugal]]

In the wake of the Crusades, George became a model of chivalry in works of literature, including medieval romances. In the 13th century, Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, compiled the Legenda Sanctorum, (Readings of the Saints) also known as Legenda Aurea (the Golden Legend). Its 177 chapters (182 in some editions) include the story of George, among many others. After the invention of the printing press, the book became a best seller.

The establishment of George as a popular saint and protective giantDesiderius Erasmus, in The Praise of Folly (1509, printed 1511) remarked "The Christians have now their gigantic St. George, as well as the pagans had their Hercules." in the West, that had captured the medieval imagination, was codified by the official elevation of his feast to a festum duplexOnly the most essential work might be done on a festum duplex at a church council in 1415, on the date that had become associated with his martyrdom, 23 April. There was wide latitude from community to community in celebration of the day across late medieval and early modern England,Muriel C. McClendon, "A Moveable Feast: Saint George's Day Celebrations and Religious Change in Early Modern England" The Journal of British Studies 38.1 (January 1999:1–27). and no uniform "national" celebration elsewhere, a token of the popular and vernacular nature of George's cultus and its local horizons, supported by a local guild or confraternity under George's protection, or the dedication of a local church. When the English Reformation severely curtailed the saints' days in the calendar, Saint George's Day was among the holidays that continued to be observed.

In April 2019, the parish church of São Jorge, in São Jorge, Madeira Island, Portugal, solemnly received the relics of George, patron saint of the parish. During the celebrations the 504th anniversary of its foundation, the relics were brought by the new Bishop of Funchal, D. Nuno Brás.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jornaldamadeira.com/2019/04/29/d-nuno-bras-presidiu-a-festa-em-honra-de-sao-jorge/|title=D. Nuno Brás presidiu à Festa em honra de São Jorge |journal= Jornal da Madeira|last=Gonçalves|first=Luisa|language=pt-PT|date=29 April 2019|access-date=3 September 2019}}

George is renowned throughout the Middle East, as both saint and prophet. His veneration by Christians and Muslims lies in his composite personality combining several biblical, Quranic and other ancient mythical heroes. Saint George is the patron saint of Lebanese Christians,{{cite book|title=By this Sign: A.D. 250 to 350 : from the Decian Persecution to the Constantine Era|first=Christian |last=History Project |year=2003| isbn=9780968987322| page =44|publisher=Christian History Project|quote= St. George is also the patron saint of Lebanese and Palestinian Christians.}} Palestinian Christians{{cite book|title=Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations|first=J. Gordon|last= Melton|year=2021| isbn=9781598842050| page =334|publisher=ABC-CLIO|quote=He is also the patron saint of the Palestinian Christian community.}} and Syrian Christians.{{cite book|title=Immigrant Narratives: Orientalism and Cultural Translation in Arab American and Arab British Literature|first=Wail |last=S. Hassan |year=2014| isbn=9780199354979| page =83|publisher=Oxford University Press|quote=There are several examples of this: "Besides being the patron saint of England and of the Christians of Syria.}}

File:StGeorgeDragged.jpg, 15th century]]

William Dalrymple, who reviewed the literature in 1999, tells us that J. E. Hanauer in his 1907 book Folklore of the Holy Land: Muslim, Christian and Jewish "mentioned a shrine in the village of Beit Jala, beside Bethlehem, which at the time was frequented by Christians who regarded it as the birthplace of George and some Jews who regarded it as the burial place of the Prophet Elias. According to Hanauer, in his day the monastery was "a sort of madhouse. Deranged persons of all the three faiths are taken thither and chained in the court of the chapel, where they are kept for forty days on bread and water, the Eastern Orthodox priest at the head of the establishment now and then reading the Gospel over them, or administering a whipping as the case demands."{{cite web| url = http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/flhl/flhl12.htm|title= Folk-lore of the Holy Land, Moslem, Christian and Jewish | first = JE | last = Hanauer | year = 1907 |access-date=18 January 2007}} In the 1920s, according to Tawfiq Canaan's Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine, nothing seemed to have changed, and all three communities were still visiting the shrine and praying together."{{cite book |title= From the Holy Mountain: a journey among the Christians of the Middle East |first= William |last= Dalrymple |publisher= Henry Holt and Company – Owl Books |year= 1999 |isbn=978-0-80-505873-4 |oclc=37928466 |url= https://archive.org/details/fromholymountain00will |via= Internet Archive }}

Dalrymple himself visited the place in 1995. "I asked around in the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem, and discovered that the place was very much alive. With all the greatest shrines in the Christian world to choose from, it seemed that when the local Arab Christians had a problem – an illness, or something more complicated – they preferred to seek the intercession of George in his grubby little shrine at Beit Jala rather than praying at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem or the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem." He asked the priest at the shrine "Do you get many Muslims coming here?" The priest replied, "We get hundreds! Almost as many as the Christian pilgrims. Often, when I come in here, I find Muslims all over the floor, in the aisles, up and down."{{cite journal|title="Georgic" Cults and Saints of the Levant |author=H. S. Haddad|journal=Numen|year=1969|volume=16|issue=1|pages=21–39|doi=10.1163/156852769X00029|jstor=3269569}}

The Encyclopædia Britannica quotes G. A. Smith in his Historic Geography of the Holy Land, p. 164, saying: "The Mahommedans who usually identify St. George with the prophet Elijah, at Lydda confound his legend with one about Christ himself. Their name for Antichrist is Dajjal, and they have a tradition that Jesus will slay Antichrist by the gate of Lydda. The notion sprang from an ancient bas-relief of George and the Dragon on the Lydda church. But Dajjal may be derived, by a very common confusion between n and l, from Dagon, whose name two neighbouring villages bear to this day, while one of the gates of Lydda used to be called the Gate of Dagon."{{Cite EB1911|page=737|wstitle=George, Saint|volume=11}}

Due to the Christian influence on the Druze faith, two Christian saints have become among the Druze's most venerated figures: Saint George and Saint Elijah.{{cite book|title=Religious Interactions in Europe and the Mediterranean World: Coexistence and Dialogue from the 12th to the 20th Centuries|first=Pierre-Yves|last=Beaurepaire|year=2017|isbn=9781351722179|pages=310–314|publisher=Taylor & Francis}} Thus, in all the villages inhabited by Druze and Christians in central Mount Lebanon a Christian church or Druze maqam is dedicated to either one of them. According to scholar Ray Jabre Mouawad the Druzes appreciated the two saints for their bravery: Saint George because he confronted the dragon and Saint Elijah because he competed with the pagan priests of Baal and won over them. In both cases the explanations provided by Christians is that Druzes were attracted to warrior saints that resemble their own militarised society.

George is described as a prophetic figure in Islamic sources. George is venerated by some Christians and Muslims because of his composite personality combining several biblical, Quranic and other ancient mythical heroes.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} In some sources, he is identified with Elijah or Mar Elis, George or Mar Jirjus and in others as al-Khidr. The last epithet meaning the "green prophet", is common to Christian, Muslim, and Druze folk piety. Samuel Curtiss who visited an artificial cave dedicated to him where he is identified with Elijah, reports that childless Muslim women used to visit the shrine to pray for children. Per tradition, he was brought to his place of martyrdom in chains, thus priests of Church of St. George chain the sick especially the mentally ill to a chain for overnight or longer for healing. This is sought after by both Muslims and Christians.Religion and Culture in Medieval Islam by Richard G. Hovannisian, Georges Sabagh (2000) {{ISBN|0-521-62350-2}}, Cambridge University Press, pp. 109–110

According to Elizabeth Anne Finn's Home in the Holy land (1866):{{cite book | pages =[https://archive.org/details/homeinholylanda00finngoog/page/n64 46]–47|title=Home in the Holyland|author= Elizabeth Anne Finn|publisher=James Nisbet and Co | location = London|year= 1866|url=https://archive.org/details/homeinholylanda00finngoog }}

{{blockquote|St George killed the dragon in this country; and the place is shown close to Beyroot. Many churches and convents are named after him. The church at Lydda is dedicated to George; so is a convent near Bethlehem, and another small one just opposite the Jaffa Gate, and others beside. The Arabs believe that George can restore mad people to their senses, and to say a person has been sent to St. George's is equivalent to saying he has been sent to a madhouse. It is singular that the Moslem Arabs adopted this veneration for St George, and send their mad people to be cured by him, as well as the Christians, but they commonly call him El Khudder – The Green

– according to their favourite manner of using epithets instead of names. Why he should be called green, however, I cannot tell – unless it is from the colour of his horse. Gray horses are called green in Arabic.|author=|title=|source=}}

File:Coin of Kvirike III.jpg, Kingdom of Georgia, {{Circa|1015}}]]

The mosque of Nabi Jurjis, which was restored by Timur in the 14th century, was located in Mosul and supposedly contained the tomb of George.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6XMBAwAAQBAJ&q=saint+george+mosque+mosul&pg=PA525|title=Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places|date=5 March 2014|publisher=I.B. Tauris|page=525|isbn=978-1-134-25986-1}} It was however destroyed in July 2014 by the occupying Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, who also destroyed the Mosque of the Prophet Sheeth (Seth) and the Mosque of the Prophet Younis (Jonah). The militants claimed that such mosques have become places for apostasy instead of prayer.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10994818/Islamic-militants-destroy-historic-14th-century-mosque-in-Mosul.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10994818/Islamic-militants-destroy-historic-14th-century-mosque-in-Mosul.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Islamic militants destroy historic 14th century mosque in Mosul|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=28 July 2014}}{{cbignore}}

George or Hazrat Jurjays was the patron saint of Mosul. Along with Theodosius, he was revered by both Christian and Muslim communities of Jazira and Anatolia. The wall paintings of Kırk Dam Altı Kilise at Belisırma dedicated to him are dated between 1282 and 1304. These paintings depict him as a mounted knight appearing between donors including a Georgian lady called Thamar and her husband, the Emir and Consul Basil, while the Seljuk Sultan Mesud II and Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II are also named in the inscriptions.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUgyAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA402|title=Beyond the Legacy of Genghis Khan|author=Teresa Fitzherbert|editor=Linda Komaroff|chapter=Religious Diversity Under Ilkhanid Rule|date=5 October 2006|publisher=Brill|page=402|isbn=9789047418573}}

A shrine attributed to prophet George can be found in Diyarbakır, Turkey. Evliya Çelebi states in his Seyahatname that he visited the tombs of prophet Jonah and prophet George in the city.{{Cite web|title=EVLİYA ÇELEBİ NİN SEYAHATNAME SİNDE DİYARBAKIR* DIYARBAKIR IN EVLIYA ÇELEBI S SEYAHATNAME – PDF Ücretsiz indirin|url=https://docplayer.biz.tr/20638287-Evliya-celebi-nin-seyahatname-sinde-diyarbakir-diyarbakir-in-evliya-celebi-s-seyahatname.html|access-date=21 August 2020|website=docplayer.biz.tr}}[https://www.tigrishaber.com/evliya-celebi-diyarbakirda-521yy.htm EVLİYA ÇELEBİ DİYARBAKIR’DA (Turkish)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613121442/https://www.tigrishaber.com/evliya-celebi-diyarbakirda-521yy.htm |date=13 June 2021 }} TigrisHaber. Posted 22 July 2014.

The reverence for Saint George, who is often identified with Al-Khidr, is deeply integrated into various aspects of Druze culture and religious practices.{{cite book|title=Geography, Religion, Gods, and Saints in the Eastern Mediterranean|first=Erica|last=Ferg|year=2020 |isbn=9780429594496 |pages=197–200 |publisher=Routledge|quote=}} He is seen as a guardian of the Druze community and a symbol of their enduring faith and resilience. Additionally, Saint George is regarded as a protector and healer in Druze tradition. The story of Saint George slaying the dragon is interpreted allegorically, representing the triumph of good over evil and the protection of the faithful from harm.

{{See also|Saint George in devotions, traditions and prayers}}

File:Dante Gabriel Rossetti - The Wedding of St George and Princess Sabra.jpg (1857)]]

In the General Roman Calendar, the feast of George is on 23 April. In the Tridentine calendar of 1568, it was given the rank of "Semidouble". In Pope Pius XII's 1955 calendar this rank was reduced to "Simple", and in Pope John XXIII's 1960 calendar to a "Commemoration". Since Pope Paul VI's 1969 revision, it appears as an "optional memorial". In some countries such as England, the rank is higher – it is a Solemnity (Roman Catholic) or Feast (Church of England): if it falls between Palm Sunday and the Second Sunday of Easter inclusive, it is transferred to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter.The Divine Office: Table of Liturgical Days, Section I (RC) and Calendar, Lectionary and Collects (Church House Publishing 1997) p. 12 (C of E)

George is very much honoured by the Eastern Orthodox Church, wherein he is referred to as a "Great Martyr", and in Oriental Orthodoxy overall. His major feast day is on 23 April (Julian calendar 23 April currently corresponds to Gregorian calendar 6 May). If, however, the feast occurs before Easter, it is celebrated on Easter Monday, instead. The Russian Orthodox Church also celebrates two additional feasts in honour of George. One is on 3 November, commemorating the consecration of a cathedral dedicated to him in Lydda during the reign of Constantine the Great (305–337). When the church was consecrated, the relics of George were transferred there. The other feast is on 26 November for a church dedicated to him in Kyiv, {{Circa|1054}}.

In Bulgaria, George's day ({{langx|bg|Гергьовден}}) is celebrated on 6 May, when it is customary to slaughter and roast a lamb. George's day is also a public holiday.

In Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian Orthodox Church refers to George as Sveti Djordje (Свети Ђорђе) or Sveti Georgije (Свети Георгије). George's day (Đurđevdan) is celebrated on 6 May, and is a common slava (patron saint day) among ethnic Serbs.

In Egypt, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria refers to George ({{Langx|cop|Ⲡⲓⲇⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲅⲉⲟⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ or ⲅⲉⲱⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ}}) as the "Prince of Martyrs" and celebrates his martyrdom on the 23rd of Paremhat of the Coptic calendar, equivalent to 1 May.{{Cite web |title=St. George|url=https://www.copticchurch.net/synaxarium/saints/george.html#:~:text=In%20Egypt,%20the%20Copts%20call%20him,%20%22The%20Prince,them.%20The%20Greeks%20call%20him%20%22the%20Great%20Martyr%22. |access-date=20 July 2023 |website=CopticChurch.net}} The Copts also celebrate the consecration of the first church dedicated to him on the seventh of the month of Hatour of the Coptic calendar usually equivalent to 17 November.

In India, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, one of the oriental catholic churches (Eastern Catholic Churches), and Malankara Orthodox Church venerate George. The main pilgrim centres of the saint in India are at Aruvithura and Puthuppally in Kottayam District, Edathua{{cite web |url= http://edathuapalli.org/church/ |title= St. George forane church Edathua-689573 |last= B |first= Sathish |publisher= Sathish B |date= 20 March 2008 |website= Edathuapalli |access-date= 5 February 2017 |archive-date= 7 August 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200807151233/http://edathuapalli.org/church/ |url-status= dead }} in Alappuzha district, and Edappally{{cite web |url= http://www.edappallystgeorge.org/ |title= St. George forane church Edappally |publisher= St: George Church |date= 22 April 2014 |website= Edappally |access-date= 5 February 2017 |archive-date= 9 March 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180309205243/http://www.edappallystgeorge.org/ |url-status= dead }} in Ernakulam district of the southern state of Kerala. The saint is commemorated each year from 27 April to 14 May at Edathua.{{cite news |author= |title=Arrangements for Edathua church fete |url= http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/arrangements-for-edathua-church-fete/article8428550.ece|newspaper= The Hindu |location= Alappuzha |date= 3 April 2016 |access-date= 5 February 2017}} On 27 April after the flag hoisting ceremony by the parish priest, the statue of the saint is taken from one of the altars and placed at the extension of the church to be venerated by devotees till 14 May. The main feast day is 7 May, when the statue of the saint along with other saints is taken in procession around the church. Intercession to George of Edathua is believed to be efficacious in repelling snakes and in curing mental ailments. The sacred relics of George were brought to Antioch from Mardin in 900 and were taken to Kerala, India, from Antioch in 1912 by Mar Dionysius of Vattasseril and kept in the Orthodox seminary at Kundara, Kerala. H.H. Mathews II Catholicos had given the relics to St. George churches at Puthupally, Kottayam District, and Chandanappally, Pathanamthitta district.

George is remembered in the Church of England with a Festival on 23 April.{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=27 March 2021|website=The Church of England}}

Catholic Church feast days:

• 23 April – main commemoration{{Cite web |last=popadmin |date=25 March 2021 |title=23 April: Feast of Saint George – Prince of Peace Catholic Church & School |url=https://princeofpeacetaylors.org/23-april-feast-of-saint-george/ |access-date=19 August 2022 }}
• 24 April – commemoration in Poland{{Cite web |title=24 kwietnia: św. Jerzego, męczennika |url=https://ordo.pallotyni.pl/index.php/mszal-rzymski/swieci-kwiecien/1369-24-kwietnia-sw-jerzego-meczennika |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=ordo.pallotyni.pl}} (23 April – commemoration of Saint Wojciech){{Cite web |title=23 kwietnia: św. Wojciecha, biskupa i męczennika, głównego patrona Polski |url=https://ordo.pallotyni.pl/index.php/mszal-rzymski/swieci-kwiecien/1367-23-kwietnia-sw-wojciecha-biskupa-i-meczennika-glownego-patrona-polski |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=ordo.pallotyni.pl}}
• 7 May – martyrdom in Lydda
• 20 June – commemoration of translation of relics to Anchin Abbey

Eastern Orthodox Church feast days:{{Cite web |title=ГЕОРГИЙ ПОБЕДОНОСЕЦ – Древо |url=http://drevo-info.ru/articles/10133.html |access-date=17 July 2022 |website=drevo-info.ru |language=ru}}

• 27 January – Commemoration of the Miracle (deliverance of the island of Zakynthos from the plague) of the Great Martyr George in Zakynthos in 1689/1688. (Greek Orthodox Church){{Cite web |date=31 January 2013 |title=Ο Τροπαιοφόρος και η πανούκλα |url=https://www.imerazante.gr/2013/01/31/59443 |access-date=17 July 2022 |website=Εφημερίδα Ημέρα, Ζάκυνθος. |language=el}}
• 12 April – Gerontius from Cappadocia, martyr, father of George, husband of Polychronia ({{Circa|290|lk=no}}){{Cite web |title=ГЕРОНТИЙ КАППАДОКИЙСКИЙ – Древо |url=http://drevo-info.ru/articles/13675435.html |access-date=17 July 2022 |website=drevo-info.ru |language=ru}}
• 23 April – Holy Glorious Great-martyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George (303) [Death anniversary]
• 23 April – Polychronia from Cappadocia, martyr, mother of George, wife of Gerontius (303/304){{Cite web |title=ПОЛИХРОНИЯ КАППАДОКИЙСКАЯ – Древо |url=http://drevo-info.ru/articles/13675436.html |access-date=17 July 2022 |website=drevo-info.ru |language=ru}}
• 6 May – George's Day in Spring [BOC and SOC]
• 3 November – Dedication of the Church of the Great-martyr George in Lydda (4th century)
• 10 November – Commemoration of the torture of Great-martyr George in 303 [GOC]{{Cite web |title=КОЛЕСОВАНИЕ ВЕЛИКОМУЧЕНИКА ГЕОРГИЯ – Древо |url=http://drevo-info.ru/articles/4346.html |access-date=17 July 2022 |website=drevo-info.ru |language=ru}}{{Cite web |title=Воспоминание колесования великомученика Георгия Победоносца (Груз.) — Храм великомученицы Ирины |url=http://xn----7sbzarjpe3b6d.xn--p1ai/%d0%b2%d0%be%d1%81%d0%bf%d0%be%d0%bc%d0%b8%d0%bd%d0%b0%d0%bd%d0%b8%d0%b5-%d0%ba%d0%be%d0%bb%d0%b5%d1%81%d0%be%d0%b2%d0%b0%d0%bd%d0%b8%d1%8f-%d0%b2%d0%b5%d0%bb%d0%b8%d0%ba%d0%be%d0%bc%d1%83%d1%87%d0%b5/ |access-date=17 July 2022 |language=ru-RU}}
• 26 November – Dedication of the Church of St. George at Kyiv (1051)

{{Main|Patronages of Saint George}}

George is a highly celebrated saint in both the Western and Eastern Christian churches, and many patronages of Saint George exist throughout the world.{{citation | first = Graham | last = Seal | year = 2001 | title = Encyclopedia of folk heroes | isbn = 1-57607-216-9 | page = 85| publisher = Bloomsbury Academic }}.

George is the patron saint of England. His cross forms the national flag of England, which overlaps with Scotland's St Andrew's flag to establish the Union Jack, which is contained in other national flags, such as those of Australia and New Zealand. By the 14th century, the saint had been declared both the patron saint and the protector of the British royal family.{{citation | first = Kathryn | last = Hinds | title = Medieval England | publisher = Marshall Cavendish | year = 2001 | isbn = 0-7614-0308-6 | page = 44}}.

File:Independence Day celebrations.jpg, Georgia]]

The country of Georgia, where devotions to the saint date back to the fourth century, is not technically named after the saint, but is a well-attested back-formation of the English name. However, many towns and cities around the world are. George is one of the patron saints of Georgia. Exactly 365 Orthodox churches in Georgia are named after George according to the number of days in a year. According to legend, George was cut into 365 pieces after he fell in battle and every single piece was spread throughout the entire country.{{citation | last = Gabidzashvili | first = Enriko | year = 1991 | title = Saint George: In Ancient Georgian Literature | publisher = Armazi – 89 | place = Tbilisi, Georgia}}.{{citation | first = FJ | last = Foakes-Jackson | title = A History of the Christian Church | publisher = Cosimo | year = 2005 | isbn = 1-59605-452-2 | page = 556}}.{{citation | first = Antony | last = Eastmond | title = Royal Imagery in Medieval Georgia | publisher = Penn State Press | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-271-01628-0 | page = 119}}.

George is the patron saint of Ethiopia.{{Cite web |title=Saint George, Patron Saint of Ethiopia |url=https://www.horniman.ac.uk/story/saint-george-patron-saint-of-ethiopia/ |access-date=4 June 2022 |website=Horniman Museum and Gardens }} He is also the patron saint of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church; George slaying the dragon is one of the most frequently used subjects of icons in the church.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWLOtldQzOEC&q=saint+george+dragon+ethiopia+church&pg=PA2|title=The Origins of the New Churches Movement in Southern Ethiopia: 1927–1944|last=Fargher|first=Brian L.|date=1996|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9004106611}}

George is also one of the patron saints of the Mediterranean island of Gozo, part of the Maltese archipelago.{{cite web|last1=Vella|first1=George Francis|title=St George, the patron saint of Gozo|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090430/letters/st-george-the-patron-saint-of-gozo.254880|website=Times of Malta|date=30 April 2009 |access-date=26 January 2017}}

{{cite web|title=The patron saint and protector of Gozo|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090416/letters/the-patron-saint-and-protector-of-gozo.252979|website=Times of Malta|date=16 April 2009 |access-date=26 January 2017}} In a battle between the Maltese and the Moors, St. George was alleged to have been seen with St. Paul and St. Agatha, protecting the Maltese. George is the protector of the island of Gozo and the patron of Gozo's largest city, Victoria. St. George's Basilica in Victoria is dedicated to him.{{citation | first = Arthur | last = de Bles | year = 2004 | title = How to Distinguish the Saints in Art | isbn = 1-4179-0870-X | page = 86}}.

File:Britain Needs You at Once - WWI recruitment poster - Parliamentary Recruiting Committee Poster No. 108.jpg

Devotions to George in Portugal date back to the 12th century. Nuno Álvares Pereira attributed the victory of the Portuguese in the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385 to George. During the reign of John I of Portugal (1357–1433), George became the patron saint of Portugal and the king ordered that the saint's image on the horse be carried in the Corpus Christi procession. The flag of George (white with red cross) was also carried by the Portuguese troops and hoisted in the fortresses, during the 15th century. "Portugal and Saint George" ({{Langx|pt|Portugal e São Jorge}}) became the battle cry of the Portuguese troops, being still today the battle cry of the Portuguese Army, with simply "Saint George" ({{Langx|pt|São Jorge}}) being the battle cry of the Portuguese Navy.{{citation | title = Daily Life in Portugal in the Late Middle Ages | first1 = AH | last1 = de Oliveira Marques | first2 = Vítor | last2 = André | first3 = SS | last3 = Wyatt | publisher = University of Wisconsin Press | year = 1971 | isbn = 0-299-05584-1 | page = 216}}.

Devotions to Saint George in Brazil was influenced by the Portuguese colonisation. George is the unofficial patron saint of the city of Rio de Janeiro (the official patron being St. Sebastian) and of the city of {{Lang|pt|São Jorge dos Ilhéus|italic=no}} (Saint George of {{Lang|pt|Ilhéus|italic=no}}). Additionally, George is the patron saint of the Scouts and Cavalry of the Brazilian Army. In May 2019, he was made official as the patron saint of the State of Rio de Janeiro, next to St. Sebastian.{{cite web| url = https://extra.globo.com/noticias/rio/governador-sanciona-lei-que-torna-sao-jorge-sao-sebastiao-padroeiros-do-estado-23649222.html| title = Governador sanciona lei que torna São Jorge e São Sebastião padroeiros do estado| date = 8 May 2019}} George is also revered in several Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Umbanda, where it is syncretised in the form of the orisha Ogun. However, the connection of George with the Moon is purely Brazilian, with a strong influence of African culture, and in no way related to the European saint. Tradition says that the spots at the Moon's surface represent the miraculous saint, his horse and his sword slaying the dragon and ready to defend those who seek his help.Santos, Georgina Silva dos.Ofício e sangue: a Irmandade de São Jorge e a Inquisição na Lisboa moderna.Lisboa: Colibri; Portimão: Instituto de Cultura Ibero-Atlântica, 2005

George, is also the patron saint of the region of Aragon, in Spain, where his feast day is celebrated on 23 April and is known as "Aragon Day", or {{Lang|es|Día de Aragón}} in Spanish. He became the patron saint of the former Kingdom of Aragon and Crown of Aragon when King Pedro I of Aragon won the battle of Alcoraz in 1096. Legend has it that victory eventually fell to the Christian armies when George appeared to them on the battlefield, helping them secure the conquest of the city of Huesca which had been under the Muslim control of the Taifa of Zaragoza. The battle, which had begun two years earlier in 1094, was long and arduous, and had also taken the life of King Pedro's own father, King Sancho Ramirez. With the Aragonese spirits flagging, it is said that George descending from heaven on his charger and bearing a dark red cross, appeared at the head of the Christian cavalry leading the knights into battle. Interpreting this as a sign of protection from God, the Christian militia returned emboldened to the battle field, more energised than ever, convinced theirs was the banner of the one true faith. Defeated, the Moors rapidly abandoned the battlefield. After two years of being locked down under siege, Huesca fell and King Pedro made his triumphal entry into the city. To celebrate this victory, the cross of St. George was adopted as the personal coat of arms of Huesca and Aragon, in honour of their saviour. After the fall of Huesca, King Pedro aided the military leader and nobleman, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, otherwise known as El Cid, with a coalition army from Aragon in the long conquest of the Kingdom of Valencia.

Tales of King Pedro's success at Huesca and in leading his expedition of armies with El Cid against the Moors, under the auspices of George on his standard, spread quickly throughout the realm and beyond the Crown of Aragon, and Christian armies throughout Europe quickly began adopting George as their protector and patron, during all subsequent Crusades to the Holy Land. By 1117, the military order of Templars adopted the Cross of St. George as a simple, unifying sign for international Christian militia embroidered on the left hand side of their tunics, placed above the heart.

The Cross of St. George, also known in Aragon as the Cross of Alcoraz, continues to emblazon the flags of all of Aragon's provinces.

The association of St. George with chivalry and noblemen in Aragon continued through the ages. Indeed, even the author Miguel de Cervantes, in his book on the adventures of Don Quixote, also mentions the jousting events that took place at the festival of St. George in Zaragoza in Aragon where one could gain international renown in winning a joust against any of the knights of Aragon.

Saint George ({{Langx|ca|Sant Jordi}}) is also the patron saint of Catalonia. His cross appears in many buildings and local flags, including the flag of Barcelona, the Catalan capital, as well as in the ancient emblem of the Generalitat. The first references of devotion to Saint George in Catalonia came back to the 11th century. The legend of the saint spread throughout the Principality of Catalonia until, in 1456, he was officially named by the Catalan Courts (the parliament) as the patron saint of Catalonia, and the annual commemoration involving roses began. A Catalan variation to the traditional legend places George's life story as having occurred in the town of Montblanc, near Tarragona. One of the highest civil distinctions awarded by the Government of Catalonia is the St. George's Cross (Creu de Sant Jordi). The Sant Jordi Awards have been awarded in Barcelona since 1957.

In Valencia, Catalonia, the Balearics, Malta, Sicily and Sardinia, the origins of the veneration of St. George go back to their shared history as territories under the Crown of Aragon, thereby sharing the same legend.

In 1469, the Order of St. George (Habsburg-Lorraine) was founded in Rome by Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg in the presence of Pope Paul II in honour of St. George. The order was continued and promoted by his son, Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg. The later history of the order was eventful, in particular the order was dissolved by Nazi Germany. Only after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe was the order reactivated as a European association in association with Saint George by the Habsburg family.Manfred Hollegger "Maximilian I." (2005), p 150.{{cite web| url = https://www.georgsorden.at/geschichte/?L=1| title = History of the St. Georgs-Orden}}Roman Procházka "Österreichisches Ordenshandbuch" (1979), p 274.

{{Main|Saint George's Cross}}

File:Flag of England.svg

It became fashionable in the 15th century, with the full development of classical heraldry, to provide attributed arms to saints and other historical characters from the pre-heraldic ages. The widespread attribution to George of the red cross on a white field in Western art – "Saint George's Cross" – probably first arose in Genoa, which had adopted this image for their flag and George as their patron saint in the 12th century. A vexillum beati Georgii is mentioned in the Genovese annals for the year 1198, referring to a red flag with a depiction of George and the dragon. An illumination of this flag is shown in the annals for the year 1227. The Genovese flag with the red cross was used alongside this "George's flag", from at least 1218, and was known as the insignia cruxata comunis Janue ("cross ensign of the commune of Genoa"). The flag showing the saint himself was the city's principal war flag, but the flag showing the plain cross was used alongside it in the 1240s.Aldo Ziggioto, "Genova", in Vexilla Italica 1, XX (1993); Aldo Ziggioto, "Le Bandiere degli Stati Italiani", in Armi Antiche 1994, cited after [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/it-genoa.html Pier Paolo Lugli, 18 July 2000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029062343/https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/it-genoa.html |date=29 October 2021 }} on Flags of the World.

In 1348, Edward III of England chose George as the patron saint of his Order of the Garter, and also took to using a red-on-white cross in the hoist of his Royal Standard.

The term "Saint George's cross" was at first associated with any plain Greek cross touching the edges of the field (not necessarily red on white).William Woo Seymour, The Cross in Tradition, History and Art, 1898, [https://archive.org/stream/crossintraditi00seym#page/362/mode/2up/search/George p. 363] Thomas Fuller in 1647 spoke of "the plain or St George's cross" as "the mother of all the others" (that is, the other heraldic crosses).Fuller, A Supplement tu the Historie of the Holy Warre (Book V), 1647, chapter 4.

File:Saint Georges (musée byzantin et chrétien, Athènes) (30604158222).jpg icon of George, Athens, Greece]]

George is most commonly depicted in early icons, mosaics, and frescos wearing armour contemporary with the depiction, executed in gilding and silver colour, intended to identify him as a Roman soldier. Particularly after the Fall of Constantinople and George's association with the crusades, he is often portrayed mounted upon a white horse. Thus, a 2003 Vatican stamp (issued on the anniversary of the Saint's death) depicts an armoured George atop a white horse, killing the dragon.{{cite web |url=http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Services/Philatelic_and_Numismatic_Office/_listing_emissioni--id--Shop%20Francobolli--cat--2003.htm |title=Vatican stamps |publisher=Vaticanstate.va |access-date=23 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001194032/http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Services/Philatelic_and_Numismatic_Office/_listing_emissioni--id--Shop%20Francobolli--cat--2003.htm |archive-date=1 October 2011 }}

Eastern Orthodox iconography also permits George to ride a black horse, as in a Russian icon in the British museum collection.{{cite web| url = https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/publications/online_research_catalogues/russian_icons/catalogue_of_russian_icons/the_british_museum_collection/british_museum_collection_2.aspx| title = Bobrov, Yury. "A catalogue of the Russian icons in the British Museum", The British Museum}}

In the south Lebanese village of Mieh Mieh, the Saint George Church for Melkite Catholics commissioned for its 75th jubilee in 2012 (under the guidance of Mgr Sassine Gregoire) the only icons in the world portraying the whole life of George, as well as the scenes of his torture and martyrdom (drawn in eastern iconographic style).{{Cite web|url=http://noursat.tv/ar/news-details.php?id=2996|title=احتفالات بمناسبة اليوبيل الماسي لبناء كنيسة مار جاورجيوس – المية ومية|website=Noursat|access-date=11 August 2019}}

George may also be portrayed with Saint Demetrius, another early soldier saint. When the two saintly warriors are together and mounted upon horses, they may resemble earthly manifestations of the archangels Michael and Gabriel. Eastern traditions distinguish the two as George rides a white horse and Demetrius a red horse (the red pigment may appear black if it has bituminised). George can also be identified by his spearing a dragon, whereas Demetrius may be spearing a human figure, representing Maximian.

{{For|equestrian depictions|Saint George and the Dragon#Iconography}}

{{Commons|Saint George structured art gallery}}

;Eastern

File:Novgorod George.jpg|Main icon of Yuriev Monastery in Novgorod, Russia ({{Circa|1130}})

File:Tetarteron sb1975.jpg|Tetarteron of Manuel I Komnenos, showing a bust of George (12th century)

File:Святой Георгий Победоносец, фреска 12 века, Старая Ладога.jpg|A depiction of Saint George in a church dedicated to him at Staraya Ladoga Fortress in Staraya Ladoga (12th century)

File:Ανάγλυφη εικόνα Αγίου Γεώργιου από την Καστοριά. Βυζαντινό Μουσείο Αθηνών. Τέλη 13ου αιώνα.jpg|Relief icon from Kastoria, now located at the Byzantine Museum, Athens, Greece (late 13th century)

File:Ѓорѓи од Старо Нагоричане.jpg|Saint George depicted on an icon part of an iconostasis in the Church of St. George, Staro Nagoričane, North Macedonia (14th century)

File:StGeorge-RussianMuseum.jpg|Saint George and the Dragon, Russian icon (15th century)

File:LifeofStGeorge.JPG|Scenes from the life of George, Kremikovtsi Monastery, Bulgaria (15th century)

File:St.George rescuing the emperor's daughter.JPG|A plaque, on which is represented George rescuing the emperor's daughter (15th century)

File:Saint George Great Martyr.jpg|Greek Orthodox icon in the Greek Orthodox Church and Museum, Miskolc ({{Circa|1770}})

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De slag bij Adua TMnr 5956-2.jpg|"Ethiopian Empire forces, assisted by St George (top), win the Battle of Adwa against Italy. Painted 1965–75."

File:Saintgeorge.jpg|Contemporary Eastern Orthodox icon of Saint George (21st century)

;Western

File:Saint George Knight in Vies de Saints Manuscrit 588 f. 113 c1290-1310.jpg|George as a knight, miniature from a ms. of Vies de Saints, {{Circa|1290}}–1310 (Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Manuscrit 588)

File:St George BNF Fr 241 101v.jpg|Miniature of George and the Dragon, ms. of the Legenda Aurea, dated 1348 (BNF Français 241, fol. 101v.)

File:St George Royal19BXVII 109.jpg|Miniature of George and the Dragon, ms. of the Legenda Aurea, Paris, 1382 (BL Royal 19 B XVII, f. 109).

File:1480 Setzschild mit Heiligem Georg anagoria.JPG|George on a small pavise (Nuremberg, {{Circa|1480|lk=no}})

File:Tübingen - Stiftskirche Sankt Georg 52329.jpg|George as a martyr: St. George's Collegiate Church in Tübingen (15th century)

File:Saint George - Carlo Crivelli.jpg|George by Carlo Crivelli

File:Saint Georg – Master of Sierentz.jpg|St.George by the Master of Sierentz (1440–1450)

File:Cathedral Fribourg vitrail Georg Michael Anna Maria 11.jpg|Stained-glass (by J. Mehoffer), Fribourg Cathedral

File:Cathedral Fribourg vitrail Anna Maria 03.jpg|Stained-glass (by J. Mehoffer, Fribourg Cathedral)

• Moors and Christians of Alcoy, an international historical festival dedicated to George in Alcoy (Alicante), Spain
• Uastyrdzhi, Ossetian name for George
• Church of Saint George (Lod)
• Sacred Relic of Saint George
• List of Anglo-Saxon saints
• List of Cornish saints
• List of Northumbrian saints
• Patron saints of the Hen Ogledd, historical region, now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands

{{Reflist|group=note}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite book |last1=Lampinen |first1=Antti |title=Seafaring and Mobility in the Late Antique Mediterranean |last2=Mataix-Ferrándiz |first2=Emilia |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2022 |isbn=9781350201712}}
• {{Cite book |last=Cavallo |first=Guglielmo |title=The Byzantines |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1997 |isbn=9780226097923}}

• {{cite book|chapter = Of Saint George|title = Ælfric's Lives of Saints|year = 1881| publisher = London, Pub. for the Early English text society, by N. Trübner & co.|author=Ælfric of Eynsham|author-link=Ælfric of Eynsham}}
• Brook, E.W., 1925. Acts of Saint George in series Analecta Gorgiana 8 (Gorgias Press).
• Burgoyne, Michael H. 1976. A Chronological Index to the Muslim Monuments of Jerusalem. In The Architecture of Islamic Jerusalem. Jerusalem: The British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
• Gabidzashvili, Enriko. 1991. Saint George: In Ancient Georgian Literature. Armazi – 89: Tbilisi, Georgia.
• Good, Jonathan, 2009. The Cult of Saint George in Medieval England (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press).
• Loomis, C. Grant, 1948. White Magic, An Introduction to the Folklore of Christian Legend (Cambridge: Medieval Society of America)
• Natsheh, Yusuf. 2000. "Architectural survey", in Ottoman Jerusalem: The Living City 1517–1917. Edited by Sylvia Auld and Robert Hillenbrand (London: Altajir World of Islam Trust) pp. 893–899.
• Whatley, E. Gordon, editor, with Anne B. Thompson and Robert K. Upchurch, 2004. St. George and the Dragon in the South English Legendary (East Midland Revision, c. 1400) Originally published in Saints' Lives in Middle English Collections (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications) ([http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/whgeodintro.htm on-line introduction])
• George Menachery, Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India. Vol.II Trichur – 73.

{{Commons}}

{{NSRW Poster|George, St.|Saint George}}

• [https://archive.org/details/st-george-passio-original-apocryphal-form-2020 English translation of the 5th century Latin legend] at the Internet Archive
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070429070715/https://www.stgeorgesholiday.com/about-us/saint-george/ St. George and the Dragon, free illustrated book based on 'The Seven Champions' by Richard Johnson (1596)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060218063758/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.tcl?site_id=5549 Archnet]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060313162521/http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/dragons/6.html Saint George and the Dragon links] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20050610083809/http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/dragons/38.html pictures] (more than 125), from [https://web.archive.org/web/20050526223744/http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/dragons/ Dragons in Art and on the Web]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080316102135/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/golden184.htm Story of Saint George from The Golden Legends]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20020802231548/http://www.pinetreeweb.com/stgeorge.htm Saint George and the Boy Scouts], including a woodcut of a Scout on horseback slaying a dragon
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040602002709/http://www.digitas.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/wiki/ken/SaintGeorge A prayer for St George's Day]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050320173756/http://www.niranamchurch.com/StGeorge.asp St. George]
• [http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/whgeodintro.htm St. George and the Dragon: An Introduction]
• [https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2025/04/23/101184-greatmartyr-victory-bearer-and-wonderworker-george Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George] Orthodox icon and synaxarion for 23 April
• [https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2025/11/03/103161-consecration-of-the-church-of-the-holy-great-martyr-george-in-ly Dedication of the Church of the Greatmartyr George in Lydia] Icon and synaxarion for 3 November
• [https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2025/11/26/103398-dedication-of-the-church-of-the-greatmartyr-george-at-kiev Dedication of the Church of the Greatmartyr George at Kiev] Icon and synaxarion for 26 November
• [https://archive.today/20130107193940/http://www.pht.eoldal.hu/fotoalbum/palast-nevezetessegei/az-1898-ban-epult-templom/96 Saint George in the church] in Plášťovce, (Palást) in Slovakia
• [https://www.puthuppallypally.in/ Georgian Pilgrim Center in India St. George Orthodox Church Puthuppally, Kerala, India]
• [http://cas.podomatic.com/entry/index/2010-04-22T20_03_59-07_00/ Hail George] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216191656/http://cas.podomatic.com/entry/index/2010-04-22T20_03_59-07_00 |date=16 February 2013 }} Radio webcast explains how Saint George came to be confused with some Afro-Brazilian deities
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20141203064602/http://blog.catholicfaithstore.com/blog/2013/04/25/the-feast-of-st-george/ Blog Article on the Feast of Saint George] The feast of Saint George is 23 April – About that Dragon ...
• [https://www.christianiconography.info/george.html St. George, Martyr] at the [https://www.christianiconography.info/ Christian Iconography] web site.
• [https://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/george.htm Of St. George, Martyr] from Caxton's translation of the Golden Legend

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