When is St George's
The
red rose is widely recognised as the national flower of England.
St George's Flag, is the flag of England.
St George's Flag, is the flag of England.
The Legend of
St. George and the Dragon
The most
famous legend of Saint George is of him slaying a dragon. In the Middle Ages
the dragon was commonly used to represent the Devil. The slaying of the dragon
by St George was first credited to him in the twelfth century, long after his
death. It is therefore likely that the many stories connected with St George's
There are many versions of story of St George
slaying the dragon, but most agree on the following:
1.
A
town was terrorised by a dragon.
2.
A
young princess was offered to the dragon
3.
When
George heard about this he rode into the village
4.
George
slayed the dragon and rescued the princess
St. George travelled for many months by land and sea until he came to
Libya.Here he met a poor 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.'When St. George heard this story, he was determined to try and save the
princess, so he rested that night in the hermit's hut, and at daybreak set out
to the valley where the dragon lived. When he drew near he saw a little
procession of women, headed by a beautiful girl dressed in pure Arabian silk.
The princess Sabra was being led by her attendants to the place of death. The
knight spurred his horse and overtook the ladies. He comforted them with brave
words and persuaded the princess to return to the palace. Then he entered the
valley.
As soon as the dragon saw him it
rushed from its cave, roaring with a sound louder than thunder. Its head was
immense and its tail fifty feet long. But St. George was not afraid. He struck
the monster with his spear, hoping he would wound it.
The dragon's scales were so hard that the spear broke
into a thousand pieces. and St. George fell from his horse. Fortunately he
rolled under an enchanted orange tree against which poison could not prevail,
so that the venomous dragon was unable to hurt him. Within a few minutes he had
recovered his strength and was able to fight again.
He smote the beast with his sword, but the
dragon poured poison on him and his armour split in two. Once more he refreshed
himself from the orange tree and then, with his sword in his hand, he rushed at
the dragon and pierced it under the wing where there were no scales, so that it
fell dead at his feet.
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