St George’s Day invites England to remember a patron saint who was not English at all, but a martyr of the early Church whose fame far outstripped the scant details of his life. Tradition presents him as a Roman soldier from Cappadocia who chose death rather than deny Christ, and it is that witness — more than any later embroidery — which explains his enduring hold on the Christian imagination.
Around that historical core grew the famous legend of the dragon: a vivid medieval tale of courage, rescue and conversion. Whether taken as legend, allegory or popular devotion, it helped make George the image of the Christian warrior — not merely brave in battle, but steadfast in the face of evil.
