For England and St. George
From Turkish Knight to Patron Saint
A man from Cappadocia, Anatolia (now part of modern-day Turkey) never set foot in England, yet he made a remarkable impact. Serving as a Roman army officer in the Levant region, he met his end through beheading in Palestine. Today, he nobly stands as our patron saint since the 14th century.
Tournament knights. Salisbury Saint George’s Day © Martin Urch
This photo essay will examine how and why Saint George’s mythology and status grew to become England’s patron saint. I also attended Saint George’s Feast Day celebrations in Salisbury, where many dressed in red and white, medieval musicians played, knights reenacted, and Morris dancers performed before the English Giant.
Who was St. George
““Come listen now, good people all,
To a brave and grand tale,
Of St. George, the knight of England’s might,
With a spear in his strong hand. “”
The words above begin a traditional English ballad— St. George and the Dragon—from the printed ‘broadside ballads’ of the 17th and 18th centuries. The words are rooted in folklore and passed down through oral tradition, emphasising bravery, faith, and triumph. Yet, considering St. George is the patron saint of England, it is remarkable how little is known about the man.
Medieval minstrels leading the Salisbury parade. © Martin Urch
If, as some believe, he was born to a Greek Christian family, Georgios might reflect his given name, and I will use that name from here to distinguish the years before sainthood. Early Christian Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul) communities began venerating Georgios as a saint. Although the exact time or person who named him "Saint George" is unknown, his warrior fame spread to the Crusaders.
Martyrdom
Georgios became a Roman army soldier, officer and personal guard to the Emperor Diocletian. For the first 18 years of his reign, Diocletian largely ignored Christians, some of whom, like Georgios, served in his administration and army. His hardcore persecutor of Christians stance evolved, shaped by his priorities as a ruler and the pressures of his era. Things shifted dramatically around 303 AD, near the end of his reign, with what’s now called the "Great Persecution." Georgios objected to the destruction of his faith’s churches and scriptures, for which he was imprisoned, tortured and beheaded.
Saint George and the Dragon. Salisbury. © Martin Urch
But I get ahead of myself. His mythological exploits are of courage and bravery in combat. In addition to an army background, Georgios was dedicated to his Greek family’s Christian faith and in myth and legend, he fought the dragon (used to represent the Devil in the Middle Ages) to save a princess from sacrifice in an undefined town of Silene, located in Libya by Western retellings. As a token of their gratitude, the town’s occupants are said to have converted to Christianity. This story was first written down by the Italian prelate Jacobus de Voragine in his 13th-century Legenda Aurea.
St George’s cult began to flourish around Lydda, where he is said to have been martyred and buried, in the sixth century. Saint George was gradually transformed from a Roman soldier into a medieval knight. He was even mythically reported to have fought alongside the Crusaders at the siege of Antioch in 1098, and his name was used as a battle cry. Saint George’s Cross, England’s part of the Union Jack flag, dates back to the year 1188 when crosses were first used by King Henry II of England (father of King Richard I) and King Philip II of France for their crusade symbols.
His introduction to England
Saint George’s stories were first introduced to Britain by King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart), who spent little time in England and prioritised crusading and war. Richard I’s crusade (1189–1192) took place in the Holy Land, which includes parts of modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and surrounding areas. It was said that St. George appeared as a miraculous vision to Richard I during a campaign.
The promotion of St George to be England’s patron saint was mainly owing to the support of the monarchy. King Edward I of England (1272–1307) was highly attached to George. King Edward III established the Order of the Garter under his patronage around 1348, using the Red Cross of St George as its primary device, and instituted the order on St George’s Day. By 1351, it was recorded that St George was “the most invincible athlete of Christ, whose name and protection the English race invoke as that of their patron, in war especially”.
As Saint George became increasingly anglicised, the site of his mythological exploits was shifted to include Dragon Hill in Berkshire and Brinsop in Herefordshire for battles between the saint and the dragon. Inside Brinsop church is a twelfth-century carving showing the holy warrior on horseback about to thrust his lance into the mouth of his prostrated dragon enemy. St. George became increasingly popular in England through the Middle Ages, and it became an annual custom for the dragon-slaying exploit to be re-enacted on St. George’s Day.
The Jester. St George’s Day in Salisbury © Martin Urch
George was immortalised in stories, notable amongst which is Shakespeare’s line in Henry V with “Cry God for Harry, England and Saint George”. In 1415, the year of England’s victory at Agincourt, Archbishop Chichele raised the celebration of St George to a “festum duplex” (double feast), underlining its singular importance in the country. In the following century, the Reformation—shifting power from the Catholic Church to the monarchy and nobility—changed England’s relationship with St George, exchanging his suffering as a Christian martyr for his heroic deeds as a paragon of chivalry.
Salisbury Celebration
Unless the 23rd falls on a weekend, Salisbury celebrates St George’s Day the following Sunday. This year, it was the 27th of April, on a stunning, warm, blue-sky day. The parade began at 10 a.m. from the Guildhall. You can’t help but immediately notice the 14-foot-tall English Giant, a wicker-framed replica effigy of a 500-year-old original displayed in Salisbury’s museum.
The city hosted a fantastic celebration with street food and a carnival atmosphere. It featured a children’s puppet show that highlighted the values of a knight, alongside tournament knights who exemplified honour, loyalty, courage and justice. A wandering dragon and medieval street performers engaged with the crowd, adding to the festive spirit. Patriotic English heritage at its finest.
Conclusion
Saint George appears primarily in Christian martyr narratives. His tale is of faith and warrior triumph over evil. The thematic echoes are exemplars of chivalric virtue, confronting spiritual trials, and embodying Christian knighthood ideals of purity and heroism.
The perceived values of Saint George were historically chosen to embody the ideals the English nation wants to project. He is a unifying figure tied to folklore and Christian religious influence. His adoption as England’s patron saint is less about his biography and more about what England wants to see in itself.
What’s next?
Join the most prominent English folklore festivity, explicitly celebrating hares and a medieval brutal rustic Bottle-Kicking conflict played out once a year in the rolling Leicestershire countryside.
Martin Urch Photography owns the copyright to all writing and images.
