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Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the Roman army. Of Cappadocian Greek origin, he became a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian, but was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith. He became one of the most venerated saints, heroes, and Great martyr in Christianity, and he has been especially venerated as a military saint since the Crusades. He is respected by Christians, Druze, as well as some Muslims as a martyr of monotheistic faith.
In hagiography, he is immortalised in the legend of Saint George and the Dragon and as one of the most prominent military saints. In Roman Catholicism, he is also venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. His feast day, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on 23 April. Historically, the countries of England, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine, Malta, Ethiopia, the regions of Catalonia and Aragon, and the cities of Moscow and Beirut have claimed George as their patron saint, as have several other regions, cities, universities, professions, and organizations. The Church of Saint George in Lod (Lydda), Israel, has a sarcophagus traditionally believed to contain St. George's relics.
The English historian Edward GibbonEdward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 2:23:5. 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. 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". "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.
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,
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. 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. 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; Greek text here , and English text here. Eusebius's full text as follows: 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 Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca.. 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".
The most complete version, based upon the 5th-century Greek text but in a later form, survives in a translation into Syriac language from around 600. Text fragments preserved in the British Library enabled an English translation in 1925., online here. (2025). 9781781556498, Fonthill. ISBN 9781781556498
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. 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,. . . 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 Lod.
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... , 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 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), p. 129 .
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.Paolo O. Pirlo (1997). 9789719159544, Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications. ISBN 9789719159544
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..
In the medieval romances, the lance with which George slew the dragon was named Ascalon, after the 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. 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
Muslim scholars have tried to find a historical connection of the saint due to his popularity. According to Muslim legend, he was martyred under the rule of Diocletian and was killed three times but was Resurrection 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.
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.
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 horologion – 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."
The early cult of the saint was localised in Lod, 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) ( persee.fr )
By the time of the early Muslim conquests of the mostly Christian and Zoroastrian Middle East, a basilica in Lydda dedicated to George existed.. 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), , 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.
Belief in an apparition of George heartened the Franks at the Battle of Antioch in 1098,9780141985503, Penguin Classics. ISBN 9780141985503 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. Catholic Encyclopedia 1913, s.v. "Orders of St. George" 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."
In the wake of the Crusades, George became a model of chivalry in works of literature, including . 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 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.
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." 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."
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."
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."
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. 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 Military saint that resemble their own militarised society.
According to Elizabeth Anne Finn's Home in the Holy land (1866):
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. 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.
George or Hazrat Jurjays was the patron saint of Mosul. Along with Theodosius, he was revered by both Christian and Muslim communities of Jazira Region 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.
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. EVLİYA ÇELEBİ DİYARBAKIR’DA (Turkish) 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. 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.
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 of George were transferred there. The other feast is on 26 November for a church dedicated to him in Kyiv, .
In Bulgaria, George's day () 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 () as the "Prince of Martyrs" and celebrates his martyrdom on the 23rd of Paremhat of the Coptic calendar, equivalent to 1 May. 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 in Alappuzha district, and Edappally in Ernakulam district of the southern state of Kerala. The saint is commemorated each year from 27 April to 14 May at Edathua. 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.
Catholic Church feast days:
Eastern Orthodox Church feast days:
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..
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....
George is the patron saint of Ethiopia. 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.
George is also one of the patron saints of the Mediterranean island of Gozo, part of the Maltese archipelago. 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..
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" () became the battle cry of the Portuguese troops, being still today the battle cry of the Portuguese Army, with simply "Saint George" () being the battle cry of the Portuguese Navy..
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 italic=no (Saint George of 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. 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 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 () is also the patron saint of Catalonia. His cross appears in many buildings and local flags, including the flag of Barcelona, the Catalan capital, the crest of FC Barcelona 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.Roman Procházka "Österreichisches Ordenshandbuch" (1979), p 274.
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, 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.
Eastern Orthodox iconography also permits George to ride a black horse, as in a Russian icon in the British museum collection. 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).
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.
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