"May I come in, St. George?" said the Boy politely, as he paused at the door. "I want to talk to you about this little matter of the dragon, if you're not too tired of it by this time." — Kenneth Grahame, The Reluctant Dragon
Happy Saint George's Day! April 23 is Saint George’s Day in England, where he has long been regarded as England’s chivalric patron, synonymous not only with dragon-slaying but chivalry too.
Susan here – with another look at this fascinating warrior-saint and his iconograpy, a prototype of the dragon-slaying, rescuing, protective warrior-hero. Every Saint George's Day, I'm all into it. Why? I did my art history doctoral dissertation years back on the iconography of the hero in medieval art as personified by St. George. How did an ancient martyr of the Church (who never saw a dragon in his life) become the most recognized symbol of chivalry and knighthood in England and practically everywhere? I tracked that question by studying the images and iconography of the hero in medieval art — St. George being the best known of an interesting collection of military saints and dragon-slayers. Images and mementoes of knights and dragons still decorate my home and office, and the research for that project 
taught me a lot about the nature of the hero … which came in very handy when I started writing novels.
The original George was a 4th century Christian martyr in central Turkey, most likely a soldier who served under Emperor Diocletian. George defended his religion and suffered the consequences, for he was arrested, dragged by horses and beheaded (among other gruesome tortures); documents in the Vatican apparently referring to his death are dated 23 April, 303; that became his feast day. There were other military saints, like Julian and Mercurius (and the Archangel Michael, in a class by himself), but St. George rose to fame after he supposedly appeared in the sky over a crusading French army and saved the day.
The story spread and grew, and before long his legend was conflated with other myths, such as Perseus and Andromeda, and other slayers of monsters/rescuers of damsels. In England his feats became connected with pagan rites of the cycle of birth, growth and resurrection—and the dragon-slayer so venerated in medieval England was born.
His image is well known to us today, and he is depicted in countless examples of medieval art. His cult grew by leaps and bounds as chivalry gained deep footing in medieval society. He was declared patron saint of the famed Order of the Garter in 1348, and his red cross on a white ground was included in countless heraldic emblems; later it was incorporated into the British Union Jack. By the time St. George appeared in the wildly popular Golden Legend, a collection of saints’ tales, his fame was assured.
As knighthood and chivalry flourished, George—being 
a saint, after all—served as the pinnacle of those ideals. He exhibited all the best qualities of chivalric behavior, especially toward women — he was polite, considerate, and romantic yet chaste. Partnered with the Virgin Mary or with the princess saved from the dragon in art and literature, George was the perfect medieval knight, revered, prayed to, emulated. 
“St. George the English knight/Over your ffomen geve you myghte” went a popular English prayer, and “St. George!” was a common war cry for English soldiers and knights.
The French response to the English rallying cry, particularly during the Hundred Years War, translates to “It would stick in my throat if I cried ‘St. George,’ because I’m a good Frenchman.”
As for dragon-slaying and chivalric behaviors, George was not the first, but he was the best known—the mythic type of the dragon-slayer so familiar to us today owes a great deal to the storytellers who embellished his story over the years. In parts of England every April 23, while the holiday isn’t a big deal anymore, there are mock dragon-fights by reenactors and kids line up to take a whack at paper dragons with a lance to rescue the princess.
Chivalry isn’t dead by a long shot, and the values he represented centuries ago still endure. St. George and his myth helped foster and keep that alive for a very long time – and today romance writers and other fiction authors (sci fi and fantasy, for instance) find ways to carry on the tradition of great romantic, chivalric heroes, dragon-slayers in so 
many guises, in countless stories.
Here's a quick few of my favorite dragon-slayers or dragon-keepers (let's be equitable!) in books and movies:
Saint George and the Dragon, Margaret Hodges
The Dragon and the George (great series!), Gordon R. Dickson
Anne McCaffery, The Dragonriders of Pern series
Christopher Paolini, Eragon (series)
Mary Brown, The Unexpected Dragon
Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin (Daenerys Targaryen is an incredible character and mother of dragons)
Dragonslayer, fabulous movie
There are so many others …
Who are your favorite dragon-slaying or dragon-keeping heroes and heroines in myths, books, movies?
St George is so important to so many countries. Georgia’s flag is the St George flag, and you can see monuments to him in Tbilisi and throughout the rest of the country.
I grew up on “The Flight of Dragons” movie, so I’ve always had a thing for them!
St George is so important to so many countries. Georgia’s flag is the St George flag, and you can see monuments to him in Tbilisi and throughout the rest of the country.
I grew up on “The Flight of Dragons” movie, so I’ve always had a thing for them!
St George is so important to so many countries. Georgia’s flag is the St George flag, and you can see monuments to him in Tbilisi and throughout the rest of the country.
I grew up on “The Flight of Dragons” movie, so I’ve always had a thing for them!
St George is so important to so many countries. Georgia’s flag is the St George flag, and you can see monuments to him in Tbilisi and throughout the rest of the country.
I grew up on “The Flight of Dragons” movie, so I’ve always had a thing for them!
St George is so important to so many countries. Georgia’s flag is the St George flag, and you can see monuments to him in Tbilisi and throughout the rest of the country.
I grew up on “The Flight of Dragons” movie, so I’ve always had a thing for them!
Thanks for an informative post, Susan.
I’ll name a favorite book featuring a dragon shifter ~ Thea Harrison’s Dragon Bound.
Thanks for an informative post, Susan.
I’ll name a favorite book featuring a dragon shifter ~ Thea Harrison’s Dragon Bound.
Thanks for an informative post, Susan.
I’ll name a favorite book featuring a dragon shifter ~ Thea Harrison’s Dragon Bound.
Thanks for an informative post, Susan.
I’ll name a favorite book featuring a dragon shifter ~ Thea Harrison’s Dragon Bound.
Thanks for an informative post, Susan.
I’ll name a favorite book featuring a dragon shifter ~ Thea Harrison’s Dragon Bound.
We just heard the first volume of Dickson’s the Dragon and the George on Audible. It was very enjoyable!
We just heard the first volume of Dickson’s the Dragon and the George on Audible. It was very enjoyable!
We just heard the first volume of Dickson’s the Dragon and the George on Audible. It was very enjoyable!
We just heard the first volume of Dickson’s the Dragon and the George on Audible. It was very enjoyable!
We just heard the first volume of Dickson’s the Dragon and the George on Audible. It was very enjoyable!
I think before I discovered Pern, I discovered Aerin in McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown. She was a favorite growing up.
Another I liked was Heartstone by Elle Katharine White. It’s Pride and Prejudice with dragons and it follows the P&P story very closely, with the Mr. Darcy character being a dragon rider. 🙂 Evidently it’s a series, but I never read past the first book.
I think before I discovered Pern, I discovered Aerin in McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown. She was a favorite growing up.
Another I liked was Heartstone by Elle Katharine White. It’s Pride and Prejudice with dragons and it follows the P&P story very closely, with the Mr. Darcy character being a dragon rider. 🙂 Evidently it’s a series, but I never read past the first book.
I think before I discovered Pern, I discovered Aerin in McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown. She was a favorite growing up.
Another I liked was Heartstone by Elle Katharine White. It’s Pride and Prejudice with dragons and it follows the P&P story very closely, with the Mr. Darcy character being a dragon rider. 🙂 Evidently it’s a series, but I never read past the first book.
I think before I discovered Pern, I discovered Aerin in McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown. She was a favorite growing up.
Another I liked was Heartstone by Elle Katharine White. It’s Pride and Prejudice with dragons and it follows the P&P story very closely, with the Mr. Darcy character being a dragon rider. 🙂 Evidently it’s a series, but I never read past the first book.
I think before I discovered Pern, I discovered Aerin in McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown. She was a favorite growing up.
Another I liked was Heartstone by Elle Katharine White. It’s Pride and Prejudice with dragons and it follows the P&P story very closely, with the Mr. Darcy character being a dragon rider. 🙂 Evidently it’s a series, but I never read past the first book.
Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit (the book, not the movie). Later King Bard after he killed the dragon Smaug with his arrow, black arrow 🙂
Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit (the book, not the movie). Later King Bard after he killed the dragon Smaug with his arrow, black arrow 🙂
Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit (the book, not the movie). Later King Bard after he killed the dragon Smaug with his arrow, black arrow 🙂
Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit (the book, not the movie). Later King Bard after he killed the dragon Smaug with his arrow, black arrow 🙂
Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit (the book, not the movie). Later King Bard after he killed the dragon Smaug with his arrow, black arrow 🙂
Favorite Dragons? Pern unconditionally. I followed those stories from the magazine appearnace of Weyr Search — the very first appearanc of Pern. An besides — Pernese dragons are heroes/heroines NOT villains.
I also follow the Dickson series from it’s first appearance also.
Favorite Dragons? Pern unconditionally. I followed those stories from the magazine appearnace of Weyr Search — the very first appearanc of Pern. An besides — Pernese dragons are heroes/heroines NOT villains.
I also follow the Dickson series from it’s first appearance also.
Favorite Dragons? Pern unconditionally. I followed those stories from the magazine appearnace of Weyr Search — the very first appearanc of Pern. An besides — Pernese dragons are heroes/heroines NOT villains.
I also follow the Dickson series from it’s first appearance also.
Favorite Dragons? Pern unconditionally. I followed those stories from the magazine appearnace of Weyr Search — the very first appearanc of Pern. An besides — Pernese dragons are heroes/heroines NOT villains.
I also follow the Dickson series from it’s first appearance also.
Favorite Dragons? Pern unconditionally. I followed those stories from the magazine appearnace of Weyr Search — the very first appearanc of Pern. An besides — Pernese dragons are heroes/heroines NOT villains.
I also follow the Dickson series from it’s first appearance also.
I was hooked for several years on Robin Hobb’s books. There are several series starting with ‘The Liveship Traders’ where sentient ships are made from wizard wood (the outer cocoon from a sea serpent in its transformation into a dragon). My favorite hero was Fitz in ‘The Farseer Trilogy’ but the dragons really come to dominate in ‘The Rain Wild Chronicles’ series.
Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series was also a big favorite but my tastes have moved on now!
I was hooked for several years on Robin Hobb’s books. There are several series starting with ‘The Liveship Traders’ where sentient ships are made from wizard wood (the outer cocoon from a sea serpent in its transformation into a dragon). My favorite hero was Fitz in ‘The Farseer Trilogy’ but the dragons really come to dominate in ‘The Rain Wild Chronicles’ series.
Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series was also a big favorite but my tastes have moved on now!
I was hooked for several years on Robin Hobb’s books. There are several series starting with ‘The Liveship Traders’ where sentient ships are made from wizard wood (the outer cocoon from a sea serpent in its transformation into a dragon). My favorite hero was Fitz in ‘The Farseer Trilogy’ but the dragons really come to dominate in ‘The Rain Wild Chronicles’ series.
Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series was also a big favorite but my tastes have moved on now!
I was hooked for several years on Robin Hobb’s books. There are several series starting with ‘The Liveship Traders’ where sentient ships are made from wizard wood (the outer cocoon from a sea serpent in its transformation into a dragon). My favorite hero was Fitz in ‘The Farseer Trilogy’ but the dragons really come to dominate in ‘The Rain Wild Chronicles’ series.
Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series was also a big favorite but my tastes have moved on now!
I was hooked for several years on Robin Hobb’s books. There are several series starting with ‘The Liveship Traders’ where sentient ships are made from wizard wood (the outer cocoon from a sea serpent in its transformation into a dragon). My favorite hero was Fitz in ‘The Farseer Trilogy’ but the dragons really come to dominate in ‘The Rain Wild Chronicles’ series.
Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series was also a big favorite but my tastes have moved on now!
Perhaps almost equally as important these days; St George’s Day is traditionally the start of the Asparagus Season!!
Perhaps almost equally as important these days; St George’s Day is traditionally the start of the Asparagus Season!!
Perhaps almost equally as important these days; St George’s Day is traditionally the start of the Asparagus Season!!
Perhaps almost equally as important these days; St George’s Day is traditionally the start of the Asparagus Season!!
Perhaps almost equally as important these days; St George’s Day is traditionally the start of the Asparagus Season!!
Let’s not forget Patricia Wrede’s series that starts with “Dealing With Dragons.“ This charming novel turns the “rescue the princess“ trope on its head and helped turn my daughter into a reader. Though aimed at a youthful audience, it’s a fun read.
Let’s not forget Patricia Wrede’s series that starts with “Dealing With Dragons.“ This charming novel turns the “rescue the princess“ trope on its head and helped turn my daughter into a reader. Though aimed at a youthful audience, it’s a fun read.
Let’s not forget Patricia Wrede’s series that starts with “Dealing With Dragons.“ This charming novel turns the “rescue the princess“ trope on its head and helped turn my daughter into a reader. Though aimed at a youthful audience, it’s a fun read.
Let’s not forget Patricia Wrede’s series that starts with “Dealing With Dragons.“ This charming novel turns the “rescue the princess“ trope on its head and helped turn my daughter into a reader. Though aimed at a youthful audience, it’s a fun read.
Let’s not forget Patricia Wrede’s series that starts with “Dealing With Dragons.“ This charming novel turns the “rescue the princess“ trope on its head and helped turn my daughter into a reader. Though aimed at a youthful audience, it’s a fun read.
Thanks so much for the post. I must say – My birthday is April 23rd….and Shirley Temple…..and (supposedly) William Shakespeare….and (rumor has it) Adolf Hitler…..So, a tap dancing writer who is very cruel but also fights dragons in his spare time in order to protect his world and his honor? I am almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too. Seriously…. I think that for me, Robin Hood – the evil sheriff is the dragon and Robin had to save not only Marian but also everyone who was bullied into submission.
And there is every western story where a hero rides into town and saves the maiden as well as the town.
I hope everyone is safe and well.
Thanks so much for the post. I must say – My birthday is April 23rd….and Shirley Temple…..and (supposedly) William Shakespeare….and (rumor has it) Adolf Hitler…..So, a tap dancing writer who is very cruel but also fights dragons in his spare time in order to protect his world and his honor? I am almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too. Seriously…. I think that for me, Robin Hood – the evil sheriff is the dragon and Robin had to save not only Marian but also everyone who was bullied into submission.
And there is every western story where a hero rides into town and saves the maiden as well as the town.
I hope everyone is safe and well.
Thanks so much for the post. I must say – My birthday is April 23rd….and Shirley Temple…..and (supposedly) William Shakespeare….and (rumor has it) Adolf Hitler…..So, a tap dancing writer who is very cruel but also fights dragons in his spare time in order to protect his world and his honor? I am almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too. Seriously…. I think that for me, Robin Hood – the evil sheriff is the dragon and Robin had to save not only Marian but also everyone who was bullied into submission.
And there is every western story where a hero rides into town and saves the maiden as well as the town.
I hope everyone is safe and well.
Thanks so much for the post. I must say – My birthday is April 23rd….and Shirley Temple…..and (supposedly) William Shakespeare….and (rumor has it) Adolf Hitler…..So, a tap dancing writer who is very cruel but also fights dragons in his spare time in order to protect his world and his honor? I am almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too. Seriously…. I think that for me, Robin Hood – the evil sheriff is the dragon and Robin had to save not only Marian but also everyone who was bullied into submission.
And there is every western story where a hero rides into town and saves the maiden as well as the town.
I hope everyone is safe and well.
Thanks so much for the post. I must say – My birthday is April 23rd….and Shirley Temple…..and (supposedly) William Shakespeare….and (rumor has it) Adolf Hitler…..So, a tap dancing writer who is very cruel but also fights dragons in his spare time in order to protect his world and his honor? I am almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too. Seriously…. I think that for me, Robin Hood – the evil sheriff is the dragon and Robin had to save not only Marian but also everyone who was bullied into submission.
And there is every western story where a hero rides into town and saves the maiden as well as the town.
I hope everyone is safe and well.
I seriously doubt that you are “almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too.” But thanks for the chuckle anyway.
Wishing too that you stay safe and well, Annette.
I seriously doubt that you are “almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too.” But thanks for the chuckle anyway.
Wishing too that you stay safe and well, Annette.
I seriously doubt that you are “almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too.” But thanks for the chuckle anyway.
Wishing too that you stay safe and well, Annette.
I seriously doubt that you are “almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too.” But thanks for the chuckle anyway.
Wishing too that you stay safe and well, Annette.
I seriously doubt that you are “almost old enough to have gone to school with St George and probably the dragon too.” But thanks for the chuckle anyway.
Wishing too that you stay safe and well, Annette.
My favorite dragon is the one in Audrey Wood’s book! I read it to my children , and now my grandchildren. https://www.google.com/search?q=audrey+woods+the+princess+and+the+dragon&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
My favorite dragon is the one in Audrey Wood’s book! I read it to my children , and now my grandchildren. https://www.google.com/search?q=audrey+woods+the+princess+and+the+dragon&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
My favorite dragon is the one in Audrey Wood’s book! I read it to my children , and now my grandchildren. https://www.google.com/search?q=audrey+woods+the+princess+and+the+dragon&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
My favorite dragon is the one in Audrey Wood’s book! I read it to my children , and now my grandchildren. https://www.google.com/search?q=audrey+woods+the+princess+and+the+dragon&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
My favorite dragon is the one in Audrey Wood’s book! I read it to my children , and now my grandchildren. https://www.google.com/search?q=audrey+woods+the+princess+and+the+dragon&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
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Loved my mother’s old (1940s) 78 rpm recording of “The Green Eyed Dragon with the Thirteen Tails,” its evil laugh made me giggle. You can still find it on Youtube.
Loved my mother’s old (1940s) 78 rpm recording of “The Green Eyed Dragon with the Thirteen Tails,” its evil laugh made me giggle. You can still find it on Youtube.
Loved my mother’s old (1940s) 78 rpm recording of “The Green Eyed Dragon with the Thirteen Tails,” its evil laugh made me giggle. You can still find it on Youtube.
Loved my mother’s old (1940s) 78 rpm recording of “The Green Eyed Dragon with the Thirteen Tails,” its evil laugh made me giggle. You can still find it on Youtube.
Loved my mother’s old (1940s) 78 rpm recording of “The Green Eyed Dragon with the Thirteen Tails,” its evil laugh made me giggle. You can still find it on Youtube.
St. George is very popular in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has numerous military saints. His icon often shows him as a dragon slayer.
St. George is very popular in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has numerous military saints. His icon often shows him as a dragon slayer.
St. George is very popular in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has numerous military saints. His icon often shows him as a dragon slayer.
St. George is very popular in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has numerous military saints. His icon often shows him as a dragon slayer.
St. George is very popular in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has numerous military saints. His icon often shows him as a dragon slayer.