In English folklore, Saint George slew the mighty dragon (two places are named:Dragon Hill near Uffington, Oxfordshire, and Lower Stanks, a field outside Hereford) But, in reality, it is thought that St. George came from Cappadocia in Asia Minor, lived at the time of the Roman Emperor, Diocletian, AD 245 to 313 and never actually graced the British Isles.

St. George was born in Cappadocia of noble, Christian parents and on the death of his father, accompanied his mother to Palestine, her country of origin, where she had land and George was to run the estate. He was martyred at Lydda in Palestine (Nicomedia). He held an important post in the Roman army - the rank of tribune, or perhaps colonel in modern terms - during the reign of the Emperor Dioclesian (245-313 AD). Dioclesian was a great persecutor of Christians (from about 302) and when the persecutions began George put aside his office and complained personally to the Emperor of the harshness of his decrees and the dreadful purges of Christians. For his trouble, though, he was thrown into prison and tortured. He would not recant his faith however and the following day he was dragged through the streets and beheaded. It is uncertain whether he also tore down the Emperor's decrees as they were posted in Nicomedia. So he was one of the first to perish. The Emperor's wife, Alexandria was so impressed at the Saint's courage that she became a Christian and so too was put to death for her trouble.

He was canonized in AD 494. Pope Gelasius proclaiming him one of those "whose names are justly revered among men but whose acts are known only to God".

The legends surrounding Saint George are very varied. One of them concerns the famous dragon, with which he is invariably portrayed. According to legend, a pagan town in Libya was being terrorised by a dragon. The locals kept throwing sheep to it to placate it, and when it still remained unsatisfied, they started sacrificing some of the citizenry. Finally the local princess, Cleolinda, daughter of the King, was to be thrown also to the beast, but Good Saint George came along, slaughtered the dragon and rescued the fair princess. At this the townsfolk converted to Christianity. Some experts think the tale is based on the Greek myth of Perseus rescuing Andromeda from a sea monster.

The origin of the legend, which is very well known, came originally from the way in which the Greek Church honoured George. They venerated him as a soldier saint and told many stories of his bravery and protection in battle. The western Christians, joining with the Byzantine ChriSaintians in the Crusades, elaborated and misinterpreted the Greek traditions and devised their own version. The Saintory we know today of Saint George and the dragon dates from the troubadours of the 14th century.

The reason for his being adopted as the Saint of Battles was partly because he was a soldier, but also because he is said to have appeared to the Christian army before the Battle of Antioch. It is also said that he appeared to our English King Richard I (the Lionheart) during his Crusade against the Saracens, which served as a great encouragement to the troops. George replaced Edward the Confessor as Patron Saint of England following the Crusades, when returning soldiers brought back with them a renewed cult of St. George. Edward III made St George patron of the Order of the Garter, which seems finally to have confirmed his position. He became the official patron saint of England in 1425 after Henry V's victory at the Battle of Agincourt. In the 15th century his feast day was equated with Christmas. The celebrated Knights of the Garter are actually Kinghts of the Order of Saint George. The shrine built for his relics at Lydda, Palestine was a popular point of pilgrimage for centuries.