St. George and the Red Dragon

In a few days (usually on April 23), many places around the world–especially in the UK–will be celebrating St. George’s Day with beer and traditional British food. Many people have heard about Saint George and his dragon, but there’s so much mythology and legend around this man that I decided to do a bit of research.

According to historians, Saint George was born into a noble Christian family in the later half of the 3rd Century A.D. His hometown is in a remote area of what we now consider post-WWII Turkey. At a young age, he became a solder and then an officer in the Roman Army. After a particularly brutal campaign, he was asked by senior officers to renounce his Christian faith. When he refused, George and other Christian soldiers were persecuted and martyred in 303 A.D.

After his death, he fell into relative obscurity (as far as Christian saints go) until stories began to filter back from the Middle East by the Middle Ages Crusaders who were returning to England. The Crusaders retold a story they’d heard while stationed outside Jerusalem about a Christian Roman officer named George who stumbled upon a village in Libya. Before he entered the village, Saint George met a poor hermit who told him about the horror a terrible dragon had been inflicting on the entire area.

Now some say this dragon was white, others say it was black, and still others say it was red. (Most storytellers believe it was red). Anyway, the villagers were trying to appease the dragon’s hunger by sacrificing a lamb every day… until they ran out of sheep! Then the king of the village said they must sacrifice children to prevent the dragon from destroying the village.

Every day another child was chosen until the king’s daughter, Sabra, was picked. As she was being taken to the dragon to be eaten, George showed up and was both furious and horrified. So he sent Sabra back to the palace, with her entourage, and offered to slay the dragon. Once the dragon saw Saint George, it wasn’t happy and roared with such force that it sounded like thunder. Saint George remained steadfast in the face of this huge dragon that had an enormous head, a fifty-foot tail, and a fire-breathing venom that could poison a man on contact. Unfortunately, the dragon’s scales were a sharp armor and Saint George’s spear shattered after the first hit. Then he fell from his horse. But he was able to roll beneath an ancient and magical orange tree which protected him from the poison. Once he recovered from his fall, he got up and and rushed the dragon with his knife (his only remaining weapon) out and ready.

While Saint George and the dragon fought, he discovered a patch of skin beneath the dragon’s arm and shoved his knife into the vulnerable spot. He killed the dragon immediately. That night, the villagers threw a huge feast for George. Now, every year, people celebrate George’s bravery and offer thanks to him for saving the remaining children. Although Saint George appreciated the attention, he left the next day without any fanfare. He felt that his success at killing the dragon was because he’d been working for God to protect the innocent. His leaving without any money or attention was an act of Christian humility.

Because this story became so popular in England, in 1327 King Edward III made Saint George the patron saint of all of Britain. Although Saint George was from Turkey, King Edward believed that Saint George embodied all of the character traits that he wanted his subjects to emulate. Traits like the courage to protect the innocent in the face of extreme adversity. Leadership in the face of extreme cowardice. Humility instead of prideful boasting. Today, Saint George is still the patron saint of Britain as well as Georgia, Malta, Portugal, and parts of Spain (Catalonia and Aragon), as well as Romania. He is also the patron saint of shepherds, armorers, farmers, and scouts.

Of course we know that dragons don’t exist outside of fiction. But this story is an allegory for children and adults about how important courage is in the face of extreme evil. Many people celebrate Saint George’s day with a huge feast of shepherd’s pies and beer. But others have taken the partying up a notch with fussier food and special cocktails. While I’m happy eating shepherd’s pies, I do love fancy cocktails. Below is a recipe for my favorite drink in honor of Saint George called a Red Dragon. However you celebrate this day, I hope you do so with friends and family and lots of good food. And then give thanks that dragons aren’t real.

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