ST/JD/17

George

Gender

Male

Floruit (period)

Early Christian

Floruit date range

? - ?

Description

The cult of St George had developed sufficiently by the late fifth century for Pope Gelasius to supress the Acta S. Georgii. The legend of the slaying of the dragon was not attributed to him until the 12th century. His rank as patron of England probably dates from the reign of Edward III, who founded the Order of the Garter under St George’s patronage (c. 1347). George has been known in England, however, since the ninth century at least, when he appears in the ‘Old English Martyrology’ and several Anglo-Saxon kalendars. He is also recorded in the Martyrology of Oengus, from Ireland. Ælfric repeated the legend. The cult of St George took on a new dimension during the crusades. Richard I placed himself and his army under George’s protection. At the synod of Oxford in 1222 his feast was made a lesser holiday; in 1415 it was raised to a major feast day after the battle of Agincourt. ODS, 213-5.