St Georges Day Bank Holiday

Myth and legend surrounds St George as it does most of the saints. Undoubtedly St George is amongst the most famous of Christian figures, however of the man himself, very little is known.

George is known for being a dragon slayer and saviour of maidens but although this has been a popularized story and appears in a number of medieval texts and portrayed in numerous works of art, it is a story with no actual basis in history. Symbolically however, the dragon was the beast used to represent the devil and this would tie with St George being a Christian saint. Although St George is meant to have slain the dragon in England, it is unlikely that George ever visited these lands.

George is widely accepted as having been a high ranking Roman officer who having adopted the Christian faith, was tortured by the emperor Diocletian in an effort to get him to denounce his faith in Christ and who, for bravely not denouncing his faith in-spite of his personal suffering, was beheaded in Palestine around AD 300.

George was adopted the patron saint of soldiers after he was supposed to have appeared, dressed in white robes with a red cross, to English Crusader knights during the battle and siege of Antioch (1098). This and many similar stories spread amongst the troops culminating in Richard I putting the whole army campaigning in Palestine under the protection of St George.


George was made Patron Saint of England by Edward III with the formation of the Order of the Knights of the Garter during the 1340’s an award primarily for chivalrous deeds. There is some debate on the actual date that this order was created as the original records were lost to fire. The enamelled badge of the order depicts St George on horseback slaying the dragon. This is an important symbol in its own right. George is widely considered to have been a mounted knight and became the patron saint of Cavalry. The word ‘chivalry’ is derived from cavalry and Chivalry is one of the basic tenets of the Order of the Knights of the Garter.

By the end of the fourteenth century, St George had become the acknowledged patron saint of England and the anniversary, April 23, was celebrated as a ‘lesser’ holiday. This was elevated to the status of ‘great feast day’, something akin to Christmas Day, following the Battle of Agincourt. In 1778 it was down rated to being a simple ‘Day of Devotion’ which is what it remains today.

St George’s role as patron saint of soldiers and archers gives context to Shakespeare’s lines in Henry V, Act 3, Scene 1;

“I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips

Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot:

Follow your spirit and upon this charge

Cry God for Harry, England and St George!”

More recently, St George was chosen by Lord Baden-Powell, its founder, to be the patron saint of the Scouting Movement. Scouts remember their Scouting Promise and Scouting Law on St George’s Day. In his work ‘Scouting for Boys’ Baden-Powell drew heavily on St George recounting the stories of daring exploits and chivalry.

St Georges’ Day is celebrated all over England on April 23 with the flag of St George (white background with a red cross) being widely flown. It is also customary to wear a red rose in the button hole. There are few public displays or processions to mark the occasion unlike St Patrick’s Day which is celebrated globally.

KV Sinclair