23/04/2026
🏴 Happy Saint George’s Day! 🏴
🤔 But who was he? ⚔️ An English crusader knight who killed a dragon? 🐲
❌ Not quite.
It’s a common misconception that Saint George was a medieval English knight who went on crusades. In fact, the legend of him slaying a dragon was added hundreds of years after his death.
Not only was he not English, but he had never even set foot in England. Saint George, or George of Lydda as he is also commonly known, was born in Cappadocia, Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), to a pagan Greek father and a Christian Palestinian mother sometime in the 3rd century. In secret, his mother brought him up as a Christian, much to his father's dismay. He and his mother moved back to his mother's native land, Palestine (modern-day Israel). Later in life, George became a soldier in the Roman army, eventually rising to the rank of Praetorian guard (the emperor's personal bodyguards) under Diocletian.
Despite his loyalty to the empire, Saint George was executed in 303 AD for refusing to renounce his Christian faith, elevating him to sainthood. He is venerated worldwide among Christians, Muslims, and Druze, and serves as the patron saint not only of England but also of Aragon, Catalonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, and Palestine.
Due to his military service, Saint George was a popular choice to invoke for divine protection of soldiers. However, despite having died hundreds of years before, he became heavily associated with the crusades, a conflict over who would control the holy lands (Israel). He was even commonly depicted as a crusader, wearing (at the time) contemporary medieval armour. In modern times, Saint George is often celebrated by the far-right and ethnonationalists. Not because he is a revered Christian saint, but because they believe he represents ‘Englishness’ and his incorrect association with the Crusades due to its history of violence and war against Muslims. Some go so far as to quote ‘deus vult’, meaning ‘God’s will’ in Latin, a war cry used by Crusaders.
Understanding Saint George’s true history helps counter modern misuse of his story. When individuals use Christianity or Saint George’s legacy for bigoted purposes, addressing the facts can challenge false narratives.
Call it out.
