Saint George is amongst the most popular and venerated of saints, named the patron saint of England, Portugal, Catalonia, Bulgaria, Malta, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Brazil. Observe the red "Saint George Cross" on numerous flags and crests of cities and villages for even more regional devotions to the saint. Despite this popularity, his history is a bit fuzzy—and, perhaps, a bit fanciful. We believe that he was of Greek Cappadocian ancestry (located in modern day Turkey), born into a Christian family. He became a Roman soldier under the Emperor Diocletian, eventually elevated to the elite Praetorian Guard. In 303 AD, however, a purge of Christians from the Roman Army (called The Diocletianic Persecution) demanded that George renounce his Christian faith. When he refused to do so, he was beheaded—on 23 April, which is his feast day to this day.
The story of Saint George and the Dragon seems to have been conceived some seven or eight hundred years later. This story tells of a city, Silene (perhaps Cyrene, now in modern-day Libya) which was being terrorized by a fearsome dragon. To prevent the dragon from devouring the human citizens, the city would provide the dragon with two sheep every day. Eventually, that was not enough for the dragon so the people began selecting human sacrifices by lot. One day, the King's daughter was drawn. The King offered a his fortune in exchange for her sacrifice but the people would not be moved. The princess was led to the lake, where the dragon lived, George rescued the princess by slaying the dragon—with his lance, called "Ascalon." In gratitude, the King offered George riches which he refused—instead directing the treasure to be given to the poor.
The bronze-clad Gothic Revival bookends, shown above, were made in the Twenties. It bears a deeply-sculpted bas relief rendering of Saint George, energetically thrusting his lance into the beast. Click on the photo above to learn more about these handsome bookends.
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