The Dragon Stone

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Europe and Elsewhere

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The story of St. George is a very widespread one. Not only is it told across Europe, but it is found in the Near East and Africa. It has been carried to Oceania and the Americas by European settlers. The Christian church helped to popularise the story, using St. George to represent the church fighting evil. He is the patron saint of England. His flag, a red cross on white, has been incorporated into the flag of the United Kingdom due to this.

Exactly where the story originates from is difficult to place. St. George has been everything from a Roman solider to a European Crusader, coming back from fighting in Israel. The origin is most likely in southern Europe or the Near East.

The basic version of this tale is that a town was under threat from a dragon, who was destroying the local countryside. At first, the townsfolk fed sheep to the dragon. The sheep soon ran out. Then they began to feed maidens to the dragon, but soon only the princess was left. Whilst she was tied up, St. George came by, killed the dragon, and returned the princess to the town. Different regions tell their own versions of this story, changing details such as the names and locations.

The Golden Legend
The Golden Legend was a book written in the 13th century by Jacobus de Voragine. This is the version of the story from that book. The city in this version, Silene, does not actually exist.

Saint George was born in Cappadocia. Whilst travelling through Libya he arrived at the city of Silene.

Silene had a lake next to in. In this lake lived a dragon. At night, the dragon would come out of the lake and poison people in the city with its venomous breath. The people started to feed the dragon two sheep a day to stop the attacks. When they were running low on sheep, they would feed a sheep and a human. The humans were chosen at random from the children and young people of the town.

One day the king's daughter was chosen. The king begged the people to let him keep his daughter, offering all that he owned. The people refused, having already sent their own children to die. They did agree to give him eight days before the girl had to be offered to the dragon.

The day of the offering came. The king dressed his daughter in wedding clothes, as though she was going to be married. She was led to the lake and left there for the dragon.

It was at this point that George arrived at Silene, to see the young girl by the lake in her wedding clothes. He asked her what was happening. The girl begged him to leave so that he would not die too. When he asked why, she told him that the dragon was coming for her. Saint George promised to deliver her from the dragon.

The dragon rushed up to them as they spoke. George attacked it with his lance and threw it to the ground. He then told the girl to tie her girdle around the dragon's neck. Once this was done, the dragon was led back into the city. The people fled in terror, despite the dragon being docile as it was led.

St. George said to them that if they were baptized, he would kill the dragon. The king and the people were baptized, and George cut off the dragon's head. The dead dragon was taken outside the city on his orders and left in the fields.

Selected References: Caxton, William (1483)

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