St George and the Dragon

The story of St George and the dragon is well known. It takes place in the town of Silene in Libya. Silene had one major problem: a dragon. It appeared one day, and the people of the town tried to fight it off but were afraid of its might and fled.

From that day on the people of Silene appeased the dragon with sheep, but when that was not enough they begun to sacrifice the children and young people of the town. These would be chosen by lot every day. And so came the day that the daughter of the king's name was chosen by lot, and she was sent off to be fed to the dragon.

The king, of course, did not want to see his daughter die, and offered to give up all his wealth that his daughter might be spared and another sent in her place. The people of the town refused, saying their own children had been fed to the dragon it was only right that his might now be sacrificed.

But it would come to pass that the king's daughter would not perish, for her savior had arrived: St George. He was passing by when he saw her being taken to be slaughtered. Asking what was happening, the princess told him to flee lest he perish as well. The brave knight refused, and went with the princess to face the dragon.

St George, brandishing his spear, attacked the dragon, wounding it in the side and throwing it to the ground. He then asked for the princess's girdle, which he tied around the dragon's neck. The dragon then came under the control of the princess, and they brought it back to the town.

At the town, St George slew the dragon, and all the people of the town were baptized after seeing this display of the power of Christ. They offered St George all their wealth, but he told them to give it to the poor and then went on his way.

The Life of St George

The above story of St George and the dragon is the same as that told in the Aurea Legenda, the "Golden Legend." This was one of the most popular collections of tales of the saints in the High Middle Ages and was responsible for popularizing the story of St George and the Dragon.