Editing Saint George (section)

==Legend==

=== Christian legends ===
There is little information on the early life of George. [[Herbert Thurston]] in ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' states that, based upon an ancient [[cult (religious practice)|cultus]], narratives of the early pilgrims, and the early dedications of churches to George, going back to the fourth century, "there seems, therefore, no ground for doubting the historical existence of St. George", although no faith can be placed in either the details of his history or his alleged exploits.<ref name="CE1913" />

The [[Diocletianic Persecution]] of 303, associated with [[military saints]] because the persecution was aimed at Christians among the professional soldiers of the [[Roman army]], is of undisputed historicity. According to [[Donald Attwater]],

{{blockquote|No historical particulars of his life have survived,&nbsp;... The widespread veneration for St George as a soldier saint from early times had its centre in Palestine at Diospolis, now [[Lydda]] (known as [[Lod]] to Israelis). St George was apparently martyred there, at the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth century; that is all that can be reasonably surmised about him.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Attwater|first1=Donald|title=Dictionary of Saints|year=1995|orig-year=1965|location=London|publisher=Penguin Reference|edition=Third|page=152}}</ref>}}

[[File:Martorell - Sant Jordi.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Saint George and the Dragon (Martorell)|Saint George and the Dragon]]'', 1434/35, by [[Bernat Martorell]]|305x305px]]
The saint's veneration dates to the 5th century with some certainty, and possibly even to the 4th, while the collection of his intercessory [[miracles]] gradually began during the [[medieval]] times.<ref name=":2">{{Harvnb|Cavallo|1997|p=71}}</ref> The story of the [[Saint George and the Dragon|defeat of the dragon]] is not part of Saint George's earliest hagiographies, and seems to have been a later addition.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

The earliest text which preserves fragments of George's narrative is in a Greek hagiography which is identified by [[Hippolyte Delehaye]] of the scholarly [[Bollandists]] to be a [[palimpsest]] of the 5th century.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/actasanctorum12unse#page/n148/mode/1up Acta Sanctorum], Volume 12, as republished in 1866</ref> An earlier work by [[Eusebius]], ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Church History]]'', written in the 4th century, contributed to the legend but did not name George or provide significant detail.<ref>[[Church History (Eusebius)]], book 8, chapter 5; [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0640%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D5%3Asection%3D1 Greek text here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114032922/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0640:book%3D8:chapter%3D5:section%3D1 |date=14 January 2022 }}, and [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/0265-0339,_Eusebius_Caesariensis,_Historia_ecclesiastica_%5BSchaff%5D,_EN.pdf English text here]. Eusebius's full text as follows:
{{blockquote|Immediately on the publication of the [[20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia|decree against the churches in Nicomedia]], a certain man, not obscure but very highly honored with distinguished temporal dignities, moved with zeal toward God, and incited with ardent faith, seized the edict as it was posted openly and publicly, and tore it to pieces as a profane and impious thing; and this was done while two of the sovereigns were in the same city,—the oldest of all, and the one who held the fourth place in the government after him. But this man, first in that place, after distinguishing himself in such a manner suffered those things which were likely to follow such daring, and kept his spirit cheerful and undisturbed till death.}}</ref> The work of the Bollandists [[Daniel Papebroch]], [[Jean Bolland]], and [[Godfrey Henschen]] in the 17th century was one of the first pieces of scholarly research to establish the saint's historicity, via their publications in {{Lang|la|[[Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca]]}}.<ref>{{citation | first = Christopher | last = Walter | year = 2003 | title = The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition | publisher = Ashgate Publishing | isbn = 1-84014-694-X | page = 110}}.
Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca 271, 272.</ref> [[Pope Gelasius I]] stated in 494 that George was among those saints "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God".<ref>{{Cite EB1911|page=737|wstitle=George, Saint|volume=11|quote=In the canon of Pope Gelasius (494) George is mentioned in a list of those 'whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God'}}</ref>

The most complete version, based upon the 5th-century Greek text but in a later form, survives in a translation into [[Syriac language|Syriac]] from around 600. Text fragments preserved in the [[British Library]] enabled an English translation in 1925.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Cross |editor1-first=Frank | editor-link1=F. L. Cross|editor2-last=Livingstone |editor2-first=Elizabeth |editor-link2=Elizabeth Livingstone|title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |date=1957 |pages=667–668 |edition=2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brooks |first1=Ernest W. |title=Acts of S. George |journal=[[Le Muséon]] |date=1925 |volume=38 |pages=67–115 |issn=0771-6494}}, online [https://archive.org/details/actsofsaintgeorg0000ewbr here].</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Michael |title=St George and the dragons: the making of English identity |date=2012 |publisher=Fonthill |isbn=978-1-78155-649-8 |chapter=3 The Greek and Latin traditions}}</ref>

[[File:Saint George the Dragon-Slayer by Georgios Klontzas (Byzantine museum).jpg|thumb|right|''Saint George the Dragon-Slayer'', 16th century, by [[Georgios Klontzas]]|195px]]
In the Greek tradition, George was born to noble Christian parents, in [[Cappadocia (Roman province)|Cappadocia]]. After his father died, his mother, who was originally from [[Lydda]], in [[Syria Palaestina]] (a part of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]]), returned with George to her hometown.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last1=Guiley|first1=Rosemary|title=The Encyclopedia of Saints|page=129|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABkgU0GOBbcC&pg=PA129 |quote=George was an historical figure. According to an account by Metaphrastes, George was born in Cappadocia (in modern Turkey) to a noble Christian family; his mother was Palestinian.|isbn=978-1-4381-3026-2|year=2001|publisher=Infobase }}</ref> He went on to become a soldier in the [[Roman army]]; but, because of his Christian faith, he was arrested and tortured, "at or near [[Lydda]], also called Diospolis"; on the following day, he was paraded and then [[beheaded]], and his body was buried in Lydda.<ref name=":0" /> According to other sources, after his mother's death, George travelled to the eastern imperial capital, [[Nicomedia]],<ref>{{citation |first= A. |last= Heylin |year= 1862 |title= The Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record |volume= 1 |page= 244}}. {{citation | first = John H | last = Darch | year = 2006 | title = Saints on Earth | publisher = Church House Press | isbn = 978-0-7151-4036-9 | page = 56}}. {{citation | first = Christopher | last = Walter | year = 2003 | title = The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition | publisher = Ashgate Publishing | isbn = 1-84014-694-X | page = 112}}.</ref> where he was persecuted by one ''Dadianus''. In later versions of the Greek legend, this name is rationalised to [[Diocletian]], and George's martyrdom is placed in the [[Diocletian persecution]] of AD 303. The setting in Nicomedia is also secondary, and inconsistent with the earliest cults of the saint being located in [[Lod|Diospolis]].<ref name=CathEnc />

George was executed by decapitation on 23 April 303. A witness of his suffering convinced Empress [[Alexandra of Rome]] to become a Christian as well, so she joined George in martyrdom. His body was buried in [[Lydda]], where Christians soon came to honour him as a martyr.<ref>{{citation | first = Fred | last = Hackwood | year = 2003 | title = Christ Lore the Legends, Traditions, Myths | publisher = Kessinger Publishing | isbn = 0-7661-3656-6 | page = 255}}.</ref><ref name="Butler">{{citation | first = Alban | last = Butler | year = 2008 | title = Lives of the Saints | isbn = 978-1-4375-1281-6}}.{{rp |166}}</ref>[[File:Saint George in the Acta Sanctorum.png|thumb|George in the ''[[Acta Sanctorum]]'', as collected in late 1600s and early 1700s. The Latin title ''De S Georgio Megalo-Martyre; Lyddae seu Diospoli in Palaestina'' translates as ''St. George Great-Martyr; [from] [[Lydda]] or Diospolis, in Palestine''.]]

The Latin {{Lang|la|Passio Sancti Georgii}} (6th century) follows the general course of the Greek legend, but Diocletian here becomes ''Dacian, Emperor of the Persians''. His martyrdom was greatly extended to more than twenty separate tortures over the course of seven years. Over the course of his martyrdom, 40,900 pagans were converted to Christianity, including the Empress Alexandra. When George finally died, the wicked Dacian was carried away in a whirlwind of fire. In later Latin versions, the persecutor is the Roman emperor [[Decius]], or a Roman judge named [[Dacian (prefect)|Dacian]] serving under Diocletian.<ref>Michael Collins, ''St George and the Dragons: The Making of English Identity'' (2018), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Z95VDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT129 p. 129] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113181917/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z95VDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT129 |date=13 November 2022 }}.</ref>

===St. George and the Dragon===
{{Main|Saint George and the Dragon}}
[[File:S.George (Novgorod, mid. 14 c, GTG).jpg|thumb|[[Russian icon]] (mid 14th century), [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorod]]|left|268x268px]]
The earliest known record of the legend of [[Saint George and the Dragon]] occurs in the 11th century, in a Georgian source,<ref>{{cite web|editor-last1=Thompson |editor-first1=Anne B. |editor-last2=Whatley |editor-first2=E. Gordon |editor-last3=Upchurch |editor-first3=Robert K. |url=https://metseditions.org/read/zK4gzmrPSgD6H51Rcvg4VINBMqzQbK7 |title=Saints' Lives in Middle English Collections |website=METS (Middle English Text Series) |publisher=The Rossell Hope Robbins Library |access-date=28 March 2025 }}</ref> reaching [[Latins (Middle Ages)|Latin]] Europe in the 12th century. In the ''[[Golden Legend]]'', by 13th-century [[Archbishop of Genoa]] [[Jacobus de Voragine]], George's death was at the hands of [[Dacian (prefect)|Dacian]], and around the year 287.<ref>{{Cite book |last=de Voragine |first=Jacobus |url=https://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume3.asp |title=The Golden Legend or Lives of the Saints |date=1275 |publisher=Temple Classics |editor-last=Ellis |editor-first=F.S. |edition=6th |volume=3 |publication-date=1931 |pages=58–61 |language=en |chapter=The Life of S. George}}</ref>

The tradition tells that a fierce [[dragon]] was causing panic at the city of Silene, [[Libya]], at the time George arrived there. To prevent the dragon from devastating people from the city, they gave two sheep each day to the dragon, but when the sheep were not enough they were forced to sacrifice humans, elected by the city's own people. Eventually, the king's daughter was chosen to be sacrificed, and no one was willing to take her place. George saved the girl by slaying the dragon with a lance. The king was so grateful that he offered him treasures as a reward for saving his daughter's life, but George refused it and insisted he give them to the poor. The people of the city were so amazed at what they had witnessed that they all became Christians and were baptised.<ref>{{cite book|first=Paolo O.|last=Pirlo|title=My first book of saints|date=1997|chapter=St. George|publisher=Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications|pages=83–85|isbn=971-91595-4-5}}</ref>

[[File:St George and the Dragon Verona ms 1853 26r.jpg|thumb|Miniature from a 13th-century ''{{Lang|la|Passio Sancti Georgii}}'' ([[Verona]])]]
Saint George's encounter with a [[dragon]], as narrated in the ''Golden Legend'', would go on to become very influential, as it remains the most familiar version in English owing to [[William Caxton]]'s 15th-century translation.<ref>{{citation | first = Jacobus | last = De Voragine | year = 1995 | title = The Golden Legend | publisher = Princeton University Press | isbn = 978-0-691-00153-1 | page = 238}}.</ref>

In the medieval romances, the lance with which George slew the dragon was named Ascalon, after the [[Levant]]ine city of [[Ashkelon]], today in Israel. The name ''Ascalon'' was used by [[Winston Churchill]] for his personal aircraft during World War II, according to records at [[Bletchley Park]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-148/getting-there-churchills-wartime-journeys/|title=Getting There: Churchill's Wartime Journeys|date=1 May 2013|website=The International Churchill Society|access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref> Iconography of the horseman with spear overcoming evil was widespread throughout the Christian period.<ref>Charles Clermont-Ganneau, "Horus et Saint Georges, d'après un bas-relief inédit du Louvre". ''Revue archéologique'', 1876</ref>

===Muslim legends===
George ({{langx|ar|جرجس}}, {{Transliteration|ar|Jirjis}} or ''{{Transliteration|ar|Girgus}}'') is included in some Muslim texts as a prophetic figure.{{clarify| reason = the page about Jesus describes Jesus as the "penultimate prophet" meaning there were no other prophets between Jesus and Mohammed, so this is inconsistent. If there's different interpretations that needs to be explained more clearly. |date=December 2024}} The Islamic sources state that he lived among a group of believers who were in direct contact with the last [[apostles of Jesus]]. He is described as a rich merchant who opposed the erection of [[Apollo]]'s statue by Dadan, the king of [[Mosul]]. After confronting the king, George was tortured many times to no effect, was imprisoned and was aided by angels. Eventually, he exposed that the idols were possessed by Satan, but was martyred when the city was destroyed by God in a rain of fire.<ref name=Littlefield>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNAWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA313|title=The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism|author=Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler|date=April 2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|page=313|isbn=978-1-4617-1895-6}}</ref>

Muslim scholars have tried to find a historical connection of the saint due to his popularity.<ref name=Numen>{{cite journal|journal=[[Numen (journal)|Numen]]|title='Georgic' Cults and Saints of the Levant|author=H. S. Haddad|publisher=Brill|year=1968|page=37}}</ref> According to Muslim legend, he was martyred under the rule of [[Diocletian]] and was killed three times but was [[Resurrection|resurrected]] every time. The legend is more developed in the Persian version of [[al-Tabari]] wherein he resurrects the dead, makes trees sprout and pillars bear flowers. After one of his deaths, the world is covered by darkness which is lifted only when he is resurrected. He is able to convert the queen but she is put to death. He then prays to God to allow him to die, which is granted.<ref>{{cite book|title= Encyclopaedia of Islam|edition=Second|volume= I, Part 2|editor1=P. Bearman|editor1-link=Peri Bearman|editor2=Th. Bianquis|editor3=C. E. Bosworth|editor3-link=C. E. Bosworth|editor4=E. van Donzel|editor5=W. P. Heinrichs|editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs|publisher=Brill|author=[[Bernard Carra de Vaux]]|page=1047}}</ref>

[[Al-Thaʿlabi]] states that George was from Palestine and lived in the times of some [[Disciples of Jesus in Islam|disciples of Jesus]]. He was killed many times by the king of Mosul, and resurrected each time. When the king tried to starve him, he touched a piece of dry wood brought by a woman and turned it green, with varieties of fruits and vegetables growing from it. After his fourth death, the city was burnt along with him. [[Ibn al-Athir]]'s account of one of his deaths is parallel to the [[crucifixion of Jesus]], stating, "When he died, God sent stormy winds and thunder and lightning and dark clouds, so that darkness fell between heaven and earth, and people were in great wonderment." The account adds that the darkness was lifted after his resurrection.<ref name=Numen />