Editing Saint George (section)

=== 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>