The Probert Encyclopaedia of People

ST GEORGE

St George is the tutelary Saint of England, Portugal and Aragon, and was the patron Saint of chivalry in Europe in medieval times. His origin is obscure, but some writers claim he was a native of Cappadocia and rebuked Diocletian for his persecution of Christians. By this story he was arrested, tortured and executed at Nicomedia in 303. He was canonized in 494 or 496 by Pope Gelasius. The tradition of St George with a Dragon dates from the 6th century. In 1222 the Council of Oxford declared that his day, April the 23rd should be observed as a national holiday in England, and in 1350 he was made the patron of the Order of The Garter by Edward III.
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