St. George is our patron saint: the patron of England. His emblem, which is a red cross on a white background, is the flag of England, and part of the British flag, the Union flag. St George's emblem was adopted by Richard The Lion Heart (Coeur de lion) and brought to England in the 12th century. The monarch's soldiers wore it on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle.
St George was not English but a brave Roman soldier who protested against the Romans' torture of Christians and died for his beliefs. The popularity of St George in England stems from the time of the first Crusades when it is said that the Normans saw him in a vision and were victorious.
One of the best-told stories about Saint George is his fight with a dragon. It is however highly unlikely that he ever fought a dragon, and even more unlikely that he actually visited our country. Despite all this, St George is known throughout the world as the dragon-slaying patron saint of England.
Our patron saint, St George, is always depicted as a knight carrying a shield with a red cross (or a banner with a red cross), generally sitting upon a horse and always killing a dragon.
