Today (26 April) the Church celebrates the life and martyrdom of George, c.304

The 'official line' is that George was probably a soldier living in Palestine at the beginning of the fourth century. He was martyred at Lydda in about the year 304, the beginning of the persecutions of Diocletian, and became known throughout the East as ‘The Great Martyr’.

There were churches in England dedicated to him before the Norman conquest.

The story of his slaying the dragon may be due to his being mistaken in iconography for St Michael, himself usually depicted wearing armour; or it may be a mistaken identification with Perseus’s slaying of the sea monster, a myth also associated with Lydda.

George replaced Edward the Confessor as patron saint of England following the Crusades, when returning soldiers brought back a renewed interest in his cult.

King Edward III made George patron of the Order of the Garter, which seems finally to have confirmed his position as England’s patron saint.

During the Middle Ages, people believed that St George was one of the 'Fourteen Holy Helpers' – a group of saints who could help during epidemic diseases. St George's protection was invoked against several nasty diseases, many fatal and with infectious causes, including the Plague and leprosy.

Below are depictions of George and the fourteen holy helpers Quattuordecim auxiliatores)