In one version of the story, Saint Margaret made the sign of the cross as the dragon was about to attack her, thereby vanquishing it. At once, the Devil, in the form of a dragon, appeared before her. While in prison, Saint Margaret prayed to God that the fiend who had fought with her would be revealed to her. Once again, it is in The Golden Legend that her story is found.Īt the age of 15, the saint was thrown into prison as she refused to renounce her Christian faith and the marriage proposal of Olybrius, a Roman official. Another Christian saint said to have fought a dragon was Saint Margaret of Antioch, a contemporary of Saint George. While Saint George is the most famous dragon slayer in the West, he was not the only one. ( Public Domain ) Saint Margaret of Antioch Also Faced Down a Dragon Saint George and the Dragon by Gustave Moreau, 1889/1890. They converted, and Saint George beheaded the dragon. Saint George offered to kill the dragon if the townspeople became Christian. Once this was done, the dragon was tamed and followed the pair back to the town. ![]() Having wounded the beast, Saint George asked the princess for her girdle, which he used to tie round the dragon’s neck. When the dragon appeared, the saint made the sign of the cross, charged at it on horseback, and speared it with his lance. Upon hearing the story of the dragon, Saint George resolved to fight the dragon and rescue the princess. The saint saw the princess beside the pond and asked her what was going on. The sacrificial victims were chosen by lot and on the day of Saint George’s arrival, it was the king’s daughter who was to be sacrificed. This town was menaced by a dragon living in a nearby pond that envenomed the whole countryside.įearing for their lives, the townspeople offered sacrifices to the dragon each day – first two sheep, then a man and a sheep, and finally the town’s children and youth. One day, the saint was traveling in Libya when he came to a town called Silene. Dragon Teeth Hunters and the Mindless Destruction of HistoryĪccording to The Golden Legend, Saint George was born in Cappadocia, in modern day Turkey, to Christian parents, and joined the Roman army when he grew up.A Tale of Taming Dragons, Chinese Symbol of Divine Power and Defeater of Evil.This work was originally compiled by the Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa, Blessed Jacobus da Varagine during the 13th century, and was first printed in the English language by William Caxton in 1483. His story is found in The Golden Legend, a collection of hagiographies, i.e. ![]() ![]() Although Saint George is believed to have lived during the 3rd century AD, the story of his battle with the dragon only began to be widely circulated about a millennium later, during the Middle Ages. The Story of Saint George and the DragonĪrguably the best-known dragon story from medieval Europe is the legend of Saint George and the Dragon. And there are many other varieties of dragons around the world. By contrast, in Eastern cultures, the dragon is wingless, associated with the weather, especially rainfall and floods, and regarded as an auspicious creature. In medieval European folklore, dragons have wings, breathe fire, and are normally seen as malevolent beings. Although most dragons have four legs, some are depicted as having two legs, or no legs at all. Generally speaking, the dragon is depicted as a huge creature that has a serpent-like body and the ability to fly. The dragon is a legendary creature found in many cultures around the world.
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