St George
Legend has it that in the third century AD, the king of Silene's daughter was offered as a sacrifice to a dragon. St. George rode in on his white charger, slew the dragon and thus rescued the fair maiden.
"At the town of Silene, in Libya, there was a dragon, who was appeased by being fed two sheep a day; when these failed, the townsfolk offered by lot one of their young people. One day the lot fell on the King's daughter, who was led out to the sacrifice, dressed in her wedding gown. George appeared and transfixed the dragon with his spear and then using the Princess's girdle led the bemused dragon into the town, where it was beheaded." Catholic Encyclopaedia
Although St. George became England's patron saint in the 13th century, replacing Edward the Confessor, very little is known about the man himself - save that he lived in the 4th century and died in Lydda, Palestine.
Knighthoods of the Order of the Garter are bestowed on 23rd April. A red rose is associated with this day, although the saint's colour is in fact blue (after the shade of the original garter) and it is traditional to wear something blue.
Numerous festivities still take place in many English towns and villages, including fairs at Bewdley, Hatfield and Lichfield.
Background
He began to attract reverence in the 6th century when Ælfric included him in his homilies and saints' lives c.1000. It would seem that the legend of George slaying the dragon appeared as late as the 12th century, presumably originating with the story of Perseus and Theseus. It is believed his adoption as the English patron saint occurred when a church in Doncaster was dedicated to him in 1061. Crusaders also probably returned with accounts of the respect paid to him in the Middle East - the red cross depicted on the English flag may well have come from the same source.
