Download Saint George Information Book - Text Version (Reading

St George and the Dragon – Reading Level A
Saint George is a popular saint in many
countries. He is the patron saint of
England, which means he was chosen
as the saint who most represented the
nation’s character and beliefs.
Historians disagree about some of the
details of Saint George’s life. Like many
legendary figures, stories are told about
him, but not all of them are based on
fact.
George is the patron saint of the Scout
Association. Children take part in parades
every year.
Saint George is also the patron saint of
the Scout Association. Scouts, Cubs
and Beavers take part in Saint George’s
Day parades every year.
Although George is often represented
as a medieval knight, he was actually
born in the 3rd century in Syria. His
parents were both Greek Christians. His
father, Gerontius, was a high-ranking
officer in the Roman army.
George decided to follow the same
career as his father. As a teenager, he
travelled to the Roman city of
Nicomedia, to join the Roman army.
George joined the Roman army as his
father had done. He became an important
guard to the emperor.
George rose to become an imperial
guard for the Roman emperor of the
time, Diocletian.
St George and the Dragon – Reading Level A
The emperor ordered his soldiers to
worship Roman gods. George refused
because he was a Christian.
At this time, some Romans were
becoming Christians. There was
disagreement about this though, and
many Romans still worshipped their
traditional gods – like Juno, Venus and
Jupiter. Emperor Diocletian, who wasn’t
a Christian, decided that all his soldiers
should make a religious sacrifice to the
Roman gods. George felt that he
couldn’t do it as it was against his
beliefs.
Diocletian tried to bribe George as it
was embarrassing that a leading officer
wouldn’t follow his orders, but George
refused.
George was imprisoned for his refusal to
give up Christianity. Even when he was
horribly tortured, he stayed true to his
faith.
Eventually, the emperor ordered his
execution. Before his death, George
gave away all of his wealth to poor
people. He was beheaded on 23rd April,
303 AD.
George was imprisoned and then killed
because he refused to give up Christianity.
Diocletian was to be the last Roman
emperor to persecute Christians. After
Diocletian’s death, Constantine became
the first Christian emperor of Rome, and
Christianity became its official religion.
St George and the Dragon – Reading Level A
George is the dragon-slaying hero in a
famous legend.
The story tells of a town that was being
terrorised by an evil dragon. The
townspeople were forced to sacrifice
their children to satisfy the dragon’s
hunger.
In a famous story, George killed an evil
dragon. People became Christians in his
honour.
One day, it was the turn of the king’s
daughter to be fed to the dragon.
George was riding past and heard her
frantic cries. He fought the dragon and
rescued the princess.
Impressed by his bravery, the people in
the town decided to become Christians,
just like George.
The story of George was brought back
to Europe by Christian knights returning
from a religious war called the
Crusades.
Saint George became the patron saint of
England. His flag is the red cross.
Although George was a Roman soldier
from the 3rd century, in stories and
paintings he was shown as a crusading
knight from the 12th century. The red
cross was the crusaders’ emblem and
was known as the ‘St George cross’. It
was later flown by the army and navy,
and now forms part of the Union Jack.
Saint George was made the patron saint
of England in the 14th century.