Why was st.george chosen to be the patron saint of england?
ST GEORGE – PATRON SAINT OF ENGLAND Very little is known about St. George’s life, but it is thought he was a high ranking officer in the Roman army who was killed in around AD 303. The best-known story about St. George is his fight with a dragon, but it is highly unlikely that he ever fought a dragon, and even more unlikely that he ever visited England, however his name was known there as early as the eighth-century. (In the Middle Ages the dragon was commonly used to represent the Devil.) King Edward III made him the Patron Saint of England when he formed the Order of the Garter in St. George’s name in 1350, and the cult of the Saint was further advanced by King Henry V, at the battle of Agincourt in northern France. Shakespeare made sure that nobody would forget St. George, and has King Henry V finishing his pre-battle speech with the famous phrase, ‘Cry God for Harry, England and St. George!’ King Henry himself, who was both warlike and devout, was thought by his followers to posses
