Michael Collins – St George in English History

Oxford-trained historian Michael Collins does research loved to capture everything on St George in one book St George in English History. He volunteered for the Royal Society of St George British Columbia Branch in 1997-98. How did this 3rd Century Christian martyr become the patron of England “because he represents the values that English people hold most dear: honouring God; loyalty and affection to the Crown; a sense of history and love of tradition; courage, honour, generosity, fidelity; justice and fair play; the underdog battling the odds; the independent spirit that follows its conscience whatever the cost, resists the tyrant and, if need be, risks death.” ? Re-examing historical facts bring some surprising results. The tradition of St George arose in Lydda (Lod) in modern-day Israel and not in Cappadocia, Turkey. He was almost certainly not put to death by emperor Diocletian in 303 AD but more likely by a local Palestinian governor under Decius in around 250. We know now that the adoption of the cross of St George (red cross on white drape) was much more haphazard and took much longer than long believed. St George didn’t become the patron saint of England at a stroke but gradually. The Anglo-Saxons, Richard I and the 1222 synod of Oxford had little or nothing to do with St George. The story we know was promoted by Henry VIII and late-Victorian writers (!)

Relics of the saint are to be found all over Europe, as well as churched in honor of St George, prayers, poems, stories, plays, paintings, sculptures, organizations, type faces and web sites. Collins explains the historical roots, the developments in the course of centuries and modern implications to the Scouting Movement, understanding of the figure of El-Khidr, a guide of Moses, in Islam and the choice of a public holiday in the UK.

Many books on St George simply recycled Sunday School stories on St George and the dragon and ignored the rich history of the re-telling of the tradition down many centuries. You can find the material convenient as St George’s Day approaches each year. Website authors, exhibition organizers and the writers of educational materials and fiction on the theme may also find much of value here. Tons of hyperlinks, pictures and resources are mentioned. The book is not an easy-readable storybook, but rather an information hub on St George.

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