St George and the Dragon, by Sabine Baring-Gould

From Wikimedia Commons.Licence: Public domain.

An early thirteenth-century icon of St George and the dragon, from the Novgorod region of Russia. The panels around the central picture show scenes from a mediaeval account of George’s martyrdom. Although the tale of George and the dragon is a myth, our age-long spiritual warfare between the forces of dark and light is not; indeed, it is a deeply Scriptural understanding of what the Christian life is. See 2 Corinthians 10:3-7, Ephesians 6:10-20. The very word ‘gospel’ (Old English for good news) translates the Greek word for news of an Imperial triumph in battle, ‘evangelion’.

St George and the Dragon

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HE transfixed the dragon, and then bade the princess pass her girdle round it, and fear nothing. When this was done, the monster followed like a docile hound. When they had brought it into the town, the people fled before it; but George recalled them, bidding them put aside all fear. Then the king and all his people, twenty thousand men, without counting women and children, were baptized, and George smote off the head of the monster.

Other versions of the story are to the effect that the princess was shut up in a castle, and that all within were perishing for want of water, which could only be obtained from a fountain at the base of a hill, and this was guarded by the dragon, from which St George delivered them.

This story was accepted by the uncritical clerks of the Middle Ages; but though the legend itself may be fable, St George himself is a fact.*

by Sabine Baring-Gould 1834-1924

abridged

Abridged and emended from ‘Lives of the Saints’ Volume 4: April’ (revised edition, 1914) by Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924).

Précis

St George challenged the dragon, and wounded it with his spear. He then led it through the town using the princess’s girdle as a leash. The people were fearful, but after George had reassured them they clamoured to be baptised, and George slew the dragon. This and similar tales are all romances; but St George was a real historical figure.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

How did George kill the dragon?

Suggestion

He beheaded it, presumably with a sword.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

St George wounded the dragon with his spear. The maiden gave George her girdle. He led the dragon through the town by it.

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