Is there any evidence that the use of a dragon by the Welsh influenced the English in their choice of a dragon-slayer as England's patron saint?

mementoflash

An interesting theory but I was unable to find any facts to support it: The cult of St George probably first reached the Kingdom of England when the crusaders returned from the Holy Land in the 12th century. King Edward III of England (reigned 1327 – 1377) was known for promoting the codes of knighthood and in 1348 founded the Order of the Garter. During his reign, George came to be recognised as the patron saint of England. Edward dedicated the chapel at Windsor Castle to the soldier saint who represented the knightly values of chivalry which he so much admired and the Garter ceremony still takes place there every year. Shakespeare firmly placed St George within the national conscience in his play Henry V in which the English troops are rallied with the cry “God for Harry, England and St George.” With the revival of Scottish and Welsh nationalism, there has been renewed interest within England in St George, whose memory had been in abeyance for many years. This is most evident in the St George's flags which now have replaced Union Flags in stadiums where English sports teams compete. Nevertheless, St George’s Day still remains a relatively low-key affair with the City of London not publicly celebrating the patron saint. However, the City of Salisbury does hold an annual St George’s Day pageant, the origins of which are believed to go back to the thirteenth century. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George Apr 23 06, 9:43 PM

gmackematix

It seems the legend of George and the Dragon was popularised in the 13th century by a Genoan chronicler called Jacobus de Voragine. He wrote this among other fanciful lives of saints in a book called "Golden Legend". The first stories of the Welsh dragon appear to relate to the 5th century and involve a red dragon (the Celts) defeating the white dragon (the Saxons). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Ddraig_Goch I'll admit that the choice of St George as official patron saint in 1399 was indeed probably more to do with his knighthood chivalry and his association with the Christian cross than the nature of the beast he kills. Still, it is a little odd that England's national saint is most famous for killing the symbol of one of its neighbours... Apr 24 06, 5:37 PM