Don’t bang the drum
Don’t raise a cheer
The liberals might
hear
St George’s day
Must pass unnoticed
Uncelebrated
Unheeded
St George
Must remain
Unheralded
No fanfare
No flags unfurled
Lest we fall foul
Of patriotism
Or jingoism
There must be
No displays
Of Patriotic fervour
Or English pride
We must play it down
Let it pass
Lest we offend
After all this is
England
Though he is immortalized in the tale
Of Saint George and
the Dragon
It is as one of the
Fourteen Holy Helpers
That his patronage is
built upon
The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in Roman Catholicism because their intercession was believed to be particularly effective against various diseases.
This
group of “helpers in need” originated in 14th century Rhineland, due largely as
a result of the epidemic that grew to become the Black Death, but their
veneration spread almost as quickly as the plague
Saint
George was a Greek who became an officer in the Roman army.
His
father was the Greek Gerondios from Cappadocia, Asia Minor, while his mother
was from the city Lydda, which was a Greek city in Palestine dating from the
times of the conquest of Alexander the Great.
It
was ironic that George became an officer in the Roman army in the Guard of
Diocletian who was ultimately the emperor who put him to death for his beliefs.
He
has a great many Patronages around the world, as well as a wide range of
professions, organizations and disease sufferers and domestic animals.
St Georges Day is celebrated on April 23rd.
Long, long ago in an eastern land
There
did a heathen city stand
A
city besieged by a malevolent beast
Who
upon the people’s flesh did feast
Poisoning
victims with rancid breath
The
dragon then consumed their flesh
The
Kings own daughter a maiden fair
Would
be sacrificed at the dragon’s lair
In
bridal white which showed virginity
She
embraced her fate with dignity
Then
came George a chivalrous night
Upon
the field the creature to fight
The
beast reared up he took his chance
And
disabled the dragon with his lance
The
wounded beast fell to the ground
He
captured it then and had it bound
He
would kill it if that they yearned
If
the people to Christianity turned
When
fifteen thousand souls agreed
He
dispatched the dragon from his steed
So,
a legend born in Christian prayer
The
tale of George the dragon slayer
Emperor of Rome Diocletian
Persecuted
people’s Christian
And
in the Roman Empire wide
Were
the Christian martyrs tried
George
the champion knight
Bearer
of Christendom’s light
Tried
for love of Christ divine
Was
put to death in Palestine
Seven
hundred years had gone
The
Crusaders holy war raged on
When
defeat at Antioch was feared
A
vision of Saint George appeared
The
English soldiers rallying
Fighting
brave for God and King
Against
the odds with fewer men
They
win victory over the Saracen
Champion
knight of Christendom
The
patron saint of our kingdom
George
the saint both now and then
The
patron saint of Englishmen
