According to legend, Saint George was born in Turkey in the year 270, the son of rich and noble parents. He was a Christian martyr whose biography has been filled with stories and legends: he has been described as a soldier who after turning to Christianity suffered the greatest tortures and gave rise to much talked about conversions.

At the end of the first millennium, the legend of his fight with a terrible dragon in order to save a beautiful princess or damsel took root. He soon became an object of worship throughout the Christian world and 23rd April has always been celebrated as Saint George’s day in the oriental, Roman and Hispanic-Mozarabic calendars.

In Aragón, devotion for Saint George, who is represented as the ideal Christian knight, became particularly important in the 12th century thanks to the Military Orders, stories about the crusades and especially the Aragonese royal family.

He was associated with the battle of Alcoraz (Huesca) in 1096, during which he was said to have helped the army of King Pedro I. This battle is surrounded by legends that tell how the Moorish troops situated in Huesca asked for help from king Almozaben of Zaragoza. He came to their aid with many troops. All the nobles from the mountain area went to the Christian camp with their followers but the Muslim army was much larger. At that moment, Saint George appeared with a red cross on his chest and shield. He was accompanied by another knight who was also wearing the same crosses. When the battle began, everyone was overwhelmed by his bravery and the Christians won.

They searched in vain for the anonymous knight, Saint George, in order to thank him but he disappeared in the same way he had appeared. They found his companion who told them that when he had been in Antioquia, during the crusades, his horse had been killed and as he was lying on the floor he shouted "Go and get them, Saint George!” Legend has it that a young knight immediately appeared by his side, picked him up onto his horse and flew him from the holy land to Aragón, to the plains of Alcoraz to help the Christian cause in Huesca.

The knight was Saint George and a hermitage was built in his honour on the site of the battle. The cruz roja en campo blanco became a symbol of Aragón and Saint George has officially been the patron saint of Aragón since the middle ages.

© Prames