Focus on this artwork and discuss the The Legend of Saint George.
There are many versions of the legend of Saint George but the most traditional tells the story of Saint George in Libya. Saint George travelled to Libya and, upon arrival, he happened upon a pond where a ferocious dragon lived. The dragon was terrorizing the country and, every day, to appease the mighty beast, the people had been feeding the dragon a sheep. When the town had no sheep remaining, the dragon had demanded that a young maiden be substituted and sacrificed to him each day. Saint George discovered that all the young girls, save one princess, had already been sacrificed. The king promised his last daughter's hand to any knight that could slay the dragon and break the cursed cycle. The next day, the princess was to be sacrificed, but Saint George sent her back to the castle and approached the dragon himself. The dragon, roused by the hoof beats of Saint George's horse, exited his cave. Saint George was not afraid and keenly moved under the dragon to strike him under its wing where there were no protective scales. The dragon fell dead and the town was saved.Saint George was adopted as the patron saint of Catalonia in the 15th century as a mixture of celebrations: one part that adopted the legend as local lore, having occurred in Catalonia and not Libya, and the other, as an allegory for the battle between the early Christians and Moors in Spain.
Catalonia patron saint Saint George Libya Christians Moors