The Dragon acts as the villain of the extremely popular folk tale of Saint George and the Dragon, which has also become a part of Christian theology as a miracle attributed to Saint George, the story is also frequently told during English national events due to Saint George being the national saint of England.
In many of these stories Saint George is envisioned as an English knight but the real saint was in fact a Roman soldier, this is common to medieval legends, who often changed figures to be more like the dominant figures of medieval Europe, the theme of Saint George slaying the Dragon is often seen as the triumph of Christianity over paganism (or good over evil), similar to older tales such as David and Goliath.
History[]
According the legend the Dragon was a terrible monster that terrorized the lands and either resided in a cave or a lake, the dragon was described as venomous and people would sacrifice it animals in an attempt to appease its wrath.
Yet try as they may the Dragon grew more and more violent, in turn the people became more desperate and began to sacrifice humans to the monster, one human who was to face such a fate was one of the king's daughters.
Saint George was patrolling the area when he came across the princess and despite her pleas to flee he refused to abandon her, the Dragon would arrive to devour the princess but Saint George made the sign of the Cross before charging at the Dragon on horseback, delivering a mighty blow that severely injured the beast, he then asked the princess for her girdle and used said girdle to bind the Dragon, who followed the princess to the nearby village.
Saint George offered to slay the Dragon upon promise of the people converting to Christianity, when they did so (including the king himself) George beheaded the Dragon and the area where it was slain would produce a miraculous well that was said to cure all disease.