Saint George and England

Saint George and England

In 1095 European Christians organised the First Crusade to take control of Palestine from its Muslim rulers.

When the crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 they killed all the Muslims in the city, men, women and children. They locked the Jews inside the synagogue, then burnt it down. They said they were doing this in the name of God.

Some Crusaders thought they saw Saint George helping them when they attacked Jerusalem. They said this had also happened at the battle of Antioch on their way to Jerusalem.

In fact Saint George would not have liked what the crusaders did in Jerusalem. The crusaders killed people for believing in another religion and the Roman Emperor Diocletian had killed Saint George because he believed in another religion.

The crusader knights went back to England and the rest of Europe thinking of Saint George as a special Saint. Knights and kings saw Saint George as their Saint. They decided that he should be the Patron Saint of England. The cross of Saint George became the flag of England.