St. George

St. George is a legendary knight who died in 303 A.D. and was declared the protector of England. He may have been a Ritter ancestor and probably the first Schattenjäger.

Background
The story of Saint George and the Dragon was first included in Jacobus de Voragine's collection of Saints' lives written about 1275. The story is a classic on: a dragon threatens a village and demands regular sacrifices of virgins as a pay-off for leaving the villagers otherwise unmolested. St. George, a young hero, slays the dragon and salves the life of a princess.

The story is an allegory of good triumphing over evil. Christian history states that St. George in reality was a protester against an anti-Christian edict and was beheaded (and thus martyred) in 303 AD. He became patron saint of England. due to the strength of the dragon story. His emblem is a red cross on a white background, later adopted by the Knights Templar.

Trivia
The Rittersberg chapel has a big stained glass window featuring St. George fighting the dragon however this depiction resembles a contemporary modern fantasy image of a knight fighting a fire-breathing dragon. In religious iconography however, St. George is depicted usually mounted on a horse, impaling a diminutive reptilian beast (sometimes interpreted as a crocodile) with a spear.