Miracle of St George and the Dragon. Novgorod

Hagiographic icons of St George were popular in Byzantine art. St George of Cappadocia was a soldier of noble birth put to death under Emperor Diocletian at Nicomedia on 23 April 303. The central image depicts the most famous episode from the life of the saint — his legendary slaying of the dragon. St George once visited a city named Selem, near which lived a dragon. The monster had to be fed daily with one of the citizens, drawn by lot. The day George arrived, the lot had fallen to the king’s daughter. Resolved that she should not die, the saint went out and killed the dragon. The princess was saved and the people of Selem converted to Christianity.