![]() Today we honor St. George - patron saint of England. England's flag (seen here) is called The Cross of St. George and is a simple flag with a long history. While the origin of the flag is often disputed, it can be traced back to at least 1277 but really did not gain national status until the 16th century. It is said that the symbol of a red cross on white is from the Crusades and represented England. Interestingly, the Pope gave that symbol to the French and gave the English a white cross on a red field. In 1188, they switched their symbols and the English started using the red cross on white. The symbol eventually became a flag. The flag was used until 1606 when it was merged with Scotland's flag to form the first Union Flag. However, the Cross of St. George was still used extensively at sea and as such would have been the first English flag flown in what would later be the United States. Although the current version of the Union Flag represents the combined kingdoms of England, Scotland, and (Northern) Ireland, the Cross of St. George still represents England. It is still a valid flag and is still seen flying over the UK. Just don't fly this flag at sea - that right belongs to the Royal Navy only. We purchased a great version of this flag from this site. They were hand stitched in the UK using a thick polyester weave (not the same material as those really cheep polyester flags). We were very pleased with these flags.
2 Comments
Robert Bassolino
5/2/2012 12:14:27 pm
I enjoyed learning about the history.
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5/28/2012 11:55:24 pm
This blog post is excellent probably because of how well the subject was developed. I like some of the comments too though I would prefer we all stay on the subject in order add value to the subject!
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