The St George's cross
St George's Cross (or the Cross of St George) is a
centred red cross on a white background. This pattern was
associated with
Saint George from
medieval times.
St
George's Cross has been adopted on the coat of arms and flags of
several countries and cities which have St George as a patron
saint, notably England
, Georgia
, Genoa
and Barcelona
.
The cross
is also found, for various reasons, on the provincial flag of
Huesca
, Zaragoza
and Teruel
as well as
the municipal flag for numerous cities, including Montreal
, Almería
, Milan
, Genoa, Padua
, Zadar
and Freiburg im
Breisgau
. It is also the basis for the Four Moors
flag of
Sardinia.
Guernsey
was permitted to use it as its state flag between
1936 and 1985.
Historically, the cross appeared on many now extinct flags, emblems
and coats of arms, such as that of the
Swabian League in late Medieval Germany.
St George's Cross in England
From 1190 to 1707
St
George's Cross was originally the flag of Genoa and was
adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships
entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the
powerful Genoese fleet. The maritime Republic of Genoa was rising and going to
become, with its rival Venice
, one of the most important powers in the
world. The English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the
Doge of Genoa for this privilege. It was adopted for the uniform of
English soldiers during the
Crusades of the
eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, particularly by the
Knights Templar.
"The St. George's flag, a red cross on a white
field, was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for
their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the
protection of the Geonoese fleet. The English Monarch paid
an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this
privilege."
H.R.H. The Duke
of KentFrom about 1277, due to already
widespread use, St George's cross officially became the national
flag of England and Wales. The three
lions remained the coat of arms and flag of the king.
After the
dynastic union of England and
Scotland
in 1603 (the so-called "Union of the Crowns"), a combined British flag was created
in 1606, initially for maritime display, later restricted to the
King's ships, by combining St George's Cross with the St Andrew's Cross (the flag of Scotland). The St George
flag remained the flag of England and Wales for other purposes
until the Acts of Union 1707.
At the
union, the first Union Flag become
official for all purposes in the new Kingdom of
Great Britain
.
Modern usage
Nevertheless, in heraldry the St George's
Cross continued to be used in the fly of standards in English and
Welsh grants of arms (until a gradual change in practice in the
nineteenth century). It is still used to represent England and by
those who wish to show pride in England specifically. Nowadays this
is primarily done at events such as international football and rugby
union competitions. (Since the adoption of a separate Welsh flag in 1959, the St George's Cross has
become associated with England alone, rather than England and Wales.)
The flag of St George is also the rank flag of an Admiral in the Royal Navy, and civilian craft are forbidden to
fly it. However, ships which took part in the rescue operation at
Dunkirk during World War II are allowed to fly it as a
jack.
Churches belonging to the Church of
England (unless for special reasons another flag is flown by
custom) may fly the St George's Cross. The correct way (since an
order from the Earl Marshal in 1938) is
for the church to fly the St George's cross, with the arms of the
diocese in the left-hand upper corner of the
flag.
The flag
of St George has since the late 20th century enjoyed a resurgence
in popularity partly due to football-inspired nationalism, and also
in response to the devolution movements in Scotland and Wales
.
Similar flags in European countries
Saint George is the patron saint of England and of
various other countries and regions. The St George's Cross
is a traditional symbol in the Kingdom of Aragon
since the
13th century, and it appears in the flags of the provinces of
Huesca, Zaragoza and Teruel.
The St
George's Cross is also the symbol of Bologna
, Freiburg
, Genoa and Milan; and is used
in three other European
countries. It was used on the coat of arms of the
Archbishopric of Trier.
On the
flag of the city of Barcelona
in Spain
it is
quartered with the arms of the Counts of Catalonia; on the flag of Georgia it is accompanied by four small red crosses.
The Lega Nord, a popular Italian political party
campaigning for the independence of Northern Italy, also uses the St George's
Cross as an official symbol.
The flag of St George should not be confused with the flag of the Red
Cross. The flag of St George has a red cross which reaches from
edge to edge of the flag. The flag of the red cross, like the
Swiss flag, has a cross which
does not reach the edges.
St George's Cross in the United States
For centuries, and as carried by crusaders throughout Europe during
the crusades, it has long been referred to as "God's Flag". This
interpretation of the Flag of Saint George as "God's Flag" was
carried to America by early members of the Church of England and
Anglican community in early American history. Rather than
representing English nationality, and instead recognized in the
United States as "God's Flag", provisions have been made in United
States Code (US Flag Code as specified in 4 USC Title 7) as the
only flag allowed to fly higher than the US national flag in
certain highly restricted circumstances—specifically, only during
church services for naval personnel when these services are
conducted by a naval chaplain while on a vessel at sea, and even
then only in pennant form. During the 21st century the US Navy has
adopted a navy church pennant that replaces the red cross of St
George with a blue cross.
St George's Cross in Georgia
The flag with St George (who is the patron
saint of Georgia) cross was used in 5th century by the Georgian King Vakhtang Gorgasali as the symbol of his
state and nation. In 13th century Queen
Tamar of Georgia used the St.
George flag during her campaign against Seljuk Turks. The four Jerusalem
crosses were later added By King George V of Georgia who drove out the
Mongols from Georgia in
1334.The flag fell out during the Russian
annexation of Georgia and abolition of the Georgian monarchy. However the
flag was revived by the Georgian patriotic movement in the 1990s. A
majority of Georgians, including the influential Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox and
Apostolic Church, supported the restoration of medieval flag of
Georgia. The flag was finally adopted by the Georgian parliament on January 14,
2004. It was formally endorsed by a presidential decree signed by
Mikheil Saakashvili on January
25, following his election as President of Georgia.
St George's Cross in New South Wales
The state
badge of the Australian state of New South Wales
features St. George's cross with a golden lion
passant guardant in the centre of the cross and a golden eight
pointed star on each of the cross limbs.
St George's Cross in Sardinia
The flag of the Italian Region of Sardinia,
popularly known also as the Four Moors flag, consists of a red
cross on a white background, with a maure (moor's head) in each
quarter. The Flag of Sardinia,
according to the Iberic tradition, was created by King of Aragon
Peter I after the victory of Alcoraz (1096) in the city of Huesca,
Aragón. The battle was won with the help of St. George, therefore
the red cross, who abandoned on the battle field the heads of the
four defeated Moorish kings.
St George's Cross in Sweden
In
Sweden
and Scandinavia the definition of a St George's
cross is extended to also include a centred cross, normally red but
not necessarily, with triangular arms that do not
fill the square. Internationally this is often referred to
as a subgroup of Cross pattée,
although this type of cross is sometimes not included in the Cross
pattée variations.
For example is the cross of the Swedish
Order of Freemasons defined back in 1928 by the King of Sweden to be a red St George's
cross with triangular arms.
In Finnish the Cross pattée -type is called merely "Yrjön risti",
Georges cross, while the red cross on a white background is called
"Pyhän Yrjön risti", Saint Georges cross.
Gallery
>File:Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg| Flag of
Greece
(1828-1978)File:Flag_of_Genoa.svg| Flag of GenoaFile:Flag of Barcelona.svg|Flag of
BarcelonaFile:Royal_flag_of_Ramiro_I_of_Asturies.svg|Flag of
the Kingdom of
AsturiasFile:Trier Arms.svg|Coat of arms of the Archbishopric of TrierFile:Coat of
Arms of Ontario.png |Coat of
arms of OntarioFile:Amersfoort_flag_outline.svg |Flag of
Amersfoort
File:Wappen Landkreis Konstanz.png|Coat of
arms of Konstanz
File:Flag of PalaeologusEmperor.svg|Flag of
the Byzantine EmpireFile:Flag of
the City of London.svg|Flag
of the City of LondonFile:Flag of Sardinia.svg|Flag of SardiniaFile:Flag of Huesca
(province).svg|Flag of the province of HuescaFile:Escudo de Aragón.svg|Coat of Arms of
AragonFile:Armes sant jordi.gif|Armes de Sant
Jordi; Medieval Catalan standardFile:Naval Ensign of the United
Kingdom.svg|The United Kingdom's White
EnsignFile:Shield of Alberta.svg|Arms of Alberta
File:Flag_of_Guernsey.svg|Flag of GuernseyFile:Flag of Alderney.svg|Flag of Alderney
File:G manitoba.gif|The Coat of Arms of the
Canadian Province of Manitoba
File:Flag of Sark.svg|Flag of Sark
File:York City Council.png|The Coat of Arms
of the City of York
,
EnglandFile:Flag_of_Herm.svg|Flag of Herm
File:Nanaimo_Flag.svg|Flag of the City of
Nanaimo
, British
Columbia
in Canada
File:Frimurarkors.svg|Cross of the Swedish Order of
FreemasonsFile:Wappenschild.jpg|Coat of arms of the 16th
century Swabian League with a St
George's Cross (colored woodcut by Hans
Burgkmair, 1522).
See also
Notes
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
