Saint George's Cross is a red cross on a white background. It was originally the
ensign of the Republic of Genoa and was used successively by crusaders and then
adopted by England. It became associated with Saint George, the "warrior saint"
often depicted as a crusader from the late Middle Ages.
The cross has appeared on many flags, emblems, standards, and coats of arms,
such as that of the Swabian League in the pre-Reformation Holy Roman Empire,
and it was introduced as the emblem of several countries and cities which have
or had St George as a patron saint, notably the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy
of Milan, the Kingdom of England, and Georgia in the Caucasus.
The cross is also found, for various reasons, on the provincial flags of
Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel and Barcelona. It is used extensively across
Northern Italy and is the symbol of Bologna, Padua, Genoa, Reggio Emilia,
Mantua, Vercelli, Alessandria, and most notably of Milan, where it is often
called the "Cross of St Ambrose". Origins and medieval use
Saint George became widely venerated as a "warrior saint" during the Third
Crusade. There was a legend that he had miraculously assisted Godfrey of
Bouillon; also that Richard the Lionheart had placed himself under his
protection. According to legend, the crusaders
received miraculous help at the siege of Antioch on 28 June 1098 from a great
army on white horses, clothed in white and bearing white banners, led by St
George, St Demetrius, and St Mercurius. However, there was no association of the
red cross with St George before the end of the crusades.
The red cross in particular was associated with the Knights Templar,
from the time of the Second Crusade, but in 1188 red and white crosses were
chosen to identify the French and English troops in the "Kings' Crusade"
of Philip II of France and Henry II of England, respectively. Together with the
Jerusalem Cross, the plain "George's Cross" became a recognizable symbol of
the crusader from about 1190, and in the 13th century it came to be used as a
standard or emblem by numerous leaders or polities who wanted to associate
themselves with the crusades. The red-on-white combination was chosen by
Genoa and Aragon, among others. Saint George was depicted as a crusader knight
during this time, but the red cross had no particular association with him. A
crusader-era fresco in the crypt of Trani cathedral shows Saint George
wearing a white cross on a red surcoat. The white-on-red version was chosen as
the Reichsbanner by the German crusaders in the 12th century, and Emperor
Frederick II used it in his European campaigns of the 1250s after he had
returned from the crusades. It continued to be used as the Reichssturmfahne of
the Holy Roman Empire, eventually giving rise to the flag of Savoy and the
present-day flags of Switzerland and Denmark).
The association with the Saint of the red-on-white cross probably arises in
Genoa, which had adopted these tinctures for their flag and George as their
patron saint in the 12th century. A vexillum beati Georgii is mentioned in
the Genovese annals for the year 1198, referring to a red flag with a depiction
of St George and the dragon. An illumination of this flag is shown in
the annals for the year 1227. The Genoese flag with the red cross was used
alongside this "George's flag", from at least 1218, and was known as the
insignia cruxata comunis Janue. The flag showing the saint himself was the city's
principal war flag, but the flag showing the plain cross was used alongside it in
the 1240s. The cross ceased to be a symbol directly
associated with the "taking of the cross", the resolve to fight in a
crusade, after the failure of the crusades in the 14th century. With the
development of systematic heraldry, there was great demand for variations of
the cross symbol and associated terminology. Juliana Berners reports
that there were Crossis innumerabull born dayli. The term "St. George's
cross" was at first associated with any plain Greek cross touching the edges of
the field. Thomas Fuller in 1647 spoke of "the plain or S. George's cross" as
"the mother of all the others". It became fashionable in the 15th century,
with the full development of classical heraldry, to attribute fictional coats
of arms to saints and other historical characters from the pre-heraldic ages.
The widespread attribution to Saint George of the red cross on a white field
in western art dates to the early 15th century, but the association may have
been established by the early 14th century of the red cross used as
insignia cruxata comunis by the city of Genoa and its patron saint George. In
any case, Edward III of England chose Saint George as the patron saint of his
Order of the Garter in 1348, and also took to using a red-on-white cross in
the hoist of his Royal Standard. England
= Origin= There used to be a claim that the red
cross worn as an emblem was brought to England as early as the 1190s by Richard
the Lionheart, but this cannot be substantiated. The red cross was
introduced to England by the late 13th century, but not as a flag, and not at
the time associated with Saint George. It was worn by English soldiers as an
identification from the early years of the reign of Edward I, and perhaps
originated a few years earlier, in the Second Barons' War.
Saint George rose to the position of "patron saint of England" in a process
beginning in 1348 with the foundation of the Order of the Garter and culminating
with the abolition of all saint's banners except for the St. George's
banner in 1552. From 1348 and throughout the 15th century, the St. George's Cross
was shown in the hoist of the Royal Standards of the Plantagenet kings of
England. = Modern use=
= England= A combined British flag was created in
1606 by combining St George's Cross with the St Andrew's Cross. The flag was
initially for maritime display, later restricted to the King's ships.
Afterwards, the St George flag remained the flag of England for other purposes
until the Acts of Union 1707. At the union, the first Union Flag became
official for all purposes in the new Kingdom of Great Britain. From this
time, the St. Georges Cross came to be seen as a symbol of England and Wales
when used alongside symbols for Scotland or Ireland; so in the flags of the
Commonwealth of England during 1649 to 1660.
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 may fly the St George's Cross. The correct way for the church to fly
the St George's cross is with the arms of the diocese in the upper left-hand
corner of the flag. The flag of St George has enjoyed a
resurgence in popularity since the late 20th century, partly due to
football-inspired nationalism, and also in response to the devolution movements
in Scotland and Wales. During the 2010 World Cup, UK Prime
Minister David Cameron told Parliament that the flag would fly above his
official residence at "no extra cost to the tax payer" while England played in
the contest. = Derived usage=
Guernsey was permitted to use the St George's Cross as its state flag between
1936 and 1985. The coat of arms of Montreal, first used
in 1833, had a Saint Patrick's cross with the floral emblems of England,
Scotland, Ireland, and France in its four quarters. The cross was changed to
a Saint George's Cross in 1938, representing England's dominating
influence over Canada, and a city flag in the form of the arms was adopted the
following year. The city of Nanaimo in British Columbia also uses a Saint
George's Cross on its flag and arms with a ship and pieces of coal, its former
main export. Three Canadian provinces use the Saint
George's Cross on their coats of arms: Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, again
reflecting England's influence in Canada.
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.
Georgia St George is the patron saint of the
nation of Georgia, and the St. George flag was supposedly used in the 5th
century by Georgian king Vakhtang Gorgasali. In the 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 supported the restoration of the medieval flag of
Georgia, including the influential Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia
II of the Georgian Orthodox Church. 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. Sardinia
The flag of the Italian Region of Sardinia is popularly known as the Four
Moors flag, and consists of a red cross on a white background with a maure in
each quarter. The "four moors" design appears to date to the late 13th
century, in origin associated with the Crown of Aragon. It became associated
with the Aragonese Kingdom of Sardinia during the 14th century.
Sweden In Sweden, the term "Saint George's
cross" sometimes refers to the Cross pattée used by Swedish Freemasons.
Notes External links
Flag of England at FOTW Banners of English saints at FOTW