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Inheraldry,Saint George's Cross (also known as theCross of Saint George) is a redcross on a white background, which, from theLate Middle Ages, has been associated withSaint George, amilitary saint who is often depicted as acrusader.[citation needed]
Associated with theCrusades, the red-on-white cross has its origins in the 10th century. Perhaps as early as that time, it was used as theensign of theRepublic of Genoa.[citation needed]The symbol was later adopted by theSwabian League in the pre-ReformationHoly Roman Empire.George became recognized as the patron saint ofEngland in the fourteenth century, replacingSt. Edmund the Martyr.
Since then, the flag has commonly been identified as the nationalflag of England. Saint George is also the patron saint ofCatalonia and the country ofGeorgia. Across Europe, it appears in thecoat of arms of Barcelona, and thenational flag of Georgia supplements the symbol withJerusalem crosses. AcrossNorthern Italy, in cities such asBologna,Genoa,Padua,Reggio Emilia,Mantua,Vercelli, andAlessandria, the design has received significant support.[1] However, the flag of Milan, which was adopted in 1045, instead represents a simplification of the cross ofSaint Ambrose, who wasbishop of Milan in the 4th century.[2]
Saint George became widely venerated as awarrior saint during theThird Crusade. There was a legend that he had miraculously assistedGodfrey of Bouillon; also thatRichard the Lionheart had placed himself under his protection.[3]According to legend, the crusaders received miraculous help at thesiege 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.[4]
Thered cross in particular was associated with theKnights Templar, from the time of theSecond Crusade (1145),[5]but in 1188 red and white crosses were chosen to identify the French and English troops in the "Kings' Crusade" ofPhilip II of France andHenry II of England, respectively. Together with theJerusalem Cross, the plain red-on-white 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.[clarification needed] The red-on-white combination was chosen by the Kingdom ofAragon, among others.
Saint George was depicted as a crusader knight during this time, but the red cross had no particular association with him. Acrusader-era fresco in the crypt ofTrani cathedral shows Saint George wearing a white cross on a red surcoat. The white-on-red version was chosen as theReichsbanner ("imperial banner") by the German crusaders in the 12th century, andEmperor Frederick II used it in his European campaigns of the 1250s after he had returned from the crusades. It continued to be used as theReichssturmfahne ("imperial war flag") of theHoly Roman Empire, eventually giving rise to theflag of Savoy and the present-day flags ofSwitzerland andDenmark. Via the conflict between(pro-Pope) Guelphs and (pro-Imperial) Ghibellines, the cross entered the heraldry of several north Italian principalities.
Avexillum 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[clarification needed] 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 theinsignia cruxata comunis Janue ("cross ensign of the commune of Janua"). 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.[6]
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 systematicheraldry, there was great demand for variations of the cross symbol and associated terminology.Juliana Berners reports that there wereCrossis innumerabull born dayli. The term "St. George's cross" was at first associated with any plainGreek cross touching the edges of the field (not necessarily red on white).[7]
Early representations of Saint George as a crusader knight with bearing a red-on-white cross still date to the late 13th century,[8] and become widespread as the saint'sattributed arms in the 14th and 15th centuries.Edward III of England chose Saint George as the patron saint of hisOrder of the Garter in 1348, and also took to using a red-on-white cross in the hoist of hisRoyal Standard.
There was a historiographical tradition claiming that Richard the Lionheart himself adopted both the flag and the patron saint from Genoa at some point during his crusade. This idea can be traced to the Victorian era, Perrin (1922) refers to it as a "common belief", and it is still popularly repeated today. Despite surviving correspondance between Richard and Genoa from the time of the Third Crusade, there is nothing in his letters or indeed any other material to support this claim.
On the origins of the flag and its connection to the Genoese flag,Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, said in a speech inGenoa in 1992:
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 Genoese fleet. The English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege.[9]
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 ofEdward I (1270s),[10][11] and perhaps originated a few years earlier, in theSecond Barons' War (specifically in theBattle of Evesham of 1265, during which, according to chroniclerWilliam Rishanger,Simon de Montfort observed that the king had taken from him the idea of having his soldiers marked with a cross).[12]
Saint George rose to the position of "patron saint of England" in a process beginning in 1348 with the foundation of theOrder of the Garter and culminating with the abolition of all saint's banners except for theSt. George's banner in 1552. From 1348 and throughout the 15th century, the Saint George's Cross was shown in the hoist of theRoyal Standards of thePlantagenet kings of England.
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Acombined British flag was created in 1606 (after thedynastic union of England andScotland in 1603, the so-called "Union of the Crowns") by combining Saint George's Cross with theSaint Andrew's Cross (theflag of Scotland). The flag was initially for maritime display, later restricted to the King's ships. Afterwards, the Saint George flag remained the flag of England for other purposes until theActs of Union 1707. At the union, the firstUnion Flag became official for all purposes in the newKingdom of Great Britain.From this time, the Saint George's Cross came to be seen as a symbol ofEngland and Wales when used alongside symbols for Scotland or Ireland; so in theflags of the Commonwealth of England during 1649 to 1660.
The flag of Saint George is also the rank flag of anAdmiral in theRoyal Navy, and civilian craft are forbidden to fly it. However, survivinglittle ships of Dunkirk, which participated in theDunkirk evacuation duringWorld War II, are allowed to fly it as ajack. This is normally done in thedefaced form of theDunkirk jack.
Churches belonging to theChurch of England may fly the Saint George's Cross (unless another flag is flown by custom for special reasons). The correct way for the church to fly the Saint George's cross (since an order from theEarl Marshal in 1938) is with the arms of thediocese in the upper left-hand corner of the flag.[13]
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 inScotland andWales.[14]
Most of the derived usage is from the flag of England. That article has illustrations of its derivations particularly across Canada, eastern Australia, the Caribbean and the Channel Islands apart from Jersey since Guernsey commonly used the English flag from 1936 (then moved to its present variant in 1985), however the illustrations below have an extremely complex or nil derivation from that flag.
Theflag of the City of London use the St. George's Cross on a white background, with a redsword in the canton. The sword is believed to represent the sword that beheadedSaint Paul who is the patron saint of the city.[15]
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Saint George is the patron saint of the nation of Georgia, and the Saint George flag wassupposedly used in the 5th century byGeorgian kingVakhtang Gorgasali.[16][dubious –discuss] In the 13th century, QueenTamar of Georgia used the Saint George flag during her campaign againstSeljuk Turks. The fourJerusalem crosses were later added by KingGeorge V of Georgia, who drove out theMongols from Georgia in 1334.
The flag fell out during theRussian annexation of Georgia and abolition of theGeorgian 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 GeorgiaIlia II of theGeorgian Orthodox Church. The flag was finally adopted by theGeorgian parliament on 14 January 2004. It was formally endorsed by a presidential decree signed byMikheil Saakashvili on 25 January, following his election asPresident of Georgia. The Georgian Navy's naval ensign also used a St. George's Cross during its existence.
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