St George’s Day is a vital day in our Patriotic calendar and most Patriots have heard the myths and legends surrounding our Patron Saint but what are the origins of the St George’s flag.
The St George’s flag is often flown by Nationalists and Patriots in England. Church of England Churches often fly the St George’s flag with the arms of the diocese in the left-hand upper corner, as requested in an order from the Earl Marshall in 1938.
As you know the flag is a red centred cross on a white background and was used as a component in the design of the union flag in 1606. The flag is derived from the St George’s cross which dates back to the middle ages.
In 1188, red and white crosses were chosen to identify English and French troops in the Crusade of Henry II of England and Phillip II of France.
In the past it has been claimed that Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard the Lionheart) adopted both the flag and St George from Genoa during his crusade. This idea has been traced back to the Victorian era as a “common belief” and is still popularly repeated today even though it cannot be validated as historical.
Together with the Jerusalem cross, the red on white became a recognised symbol of the crusader and in the 13th century it started to be used as a standard emblem for numerous leaders who wanted to associate themselves with the crusades.
There are many countries , towns public amenities even football clubs that sport the ” flag of St George ” however its hard to believe that an Armenian Christian killed for his beliefs would have had any emblem as his for recognition.
The St George’s flag is an identification for troops of the English Kings, emblems were adopted iadopted as identification when the chivalry period entered the Middle ages. The need to quickly identify friend or foe was obvious .For the English the flag has become an immense object of Pride , it stands out the world over and identify our beautiful country and people to all who see the flag fly .