What is the history of Great Britains flag?

Answer 1

The English Flag (i.e. the red cross on a white background) is the cross of St. George and probably originates from when England became England sometime after the invasion of Vikings, Danes, Angles etc. It is supposed to be the signal of the patron saint that he carried in battle. This is the same as the Scottish and original Welsh flag.

The British flag or Union Jack, is a combination of the three, English, Scottish and Irish. The Welsh flag is part of this union of countries, but it was not ruled like these countries were so it was not included in the Union Jack flag.

Answer

The Scottish flag, the white cross on a blue field, is St. Andrew's cross. That's where the blue comes from in the British flag. (which isn't the answer to the question see paragraph 1 above).

Answer

The traditionnal flag of England was the Norman golden leopards on the red ground, "de gueules � trois l�opards d'or". During the crusades, beginning in 1095,European knights had a common cross but in different colours:

French had the red cross English had the white one German had the black one...

However when French army enlisted Swiss mercenaries during XV� century, wearing a white cross on a red ground, English adopted red cross on a white ground to avoid confusion. This was during the last part of the Hundred Years War, during the reigns of Charles VI of France and Henry V of England.

Here is I read in a book at the library. Philippe

Answer

The Union Jack - (Only called this when flown on a ship)

The flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack, is a superposition of the flags of Saint George (for England), Saint Andrew (for Scotland) and Saint Patrick (for Ireland). The creation of the original Union Flag started in 1603 when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England and on April 12, 1606 the first 'Union Flag' was created. It was a superposition of the red cross of St George of England and the saltire of St Andrew of Scotland. The Welsh flag never became part of the Union Flag, as Wales had been annexed by Edward I of England much earlier on and so was considered part of the kingdom of England.

The above answer is essentially correct - but in reality desrcibes the Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Norhern Ireland, which is a constituational state of different nations.

The English National Flag

The English Flag of the English nation is the blood red cross of St George on a White background. It forms the central cross of the Union Jack described above. It is the flag of the English Patron saint and christian martyr St George. A very good book to read on this subject is St George by Giles Morgan Special:Booksources

The Flag of the Ethnic English People

Many English claim that the original flag of the Ethnic English going way back to Anglo-Saxon times is the White Dragon Flag - which probably would have been a wind sock type standard carried in battles. See http://www.englandandenglishhistory.com/English-white-dragon/default.aspx for an outline of the flag and its origins.

Use of St George's Cross as the English Banner:

The original English flag consisted of the English Royal Banner of three golden lions (or leopards) on a red background. However, St George began to become prominent in Edward I's rule and came to the fore under King Edward III as one of his saints. It was Edward III who began the habit of flying the banner of St. George in battle. Sometimes hundreds of banners would be flown in battle for the English to rally round (as well as their own lord's banners and of course, the English Royal Banner).

As the Hundred Years War progressed the banner of St. George became more important especially after English victories and was soon adpoted as the de facto national flag for English troops and eventually the nation as a whole as common folk had no right to their own banner like the magnates of the land.

Answer 2

At the time of the first crusade, the Knights Templar used the blood red cross of Jesus on their white tunics, shields and banners, but in later crusades the shape of the cross changed. On the St.George flag of England today, the red cross is horizontal and the two red lines are middle-crossing, but on the earlier St.George flag of England, the two lines were not middle-crossing and looked more like a crucifix. The red cross on the Templar tunic, shields and banners was perpendicular and it was symbolic, for they were the protectorates of its meaning.

Kind regards, Raymond E.O.Ella.

Answer 3

The British flag, properly known as the Union Flag but often referred to as the Union Jack, is an amalgam of the flags of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.