Kingdom of Scotland - Flags

Flags

According to legend, the Christian apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross at Patras, (Patrae), in Achaea. Use of the familiar iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross, first appears in the Kingdom of Scotland in 1180 during the reign of William I. This image was again depicted on seals used during the late 13th century; including on one particular example used by the Guardians of Scotland, dated 1286. Use of a simplified symbol associated with Saint Andrew which does not depict his image, namely the saltire, or crux decussata, (from the Latin crux, 'cross', and decussis, 'having the shape of the Roman numeral X'), has its origins in the late 14th century; the Parliament of Scotland decreed in 1385 that Scottish soldiers wear a white Saint Andrew's Cross on their person, both in front and behind, for the purpose of identification.

The earliest reference to the Saint Andrew's Cross as a flag is to be found in the Vienna Book of Hours, circa 1503, where a white saltire is depicted with a red background. In the case of Scotland, use of a blue background for the Saint Andrew's Cross is said to date from at least the 15th century, with the first certain illustration of a flag depicting such appearing in Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount's Register of Scottish Arms, circa 1542. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned Azure, a saltire argent.

Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, commissioned new designs for a banner incorporating the flags of the Kingdom of Scotland and Kingdom of England. In 1606, a Union Flag was commissioned, combining the crosses of Saint George, (the Flag of England), with that of Saint Andrew. Historical evidence suggests that a Scottish version of this flag existed, in which the cross of Saint Andrew overlayed the cross of St George. This design may have seen limited, unofficial use in Scotland until 1707, when the English variant of the same, whereby the cross of St George overlayed that of St Andrew, was adopted as the flag of the unified Kingdom of Great Britain.

First used by King William I in the 12th century, a register in the College of Arms in London describes the Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland, or alternatively the arms of the Kyng of Scottz, as being Or, a lion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-flory Gules. The Royal Standard of Scotland, also known as the Lion Rampant, is therefore the banner of these arms. Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the Royal Standard of Scotland was incorporated into the quartered Royal Standard, displaying the royal emblems of the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Ireland. This quartered design was to evolve to become that now styled the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom. The standard displaying only the Lion rampant and Royal Tressure, known as the Royal Standard of Scotland, remains the personal banner of the monarch and use of this flag is restricted under the Act of the Parliament of Scotland 1672 cap. 47 and 30 & 31 Vict. cap. 17. Its correct use is now restricted to only a few Great Officers who officially represent the monarch, and at royal residences in Scotland when the monarch is not present.

• The Flag of Scotland; Azure, a saltire argent

• The Scottish Union Flag used, technically unofficial, between 1606 and 1707.

• The Royal Standard of Scotland

• The Royal Standard of Scotland used, with minor variations, between 1603 and 1707.