The flag of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

( cy, Baner Cymru or , meaning '

the red dragon ''The Red Dragon'' is a 1946 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan, who has to sift through a host of suspects for three murders. The film marks the first appearance of Willie Best as Chattanooga Brown, Birmingham Brown's cousin. ...

') consists of a red

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

passant on a

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many renderings exist. It is not represented in the

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

. The red dragon of Wales personifies the fearlessness of the Welsh nation. Vortigern () King of the Celtic Britons from

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

is interrupted whilst attempting to build a fort at Dinas Emrys. He is told by Merlin/Ambrosius () to dig up two dragons beneath the castle. He discovers a red dragon representing the

Celtic Britons The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', la, Britanni), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were people of Celtic language and culture who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age and into the Middle Ages, at which point t ...

(now Welsh) and a white dragon representing Anglo-Saxons (now English). Merlin/Ambrosius prophecises that the Celtic Britons will reclaim the island and push the Anglo-Saxons back to the sea. As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales has been used since the reign of

Cadwaladr Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 682 AD. Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664 and the other in 682; he himself was a victim of t ...

King of Gwynedd Prior to the Conquest of Wales, completed in 1282, Wales consisted of a number of independent kingdoms, the most important being Gwynedd, Powys, Deheubarth (originally Ceredigion, Seisyllwg and Dyfed) and Morgannwg (Glywysing and Gwent). Boun ...

from around 655 AD. The Red Welsh dragon is often described as the "Red Dragon of Cadwaladr" for this reason. Historia Brittonum was written circa 828, and by this point the dragon was no longer just a military symbol but associated with a coming deliverer from the Saxons, and for the first time as a symbol of independence. It is also the first time that the colour of the dragon is verifiably given as red. Nevertheless there may well be an older attribution of red to the colour of the dragon in Y Gododdin. The story of Lludd a Llefelys in the Mabinogion settles the matter, firmly establishing the red dragon of the

being in opposition with the white dragon of the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

.''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British ( Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia B ...

'', ch. 40–42. Tudor colours of green and white were added by Henry VII at the

Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Au ...

in 1485, after which it was carried in state to

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

and a dragon added as a

supporter In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coro ...

of the Tudor royal arms. It was officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in 1959. Several cities include a dragon in their flag design, including

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

, the Welsh capital.

Symbolism

Historia Brittonum was written circa 828, and by this point the dragon was no longer just a military symbol but associated with a coming deliverer from the Saxons, and for the first time as a symbol of independence. It is also the first time that the colour of the dragon is verifiably given as red. Nevertheless there may well be an older attribution of red to the colour of the dragon in Y Gododdin. The story of Lludd a Llefelys in the Mabinogion settles the matter, firmly establishing the red dragon of the

being in opposition with the white dragon of the

. The dragon of Wales was used by numerous Welsh rulers as a propaganda tool; to portray their links to the Arthurian legend, the title given to such rulers is Y Mab Darogan (The prophesied Son). The Welsh term cy, draig, lit=dragon, label=none was used to refer to Welsh leaders including

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

(Llywelyn the Last) and "the dragon"

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

. Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr, a court poet to Owain Gwynedd refers to him in one elegy, personifying him as "The golden dragon of Snowdonia of eagles". Henry VII recognised the red dragon upon its blessing at Saint Paul's Cathedral following his victory at Bosworth Field under the realm of 'England and Wales' in 1485, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

would not recognise the flag's official status again until 1959, despite the dragon being used by Romanised Celtic Britons since at least the fall of the Roman empire in 6th century AD.

History

Possible Roman origin

Some historians have theorised that the Welsh Dragon symbol developed from the Draco standards borne by the Roman cavalry. These symbols were brought to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

during the Roman occupation and were in turn inspired by the symbols of the

Dacians The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consi ...

Parthians Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

. One notable Draco symbol which may have influenced the Welsh dragon is that of the

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...

, who contributed to the cavalry units stationed in

Ribchester Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston. The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze ...

from the 2nd to 4th centuries.

In Welsh mythology and literature

The oldest written record of the Welsh dragon is in the .Davies (2008), pg 732. Historia Brittonum was written circa 828, and by this point the dragon was no longer just a military symbol but associated with a coming deliverer from the Saxons, and for the first time as a symbol of independence. It is also the first time that the colour of the dragon is verifiably given as red. Nevertheless there may well be an older attribution of red to the colour of the dragon in Y Gododdin. The story of Lludd a Llefelys in the Mabinogion settles the matter, firmly establishing the red dragon of the

being in opposition with the white dragon of the

. A version of the tale also appears as part of the poem "" in the . One twelfth-century account of this is

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...

's , where he states Merlin's prophecies. The red dragon is popularly believed to have been the battle standard of

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

Medieval era

As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales has been used since the reign of

from around 655AD. The Red Welsh dragon is often described as the "Red Dragon of Cadwaladr" for this reason. Later Taliesin poems reference the return of Cadwaladr (r. circa 655 to 682) and coming Saxon liberation. Nevertheless these are perhaps as old as late 7th century, and speak of the wlm, draig ffaw ffyst gychwyned", label=none, the fated dragon, quick to rise.

Kingdom of Gwynedd

The Senior line of the House of Aberffraw descended from Prince

Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and ...

in patriline succession and became extinct on the death of Owain Lawgoch in 1378.

Owain Glyndŵr

In 1400, raised the dragon standard during his revolts against the occupation of Wales by the English crown. 's banner known as ('The Golden Dragon') was raised over during the Battle of Tuthill in 1401 against the English. The flag has ancient origins, chose to fly the standard of a golden dragon on a white background, the traditional standard.

Henry VII

In 1485, the most significant link between the symbol of the red dragon and Wales occurred when Henry Tudor flew the red dragon of

during his invasion of England.The dragon and war
BBC Wales history Henry was of Welsh descent and after leaving France with an army of 2,000, landed at

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

on 7 August. He made capital of his Welsh ancestry in gathering support and gaining safe passage through Wales. Henry met and fought

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

at the

Battle of Bosworth Field The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...

, and in victory took the English throne. After the battle, Henry carried the red dragon standard in state to

, and later the Tudor livery of green and white was added to the flag.

Modern flag

In 1807, the red dragon on a green mount was adopted as the

Royal Badge of Wales A Royal Badge for Wales was approved in May 2008. It is based on the arms borne by the thirteenth-century Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great (''blazoned quarterly Or and gules, four lions passant guardant counterchanged''), with the addition of St ...

, and on 11 March 1953 the motto ('The red dragon gives impetus' or 'The red dragon leads the way') was added, a line from the poem by . The badge was the basis of a flag of Wales in which it was placed on a horizontal white and green bicolour. However, the flag was the subject of derision, both because the tail pointed downwards in some iterations and because the motto was a potential double entendre, used in the original poem to allude to the penis of a copulating bull. In 1959, government use of this flag was dropped in favour of the current flag at the urging of the of Bards. Today the flag can be seen flying from the in

, and from

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

buildings. In 2017 the

Unicode Consortium The Unicode Consortium (legally Unicode, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated and based in Mountain View, California. Its primary purpose is to maintain and publish the Unicode Standard which was developed with the intentio ...

approved

emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conv ...

support for the Flag of Wales following a proposal from

Jeremy Burge Jeremy Burge (born 14 July 1984) is an emoji historian, founder of Emojipedia, creator of World Emoji Day and widely regarded as an expert on emoji. Business Insider listed Burge in the ''UK Tech 100'' in 2016, 2017 and 2018 referring to him ...

of Emojipedia and Owen Williams of

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

in 2016. This was added to major smartphone platforms alongside the flags of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in the same year. Prior to this update, ''The Telegraph'' reported that users had "been able to send emojis of the Union Flag, but not of the individual nations". File:Flag of Wales from 1919 Marshal Foch victory-harmony banner - Edited.png, Flag of Wales from the 1919 Marshal Foch victory-harmony banner File:Flag of Wales, 1807-1953.svg, Variant depicting the dragon on a green mount File:Flag of Wales (1953-1959).svg, Flag of 1953–1959, depicting the Royal Badge of Wales after its augmentation of honour. File:Flag of the Welsh colony in Patagonia.svg, Flag of File:flagofwales.atr42.arp.750pix.jpg, The red dragon on the tailfin of an Air Wales

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and ...

aircraft.

Other flags

Flag of Saint David

The flag of Saint David, a yellow cross on a black field, is used in the emblem of the

Diocese of St Davids The Diocese of St Davids is a diocese of the Church in Wales, a church of the Anglican Communion. The diocese covers the historic extent of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, together with a small part of western Glamorgan. The episcop ...

and is flown on

St David's Day Saint David's Day ( cy, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant or ; ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. The feast has been regularly celebr ...

. In recent times the flag has been adopted as a symbol of Welsh nationalism. Some organisations, such as the Christian Party use this flag instead of , citing their dissatisfaction with the current flag.

Government ensign

An ensign for use aboard ships used by the

, such as the patrol boats of the Marine and Fisheries Division, was granted in 2017.

In popular culture

The flag of Wales has been used by those in the arts, sport and business to show a sense of patriotism or recognition with Wales. During the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

, which was hosted in Wales, the opening ceremony used the motif of the dragon several times, though most memorably, the flag was worn on a dress by Welsh singer

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalist ...

. Other musicians to have used the flag, include Nicky Wire of

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

, who will often drape the Welsh flag over amps when playing live, and

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the " Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes an ...

who has worn the image on her clothes, while classical singer

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

bassist,

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-s ...

's album ''

Radio K.A.O.S. ''Radio K.A.O.S.'' is the second solo studio album by English rock musician Roger Waters. Released on 15 June 1987 in the United Kingdom and June 16 in the United States, it was Waters' first solo studio album after his formal departure from th ...

'' (1987) follows the story of a young disabled Welsh man, grounded in California, who regularly expresses nostalgia and a hope for return to his home country. The chorus of "

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverl ...

" uses the imagery of the flag of Wales to further emphasise this: In 2018, the flag made an unexpected appearance in ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

'', during a scene set in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

. The flag is displayed alongside those of independent sovereign nations, leading to speculation that Wales is an independent nation in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

. The scene led to comments and discussions, including from the

and

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wales, Flag Of Flag of Wales Welsh heraldry Flags of the United Kingdom Welsh mythology Flags introduced in 1959 National flags Dragons in art Flags displaying animals

Symbolism

History

Possible Roman origin

In Welsh mythology and literature

Medieval era

Kingdom of Gwynedd

Owain Glyndŵr

Henry VII

Modern flag

Other flags

Flag of Saint David

Government ensign

In popular culture

See also

References

Bibliography