Caernarfonshire flag at Inigo Jones Slate Works

The Caernarfonshire flag () is the flag of the historic Welsh county of Caernarfonshire. The origins of the emblem of the three eagles arranged in fess on a green field revolve around the ancient King of Gwynedd,

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 () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...

, to whom the symbol was attributed as his

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. It was registered with the Flag Institute in March 2012. __TOC__

History

Owain Gwynedd was born around 1100 and became King of Gwynedd in 1137. In 1415, the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...

was fought in which the Caernarfonshire units were reputed to have fought under a banner of three golden eagles on green in honour of Owain Gwynedd.

Michael Drayton Michael Drayton ( – ) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era, continuing to write through the reign of James I and into the reign of Charles I. Many of his works consisted of historical poetry. He was also the fir ...

records this in his work ''The Battaile of Agincourt'' in 1627. In his 1920 work on county identities ''Story of the Shire'', Frederick Hackwood calls the three golden eagles of Caernarfonshire as an "authentic" and "significant" badge of the county, as well as reciting their association to the Romans of antiquity.

Design

The colours for the flag are:

External links

* Flag Institute – Caernarfonshirebr>The Caernarfonshire Association – The Flag of Caernarfonshire

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caernarfonshire, Flag of

Flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

Flags of places in Wales Flags introduced in 2012 Caernarfonshire Green and yellow flags