The Welsh Dragon ( cy, y Ddraig Goch, meaning 'the red dragon'; ) is a

heraldic symbol Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

that represents

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and appears on the national

flag of Wales The flag of Wales ( cy, Baner Cymru or , meaning 'the red dragon') consists of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many renderings e ...

. 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 the ...

King of Gwynedd Prior to the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, Conquest of Wales, completed in 1282, Wales consisted of a number of independent monarchy, kingdoms, the most important being Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd, Kingdom of Powys, Powys, Deheubarth (originally ...

from around 655AD and is historically known as the "Red Dragon of Cadwaladr". Ancient leaders of 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 th ...

that are personified as dragons include

Maelgwn Gwynedd Maelgwn Gwynedd ( la, Maglocunus; died c. 547Based on Phillimore's (1888) reconstruction of the dating of the ''Annales Cambriae'' (A Text).) was king of Gwynedd during the early 6th century. Surviving records suggest he held a pre-eminent position ...

Mynyddog Mwynfawr {{No footnotes, date=May 2022 Mynyddog Mwynfawr (variant orthographies include: Old Welsh ''Mynydawc Mwynvawr''; Middle Welsh; ''Mynyddawg Mwynfawr'') was, according to Welsh tradition founded on the early Welsh language poem ''Y Gododdin'' (attr ...

and

Urien Rheged Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, i ...

. Later

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

"dragons" include

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 Gruffydd and

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 ...

. The red dragon appears in the ancient ''

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...

'' story of

Lludd and Llefelys ''Lludd and Llefelys'' ( cy, Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys) is a Middle Welsh prose tale written down in the 12th or 13th century; it was included in the ''Mabinogion'' by Lady Charlotte Guest in the 19th century. It tells of the Welsh hero Lludd Llaw ...

where it is confined, battling with an invading white dragon, at

Dinas Emrys Dinas Emrys () is a rocky and wooded hillock near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. Rising some above the floor of the Glaslyn river valley, it overlooks the southern end of Llyn Dinas in Snowdonia. Little remains of the Iron Age hillfo ...

. The story continues in the , written around AD 829, where Gwrtheyrn,

King of the Britons The title King of the Britons ( cy, Brenin y Brythoniaid, la, Rex Britannorum) was used (often retrospectively) to refer to the most powerful ruler among the Celtic Britons, both before and after the period of Roman Britain up until the Norma ...

is frustrated in attempts to build a fort at Dinas Emrys. He is told by a boy, Emrys, to dig up two dragons fighting beneath the castle. He discovers the white dragon representing the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

, which is soon to be defeated by the red dragon of the Wales. The red dragon is now seen as symbolising Wales, present on the current national flag of Wales, which became an official flag in 1959.

History

Draco as military standard and title

The military use of the term "dragon" (in Latin, "draco") dates back to the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

and this in turn is likely inspired by the symbols of the

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved f ...

, Indians,

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

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 consid ...

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 ...

. The term draco can refer to a dragon, serpent or snake and the term draconarius (also latin) denotes "the bearer of the serpent standard". Franz Altheim suggests that the first appearance of the draco used by Romans coincides with Roman recruitment of nomad troops from south and central Asia during the time of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

. 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 Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...

, 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. Cohorts were represented by the draco military standard from the third century in the same way that the eagle Aquila standard represented the legions. The standard bearer of the cohort was called draconarius and carried a gilded staff with a dragon at the top. For instance,

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...

are attested to have marched under the dragon to distinguish the Gallic cohort from the Roman legions.

After Roman departure

After the Roman withdrawal it has long been suggested that resistance to the Saxon incursion was led either by Romans or Romanised Britons, and this is evident in the names attributed in legend to those who led the opposition, including

Ambrosius Aurelianus Ambrosius Aurelianus ( cy, Emrys Wledig; Anglicised as Ambrose Aurelian and called Aurelius Ambrosius in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and elsewhere) was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Sa ...

and perhaps Artorius. This could account for how the Roman terminology came to be adopted by Britons. From the first extant written records of the Britons, it became evident that dragons were already associated with military leaders. Gildas, writing in about 540, spoke of the Briton chieftain Maglocunus (

in Welsh) as the "insularis draco". The early Welsh or Brythonic poets,

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...

and

Aneirin Aneirin , Aneurin or Neirin was an early Medieval Brythonic war poet. He is believed to have been a bard or court poet in one of the Cumbric kingdoms of the Hen Ogledd, probably that of Gododdin at Edinburgh, in modern Scotland. From the 17th c ...

both extensively use dragons as an image for military leaders, and for the Britons the word ''dragon'' began to take the form of a term for a war leader, prince or ruler. In ''

Y Gododdin ''Y Gododdin'' () is a medieval Welsh poem consisting of a series of elegies to the men of the Brittonic kingdom of Gododdin and its allies who, according to the conventional interpretation, died fighting the Angles of Deira and Bernicia at a p ...

'', Aneirin describes his patron,

as "the dragon" when he speaks of the "feast of the dragon". He also describes the war leader, Gwernabwy mab Gwen, as the dragon of the battle of Catraeth. Meanwhile Taliesin, on Urien Rheged, described inexperienced and skilful leaders as wlm, dreic dylaw, lit=inexperienced dragon, label=none and wlm, dreic hylaw, lit=skillful dragon, label=none respectively. Owain ap Urien is called Owain ben draic, the chief dragon. Although not compiled until later, the main part of Y Gododdin and the heroic poems on

by Taliesin almost certainly date in origin to the sixth century. The Welsh term cy, draig, lit=dragon, label=none was used to refer to Welsh leaders including

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"

Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr ("Cynddelw the Great Poet"; wlm, Kyndelw Brydyt or ; 1155–1200), was the court poet of Madog ap Maredudd, Owain Gwynedd (Owen the Great), and Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, and one of the most prominent Welsh poets of the 12t ...

, a court poet to Owain Gwynedd, refers to him in one elegy, personifying him as "The golden dragon of Snowdonia of eagles".

Red dragon of Cadwaladr

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", the fated dragon, quick to rise, label=none.

''Mabinogion''

In the ''

'' story ''

'', the red dragon fights with an invading

White Dragon The white dragon ( cy, Y Ddraig Wen) is a symbol associated in Welsh mythology with the Anglo-Saxons. Origin of tradition The earliest usage of the white dragon as a symbol of the Anglo-Saxons is found in the ''Historia Brittonum''. The releva ...

. A plague is caused by a battle between a red dragon and a foreign white dragon. Lludd must set a trap for them at the exact centre of the island called

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, put them to sleep with

mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...

, and then bury them underground in a stone chest. The third plague is caused by a mighty magician, who casts a spell to make the whole court fall asleep while he raids their stores. Lludd must confront him, keeping himself awake with a vat of cold water. Lludd returns home to Britain. He destroys the Coraniaid with the insect mixture and confines the dragons at

. Finally he fights the magician, who submits to him to become his loyal servant.

The tale is taken up in the

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 Bri ...

, written by

Nennius Nennius – or Nemnius or Nemnivus – was a Welsh monk of the 9th century. He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the ''Historia Brittonum'', based on the prologue affixed to that work. This attribution is widely considered ...

. 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. 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., which defies clear translation, but wlm, rud dhreic is widely held to be red dragon, and the word wlm, pharaon is found in the later Mabinogion work, Lludd and Llefelys, in the passage on the two dragons at Vortigern's tower, suggesting this passage is source material for the Mabinogion account, where the dragon is again described as red. The story of Lludd and 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 ...

. In chapters 40–42 there is a narrative in which the tyrant

Vortigern Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...

flees into Wales to escape the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

invaders. There he chooses a hill-fort as the site for his royal retreat, and attempts to build a citadel, but the structure collapses repeatedly. His wise men tell him he must sacrifice a young boy born without a father on the spot to alleviate the curse. The King sent his soldiers out across the land to find such a lad. and discovers such a boy, Emrys (

), but Emrys reveals the real reason for the collapsing towers: a hidden pool containing two dragons, one red and one white, representing the Britons and the Saxons specifically, are buried beneath the foundation. He explains how the White Dragon of the Saxons, though winning the battle at present, would soon be defeated by the

Red Dragon. After Vortigern's downfall, the fort was given to High-King

, known in Welsh as Emrys Wledig, hence its name.

Geoffrey of Monmouth

The same story of the red and white dragons is repeated in

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 historiograph ...

's ''

History of the Kings of Britain ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...

'', where the red dragon is also a prophecy of the coming of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

. When the later Arthurian legends reached their modern form,

, writing in the 12th century for a French and Breton audience, wrote that

used a golden dragon banner. His standard was also emblazoned with a golden dragon. It is also mentioned in at least four manuscripts that Arthur is associated with the golden dragon, and the standard functions as a haven for wounded soldiers in battles. Geoffrey of Monmouth reports that Arthur used the standard within his vicinity at the rear of the battle for the attention of his wounded soldiers.

Owain Glyndŵr

's banner was known as or 'The Golden Dragon' ( enm, Gilden Dragoun). It was famously raised over during the

Battle of Tuthill The Battle of Twthill took place at Caernarfon in North Wales on 2 November 1401 during the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr.Ieuan Wyn, 'Codi Baner Y Ddraig Am Y Tro Cyntaf', ''Y Faner Newydd'' 27 (2004), pp. 42–3. Glyndŵr's success at the Bat ...

in 1401 against the English. chose to fly the standard of a golden dragon on a white background, the traditional standard that, supposedly,

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon (Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur. A few m ...

had flown when the first

had fought the

to a standstill almost 1,000 years before, and passed down to his son King Arthur.

Adam of Usk Adam of Usk ( cy, Adda o Frynbuga, c. 1352–1430) was a Welsh priest, canonist, and late medieval historian and chronicler. His writings were hostile to King Richard II of England. Patronage Born at Usk in what is now Monmouthshire (Sir Fynwy), ...

reports that Glyndwr's golden dragon was the first use of a dragon standard used in war by Welsh troops on the 1st of November, 1401. Historian John Davies adds that the dragon raised by Glyndwr was a symbol of victory for the

. On his

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

Glyndwr is also depicted with a Welsh dragon on his helmet, his horse's head and his crown. Glyndŵr's Great Seal as Prince of Wales also included a dragon gules on his crest. File:Owain Glyndŵr.jpg, Depiction of Glyndwr as described with a dragon crown and dragon on the head of his horse.

House of Tudor

Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond ( – 3 November 1456, also known as Edmund of Hadham), was the father of King Henry VII of England and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd, North Wales. Born to Owen Tudor and the dowager queen Catherin ...

's tomb is an effigy detailing him wearing a crown affixed with the dragon of Cadwaladr. Following his son's victory at Bosworth field, Henry VII used a red dragon on a white and green background upon entering St Paul's. Henry the VII used the dragon motif, but this was used as part of the heraldry of house Tudor rather than of Wales. The dragon of Cadwaladr was used as a supporter on the royal arms of all Tudor sovereigns of England and also appeared on the standards of Henry VII and Henry VIII. File:Queen Elizabeth I’s coat of arms in St Thomas’s Church, Salisbury.png, Coat of arms of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, from St Thomas's Church, Salisbury File:Royal Standard of Henry VII of England (Dragon and flames).svg, Standard of Henry Tudor used 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 ...

File:Welsh dragon rampant with pizzle.png, Dragon used in arms by the Tudor monarchs.

Royal badge

The red dragon did not become an official royal

heraldic badge A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

until 1800, when

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

issued a royal warrant confirming the badge, blazoned as: ''On a mount

Vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme vers ...

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 as ...

passant with wings elevated

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

''. There is a further badge for Wales, belonging to the Princes of Wales since 1901, of the red dragon on a mount but with a

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

of three points Argent about the shoulder to difference it from the monarch's badge. The badge became a part of the

Coat of arms of the Prince of Wales The coat of arms of the Prince of Wales is the official heraldic insignia of the Prince of Wales, a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent of the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, formerly th ...

by Royal Warrant. In 1953, the red dragon badge was given an augmentation of honour. The augmented badge is

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

ed: ''Within a circular riband

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

fimbriated Or bearing the motto'' Y DDRAIG GOCH DDYRY CYCHWYN the red dragon inspires action"', in letters Vert, and ensigned with a representation of the Crown proper, an escutcheon per fesse Argent and Vert and thereon the Red Dragon passant''.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, the then prime minister, despised the badge's design, as is revealed in the following Cabinet minute from 1953: In 1959, Government use of this flag was dropped in favour of the current flag at the urging of the

Gorsedd of Bards A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...

. The badge was used by the

Wales Office , agency_type = Ministerial department , type = Department , logo = Wales Office logo.png , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gwydyr House, Whitehall (geograph 5590 ...

and was printed on Statutory Instruments made by the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English language, English and () in Welsh language, Welsh, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes ...

. The badge was previously used in the corporate logo of the Assembly until the "dynamic dragon" logo was adopted. This Royal badge was supplanted by a new official Royal badge in 2008, which eliminated the red dragon altogether.

Early modern use

Cardiff_&_District_Womens_Suffrage_Society

In the 1909 national pageant of Wales, the Welsh dragon appears upright on a white background. The Welsh dragon that appears on the flag on board Captain Scott's Terra Nova is also an upright dragon (sergeant) on a white and green background. Up until this point, there was no standardised version of the Welsh dragon. The dragon was used on banners during women's suffrage events in Wales in the 1900s and 1910s. The banner's accession documents included a note from one of the former members "The banner was worked by Mrs Henry Lewis… hewas also President of the South Wales Federation of Women's Suffrage Societies + she led the S. Wales section of the great Suffrage Procession in London on June 17th 1911, walking in front of her own beautiful banner… It was a great occasion, some 40,000 to 50,000 men + women taking part in the walk from Whitehall through Pall Mall, St James's Street + Piccadilly to the Albert Hall. The dragon attracted much attention – “Here comes the Devil” was the greeting of one group of on lookers."

Current use

Flag of Wales

As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales is present on the national flag of Wales, which became an official flag in 1959.

Welsh government logo

The emblem (or logo) used by the

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 ...

is that of the Welsh dragon. According to their guidance, the "logo consists of a dragon and Welsh Government name separated by a horizontal line, positioned together in a fixed relationship which must not be altered. These elements are aligned centrally with each other. The logo is always bilingual Regardless of the language of the material it appears on with "Welsh first, followed by English if necessary" They also mention, "The dragon must always face to the left"; this follows the same rule which is applied to the dragon when flown on a pole.

Welsh language society

Tafod y Ddraig ''Tafod y Ddraig'' (which translates as "The Dragon's Tongue", ), or ''Tafod'', is a monthly Welsh language magazine dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Welsh language. This magazine was the only voice of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymr ...

(Tongue of the dragon) is a symbol which represents the

Welsh Language Society The Welsh Language Society ( cy, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, often abbreviated to Cymdeithas yr Iaith or just Cymdeithas) is a direct action Advocacy group, pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh lang ...

Wales football

The Welsh dragon, "the most iconic of Welsh emblems", is also used as the official emblem or logo of the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, Welsh national foo ...

which was redesigned in 2019.

Mottos

The motto "Anorchfygol Ddraig Cymru" ("Unconquerable Dragon of Wales') is associated with the red dragon. The motto "Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn" ("The red dragon will show the way"). This motto is in the strict poetic metre of

cynghanedd In Welsh-language poetry, ''cynghanedd'' (, literally "harmony") is the basic concept of sound-arrangement within one line, using stress, alliteration and rhyme. The various forms of ''cynghanedd'' show up in the definitions of all formal Welsh v ...

Gallery

File:Mynydd Illtud Powys Twyn y Gaer HenSne 02 trig point.JPG, The Welsh Dragon on a

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

at Twyn y Gaer

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

Mynydd Illtud Mynydd Illtud is an extensive area of common land near Libanus, Powys, Wales, located in the Brecon Beacons National Park and some three miles south-west of Brecon. The common is an undulating plateau lying between above sea level. Its highest p ...

. File:FelinfoelBreweryDragon.jpg, The Welsh Dragon motif of

Felinfoel Brewery Felinfoel Brewery is a brewery based in the village of Felinfoel near Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The existing brewery building dates from 1878 (according to a date plaque on its south facade), constructed by local innkeeper (and iron and ...

. File:Red Dragon sculpture, Welsh National Memorial Park, Ypres.jpg, Red Dragon sculpture, Welsh Memorial Park, Ypres. File:Flag of Cardiff.svg, Flag of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. File:Ceremony at Capel Moriah 01.JPG, A statue of the Welsh Dragon at Capel Moriah, Trelew, Patagonia. File:Welsh Dragons.jpg, Dragons at Caerphilly Castle

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Gantz, Jeffrey (translator) (1987). ''The Mabinogion''. New York: Penguin. . * * * {{portalbar, Wales, Heraldry Flags of Wales

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 as ...

European dragons Dragons Heraldic charges Heraldic badges