The Welsh Dragon ( cy, y Ddraig Goch, meaning 'the red dragon'; ) is a heraldic symbol that represents Wales and appears on the national flag of Wales. As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales has been used since the reign of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd 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'' (attri ...

and Urien Rheged. 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, 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 where it is confined, battling with an invading white dragon, at Dinas Emrys. The story continues in the , written around AD 829, where

Gwrtheyrn 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 ...

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, 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, Indians, Persians,

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. One notable Draco symbol which may have influenced the Welsh dragon is that of the Sarmatians, 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 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 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 and Aneirin 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'', 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 Urien Rheged 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 Owain Gwynedd, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (Llywelyn the Last) and "the dragon"

. 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".

Red dragon of Cadwaladr

As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales has been used since the reign of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd 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 '' Lludd and Llefelys'', 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, 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 Dinas Emrys. Finally he fights the magician, who submits to him to become his loyal servant.

The tale is taken up in the Historia Brittonum, 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. In chapters 40–42 there is a narrative in which the tyrant Vortigern 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 ( Ambrosius Aurelianus), 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 Ambrosius Aurelianus, 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's '' History of the Kings of Britain'', 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, Geoffrey of Monmouth, 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 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 had flown when the first

had fought the Saxons to a standstill almost 1,000 years before, and passed down to his son King Arthur. Adam of Usk 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

On Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond's tomb is an effigy detailing him wearing a crown affixed with the dragon of Cadwaladr. Following his son's victory at

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 ...

, 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, 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 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 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 by Royal Warrant. In 1953, the red dragon badge was given an augmentation of honour. The augmented badge is blazoned: ''Within a circular riband Argent 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 and was printed on Statutory Instruments made by the National Assembly for Wales. 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 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.

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 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 at Twyn y Gaer hill fort, Mynydd Illtud. File:FelinfoelBreweryDragon.jpg, The Welsh Dragon motif of Felinfoel Brewery. File:Red Dragon sculpture, Welsh National Memorial Park, Ypres.jpg, Red Dragon sculpture,

Welsh Memorial Park, Ypres The Welsh National Memorial Park is a war memorial in Langemark near Ypres (Belgium) for soldiers of World War I, located near the Pilkem Ridge in the former Ypres Salient. It commemorates the service of men and women of Welsh origin, wherever ...

. File:Flag of Cardiff.svg, Flag of Cardiff. 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