The Saint Alban's Cross is a yellow

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a Heraldry, heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French , Medieval Latin ("stirrup"). From its use as field sign, the saltire cam ...

on a blue field (''azure a saltire or''). It is found in several flags, notably that of the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, previously a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery, and the city of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. It is the heraldic emblem that is commonly attributed to the Anglo-Saxon

Kingdom of Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

. A saltire is attributed to Mercia in College of Arms Ms. L.14, dating from the reign of Henry III (d. 1272). The arms were subsequently used by the Abbey of St Albans. With the dissolution of the Abbey and the incorporation of the borough of

the device was used on the town's corporate seal and was officially recorded as the arms of the town at an

heraldic visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as the kings' deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulat ...

in 1634. The cross has also been incorporated into a number of

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

, such as

Hertfordshire county council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

and those of Mercian towns, including Tamworth,

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

and

Blaby Blaby () is a town in the Blaby District in central Leicestershire, England, some five miles south of Leicester city centre. At the time of the 2011 census, Blaby had a population of 6,194, falling slightly from 6,240 in 2001. Given Blaby's pr ...

. Display of the Saint Alban's Cross in flags is modern. Such flags are flown from

Tamworth Castle Tamworth Castle, a Grade I listed building, is a Norman castle overlooking the mouth of the River Anker into the Tame in the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. Before boundary changes in 1889, however, the castle was within the edge of ...

. The flag was flown outside Birmingham Council House during 2009 while the

Staffordshire Hoard The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork . It consists of almost 4,600 items and metal fragments, amounting to a total of of gold, of silver and some 3,500 pieces of garnet cloisonné je ...

was on display in the city, and is shown in street signs in Tamworth, the "ancient capital of Mercia". It is possible that the colours of the cross and connection with

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; ) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an ea ...

is partly through a link with

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

; a chapel of Saint Andrew was from an early period attached to the Abbey of Saint Alban, and this may be part of the origin of the design. The darker variant of the Cross of St Alban was officially registered by the

Flag Institute The Flag Institute is a membership organisation and UK-registered educational charity devoted to the study and promotion of flags and flag flying. It documents flags in the UK and around the world, maintains a UK Flag Registry, and offers advic ...

as the Flag of Mercia in 2014. The Flag Institute's own rules do not allow an identical flag being recognised for two different polities, and since the Cross of St Alban had already been registered for the City of St Albans, it could not be used for Mercia. Eventually the Institute decided to adopt the darker variant, as this tends to better match actual flags flown to represent Mercia, such as the one on Tamworth Castle.Flag Institute: Mercia, St Alban's Cross
St Alban's Cross also appears on the original cultural flag of

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

, an island in the Canadian province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

References

Alban Saltire flags Crosses in heraldry Mercia Blue and yellow flags {{flag-stub

See also

References