In
heraldry
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, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red
cross
A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...
on a white background, which from the
Late Middle Ages
The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
became associated with
Saint George, the
military saint, often depicted as a
crusader.
Associated with the
crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
, the red-on-white cross has its origins in the 10th century. It has been used as the
ensign of the
Republic of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
from perhaps as early as the 10th century.
The symbol was adopted by the
Swabian League in the pre-
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
.
George became associated as
patron saint of
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in the fourteenth century, replacing St
Edmund the Martyr. Since then this flag is commonly identified as the national
flag of England. Saint George is the patron saint of
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
and of the country of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. It figures in the
coat of arms of Barcelona. The
national flag of Georgia supplements this cross with
Jerusalem crosses.
Across the rest of
Northern Italy as the symbol of
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
,
Genoa,
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
,
Reggio Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
,
Mantua
Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
,
Vercelli and
Alessandria, the form has only received a cult of Saint George bolstering and simplification to the cross of Saint
Ambrose, the origin of the cross in their civic designs, as the latter was adopted by the Commune of
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
in 1045, Ambrose having been a late 4th-century bishop of that city.
Origins and medieval use
Saint George became widely venerated as a
warrior saint during the
Third Crusade. There was a legend that he had miraculously assisted
Godfrey of Bouillon; also that
Richard the Lionheart had placed himself under his protection.
According to legend, the crusaders received miraculous help at the
siege of Antioch on 28 June 1098 from a great army on white horses, clothed in white and bearing white banners, led by St George, St Demetrius, and St Mercurius. However, there was no association of the red cross with St George before the end of the crusades.
The ''red'' cross in particular was associated with the
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...
, from the time of the
Second Crusade (1145),
but in 1188 red and white crosses were chosen to identify the French and English troops in the "Kings' Crusade" of
Philip II of France and
Henry II of England, respectively.
Together with the
Jerusalem Cross, the plain red-on-white became a recognizable symbol of the crusader from about 1190, and in the 13th century it came to be used as a standard or emblem by numerous leaders or polities who wanted to associate themselves with the crusades.
The red-on-white combination was chosen by the Kingdom of
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
, among others.
Saint George was depicted as a crusader knight during this time, but the red cross had no particular association with him. A
crusader-era fresco in the crypt of
Trani cathedral shows Saint George wearing a white cross on a red surcoat. The white-on-red version was chosen as the ("imperial banner") by the German crusaders in the 12th century, and
Emperor Frederick II used it in his European campaigns of the 1250s after he had returned from the crusades. It continued to be used as the ("imperial war flag") of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, eventually giving rise to the
flag of Savoy and the present-day flags of
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. Via the conflict between
(pro-Pope) Guelphs and (pro-Imperial) Ghibellines, the cross entered the heraldry of several north Italian principalities.
A is mentioned in the Genovese annals for the year 1198, referring to a red flag with a depiction of St George and the dragon. An illumination of this flag is shown in the annals for the year 1227. The Genoese flag with the red cross was used alongside this "George's flag", from at least 1218, and was known as the ("cross ensign of the commune of Janua"). The flag showing the saint himself was the city's principal war flag, but the flag showing the plain cross was used alongside it in the 1240s.
The cross ceased to be a symbol directly associated with the "taking of the cross", the resolve to fight in a crusade, after the failure of the crusades in the 14th century. With the development of systematic
heraldry
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, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
, there was great demand for variations of the cross symbol and associated terminology.
Juliana Berners reports that there were ''Crossis innumerabull born dayli''. The term "St George's cross" was at first associated with any plain
Greek cross
The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
touching the edges of the field (not necessarily red on white).
Early representations of Saint George as a crusader knight with bearing a red-on-white cross still date to the late 13th century, and become widespread as the saint's
attributed arms in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
chose Saint George as the patron saint of his
Order of the Garter in 1348, and also took to using a red-on-white cross in the hoist of his
Royal Standard.
England
Origin
There was a historiographical tradition claiming that Richard the Lionheart himself adopted both the flag and the patron saint from Genoa at some point during his crusade. This idea can be traced to the Victorian era, Perrin (1922) refers to it as a "common belief", and it is still popularly repeated today even though it cannot be substantiated as historical.
On the origins of the flag and its connection to the Genoese flag,
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, said in a speech in
Genoa in 1992:
The St. George's flag, a red cross on a white field, was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the Genoese fleet. The English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege.
The red cross was introduced to England by the late 13th century, but not as a flag, and not at the time associated with Saint George. It was worn by English soldiers as an identification from the early years of the reign of
Edward I (1270s), and perhaps originated a few years earlier, in the
Second Barons' War (specifically in the
Battle of Evesham of 1265, during which, according to chronicler
William Rishanger,
Simon de Montfort observed that the king had taken from him the idea of having his soldiers marked with a cross).
Saint George rose to the position of "patron saint of England" in a process beginning in 1348 with the foundation of the
Order of the Garter and culminating with the abolition of all saint's banners except for the
St George's banner in 1552. From 1348 and throughout the 15th century, the Saint George's Cross was shown in the hoist of the
Royal Standards of the
Plantagenet kings of England.
Flag

A
combined British flag was created in 1606 (after the
dynastic union of England and
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in 1603, the so-called "
Union of the Crowns") by combining Saint George's Cross with the
Saint Andrew's Cross (the
flag of Scotland
The flag of Scotland (; , also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire) is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire Defacement (flag), defacing a blue field. The Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, i ...
). The flag was initially for maritime display, later restricted to the King's ships. Afterwards, the Saint George flag remained the flag of England for other purposes until the
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...
. At the union, the first
Union Flag
The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags.
It is sometimes a ...
became official for all purposes in the new
Kingdom of Great Britain
Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...
.
From this time, the Saint George's Cross came to be seen as a symbol of
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...
when used alongside symbols for Scotland or Ireland; so in the
flags of the Commonwealth of England during 1649 to 1660.
The flag of Saint George is also the rank flag of an
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
, and civilian craft are forbidden to fly it. However, surviving
little ships of Dunkirk, which participated in the
Dunkirk evacuation during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, are allowed to fly it as a
jack. This is normally done in the
defaced form of the
Dunkirk jack.
Churches belonging to the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
may fly the Saint George's Cross (unless another flag is flown by custom for special reasons). The correct way for the church to fly the Saint George's cross (since an order from the
Earl Marshal in 1938) is with the arms of the
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
in the upper left-hand corner of the flag.
[Church of England - Use of the flag](_blank)
'' Flags of the World''; 23 October 2008
The flag of St George has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity since the late 20th century, partly due to football-inspired nationalism, and also in response to the devolution movements in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
.
During the 2010 World Cup, UK Prime Minister
David Cameron told Parliament that the flag would fly above his official residence at "no extra cost to the tax payer" while England played in the contest.
Derived usage
Most of the derived usage is from the flag of England. That article has illustrations of its derivations particularly across Canada, eastern Australia, the Caribbean and the Channel Islands apart from Jersey since Guernsey commonly used the English flag from 1936 (then moved to its present variant in 1985), however the illustrations below have an extremely complex or nil derivation from that flag.
The
flag of the City of London use the St George's Cross on a white background, with a red
sword
A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
in the canton. The sword is believed to represent the sword that beheaded
Saint Paul who is the patron saint of the city.
[, Britishflags.net]
File:Flag of Abkhazia (GE).svg, Proposed flag of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia
File:Flag of Adjara.svg, Flag of Adjara
File:Flag of the City of London.svg, Flag of the City of London
Georgia
Saint George is the patron saint of the nation of Georgia, and the Saint George flag was
supposedly used in the 5th century by
Georgian king Vakhtang Gorgasali. In the 13th century, Queen
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr , ; 1160 – 18 January 1213) queen regnant, reigned as the List of monarchs of Georgia#Kings of unified Georgia (1008–1490), Queen of Kingdom of Georgia, Georgia from 1184 to 1213, ...
used the Saint George flag during her campaign against
Seljuk Turks. The four
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
crosses were later added by King
George V of Georgia, who drove out the
Mongols
Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
from Georgia in 1334.
The flag fell out during the
Russian annexation of Georgia and abolition of the
Georgian monarchy. However, the flag was revived by the Georgian patriotic movement in the 1990s. A majority of Georgians supported the restoration of the medieval flag of Georgia, including the influential Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia
Ilia II of the
Georgian Orthodox Church
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...
. The flag was finally adopted by the
Georgian parliament on 14 January 2004. It was formally endorsed by a presidential decree signed by
Mikheil Saakashvili on 25 January, following his election as
President of Georgia. The Georgian Navy's naval ensign also used a St. George's Cross during its existence.
Other

*The
flag of Barcelona combines the cross of Saint George, the patron saint of
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
, with the traditional red and yellow bars of the
Senyera, the ancient symbol of the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
.
*The flag of
Almería, Spain, consists of a St George's Cross.
*The crest of
Royal St. George's College in Toronto, Canada, contains a St George's Cross.
*The Indian naval flag used to feature a St. George Cross until it was removed in 2022
*Both the
flag of Sardinia and the
flag of Corsica are derived from the Four Moors flag, also known as the "Cross of Alcoraz". This consists of a red cross of Saint George on a white background with a ''maure'' (moor's head) in each quarter. This is also found in the flag of
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
, (Spain), and is based on a war flag of the
Reconquista
The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...
following the
Battle of Alcoraz in 1096.
*The flag and arms of
Freiburg im Breisgau
Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
, Germany, consist of a St George's Cross, as St George is one of the city's patron saints.
*In
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, the term "Saint George's cross" sometimes refers to the
Cross pattée
A cross pattée or cross patty (, ), also known as a cross formée or cross formy, or even a Templar cross, is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre and often flared in a curve or straight line shape to be broader at th ...
used by
Swedish Freemasons. For example, the cross of the
Swedish Order of Freemasons was defined by the
King of Sweden in 1928 to be a "red St George's cross with triangular arms".
*In
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, the Cross pattée is called ''Yrjön risti'', "George's cross", while the red cross on a white background is called ''Pyhän Yrjön risti'', "Saint George's cross".
[Kimmo Kara, Vaakunaselitys, Helsinki 1989, , p. 49 51]
* Some British Commonwealth countries used the St. George's Cross on their naval ensigns, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Africa.
* The naval jack of Italy contains a St. George's Cross on the second quarter.
* Naval flags of
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
, contain a St. George's Cross coloured in the same pattern as the Latvian national flag.
* Depicted on the trumpet banner of the Angel from the Judgement card in the Tarot Deck.
* The naval ensign of Ukraine contains a St. George's Cross.
* On the canton of the flags used by the Northern Ireland Loyalist paramilitary organisation the
Ulster Volunteer Force and its affiliated group the
Red Hand Commando.
Notes
External links
Flag of Englandat FOTW
at FOTW
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{{Symbols of Georgia (country)
{{Georgia (country) topics
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Christian crosses
Catalan symbols
Saint George (martyr)
Saint George
Flags of saints
Flags with crosses