Wales history: Why is the red dragon on the Welsh flag?
- Published 7 July 2019
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-47389680
Why is the red dragon (Y Ddraig Goch) the emblem of Wales?
It is flown across the world to mark sporting events and St David’s Day every 1 March.
But do you know where the flag came from, and why it features a red dragon?
The answer is both old and new.
Graham Bartram, of the Flag Institute, said: “The Welsh flag we know today – a large red dragon on a white and green background – only came into being in 1959.
“But, in fact, the red dragon as an emblem has been used in Wales since the reign of Cadwaladr (Cadwallader), King of Gwynedd from around 655AD.”
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Or even before this, according to Mared Llywelyn who wrote her Aberystwyth University Master’s research on the dragon. She said it was largely popularised across Britain by the Romans, who used to fix bronze and silk dragons to their lances during battle.
“The Romans used the dragon as a war emblem and it is believed that they had a military flag called the Draco, which was a piece of cloth on a long pole that made a hissing sound when the wind blew through it, it would have looked very similar to a dragon from afar,” she said.
During the 5th and 10th Centuries, dragons increased in popularity across Britain, moving from a more serpent-like image to a creature often with four legs and wings.
According to Ms. Llywelyn, the words dragon and dreic appeared in early Welsh texts from the 6th Century.
While in the 12th Century legend of Merlin, two sleeping dragons – one red, one white – wake up and begin fighting, coming to represent the struggle between the Welsh (red) and the English (white).
Such was the fascination with the mythical creatures that when ruler Owain Glyndŵr attacked Caernarfon Castle in 1401, he reportedly flew a flag depicting a golden dragon.
Mr. Bartram said: “In later centuries, a white dragon was used to represent the Anglo-Saxons poetically, while a yellow dragon on a red background was used by the kingdom of Wessex.”
Still, the red dragon often reigned supreme, with many Welsh poets writing about it.
Miss Llywelyn added: “Compared to other nations, the Welsh have had a positive relationship with the dragon over the centuries, with heroes praised for being dragon-like.”
It was the Tudors, though, who helped cement the red dragon’s place in history.
In the late 15th Century, Henry Tudor (later Henry VII) placed a red dragon on top of the Tudor colours of white and green during the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
This was his attempt to prove that he was a descendant of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd and the last of the Briton Kings – his banner was originally the red dragon.
Such was its prolific position throughout history, in 1807, after the union of parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland, the red dragon was adopted as an emblem for Wales.
The essence of this design was then used to form the first official Welsh flag, created for the Queen’s coronation in 1953.
It comprised a small red dragon, surrounded by a circle of Welsh words Y Ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn (the red dragon gives impetus).
This augmented badge was placed on a white flag and flown over government buildings on appropriate occasions.
But in 1958 the Gorsedd of Bards (comprising poets, writers, and artists who have made a distinguished contribution to the Welsh language), expressed the wish that the red dragon flag be recognized as the national flag of Wales, instead of this augmented badge.
The design was changed in 1959 to the current flag.
This article was inspired by a question sent to us by Gillian Arnold, a Californian originally from Cardiff.
She said: “Although I have lived in California for 30 years, I still go back home to Cardiff to visit my family.
“My reason for asking about our flag is that I am fiercely Welsh and promote Wales all the time.
“People love our flag because it is so unusual. They ask why we have a dragon.”
The Red Dragon of Wales
by Ben Johnson
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/The-Red-Dragon-of-Wales/
Although an integral part of the United Kingdom, Wales is not represented on the national flag, or Union Flag, more popularly known as the Union Jack.
The proud and ancient battle standard of the Welsh is The Red Dragon (Y Ddraig Goch) which consists of a red dragon, passant (standing with one foot raised), on a green and white background. As with any ancient symbol, the appearance of the dragon has been adapted and changed over the years, and hence several different variations exist.
The current flag was officially adopted in 1959 and is based on an old royal badge used by British kings and queens since Tudor times. The red dragon itself has been associated with Wales for centuries, and as such, the flag is claimed to be the oldest national flag still in use. But why a dragon? The answer to that particular question is lost in history and myth.
Roman Cavalry Draco
One legend recalls Romano-British soldiers carrying the red dragon (Draco) to Rome on their banners in the fourth century, but it could be even older than that.
It is considered that the Welsh kings of Aberffraw first adopted the dragon in the early fifth century in order to symbolize their power and authority after the Romans withdrew from Britain. Later, around the seventh century, it became known as the Red Dragon of Cadwaladr, king of Gwynedd from 655 to 682.
Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae, written between 1120 and 1129, links the dragon with the Arthurian legends, including Uther Pendragon the father of Arthur whose name translates as Dragon Head. Geoffrey’s account also tells of the prophecy of Myrddin (or Merlin) of a long fight between a red dragon and a white dragon, symbolising the historical struggle between the Welsh (red dragon) and the English (white dragon).
The oldest recorded use of the dragon to symbolize Wales, however, is from the Historia Brittonum, written by the historian Nennius around 820.
The red dragon was even said to have been used as the British standard at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, when the Welsh archers, dressed in their beloved green and white, played such a crucial role in defeating the French.
The coat of arms of Henry VII with the Welsh Dragon supporting the royal arms of England
And although Owain Glyndwr raised the dragon standard in 1400 as a symbol of revolt against the English Crown, the dragon was brought to England by the House of Tudor, the Welsh dynasty that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. It signified their direct descent from one of the noble families of Wales. The green and white stripes of the flag were additions of Henry VII, the first Tudor king, representing the colours of his standard.
During Henry VIII’sreign the red dragon on a green and white background became a favourite emblem on Royal Navy ships.
As the national flag of Wales, the red dragon appears to have regained popularity in the early part of the twentieth century, when it was used for the 1911 Caernarfon Investiture of Edward, Prince of Wales. It wasn’t until 1959 however, that it became officially recognised as the national flag of the country.
The Red Dragon now flies proudly over public and private buildings throughout Wales, and thousands still cross the border into England every other year, when the two nations meet for their ‘historic struggle’ on the rugby battlefield known as Twickenham. Welshmen, women and children carrying the dragon as a symbol of pride in their history and culture.
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