CIRCA - 1485 🏴 - a red dragon passant on a horizontally bicolor of white over green
HISTORY: The red dragon or Ddraig Goch† was 1st flown on a green-white bicolor in 1485 by (Welsh) Henry VII, in the Wars of
the 🥀 Roses, (defeating Plantagenet Richard III) Henry drew the colors from Tudor livery, which ironically, took them from 1346
Plantagenet livery, but the 🐉 dragon traces all the way back to ancient Sarmatians; Iranian equestrian steppe nomads ~5c BC.
In Wales, the 🐉 imagery is linked to King Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon & a prophecy of Merlin;
a red dragon (symbolizing native Britons i.e. Welsh) vanquished by a white dragon (invading Saxons)
[Uther - Pen Draig = head dragon - used dragon banners after seeing a comet ☄️ interpreted as a fiery dragon. Historically
red dragons were on the 7c banners of Celtic Gwynedd amid prophecies of a Welsh resurgence against the Anglo-Saxons, but
the legends are from the 12c. Despite including historical post-Roman 5c people, they are a retro-fit of mythic origins onto those real 7c Welsh flags.]
The Celts actually got their 🐉, not from Arthur, but from Roman cavalry who flew the draco; a 'windsock' banner, resembling
an open-mouthed dragon roaring in the wind - [adopted in turn from the Sarmatians encountered in the Dacian Wars ~100AD]
The dragon 🐉 gained prominence under medieval princes with the Ddraig Aur ("golden dragon") famously flown in 1401.
Tudor colors were then reincarnated as a red 🐉 dragon on grass, against a white field, in 1807. A variant of the bicolor, with
royal ⍟ badge was briefly adopted in 1953 until Y Ddraig Goch was brought back as the national flag in 1959.
† Wales, and it's dragon, is the only Great British country not represented in the 🇬🇧 Union Jack🔍, annexed by England in 13c, it wasn't considered a separate
sovereign nation - a (lack of) status that is still somewhat controversial today amongst the Welsh
VEXILLOLOGY:* With deep mythological roots, like it's country;
The RED 🐉 DRAGON is a supernatural guardian. In earliest (known) use, by Sarmatians, it symbolized unit cohesion & intimidation in tribal warfare.
For Romano-British it represented indigenous resistance. By the 7c the dragon became a symbol of Welsh identity & heritage, martial spirit, strength & resilience (against assimilation & coming back from defeat.) In the 12c-13c legends & poetry, it appears as a comet prefiguring Arthurian conquests, linking it to apocalyptic visions of a restored native sovereignty, leading later chroniclers invoke the dragon as a harbinger of national revival.
WHITE traditionally represents purity & innocence.
GREEN often symbolizes hope, joy & loyalty in love; secondarily linked to ☮︎ peace, prosperity, land & abundance. Among nobility, like the Tudors & Plantagenets, it represented the royal identity, signifying loyalty (to dynasty) & honor.