Scottish Flag History

Scottish Flag History

The Unofficial Scottish Flag

Scotland actually has a choice of two different flags which are used to represent their nation: The Saltire and the Lion Rampant. The Lion Rampant is the unofficial flag of Scotland and is presented as a red lion with a red rectangular border on a vibrant yellow background. The Lion Rampant is seen as the Royal flag of Scotland as legally it belongs to the King or Queen of Scotland. The last Scottish monarch was in the 17th Century, so it now belongs to the Monarch of the United Kingdom, namely Queen Elizabeth II.

The lion’s position, one in which he is ready to strike, is given the term ‘The Lion Rampant’ hence the name of the flag.

The Birth of the Lion Rampant Flag

This symbolic flag has been thought to have been used since the 12th Century, but maybe even earlier. The Scottish King Alexander had the symbol of the Lion Rampant used as his coat of arms and upon his royal seals to represent the Kingdom of Scotland at this time.

Use of the Lion Rampant Today

As afore mentioned, this flag belongs to the monarchy and therefore is only allowed to be flown by select members of the establishment. It was made illegal in 1672 for anyone but royalty to fly the flag so that it is not a common sight and makes a larger impact when it is seen. King George V interrupted the ban in 1935 when he gave permission for everyone to fly The Lion Rampart in celebration of his Silver Jubilee.

The flag itself is quite a common sight now, especially handheld versions, but everyone will need permission if they wish to fly one from a flagpole. ~

The official Scottish Flag

The Saltire is the official Scottish flag and its name describes its appearance, much like the Rampant Lion. Saltire literally means ‘a cross with diagonal bars of equal length’; the Scottish flag is a blue background with a white cross stretching diagonally from corner to corner.

The Saltire is also known as the St Andrews Cross and is thought to have been first used in 1512, although the use of the Saltire as a Scottish symbol dates further back to the time of Jesus Christ. The 500 year use of the Blue and white Saltire makes this flag one of the oldest in use to this day.

The Origins of the Saltire

The origins of the Saltire aren’t well documented for they happened so long ago, but the legends are very plausible. The history of the powerful connection that Scotland has to the Saltire begins in 60AD and with St. Andrew, who was later declared the Patron Saint of Scotland.

St. Andrew was crucified and feeling unworthy to hang on the same style cross as Jesus Christ, he requested that that he would hang on a Saltire, diagonal, shaped cross. The use of this shape cross could have also been down to the fact that he was crucified in Greece and they were known to use the Saltire during crucifixions.

The other legend refers to King Angus of Scotland and a battle in 832AD that he entered against the English King Athelstan.

King Angus is said to have had a dream the night before the battle promising him that he would win. Upon waking he and his troops awoke to a giant Saltire in the otherwise blue sky.  King Angus went on to win the battle against Athelstan and the Saltire was firmly cemented into Scottish history.

The Shade of Blue

The shade of the blue has been changed many times over the years and has been everything from sky blue to navy blue as the historical printers didn’t have the colour match technology of today. In 2003 the blue was set in parliament as ‘Pantone 300’, making it uniformed everywhere.

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