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Saint Piran's Flag

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File:Pamiatka z Kornwalii.jpg
Souvenir flags outside a café
File:Stpiraninpenwith.JPG
Saint Piran's Day celebrations in Penzance
File:High ripples from Loe ground.jpg
Flying the flag in Portloe

Saint Piran's Flag (Template:Langx) is the flag of Cornwall. The earliest known description of the flag, referred to as the Standard of Cornwall, was written in 1838.<ref name=gilbert>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is used by all Cornish people as a symbol of their identity.<ref name=rendle>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The flag is attributed to Saint Piran, a 5th-century Cornish abbot. But the white cross and black background design is also the coat of arms of the Saint-Perran (or Saint-Pezran) family from Cornouaille in Brittany, recorded from the 15th century.<ref>P. POTIER de COURCY, Nobiliaire et armorial de Bretagne, A. Aubry, 1862, p390</ref>

OriginsEdit

The earliest known evidence of this flag was recorded by Davies Gilbert in his 1838 work: The Parochial History of Cornwall, in which he gives reference to

a white cross on a black ground [that] was formerly the banner of St Perran and the Standard of Cornwall; probably with some allusion to the black ore and the white metal of tin<ref name=gilbert/><ref name=rendle/>

The fact that Gilbert identifies it as being "formerly" a standard of Cornwall implies that he believed it to have been used before 1838.<ref name=gilbert/> However, Gilbert did not leave a record of his background research, and referred only to his "recollection".<ref name=rendle/>

One of the oldest depictions of the flag can be seen in a stained glass window at Westminster Abbey. It was unveiled in 1888, in memory of the famous Cornish inventor and engineer Richard Trevithick. The window depicts St Michael at the top and nine Cornish saints, Piran, Petroc, Pinnock,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Germanus, Julian, Cyriacus, Constantine, Nonna and Geraint in tiers below. The head of St Piran appears to be a portrait of Trevithick himself, and the figure carries the banner of Cornwall.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Clues to its originEdit

Template:More citations needed section Saint Piran's Flag has similarities to the old Breton flag and the flag of Saint David. The cultural links between Brittany, Wales and Cornwall are well recorded. Saint Piran's Flag is the negative image of the old Breton flag, a black cross on a white field. The flag of Saint David shares a black background with Saint Piran's Flag, but is surmounted by a gold, rather than a white, cross.

File:Kroaz Du.svg
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File:Flag of Saint David.svg
The Welsh flag of Saint David

It has also been suggested that it may have been based on the arms of the Earl of Cornwall, or the later Duchy of Cornwall; based on the arms of other Cornish families; or be linked with the black and white livery of the Knights of St John.<ref name=rendle/>

French and Breton family armsEdit

The arms of the Saint-Peran family in Brittany, show a white cross pattée on a black field.

  • Borgnearms.jpg

    Arms of Geoffroy le Borgne

  • Arneke2.jpg

    Arms of the Arnèke family

  • Rouvroy.jpg

    Arms of Rouvroy de Saint-Simon

  • Blason famille bzh de Saint-Péran.svg

    Arms of Saint-Peran family (Brittany)<ref>Guide des drapeaux bretons et celtes (English: Guide of Breton and Celtic flags) by Divi Kervella and Mikael Bodlore-Penlaez, published by Yoran Embanner (in French), (2008) Template:ISBN</ref>

Several other French and Breton families also had coats of arms that bear a striking resemblance to the St Piran's flag:

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  • Rossillon de Gex, coat of arms described: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
  • Brunet, de la Besse, coat of arms described: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Myths about the originsEdit

There are a very large number of modern legends about the origins of the flag.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=rendle>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

An article in the old Encyclopaedia Britannica on "Cornish Wrestling" stated that the flag was carried by the Cornish contingent at the Battle of Agincourt (1415).<ref>Heraldry Society Flag Section Newsletter, Autumn 1969</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, the reference given by the Encyclopaedia Britannica seems to have been confused with one that comes from a 1590 poem entitled Poly-Olbion by Michael Drayton. It states that the banner carried by the Cornish men at Agincourt depicted two Cornish wrestlers in a hitch.<ref>Poly-Olbion by Michael Drayton</ref>

UsageEdit

The flag is often displayed on bumper stickers, and flying from buildings, including those of Cornwall Council.<ref name=suzylou>How far has the “Cornish Revival” affected modern Cornwall? Template:Webarchive</ref> It is flown at most Cornish gatherings, such as the Gorsedh Kernow, St Piran's Day (5 March), Camborne's Trevithick Day (April), Padstow's 'Obby 'Oss festival (May), Helston's Flora Day (May), and at Cornish rugby matches. It is regularly seen around Cornwall on car stickers with the word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Cornish for Cornwall), and is used around the world as a symbol of the Cornish diaspora or overseas Cornish associations. It has been adapted for use in the logos of a number of organisations, such as the Cornwall district of the Methodist Church, is used by a variety of Cornish businesses such as Ginsters, and is seen on the design of the Cornish All Blacks rugby shirts as well as the Cornish Pirates rugby logo.<ref name=suzylou/>Template:Dead link

At the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in June 2012, the flag was flown on the Royal Rowing Barge alongside the flags representing England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the City of London. One of the largest flags in the pageant was also St Piran's Flag, flown by the St Ives mackerel lugger Barnabas.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Western Morning News">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The flags of Smith Island, Maryland and Tangier, Virginia incorporate St. Piran's cross in the upper-left canton in recognition of the early settlers who came to the islands from Cornwall and Devon.

The flag can be seen in Doc Martin, which is set in the fictional Cornwall fishing village of Portwenn and filmed in the real-life one of Port Isaac.

GalleryEdit

  • Flag of the Duke of Cornwall.svg

    The flag of the Duke of Cornwall

  • Cornish Ensign.svg

    Cornish Ensign

  • Flag of Malpas, Cornwall.svg

    Flag of Malpas

  • Burgee of Penzance Sailing Club.svg

    Burgee of Penzance Sailing Club

  • Burgee of Port Navas Yacht Club.svg

    Burgee of Port Navas Yacht Club

  • Australian Cornish-heritage flag.svg

    Cornish Australian heritage flag

  • Flag of Dangar Island.svg

    Flag of Dangar Island, New South Wales

See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

  • Flags of the World – Speculations of the origins of this flag.
  • [[[:Template:Flag Institute]] The Flag Institute]

Template:Cornwall Template:Culture of Cornwall Template:Celts Template:Subnational flags of the United Kingdom

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