in Scotland in the standard borne by Earl Douglas at Otterburn--one of
the most chivalrous battles, according to Froissart, that was ever
fought. The story, as told in all the histories,[32] is that shortly
before the battle, in a skirmish before Newcastle, Douglas, in a
personal encounter with Percy, won the pennon of the English leader, and
boasted that he would carry it to Scotland and plant it on his castle of
Dalkeith; and till lately this standard was supposed to be the flag so
captured. But recent investigation has shown that the flag--which, by
the way, is not a pennon but a standard thirteen feet long--is that of
Douglas himself, which of course his son would be careful to preserve
and bring back. The flag is now much faded, and the second word of the
motto was, when I saw it lately, not legible, but the motto is
undoubtedly that of Earl Douglas, "Jamais arriere" (Fig. 22). The
devices are not the arms as borne by his descendants the Dukes of
Douglas;--indeed they are not arranged as a coat of arms at all. But the
lion rampant for Galloway, the saltire for the lordship of Annandale,
and the heart and the star, are all Douglas bearings. Curiously enough,
there are two hearts, while the later earls bore only one, and there is
only one star, while on their shields they carried three. The real
trophies, the capture of which, in all probability, precipitated the
battle, are to be found in two other relics which are preserved along
with the flag. They consist of two lady's gauntlets, fringed with
filigree work in silver, on each of which is embroidered the white lion
of the Percys. The gloves are of different sizes, and were perhaps love
pledges, carried by Percy suspended from his spear or helmet, as was the
fashion of the time; and the loss of such tokens was quite as likely as
the loss of a personal flag, to cause the Northumbrian knight to pursue
Douglas and force him to battle.[33] These relics are in the possession
of the family of Douglas of Cavers in Roxburghshire, descended from the
earl who was slain at Otterburn.
[32] Tytler's _History of Scotland_, ii. 365, &c.
[33] Paper read by Mr. J. A. H. Murray of Hawick to the Hawick
Archaeological Society.
[Illustration: Fig. 23.--Banner of the Douglas's.]
Along with them is preserved another old flag of the Douglas's, but
evidently of a later date. It is a good example of the square banner
borne by knights of noble rank. It is about 28 inches square, and bears
on a shield the Douglas arms, but with the heart as originally borne
before it was ensigned with a crown, and the chivalric motto still used
by the Cavers family, "Doe or die" (Fig. 23).
FLAGS BORNE BY TRADES.
Besides national and personal flags, those of Trades and Companies were
frequently carried in armies, and of these many examples occur in the
illuminated copies of Froissart. On one occasion we find on a banner
azure a chevron between a hammer, trowel, and plumb. On another there is
an axe and two pairs of compasses. And on the painting of the battle
between Philip d'Artevel and the Flemings, and the King of France,
banners occur charged with boots and shoes, drinking vessels, &c. In
Scotland an interesting example is preserved of a Trades flag which was
borne at Flodden, and which was presented in 1482 by James III. to the
Trades of Edinburgh (Fig. 24). It is familiarly known as the _Blue
Blanket_, and is in the possession of the Trades' Maidens' Hospital of
Edinburgh. In an accompanying memorandum it is described thus: "The Blue
Blanket or standard of the Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh. Renewed by
Margaret, Queen of James III., King of Scots: Borne by the craftsmen at
the battle of Flodden in 1513, and displayed on subsequent occasions
when the liberties of the city or the life of the sovereign were in
danger."
The field of the flag has been blue, but it is now much faded. In the
upper corner is the white saltire of Scotland, with the crown above and
the thistle in base. On a scroll in the upper part of the flag are the
words, "Fear God and Honor the king with a long life and a prosperous
reigne;" and, in a scroll below, the words, "And we that is Tradds shall
ever pray to be faithfull for the defence of his sacred Majestes royal
persone till death." The flag is about ten feet in length.
[Illustration: Fig. 24.--The "Blue Blanket," A.D. 1482.]
FLAGS OF THE COVENANTERS.
Of the flags borne in Scotland by the Covenanters, in their noble
struggle for liberty, several are extant, and connected as they are with
so important a part of Scottish national history, they are replete with
interest. One of these, which is preserved by the Antiquarian Society of
Edinburgh, bears the national cross, the white saltire of Scotland, with
five roses in the centre point, and the inscription "For religion,
Covenants, king, and kingdomes" (Fig. 25).
[Illustration: Fig. 25.--Flag of the Covenanters, A.D. 1679.]
For the description of another of these flags of the Covenanters, to
which a more than usual interest attaches, we are indebted to the late
distinguished artist and archaeologist Mr. James Drummond, R.S.A.[34]
Mr. Drummond says it was known as "the Bluidy Banner," and it is
important as confirming a statement which had been disputed, namely,
that Hamilton of Preston, who commanded the Covenanters at the battle
of Bothwell Brig, gave out "No quarter" as the word of the day.
Hamilton himself, in his "Vindication," not only acknowledges this,
but boasts of it--"blessing God for it," he says, and "desiring to
bless his holy name that since he helped me to set my face to his
work, I never had nor would take a favour from mine enemies, either on
the right or left hand, and desire to give as few." But Wodrow denies
the statement--characterizing it as an unjust imputation on the
Covenanters, and in this he is followed by Dr. M'Crie. The discovery of
the flag, however, puts the matter beyond doubt. Mr. Drummond found it
in the possession of an old gentleman and his sister in East Lothian,
and it was only after much persuasion that he was allowed to see it and
take a drawing of it. On his asking the old lady why she objected to
show it to strangers, she said: "It's the Bluidy Banner, ye ken, and
what would the Roman Catholics say if they kenned that our forbears had
fought under such a bluidy banner." By Roman Catholics Mr. Drummond
understood her to include Episcopalians and all others of a different
religious persuasion from her own. The flag is of blue silk. The first
line of the inscription, which is composed of gilt letters, is in the
Hebrew language--"Jehovah Nissi"--the Lord is my banner. The next line
is painted in white--"For Christ and his truths;" and then come the
words, in a reddish or blood colour, "No quarters for y^e active enimies
of y^e Covenant." The detailed account given by the custodiers to Mr.
Drummond, left no doubt as to the authenticity of this flag. (See Plate
II.)
[34] Paper read before the Society of Antiquarians of Scotland,
14th June, 1859.
[Illustration: PLATE II.
"THE BLUIDIE BANNER" CARRIED AT BOTHWELL BRIG. A.D. 1679.]
NATIONAL FLAGS.
But I must proceed to speak of our national flags. For a long time the
distinguishing flag of England has been a red cross on a white field.
The flag of Scotland is a white saltire (or St. Andrew's cross) on a
blue field, and what has come to be called the flag of Ireland is a red
saltire on a white field. But Ireland, strictly speaking, never had till
lately a national flag. The kings of Ireland previous to 1172 were not
hereditary but elective. They were chosen from among the petty kings,
and each king, when elected, brought with him and continued to use his
own standard. After the invasion of 1172 the standard of Ireland bore
three golden crowns on a blue field, and the three crowns appear on
ancient Irish coins. Henry VIII. relinquished this device for the harp,
from an apprehension, it is said, that the three crowns might be taken
for the triple crown of the pope; but the harp did not appear in the
royal standard till it was placed there by James I. Neither had St.
Patrick a cross. The cross-saltire, so far as it belongs to any saint,
is sacred to St. Andrew only. The origin of the Scottish saltire,
however, may possibly be found in the sacred monogram--the Greek X (CH),
the initial letter of our Lord's name as borne by the Emperor
Constantine, to which I have already referred. I do not know when the
Irish saltire was first introduced, as a national flag, but from the
early conquest of Ireland the Fitzgeralds have borne as their arms a red
saltire on a white field.[35]
[35] _Heraldry of the Sea._
THE UNION FLAG.
In 1603, on the union of the _crowns_ of England and Scotland, the first
union flag was formed by the combination of St. George's cross with the
saltire of Scotland; but this flag appears to have been used for ships
only. The order by the king for its construction and use bears to have
been made "in consequence of certain differences between his subjects of
North and South Britain anent the bearing of their flags;" and in the
proclamation issued in 1606, King James appoints that "from henceforth
all our subjects of this Isle and Kingdom of Great Britain shall bear in
the maintop the red cross commonly called St. George's Cross, and the
white cross commonly called St. Andrew's Cross, joined together
according to a form made by our heralds, and sent by us to our admiral
to be published to our said subjects." This was the first union flag.
The Scots being, however, sensitively jealous of England, insisted on
using their own national flag as well as the union, and it was no doubt
owing to this that the proclamation goes on to provide that "in their
foretop our subjects of South Britain shall wear the red cross only as
they were wont, and our subjects of North Britain in their foretop the
white cross only, as they were accustomed." In the ensign the union was
not worn till a considerable time afterwards--the union by itself being
then as now worn by the king's ships as a jack at the bowsprit.
On the death of Charles I. the Commonwealth Parliament, professing to be
the Parliament of England only, and of Ireland as a dependency, expunged
the Scottish cross from the flag with its blue field. The flag of
command ordered to take the place of the union, and to be borne by the
admirals of the respective squadrons, at the main, fore, and mizen, is
described[36] as "the arms of England and Ireland in two escutcheons on
a red flag within a compartment or,"--that of the admiral, according to
Mr. Pepys, being encircled by a laurel wreath, while those of the vice
and rear-admirals were plain. The ensigns showed the Irish harp on the
fly.[37]
[36] Order dated 5th March, 1649.
[37] _Heraldry of the Sea_, p. 8.
On the Restoration in 1660 the union flag was reintroduced, and when
England and Scotland became constitutionally united in 1707, this was
confirmed, with an order that it should be used "in all flags, banners,
standards, and ensigns, _both at sea and land_." The order in council
bears "that the flaggs be according to the draft marked C, wherein the
crosses of St. George and St. Andrew are conjoined;" but none of the
drafts appear in the Register. A representation of this flag will be
found in Plate III. No. I., and there being no draft to copy, I have
given it according to the verbal blazon, viz. azure a saltire argent
surmounted by a cross gules fimbriated of the second--that is, the St.
George's cross with a narrow white border.
On the union with Ireland in the beginning of the present century the
Irish saltire was introduced. The St. George's cross remained as it was,
but the saltires of Scotland and Ireland were placed side by side, but
"counterchanged"--that is, in the first and third divisions or quarters,
the white, as senior, is uppermost, and in the second and fourth the red
is uppermost. The "verbal blazon," or written direction, is very
distinct, but in making the flag, or rather in showing pictorially how
it was to be represented, a singular and very absurd error occurred,
which, in the manufacture of our flags, has been continued to the
present day, and which it may be interesting to explain.
The verbal blazon is contained in the minute by the king in council, and
in the proclamation which followed on it, issued on 1st of January,
1801. I need not give the technical words; suffice to say that the flag
is appointed to be blue, with the three crosses, or rather, the one
cross and two saltires combined. And, in order to meet a law in
heraldry, that colour is not to be placed on colour, or metal upon
metal, it is directed that where the red crosses of England and Ireland
come in contact with the blue ground of the flag, they are to be
"fimbriated"--that is, separated from the blue by a very narrow border
of one of the metals--in this case silver, or white. Of heraldic
necessity this border of both the red crosses fell to be of the same
breadth. To use the words of the written blazon, the St. George's cross
is to be "fimbriated _as the saltire_;" a direction so plain that the
merest tyro in heraldry could not fail to understand it, and be able to
paint the flag accordingly.
Let me premise another thing. It is a universal rule in heraldry that
the verbal blazon, when such exists, is alone of authority. Different
artists may, from ignorance or from carelessness, express the drawing
differently from the directions before them, and this occurs every day;
but no one is or can be misled by that if he has the verbal blazon to
refer to.
Now, in the important case of the Union flag it so happened that the
artist who, according to the practice usual in such cases, was
instructed to make a drawing of the flag on the margin of the king's
order in council, was either careless or ignorant or stupid. Most
probably he was all three, and here is how he depicted it. The
horizontal lines represent blue and the perpendicular red; the rest is
white. (See Fig. 26.)
[Illustration: Fig. 26.--Union Flag as depicted A.D. 1801.]
Now here, it will be observed, the red saltire of Ireland is
"fimbriated" white, according to the instructions; and this is done with
perfect accuracy, by the narrowest possible border. But the St. George's
cross, instead of being fimbriated in the same way--which the written
blazon expressly says it shall be--is not fimbriated at all. The cross
is placed upon a ground of white so broad that it ceases to be a border.
The practical effect of this, and its only heraldic meaning, is, that
the centre of the flag, instead of being occupied solely by the St.
George's cross, is occupied by _two crosses_, a white cross with a red
one superinduced on it. So palpable is this that Mr. Laughton, the
accomplished lecturer on naval history at the Royal Naval College, in a
lecture recently published, suggests that this is perhaps what was
really intended. "A fimbriation," he says, "is a narrow border to
prevent the unpleasing effect of metal on metal or colour on colour. It
should be as narrow as possible to mark the contrast. But the white
border of our St. George's cross is not, strictly speaking, a
fimbriation at all. It is a white cross of one-third the width of the
flag surmounted of a red cross." And his hypothesis is that this may
have been intended to commemorate a tradition of the combination of the
red cross of England with the white cross of France.[38] The suggestion
is ingenious and interesting, but it has clearly no foundation. There
might have been something to say for it had there been only the drawing
to guide us. In that case, indeed, the theory of Mr. Laughton, or some
one similar, would be absolutely necessary to account for the two
crosses. But Mr. Laughton overlooks the important facts, first, that we
possess in the verbal blazon distinct written instructions; secondly,
that where such exist no drawing which is at variance with them can
possess any authority; and lastly, that in this case the verbal blazon
not only is silent as to a second cross, but it expressly prescribes
that there shall be only one, that of St. George. To that nothing is to
be added--nothing, that is, but the narrow border or fimbriation
necessary to meet the heraldic requirement to separate it from the blue
ground of the flag, the same as is directed to be done, and as has been
done, with the saltire of Ireland.
[38] _Heraldry of the Sea_, 1879.
Some years ago I called the attention of the Admiralty to this
extraordinary blunder, and I pointed out then, just what Mr. Laughton
has done in his recent lecture, that the flag, as made, really shows two
crosses in the centre. The Admiralty referred the matter to Garter King
of Arms, but Sir Albert Woods, while he did not say a word in defence of
the arrangement, would not interfere. "The flag," he said, "was made
according to the drawing,"--which was too true--"and it was exhibited,"
he added, "in the same way on the colours of the Queen's infantry
regiments;" and, naturally enough, he declined the responsibility of
advising a change. And so it remains. I may observe, however, that in
one, at least, of the Horse Guards' patterns, the arrangement of the
tinctures is not, as Sir Albert supposes, according to the original
drawing, and it is different from the pattern prescribed by the
Admiralty. I refer to the flag prescribed for the use of military
authorities "when embarked in boats or other vessels." In that flag, of
which an official copy is now before me, the fimbriation of the Irish
saltire is of much greater breadth than it is in the Admiralty flag,
while that saltire itself is considerably reduced in breadth.
Besides the error in the border of the St. George's cross, the breadth
of the Irish saltire in all our flags, as now manufactured, is less than
that of the white cross of Scotland, which is clearly wrong. For obvious
reasons, and according to the written blazon, they ought to be the same.
Indeed, all the three crosses ought to be of the same breadth. So great,
however, is the difference in practice, that in the official Admiralty
Directions for the construction of a flag of given dimensions, while the
St. George's cross is appointed to be 18 inches in breadth, that of St.
Andrew is to be only 9 inches, and the Irish cross only 6--this last
being exactly the same as the breadth appointed for the border of the
cross of St. George!
Figure II. of Plate III. shows the flag as made according to the
erroneous pattern now in use. Figure III. shows it as it ought to be,
and as it is appointed to be made by the distinct terms of the verbal
blazon, in the order by the king in council. But the breadth of the St.
George's cross I have left unaltered.
It is to be hoped that heraldic propriety will prevail over a practice
originating in obvious error, and that our national flag will be flown
according to its true blazon. The correction would be very easily made.
The reduction of the breadth of the border of St. George's cross and the
slight increase in the width of the Irish saltire would be little
noticed, while, besides correcting obvious errors, it would have the
advantage of bringing the flag, in one important respect, into
conformity with the design as represented on the coinage. On the reverse
of our beautiful bronze coins the St. George's cross on Britannia's
shield is fimbriated as it ought to be, that is, by the narrow border
prescribed by the written blazon.
[Illustration: UNION FLAGS AND PENDANT. PLATE III.]
[Illustration: Fig. 27.]
But if the penny is right in that respect, it exhibits another
extraordinary example of our slipshod heraldry, by a variation of a
different and more startling kind. My complaint against the flag, as
made, is, that it represents four crosses, but on the penny there are
only two. This was all right when the design was first made in the reign
of Charles II., but when the third cross was added to the flag the three
crosses should have appeared on the coin. A desire to adhere to the
original design cannot certainly be pleaded, for there have been many
changes in this figure of Britannia. She was first placed there by
Charles II. in honour of the beautiful Duchess of Richmond, who sat to
the sculptor for the figure. But her drapery on the coin of those days
was very scanty, and her semi-nude state was hardly in keeping with the
stormy waves beside which she was seated. Queen Anne, like a modest lady
as she was, put decent clothing on her, and made her stand upright, and
took away her shield, crosses and all. In the subsequent reigns she was
allowed to sit down again, and she got back her shield, with the trident
in her left hand and an olive-branch in the right. On the present
coinage--a copy of which (the penny) is shown in Fig. 27--the drapery of
Queen Anne is retained, but the figure is entirely turned round, and
faces the sinister side of the coin, instead of the dexter, as at first,
and the olive-branch (_absit omen_) has been taken away. But with all
these changes there remain only two crosses on the shield. The reader
will naturally suppose, however, that the omission consisted in not
adding the Irish saltire to that of Scotland, which had been there from
the first. But no. In this instance there was certainly no "injustice to
Ireland," for the extraordinary thing is, that the St. Andrew's cross
has been taken away altogether, and the saltire of Ireland,
distinguished by its fimbriated border, has been put in its place,
Scotland being not now represented on the coin at all. Of course this
has arisen from mere carelessness at the Mint, but it is an error which
ought to be at once corrected.
THE UNION JACK.
But to return to our flags. The Union Jack is a diminutive of the Union.
It is exclusively a ship flag, and, although of the same pattern as the
Union, it ought never to be called the Union _Jack_ except when it is
flown on the jack-staff,--a staff on the bowsprit or fore part of a
ship. It is extraordinary how little this distinction is understood. For
example, in the Queen's Regulations for the army a list of stations is
given at which it is directed that "the national flag, _the Union Jack_,
is authorized to be hoisted." And in a general order issued from the
North British Head Quarters as to the arrangements to be observed on a
recent occasion of the sitting of the General Assembly in Edinburgh, it
was stated that "the Union Jack" would be displayed from the Castle and
at the Palace of Holyrood. But the _Union Jack_ is never flown on shore.
The proper name of the national flag is _the Union_. It is the shore
flag, and, except personal flags, the only one which is displayed from
fortresses and other stations.
At the Royal Arsenal and a few other stations the Union flag is
displayed daily. At others, such as Sandgate Castle and Rye, it is flown
only on anniversaries. At Tilbury, Edinburgh Castle, and other places,
it is hoisted on Sundays and anniversaries. And there are similar rules
for foreign stations.
On board her Majesty's ships the Union is sometimes displayed, but only
on special occasions. It is hoisted at the mizen top-gallant-masthead
when the Queen is on board, the Royal Standard and the flag of the Lord
High Admiral being at the same time hoisted at the main and fore
top-gallant-mastheads respectively. And an Admiral of the Fleet hoists
the Union at the main top-gallant-masthead. The Army Regulations,
however, referring to the presence of the Queen on board ship, again
confound the two flags, and prescribe that a salute shall be fired by
forts whenever a ship passes showing the flags which indicate the
presence of the sovereign, and among these is specified "_the Union
Jack_ at the mizen top-gallant-masthead." If the commandant of a
fortress acted on this, her Majesty might pass every day of the year
without a salute, as he would certainly never see the Union _Jack_ in
that position. The mistake is the more curious as the Regulations
elsewhere distinguish the Union Jack from the Union by speaking of the
latter as the "Great Union."
The Jack when flown from the mast with a white border is the signal for
a pilot. In this case it is called the Pilot Jack. When flown from the
bowsprit of a merchant ship it must also have a white border.
It has been said that the term "Jack" is derived from the name of the
sovereign James I. (_Jacques_), in whose reign it was constructed. This
is the legend at the Admiralty, but it is of doubtful authority. The
Oxford Glossary says there is not a shadow of evidence for it, and
traces the word to the surcoat worn of old by the soldiery called a
_jacque_--whence jacket. But this also is doubtful.