The most recognizable national emblems of England, the historical region of Great Britain are the "cross of St. George", "the lions on guard" and the "rose of the Tudors". All of them have a centuries-old fascinating history. No less interesting is the history of the symbols of Ireland: the golden harp, shamrock and tricolor national flag.
Instruction manual
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"Cross of St. George" - the national flag of England. Represents a rectangular red cross on a white background. St. George is the patron saint of England. The banner with the cross of St. George, according to the Encyclopedia of Britannica, appeared in the English army under King Richard the Lionheart. It later became the state flag and ensign of the Royal Navy. According to another version, supported by many historians, the "cross of St. George" was originally a flag of the Republic of Genoa. And the English kings paid an annual tribute to the Doges of Genoa for the right to use the flag on their ships and count on the protection of the powerful Genoese fleet.
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"Lions on the lookout" is a traditional English coat of arms. The lion was originally the emblem of the Plantagenet dynasty, the monarchs who ruled England from the middle of the 12th to the end of the 14th century. Under the most famous representative of this dynasty, Richard the Lionheart, there were three lions on the coat of arms. Over time, the national emblem of Great Britain was supplemented by other symbols. But even now, the logo based on three lions is used by many English public organizations, in particular, the English football association.
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The Rose of the Tudors is another well-known heraldic emblem. It symbolizes the end of the destructive civil "war of red and white roses." Many years of confrontation ended with the ascension to the throne of Henry VII Tudor. His father came from the house of Lancaster, whose symbol was the scarlet rose. Mother was the heiress of the formerly hostile house of York, which was symbolized by a white rose.
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Golden harp on a blue field - the national emblem of the Republic of Ireland. The harp became a symbol of the country in the 15th century. Why this musical instrument has become a state emblem is not known to historians for certain. In Carl Allard’s book On Flags, published in 1708, there is a version: one of the ancient Irish rulers chose the harp as a symbol of his personal heavenly protector of the biblical king and prophet David, a famous poet and musician.
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Shamrock is a trademark of Ireland, officially registered in the World Register of Intellectual Property. In Irish, the emblem is called shamrock, which means clover. Depicted as a three-leaf clover leaf. According to legend, the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, using the example of the Shamrock, explained the meaning of the Church’s teachings about the Trinity.
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The tricolor state flag of Ireland, consisting of three vertical stripes of green, white and orange. Green is interpreted as the color of Irish nationalism. The orange color represents the Dutch prince William of Orange, who became the English king William III and conquered Ireland. White means a truce between greens and oranges.
