Fun with Flags

"Flags: you gotta know how to hold 'em, you gotta know how to fold 'em." -- Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory

The Union Jack is a rather complicated flag. It is a compilation of the flags of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, which, as I talked about in the previous post, comprise the United Kingdom.

Photo from www.picturesofengland.com

The flag of England, also called St George's Cross.

Photo from www.wikipedia.org

The flag of Scotland, or St Andrew's Cross/Saltire.

When King James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones and became James I of England and Ireland as well, he combined the flags of England and Scotland and created what he called the flag of Britain.

Photo from www.wikipedia.org

Ta-da! How clever of him.

This became the national flag from 1606-1801. In 1801, they finally added the Irish flag to the mix, which was only fair considering Ireland had been part of the nation since 1603.

Photo from www.wikipedia.org

The flag of the Kingdom of Ireland, or St Patrick's Cross. For the vexillology purist, St Patrick's Saltire.

So with all three flags combined, voilà! The modern Union Jack sprang into being.

Photo from www.wikipedia.org

How to tell if your Union Jack is flying right-side up? Look at the saltires (the X, not the +). In vexillology (the study of flags), as with heraldry, the top left corner is the most important corner. Since Scotland's flag was part of the Union Jack before the Kingdom of Ireland's flag, the white part (St Andrew's Cross) goes on top and the red part (St Patrick's Cross) goes on the bottom. If your Union Jack is the wrong way 'round, the red part will be on top, which is incorrect.