History of the Union Jack and Flags of the Empire — John Shaqi
History of the Union Jack and Flags of the EmpireCumberland, Barlow
History
History of the Union Jack and Flags of the Empire
Cumberland, Barlow
Emblems -- Great Britain; Flags -- Great Britain
This King's Jack, which subsequently came to be commonly known as
the "Union Flagge," was, it will be noted, not intended to supersede
the existing national Jacks, for it was directed to be displayed in
addition to, and at the same time with, the Jack of each nation. The
new flag of the King was to be raised by itself on the mainmast, and
the old national flag on the foremast, so that each of these flags
should be kept separate from one another.
The reason for this separate use of two flags is evident, one which is
fully confirmed in the creation of the Union Jacks which succeeded one
another in subsequent reigns.
The reason was that the two Parliaments of the nations had not been
united in one, and, therefore, it was that each nation continued to
retain its own distinctive national cross, which it flew on the
flagstaff as the sign of its own particular nationality, and which was,
therefore, not displaced by the King's newly created flag.
[Illustration: PLATE III.
1
THE PERCYS' ENSIGN 1560
2
UNION JACK OF JAMES I-1606
3
COLONIAL UNION JACK-1701]
The position of the flag was, in 1606, regulated to be:
A.D., 1606.
ROYAL NAVY--
Maintop, King's Jack.
MERCHANTMEN--
_English Subjects_--Maintop, "additional" King's Jack.
Foretop, English Jack.
_Scottish Subjects_--Maintop, "additional" King's Jack.
Foretop, Scottish Jack.
The construction of the new flag presents some peculiarities.
In this "additional" Jack of James I. (Pl. III., fig. 2), the
red cross of St. George and its white ground, being the "St. George's
crosse," had been ordered by the proclamation to be united with the
white cross of St. Andrew and its blue ground, being the "St. Andrewe's
crosse," the two flags being "_joyned together according to the forme
made by our heralds_." In this "joining" the white ground of St.
George's flag was reduced almost to a nullity.
As the form was the creation of heralds, it was made according to the
strict heraldic rules of their highly technical craft. In heraldry,
a narrow border of white or gold, termed a "fimbriation," is always
introduced where colour would otherwise touch on colour for the purpose
of keeping the colours separate, the technical statement of the rule
being, "metal cannot be placed upon metal, nor colour upon colour."
The heralds, therefore, in conformity with their tendencies, reduced
the white ground of the St. George flag until it became only a narrow
margin of white, just sufficient to keep the red of the cross of St.
George from touching the blue ground of St. Andrew's flag upon which it
was laid, or so that the white ground became simply "_a fimbriation to
the red cross of St. George_."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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