User:HanaEshghi/St. Patrick's cross
St. Patrick's Cross/ saltire[change | change source]
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St. Patrick's Cross/ saltire -
Saint Patrick's flag
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The Patrick's Cross/ Saint Patrick's Saltire is a symbol of Saint Patrick.
He is revered as a saint and patron saint in Ireland. His cross is a red St. Andrew's cross on a white background. This slanting cross has been in the Union Jack since 1801 and represents Ireland (now Northern Ireland) as political territory. It goes back to the cross of the Order of St. Patrick, which the English King George III. Founded in 1783 for the Irish nobility. Earlier references of this type of cross to St. Patrick's or Ireland are not proven. The Patrick's cross is therefore rejected by most Irish nationalists as a British invention.
Patrick's Cross is in more recent heraldry a red St. Andrew's cross on a silver/white background. In the early heyday of coats of arms, but sometimes even today, a red St. Andrew's cross on a silver background has no particular meaning or is an ordinary herald image without a proper name (Blason: in silver a red Schragen; English: argent, a saltire gules). A generic term for crosses associated with the legends of St Patrick of Ireland or with Ireland itself (including such diverse forms of the cross as the Patrol Cross, the Anchor Cross, the Celtic/High Cross, and particular cross-shaped minor monuments).
Story[change | change source]
The origin of the "St. Patrick's Cross" used as a symbol of Ireland is unknown. A red St. Andrew's cross, as wielded by the Fitz Gerald dynasty, may represent an early use of the heraldic image as a hallmark of Ireland.
Symbolism[change | change source]
A red St. Andrew's cross on a white/silver background is part of many coats of arms, flags, and medals, some of which are related to Ireland or Saint Patrick, some of which are used in a completely different context.
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