"From 1404 onward we hear no more of Owain's use of the dragon emblem. It seems that, having become established as Prince of Wales and successor to Llywelyn, he now preferred to display the Lions of Gwynedd."

"Throughout the Middle Ages the colour of the Dragon fluctuates between gold and red. This, like so much else, is a legacy from Geoffrey of Monmouth, for while the dragon of the Britons seen by Ambrosius is plainly red ('rubeus draco'), the one displayed by Uther Pendragon [legendary father of Arthur] is gold ('vexillum, aureus draco'). The princes of Gwynedd, whose family colours were red and gold, had no reason to prefer one colour to the other."

Jasper, son of Owain Tudor (along with his brother Edmund) used "a red blunt-tailed dragon" as crest and supporter to his arms and on his seal. He "campaigned long and hard, leading the Welsh Lancastrians against the Yorkist English king. Though repeatedly driven into hiding or exile, he showed great resilience and kept returning to the attack. He earned great praise from the poets ... Deio ap Ieuan Du (c.1460-80) refers to Jasper's patriotic struggle when he produced the line which was later to become famous as motto of the nation: 'Y draig coch, ddyry cychwyn' ('the Red dragon advances')."

"When Henry Tudor [Jasper's nephew] with his allies faced King Richard III at Bosworth [1485], one of his three battle standards showed 'a red firye dragó beaten vpó white and grene sarcenet'. ... After his victory Henry rode with these three standards to St. Paul's cathedral in London, where they were blessed: they are described thus in the 'Chronicle of London', referring to 27th August 1485:

oon was of the Armys of Seynt George, the secund a Red ffyry dragon peyntid upon white and Grene Sarcenet, and the third was a Baner of Tarteron bett wyth a dun cowe.
Thus, side by side, Henry honored St. George of England, the Red Dragon of Wales, and the family arms of the Lancastrian house of Beaufort. Another chronicler tells of Henry's standard showing a Red Dragon passant, breathing flames, upon a field divided horizontally green and white, with a background of flames, white and red roses and golden fleur-de-lis."

"In Wales, where the red dragon has long been keenly felt as a national symbol, it could not become the emblem of any single princely family." There is no dragon in the arms of Welsh nobility of the fourteenth century, and this has not changed subsequently. ... Owain Glendwr used it only temporarily, and even the Tudors used it only as a supporter." It was also used as a supporter in the arms of the commonwealth.

"In 1807, after the union of the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland, it was declared that 'a red dragon passant standing on a mound should be the King's badge for Wales'."

"... in 1953, Queen Elizabeth II decreed that the royal badge for Wales should be augmented, and to its red dragon there was added the famous motto 'Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn'. This augmented badge was placed on a white flag and flown over government buildings on appropriate occasions. But in 1958 the Gorsedd of Bards expressed the wish that the Red Dragon flag be recognised as the national flag of Wales, instead of this augmented badge. Accordingly, in 1959 Her Majesty commanded that in future 'only the Red Dragon on a green and white flag should be flown on Government buildings in Wales and in London where appropriate'. The augmented badge was to continue in use for other purposes, i.e. for its display as a badge in accordance with established heraldic procedure."

"The red dragon, from early times, has been the national symbol of Wales -- at rugby stadiums and battle-grounds; as royal heraldry and as newspaper logos. Today, the flag is held proudly as a mark of national identity and a reminder of a colourful and prestigous history."

Dave Martucci, 28 February 2000

Information provided by: FOTW Flags Of The World website at http://fotw.digibel.be/flags/