Saint Piran's Flag Explained

Flag of Cornwall
Use:100000
Nickname:St Piran's Flag
Morenicks:Cornish: Baner Peran, Cornish: An Gwynn ha Du
Proportion:3:5
Adoption:19th century
Design:A white cross on a black background.
(Sable, a cross argent)

Saint Piran's Flag (Cornish: Baner Peran) is the flag of Cornwall. The earliest known description of the flag, referred to as the Standard of Cornwall, was written in 1838.[1] It is used by all Cornish people as a symbol of their identity.[2]

The flag is attributed to Saint Piran, a 5th-century Cornish abbot. But the white cross and black background design is also the coat of arms of the Saint-Perran (or Saint-Pezran) family from Cornouaille in Brittany, recorded from the 15th century.[3]

Origins

The earliest known evidence of this flag was recorded by Davies Gilbert in his 1838 work: The Parochial History of Cornwall, in which he gives reference to

a white cross on a black ground [that] was formerly the banner of St Perran and the Standard of Cornwall; probably with some allusion to the black ore and the white metal of tin[1] [2]

The fact that Gilbert identifies it as being "formerly" a standard of Cornwall implies that he believed it to have been used before 1838.[1] However, Gilbert did not leave a record of his background research, and referred only to his "recollection".[2]

One of the oldest depictions of the flag can be seen in a stained glass window at Westminster Abbey. It was unveiled in 1888, in memory of the famous Cornish inventor and engineer Richard Trevithick. The window depicts St Michael at the top and nine Cornish saints, Piran, Petroc, Pinnock,[4] Germanus, Julian, Cyriacus, Constantine, Nonna and Geraint in tiers below. The head of St Piran appears to be a portrait of Trevithick himself, and the figure carries the banner of Cornwall.[5]

Clues to its origin

Saint Piran's Flag has similarities to the old Breton flag and the flag of Saint David. The cultural links between Brittany, Wales and Cornwall are well recorded. Saint Piran's Flag is the negative image of the old Breton flag, a black cross on a white field. The flag of Saint David shares a black background with Saint Piran's Flag, but is surmounted by a gold, rather than a white, cross.

It has also been suggested that it may have been based on the arms of the Earl of Cornwall, or the later Duchy of Cornwall; based on the arms of other Cornish families; or be linked with the black and white livery of the Knights of St John.[2]

French and Breton family arms

The arms of the Saint-Peran family in Brittany, show a white cross pattée on a black field.

Several other French and Breton families also had coats of arms that bear a striking resemblance to the St Piran's flag:

Myths about the origins

There are a very large number of modern legends about the origins of the flag.[10] [11]

An article in the old Encyclopaedia Britannica on "Cornish Wrestling" stated that the flag was carried by the Cornish contingent at the Battle of Agincourt (1415).[12] [13] However, the reference given by the Encyclopaedia Britannica seems to have been confused with one that comes from a 1590 poem entitled Poly-Olbion by Michael Drayton. It states that the banner carried by the Cornish men at Agincourt depicted two Cornish wrestlers in a hitch.[14]

Usage

The flag is often displayed on bumper stickers, and flying from buildings, including those of Cornwall Council.[15] It is flown at most Cornish gatherings, such as the Gorsedh Kernow, St Piran's Day (5 March), Camborne's Trevithick Day (April), Padstow's 'Obby 'Oss festival (May), Helston's Flora Day (May), and at Cornish rugby matches. It is regularly seen around Cornwall on car stickers with the word Cornish: [[Cornwall|Kernow]] (Cornish for Cornwall), and is used around the world as a symbol of the Cornish diaspora or overseas Cornish associations. It has been adapted for use in the logos of a number of organisations, such as the Cornwall district of the Methodist Church, is used by a variety of Cornish businesses such as Ginsters, and is seen on the design of the Cornish All Blacks rugby shirts as well as the Cornish Pirates rugby logo.[15]

At the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in June 2012, the flag was flown on the Royal Rowing Barge alongside the flags representing England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the City of London. One of the largest flags in the pageant was also St Piran's Flag, flown by the St Ives mackerel lugger Barnabas.[16] [17]

The flags of Smith Island, Maryland and Tangier, Virginia incorporate St. Piran's cross in the upper-left canton in recognition of the early settlers who came to the islands from Cornwall and Devon.

The flag can be seen in Doc Martin, which is set in the fictional Cornwall fishing village of Portwenn and filmed in the real-life one of Port Isaac.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Parochial History of Cornwall: Founded on the Manuscript Histories of Mr. Hals and Mr. Tonkin; with Additions and Various Appendices. Davies. Gilbert. 17 November 1838. J. B. Nichols and son. Google Books.
  2. Web site: Phil Rendle, Cornwall – The Mysteries of St Piran, The Flag Institute.
  3. P. POTIER de COURCY, Nobiliaire et armorial de Bretagne, A. Aubry, 1862, p390
  4. Web site: St. Pinnock - Saints & Angels. Catholic. Online. Catholic Online.
  5. Web site: Richard Trevithick. PixelToCode. pixeltocode.uk. Westminster Abbey.
  6. Web site: Bretons . 2006-01-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060422104633/http://www.briantimms.com/vermandois/bretons.htm . 22 April 2006 . dmy-all .
  7. Web site: visu_armes_p.
  8. http://membres.lycos.fr/paleographie/heraldique/hazebrouck/details/arneke.html La page du généalogiste fou ... L'héraldique
  9. Web site: rouvroy.
  10. Web site: Cornwall (England) .
  11. Web site: Phil Rendle, Cornwall – The Mysteries of St Piran, The Flag Institute.
  12. Heraldry Society Flag Section Newsletter, Autumn 1969
  13. Web site: Cornwall (England). www.crwflags.com.
  14. Poly-Olbion by Michael Drayton
  15. http://www.cornishstudies.com/index.php?q=node/10 How far has the “Cornish Revival” affected modern Cornwall?
  16. Web site: St Ives lugger flies the flag at Jubilee river pageant. Falmouth Packet. 6 June 2012. 7 June 2012.
  17. Web site: Mystery over Cornish flag on jubilee boat is solved | This is Cornwall. https://archive.today/20130505071742/http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Mystery-Cornish-flag-jubilee-boat-solved/story-16366581-detail/story.html%23axzz2SOsN9zU9. 5 May 2013. dead. 17 November 2020.