New Buchannan St Davids Flagpole Installation

[McClef]

Okay I have to ask, as I English. I have heard of the legend of St George slaying the dragon. The Welsh appear to have the above mentioned flag and I've also seen many a flag with the red dragon on a yellow background. My question is, were the Welsh cheering for the dragon?

Of course they were:

"Although this flag was only officially adopted in 1958, it and versions of it have been in use for centuries in Wales. Largely it symbolizes the resistance and freedom of the Welsh people dating back as far as the Welsh Prince Cadwaladr in the 12th century who fought the attacks of England's Henry II despite having been blinded."

However it should be noted that the St George dragon is usually depicted as a green one so it's only a relative of our red one.

The pics of the Ancient Caledonian will have to wait as I have a 4-6 week jonesing for its arrival.

[macwilkin]

Here's a nice history of the Red Dragon of Wales:

http://www.data-wales.co.uk/flag.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/flag/

The first web site does mention the old legend of the red dragon of Wales and the white dragon of the Saxons:

The ancient poets Aneirin and Taliesin use the Welsh word for dragon "draig" in the sense of "warrior" or "leader" and this usage remained to the Middle Ages. In the Historia Brittonum (ascribed to Nennius) of around 800 A.D. the dragon is seen as a symbol of national independence in the story of the red dragon battling with the white dragon of the Saxon enemy.

Cheers,

Todd

[McClef]

The reference to Saxons is interesting as they appear in the song Men of Harlech:

Men of Harlech! In the hollow,
Do ye hear like rushing billow
Wave on wave that surging follow
Battle's distant sound?
'Tis the tramp of Saxon foemen,
Saxon spearmen, Saxon bowmen,
Be they knights or hinds or yeomen,
They shall bite the ground!
Loose the folds asunder,
Flag we conquer under!
The placid sky now bright on high,
Shall launch its bolts in thunder!
Onward! 'tis the country needs us,
He is bravest, he who leads us
Honour's self now proudly heads us,
Freedom, God and right!

(these are the usual words, the ones used in the film Zulu were written by Ifor Emmanuel.)

[Fearnest]

The reference to Saxons is interesting as they appear in the song Men of Harlech:

Thanks for showing the lyrics - there's a great deal of power in a regimental song bellowed out at the appropriate time... thankfully I only ever had to bellow mine with a pint in hand!