Everything about St Andrew S Cross totally explained
» St Andrew's Cross redirects here. For the item of BDSM furniture, see
Saint Andrew's Cross (BDSM)
A
saltire,
Saint Andrew's Cross, or
crux decussata (though it's never called the latter in
heraldry), is a
heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal
cross or letter
X.
Saint Andrew is said to have been
martyred on such a cross.
It forms the national
Flag of Scotland and
Flag of Jamaica, and appears on many other flags, arms and seals. It is also used as a traffic sign and a form of
BDSM furniture.
Heraldry
A saltire is an X-shaped
ordinary in
heraldry.
Like other ordinaries, a single saltire is
throughout — extending to the edges of the field — unless it's
blazoned as
couped (cut off). When two or more saltires appear, they're necessarily couped, and need not be so described explicitly.
A
saltorel is a narrow saltire; the term is usually defined as one-half the width of the saltire, and is a relatively recent "innovation".
This is apparently different from a
fillet saltire.
A field that's
party per saltire is divided into four areas by x-shaped cuts. If two
tinctures are specified, the first refers to the areas above and below the X, and the second refers to the ones on either side. Otherwise, each of the four divisions may be blazoned separately, the sequence being then top, left, right, bottom.
The phrase
in saltire is used in two ways: to describe two charges, such as the
keys in the arms of many entities associated with
Saint Peter, crossing each other diagonally; or for five or more charges, one in the center and one or more on each arm of an invisible saltire.
Three
saltires couped appear in the arms and flag of
Amsterdam, and a saltire is used by a supporter of the
royal arms of Scotland. The to the Kingdom of
Mercia was a gold saltire on a light blue background. Thus,
Azure a saltire Or are now the arms of the
City and District of St Albans.
Flags
The
Flag of Scotland, called
The Saltire or
St Andrew's Cross, is a blue field with a white saltire; according to tradition, it represents
Saint Andrew, who is supposed to have been crucified on a cross of that form (called a
crux decussata) at
Patras. The St Andrew's Cross was worn as a badge on hats in Scotland, on the day of the
feast of St Andrew. It is the oldest continuously used sovereign flag in the world, having been in use since 832
AD.
Numerous flags are inspired by the saltire and the colours blue and white—mostly connected with
Scotland or
Russia, where Saint Andrew is the national
patron saint. The naval
ensign of the
Imperial Russian (1696-1917) and
Russian navies (1991-present) is a blue saltire on a white field. Prior to the
Union the
Royal Scots Navy used a
red ensign incorporating the St Andrew's Cross. This ensign is now commonly flown as part of an unofficial
civil ensign in
Scottish waters.
The blue saltire on white design is featured on the
Coat of Arms of Nova Scotia, Canada and
its flag (Nova Scotia was originally a
Scottish colony), but the blue used for
Nova Scotia is generally a light blue. Similarly, the flags of the
Spanish island of
Tenerife and the remote
Colombian islands of
San Andrés and Providencia also use a white saltire on a blue field.
The Flag of Scotland forms one of the three crosses that are superimposed to form the
Union Flag of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. (The other two are
St George's Cross [representing
England] and
St Patrick's Cross [representing
Ireland].)
The design of the St Andrew's Cross was also a major inspiration for several other flags, including the
flag of Jamaica and the Confederate
Battle Flag and
Naval Jack used during the
American Civil War (see
Flags of the Confederate States of America).
The Confederate battle flag is derived from the Scottish heritage held by many of the wealthy landowners of the old South. However, the designer of the Confederate battle flag,
William Porcher Miles, never claimed it to be a St. Andrew's cross design, but rather a heraldic saltire without religious symbolism.
Other saltire flags include the flags of
Alabama,
Florida,
Jamaica,
Grenada,
Jersey,
Amsterdam,
Potchefstroom and
Valdivia.
Other uses
Signage
A St Andrew's Cross is the conventional
road sign used to indicate the point at which a railway line intersects a road at a
level crossing.
A white St Andrew's Cross on a blue background (or black on yellow for temporary signs) is displayed in
UK railway signalling as a "cancelling indicator" for the
Automatic Warning System or AWS, informing the driver that the received warning can be disregarded.
In Cameroon, a red "X" placed on illegally constructed buildings scheduled for demolition is occasionally referred to as a "St Andrew's Cross". It is usually accompanied by the letters "A.D." ("à détruire" - French for "to be demolished") and a date or deadline.
Gallery of saltires
Image:Flag of Scotland.svg | Flag of Scotland
Image:St Patrick's saltire3.svg | Saint Patrick's Flag
Image:Flag of New Spain.svg | Cross of Burgundy Flag (used by the Spanish Empire 1506–1701 as a naval ensign, and up to 1843 as the land battle flag)
Image:Battle flag of the US Confederacy.svg | Battle flag of the Confederate States of America
Image:Flag of Florida.svg | Flag of Florida
Image:Flag of Jamaica.svg | Flag of Jamaica
Image:Flag of Grenada.svg | Flag of Grenada
Image:Burgers flag.svg | Flag of Potchefstroom, North West Province, South Africa (also formerly of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek)
Further Information
Get more info on 'St Andrew S Cross'.
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