 | |
| Use | Civil flag  |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 3:5 |
| Adopted | Historical |
| Design | Sable a Lion rampant reguardant Or |
The flag of Ceredigion is the de facto flag of Ceredigion (previously Cardiganshire), Wales. The earliest source referring to the flag dates back to 1611. The flag enjoys widespread usage throughout the county.
The design of the flag is thought to have derived from the arms of the ancient Welsh ruler Gwaithfoed of Ceredigion, which depicted a black lion on a field of gold. [1] [2]
The earliest source relating to the flag can be found in John Guillim's 1611 work A Display of Heraldry which described a black lion on a yellow background belonging to “Gwaythe Voyde, sometime Lord of Cardigan in Wales”. [3] A similar reference to the design is noted in 1878 in The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales by Sir Bernard Burke. [4]
A black lion on a yellow field is also featured on a monument to Lewis Pryse, grandfather of Pryse Pryse, at St. Padarn's Church, Llanbadarn Fawr, on the outskirts of Aberystwyth.
The relationship between the black lion on a yellow field and the influential Pryse family led to a greater adoption of the flag in the surrounding area. For example, a pub in Aberystwyth has been named 'The Black Lion' since 1851.
An extract from the 1894 work of Arthur Charles Fox-Davies and M. E. B. Crookes, The Book of Public Arms, describes the county of Cardigan as possessing no official arms, yet states that the local population of Aberystwyth recognise the "lion rampant regardant" as being the arms of the town. [5]
The significance of the lion rampant regardant to Cardiganshire led to its inclusion as the sinister supporter alongside the red dragon of Wales on the coat of arms of Aberystwyth, awarded in 1961. [6]
The sable lion rampant regardant on an or field also featured at the 1969 investiture of Prince Charles at Caernarfon Castle. [1]
With the symbol firmly entrenched in the society and culture of the county, its inclusion in the arms awarded to Cardiganshire County Council and later to its successor Ceredigion County Council was a natural choice. However, the colours were reversed as to not usurp the Pryse's family insignia. [1] The administration of Dyfed also included the reverse colours of the symbol on their coat of arms to symbolise the inclusion of Cardiganshire within its territory.
By the late 20th century, the adoption of the reversed colours of the symbol allowed for it to be distinguished from the arms of Pryse family and had come to represent the county in its own right. The yellow lion on a black field can be found flying in settlements throughout Ceredigion, and has been used by multiple establishments in the county, such as Aberystwyth Rugby Club and Ysgol Penglais School.
Yet, as of 2023 the flag has not officially been recognised as the flag of Cardiganshire by the Flag Institute. [1]
The flag depicts a lion 'rampant regardant' (looking backwards) or on a field sable.
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings, as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch of heraldry, concerns the design and transmission of the heraldic achievement. The achievement, or armorial bearings usually includes a coat of arms on a shield, helmet and crest, together with any accompanying devices, such as supporters, badges, heraldic banners and mottoes.
Ceredigion ( ), historically Cardiganshire, is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Aberystwyth is the largest settlement and, together with Aberaeron, is an administrative centre of Ceredigion County Council.
In heraldry, tenné is a "stain", or non-standard tincture, of orange, light brown or orange-tawny colour.
Tincture is the limited palette of colours and patterns used in heraldry. The need to define, depict, and correctly blazon the various tinctures is one of the most important aspects of heraldic art and design.
The coat of arms of Belgium bears a lion or, known as Leo Belgicus, as its charge. This is in accordance with article 193 of the Belgian Constitution: The Belgian nation takes red, yellow and black as colours, and as state coat of arms the Belgian lion with the motto UNITY MAKES STRENGTH. A royal decree of 17 March 1837 determines the achievement to be used in the greater and the lesser version, respectively.
An abatement is a modification of a coat of arms, representing a less-than honorable augmentation, imposed by an heraldic authority or by royal decree for misconduct. The practice of inverting the entire escutcheon of an armiger found guilty of high treason has been attested since the Middle Ages and is generally accepted as reliable, and medieval heraldic sources cite at least one instance of removing an honourable charge from a coat of arms by royal decree as an abatement of honour. Other abatements of honour implied by the addition of dishonourable stains and charges, appearing in late 16th-century texts, have never been reliably attested in actual practice. Additionally, as many heraldic writers note, the use of arms is not compulsory, so armigers are more likely to relinquish a dishonored coat of arms than to advertise their dishonor.
The coat of arms of Bulgaria consists of a crowned golden lion rampant over a dark red shield; above the shield is the Bulgarian historical crown. The shield is supported by two crowned golden lions rampant; below the shield there is compartment in the shape of oak twigs and white bands with the national motto "Unity makes strength" inscribed on them.
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon (shield). That may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object, building, or other device. In French blazon, the ordinaries are called pièces, and other charges are called meubles.
Ceredigion was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Created in 1536, the franchise expanded in the late 19th century and on the enfranchisement of women. Its boundaries remained virtually unchanged until 1983. From 1536 until 1885 the area had two seats : a county constituency (Cardiganshire) comprising the rural areas, the other the borough constituency known as the Cardigan District of Boroughs comprising a few separate towns; in 1885 the latter was abolished, its towns and electors incorporated into the former, reduced to one MP. The towns which comprised the Boroughs varied slightly over this long period, but primarily consisted of Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Adpar, the latter now a suburb of Newcastle Emlyn across the Teifi, in Carmarthenshire.
In British heraldry, vert is the tincture equivalent to green. It is one of the five dark tinctures called colours.
Ermine in heraldry is a "fur", a type of tincture, consisting of a white background with a pattern of black shapes representing the winter coat of the stoat. The linings of medieval coronation cloaks and some other garments, usually reserved for use by high-ranking peers and royalty, were made by sewing many ermine furs together to produce a luxurious white fur with patterns of hanging black-tipped tails. Due largely to the association of the ermine fur with the linings of coronation cloaks, crowns and peerage caps, the heraldic tincture of ermine was usually reserved to similar applications in heraldry. In heraldry it has become especially associated with the Duchy of Brittany and Breton heraldry.
The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christian symbolism. The Lion of Judah stands in the coat of arms of Jerusalem. Similar-looking lions can be found elsewhere, such as in the coat of arms of the Swedish royal House of Bjelbo, from there in turn derived into the coat of arms of Finland, formerly belonging to Sweden.
Sir Thomas Davies Lloyd, 1st Baronet was a British Liberal Member of Parliament, for Cardiganshire (Ceredigion) 1865–1868 and Cardigan Boroughs 1868–1874. Although he coveted a peerage and spent a fortune in pursuit of that aim, he had to be content with a baronetcy.
John Guillim of Minsterworth, Gloucestershire, was an antiquarian and officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He is best remembered for his monumental work on heraldry, A Display of Heraldry, first published in London in 1610.
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb to blazon means to create such a description. The visual depiction of a coat of arms or flag has traditionally had considerable latitude in design, but a verbal blazon specifies the essentially distinctive elements. A coat of arms or flag is therefore primarily defined not by a picture but rather by the wording of its blazon. Blazon is also the specialized language in which a blazon is written, and, as a verb, the act of writing such a description. Blazonry is the art, craft or practice of creating a blazon. The language employed in blazonry has its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax, which becomes essential for comprehension when blazoning a complex coat of arms.
The arms of the Flemish Community are: Or, a lion rampant sable, armed and langued gules. Although the lion has been in use for almost nine hundred years as the arms of the Count of Flanders, it only became the official symbol of the Flemish Community in 1973. At present its form and use is subject to the Decree of 7 November 1990.
Pryse Loveden Pryse of Gogerddan, Cardiganshire and Buscot Park, Berkshire was a British Lord Lieutenant and Member of Parliament for Cardigan Boroughs from 1818 until his death in 1849.
Colonel Edward Lewis Pryse was a British Liberal politician.
The first instance of a figure of the lion as symbol of the Kingdom of León is found in minted coins of Alfonso VII, called the Emperor (1126–1157). Until then, the cross had a preponderant position on documents and coins of Leonese monarchs since that reign the cross was gradually displaced by the lion. The Spanish historian and heraldist Martín de Riquer explained that the lion was already used as heraldic emblem in 1148. At the end of the reign of Alfonso VII, the figure of this animal began to appear on royal documents as personal device of the monarch and became pervasive during reigns of Ferdinand II (1157-1188) and Alfonso IX (1188-1230).
The Cardiganshire Militia, later the Royal Cardigan Rifles, was an auxiliary regiment reorganised from earlier precursor units in the Welsh county of Cardiganshire during the 18th century. Primarily intended for home defence, it saw active service at the Battle of Fishguard in 1797 and served in Britain and Ireland through all Britain's major wars. It was converted into garrison artillery in 1877 and continued until it was disbanded in 1909.
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