White Dragon Emblem
The story of the White Dragon is as old as the idea of “England” itself. Merlin’s prophecies foretell a battle between a red dragon and a white dragon: the red being the Welsh Celtic Britons, the white being the invading Saxons, Jutes and Angles who became known as the “English”. There are many different versions of these myths and, depending whose side the writer was on, a different dragon won! The White Dragon was the emblem of Wessex, the territory of the West Saxons, the most powerful of the seven kingdoms of England before they merged in the 10th century. King Alfred the Great, the first person to call himself “King of England”, fought under a white dragon banner when he defeated the Vikings. King Harold also fought under the white dragon when he lost to the Normans in 1066. You can clearly see the dragon embroidered over Harold’s fallen body in the Bayeux Tapestry. Is it time to reinstate our oldest national emblem?
NOMINATION 1132 OF 1160
It's one of the earliest banners of England and the English.
Cyne
I have found an English dragon cut out of lead. It is made of 3 sheets of lead about 1/8" 3 mm thick making about 3/8" 10mm thick in total. It is one sided, facing left and looks like it was cut by hand with a fine saw or similar. It was not cut with a chisel. There are flutes in the wings (not music flutes) and other details. The dragon was at sometime painted white. I have had this for about 25 years and often puzzled why it has 3 feet on the ground and is painted white. I live on the Welsh borders at Presteigne. LD8 postcode. I have no idea how old this is even though I am a restoration Blacksmith Any thoughts, please email. Thanks.
Pete Smith
Sorry just to add to those who say there is no evidence: there is more just as sufficient evidence of the dragons as there is of St. George, just look a some tapesrties and do your research. Also consider that when the Normans and William the Conqueror came they did a little 'ethnic and cultural' cleansing...
Piers Wilson
