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modern-day Israel). Because of its use since the 16th century, it has come to
be one of the most prominent and well-known symbols of England. The red
cross was also an emblem of a knighthood system originating to England’s
medieval times, known as the Most Noble Order of the Garter (підв'язка).

With such global recognition and acclaim, it was an obvious emblem for the
official flag of the country.
St George, after whom the cross is named, was the patron saint of the

country during the 1200’s. There were legends of this courageous saint’s
having slain (slay-slew-slain – вбивати) a vicious ([’v əs] злий,
жахливий) dragon. St George was a Roman soldier and a priest of the Guard
of the Diocletian. During the Crusades, the soldiers would wear plain white

tunics, thus the birth of a white background. The cross was used to represent
this martyred saint ([’m :rtərd seint]) cв. мученик in his religious capacities
and was his emblem during his years of battle. He is considered a saint in the

Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches.
The Pope had decided that all English Crusaders should wear red tunics
with white crosses, while the French opted for red on white. The English

then wanted to reclaim their emblem of a red cross on a white tunic and, in
1188, the kings of each country decided to exchange their flags. However,
some of the French soldiers continued to wear their old tunics, resembling

the English. For this reason, the red cross on the white background
eventually became the symbol for the Crusaders, irrespective of their
nationality.
Even Georgia (Грузія) uses this iconic emblem of St George in the

Middle Ages as he also a patron saint of this country.
During the Battle of Evesham [‘i:v əm] in 1265, the English royalists
wore a red cross on a white uniform to identify themselves as being separate

from the rebel (повстанець) barons that had worn white crosses during the
Battle of Lewes just some months before. Ten years later, the St George’s
Cross was used as England’s identifying emblem during the Welsh War.
The flag of the United Kingdom (also known as the Union Jack) has

incorporated the St George’s Cross from the English flag to a major degree.
The St Patrick’s Cross (a red “x” on a white background) has also been used
to indicate the merger (злиття) of the Kingdom of Great Britain with the

Kingdom of Ireland. This flag continues to be used to represent the United
Kingdom, despite the fact that only Northern Ireland remains a member of
the union.

National Song of England. Although England does not have a
National Anthem of its own, it generally uses the National Anthem of the

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