Saint Piran 's flag - wikipedia Saint Piran 's flag `` Flag of Cornwall '' redirects here. For the flag of the Canadian city of Cornwall, Ontario, see flag of Cornwall, Ontario. Cornwall Names St Piran 's Flag, Baner Peran, An Gwynn ha Du Use Civil flag Proportion 3 : 5 Adopted 19th century Design A white cross on a black background. Souvenir flags outside a café Saint Piran 's Day celebrations in Penzance Flying the flag in Portloe Saint Piran 's Flag ( Cornish : Baner Peran ) is the flag of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The earliest known description of the flag as the Standard of Cornwall was written in 1838. It is used by some Cornish people as a symbol of identity. It is a white cross on a black background. The flag is attributed to Saint Piran, a 6th - century Cornish abbot. One early use of a white cross and black background design is the 15th - century coat of arms of the Saint - Peran family. At the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in June 2012, the flag was among those flown on the Royal Barge, Gloriana, though this was explained as `` innocent '' and `` nothing constitutional ''. Contents 1 Origins 2 Clues to its origin 3 French and Breton family arms 4 Usage 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Origins There are claims that the design dates from prior to 1188 when the flag was used in the Crusades, and an article in the Encyclopædia Britannica tells that the flag was carried by the Cornish contingent at the Battle of Agincourt ( 1415 ). However, the reference given by the Encyclopædia Britannica seems to have been confused with one that comes from a 1590 poem entitled Poly - Olbion by Michael Drayton. It states that the banner carried by the Cornish men at Agincourt depicted two Cornish wrestlers in a hitch. The earliest known evidence of this flag was recorded by Davies Gilbert in his 1838 work : The Parochial History of Cornwall, in which he gives reference to a white cross on a black ground ( that ) was formerly the banner of St Perran and the Standard of Cornwall ; probably with some allusion to the black ore and the white metal of tin The fact that Gilbert identifies it as being `` formerly '' a standard of Cornwall implies that he believed it to have been used before 1838. However, Gilbert did not leave a record of his background research, and referred only to his `` recollection ''. One of the oldest depictions of the flag can be seen in a stained glass window at Westminster Abbey. It was unveiled in 1888, in memory of the famous Cornish inventor and engineer Richard Trevithick. The window depicts St Michael at the top and nine Cornish saints, Piran, Petroc, Pinnock, Germanus, Julian, Cyriacus, Constantine, Nonna and Geraint in tiers below. The head of St Piran appears to be a portrait of Trevithick himself, and the figure carries the banner of Cornwall. Clues to its origin This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2010 ) Saint Piran 's Flag has similarities to the old Breton flag and the flag of Saint David. The cultural links between Brittany, Wales and Cornwall are well recorded. Saint Piran 's Flag is the negative image of the old Breton flag, a black cross on a white field. The flag of Saint David shares a black background with Saint Piran 's Flag, but is surmounted by a gold, rather than a white, cross. The Standard of the Army of the Breton Duchy ( cf. Kroaz Du ) The Welsh Flag of Saint David It has also been suggested that it may have been based on the arms of the Earl of Cornwall, or the later Duchy of Cornwall ; based on the arms of other Cornish families ; or be linked with the black and white livery of the Knights of St John. French and Breton family arms The arms of the Saint - Peran family in Brittany, show a white cross pattee on a black field. Arms of Geoffroy le Borgne Arms of the Arnèke family Arms of Rouvroy de Saint - Simon Arms of Saint - Pezran family ( Brittany ) Several other French and Breton families also had coats of arms that bear a striking resemblance to the St Piran 's flag : Saint Peran or Saint Pezran ( = Piran ) of Brittany ( from Glomel, in Cornouaille ), is described as, `` sable a cross patée argent ''. Geoffroy le Borgne of Brittany is described as `` de sable à croix d'argent ''. Rossillon de Gex, coat of arms described : `` De sable à la croix d'argent ''. Brunet, de la Besse, coat of arms described : `` D'azur, à la croix d'argent ''. Arnèke Family coat of arms. Rouvroy de Saint - Simon of Picardy, described : `` De sable à la croix d'argent chargée de cinq coquilles ''. Usage The flag is often displayed on bumper stickers, and flying from buildings, including those of Cornwall Council. It is flown at most Cornish gatherings, such as the Gorseth Kernow, St Piran 's Day ( 5 March ), Camborne 's Trevithick Day ( April ), Padstow 's ' Obby ' Oss festival ( May ), Helston 's Flora Day ( May ), and at Cornish rugby matches. It is regularly seen around Cornwall on car stickers with the word Kernow ( Cornish for Cornwall ), and is used around the world as a symbol of the Cornish diaspora or overseas Cornish associations. It has been adapted for use in the logos of a number of organisations, such as the Cornwall district of the Methodist Church, is used by a variety of Cornish businesses such as Ginsters, and is seen on the design of the Cornish All Blacks rugby shirts as well as the Cornish Pirates rugby logo. At the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in June 2012, the flag was flown on the Royal Rowing Barge alongside the flags representing England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the City of London. One of the largest flags in the pageant was also St Piran 's Flag, flown by the St Ives mackerel lugger Barnabas. Gallery Cornish Pirates RFC logo showing the Saint Piran 's Flag The flag of the Duke of Cornwall See also Outline of Cornwall List of Cornish flags Cornish heraldry The Flag of the Duchy of Brittany List of topics related to Cornwall St Piran 's Day References ^ Jump up to : ' The Parochial History of Cornwall ', by Davies Gilbert. ( 1838 ) Vol III, p. 332 ^ Jump up to : Phil Rendle, Cornwall -- The Mysteries of St Piran, The Flag Institute Jump up ^ P. POTIER de COURCY, Nobiliaire et armorial de Bretagne, A. Aubry, 1862, p390 Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` The Six Celtic Flags ''. celticleague.org. Archived from the original on 23 May 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2017. Jump up ^ Heraldry Society Flag Section Newsletter, Autumn 1969 Jump up ^ Cornish flag Jump up ^ Poly - Olbion by Michael Drayton Jump up ^ http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5453 Jump up ^ Westminster Abbey Jump up ^ Guide des drapeaux bretons et celtes ( English : Guide of Breton and Celtic flags ) by Divi Kervella and Mikael Bodlore - Penlaez, published by Yoran Embanner ( in French ), ( 2008 ) ISBN 978 - 2 - 916579 - 12 - 2 Jump up ^ http://www.briantimms.com/vermandois/bretons.htm Jump up ^ visu_armes_p Jump up ^ La page du généalogiste fou... L'héraldique Jump up ^ rouvroy ^ Jump up to : How far has the `` Cornish Revival '' affected modern Cornwall ? Archived 8 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` St Ives lugger flies the flag at Jubilee river pageant ''. Falmouth Packet. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012. External links Flags of the World -- Speculations of the origins of this flag. The Flag Institute Culture of Cornwall Cornish : Gonisogeth Kernow Symbols Celtic cross Cornish chough Cornish heath Cornish kilts and tartans Jonathan Trelawny Michael An Gof Saint Piran Saint Piran 's Flag Festivals AberFest Allantide Chewidden Thursday Furry Dance Golowan Guldize Kernewek Lowender Montol Festival Mummer 's Day Nickanan Night Noze looan ' Obby ' Oss Picrous Day St Piran 's Day Tom Bawcock 's Eve Sports Cornish hurling Cornish pilot - gig racing Cornish wrestling Rugby union in Cornwall Cuisine Cornish Cider Cloam oven Clotted cream Cornish cheeses Cornish cream tea Cornish fairings Cornish Gilliflower Hevva cake Hog 's pudding Pasty Saffron bun Stargazy pie Cornish Yarg Arts List of Cornish writers Tristan and Iseult Cornwall Film Festival Tate St Ives St Ives School W.J. Burley Charles Causley Newlyn School Barbara Hepworth Daphne du Maurier William Golding Alan Kent H.C. McNeile Rosamunde Pilcher Derek Tangye D.M. Thomas Minack Theatre The Pirates of Penzance Music Cornish bagpipes Brenda Wootton Fisherman 's Friends Crowns Folk songs `` Bro Goth agan Tasow '' `` Camborne Hill '' `` Come, all ye jolly tinner boys '' `` Delkiow Sivy '' `` Hail to the Homeland '' `` The Song of the Western Men '' Language Anglo - Cornish Cornish literature Ordinalia Beunans Meriasek Bewnans Ke Prayer Book Rebellion Radyo an Gernewegva Mythology Beast of Bodmin Blunderbore Bucca Cruel Coppinger Knocker King Arthur Lyonesse Mermaid of Zennor Owlman Piskie Organisations Federation of Old Cornwall Societies Gorsedh Kernow Institute of Cornish Studies Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society Royal Institution of Cornwall Movyans Skolyow Meythrin Cornwall portal Celtic nations and their cultures Nations Celtic League definition Brittany Cornwall Ireland Isle of Man Scotland Wales Other claimants Asturias Galicia Y Wladfa Languages Brittonic Breton Cornish Welsh Goidelic Irish Manx Scottish Gaelic Mixed Shelta Bungee Peoples Britons Bretons Cornish Welsh Gaels Irish Irish Travellers Manx Scots Scottish Travellers Ulster - Scots Other Celts ( ancient ) Celts ( modern ) Culture Brittany Cornwall Ireland Isle of Man Scotland Wales Celtic art Music Brittany Cornwall Ireland Isle of Man Scotland Wales Festival Interceltique de Lorient Pan Celtic Festival Sport Bando Cammag Cnapan Cornish hurling Cornish wrestling Curling Gaelic football Gaelic handball Golf Gouren Rounders Highland games Hurling Road bowls Shinty Subnational flags of the United Kingdom England ( list ) Bedfordshire Berkshire Birmingham Black Country Buckinghamshire Cambridgeshire Cheshire Cornwall Cumberland Derbyshire Devon Dorset County Durham East Anglia Essex Gloucestershire Greater Manchester Herefordshire Hertfordshire Huntingdonshire Isles of Scilly Isle of Wight Kent Lancashire Lincolnshire City of London Mercia Middlesex Northamptonshire Northumberland Northumbria Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Plymouth Rutland Shropshire Somerset Staffordshire Surrey Sussex Wessex Westmorland Wiltshire Worcestershire Yorkshire ( East, North & West Ridings ) Northern Ireland ( list ) Belfast Ulster Scotland ( list ) Caithness Kirkcudbrightshire Orkney Shetland Wales ( list ) Anglesey Caernarfonshire Flintshire Glamorgan Merionethshire Monmouthshire Montgomeryshire Pembrokeshire Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_Piran%27s_Flag&oldid=803392938 '' Categories : Flags of Cornwall Flags of places in England Politics of Cornwall Cornish nationalism Flags of saints Flags with crosses Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links EngvarB from October 2013 Use dmy dates from October 2013 Articles containing Cornish - language text All articles lacking reliable references Articles lacking reliable references from June 2010 Articles needing additional references from June 2010 All articles needing additional references All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from June 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Brezhoneg Català Cymraeg Deutsch Español Esperanto Français Italiano Kernowek Lumbaart Nederlands Polski Scots اردو 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 2 October 2017, at 07 : 34. 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Question: what flag is black with a white cross
Answer: Saint Piran's Flag