St Andrew's Cross

What is St Andrew's Cross?

St Andrew's Cross, also called the Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland. It consists of a white diagonal cross on a blue field.

The cross is named after St Andrew, Scotland's patron saint. The diagonal shape is traditionally associated with the cross on which Andrew was martyred.

The Saltire has a long history, but the exact origins of the design are not completely certain. The famous story of its appearance in the sky at the Battle of Athelstaneford is a Scottish tradition rather than an independently proven account.

Who was St Andrew?

St Andrew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus in Christian tradition. According to tradition, he was martyred on a diagonal or X-shaped cross.

This association gave the diagonal cross its distinctive identity and helped establish St Andrew as an important Christian saint.

Historic Environment Scotland notes that Scotland's Saltire is based on St Andrew and his crucifixion, with the white cross representing the cross on which he is traditionally said to have died.

The legend of Athelstaneford

One of Scotland's best-known flag legends places the origin of the Saltire at a battle in East Lothian in the ninth century.

According to the tradition, King Angus of the Picts and his army faced a larger force of Angles and Saxons. Before the battle, Angus prayed for victory. A white saltire was said to have appeared against a blue sky, resembling the cross of St Andrew.

The Scots and Picts won the battle, and the legend says that Angus subsequently vowed that Andrew would become the patron saint of Scotland.

The story is strongly associated with Athelstaneford, which today has a memorial and heritage centre dedicated to the Saltire.

When did the Saltire become associated with Scotland?

The precise beginning is uncertain, but the Saltire was established as a Scottish symbol during the medieval period.

The Flag Institute records its appearance on the seal of the Guardians of Scotland in 1286. It also records an order from 1385 instructing Scottish soldiers to wear a saltire on their clothing.

These references are much firmer evidence than the earlier battlefield legend and show that the cross was clearly connected with Scottish identity by the later Middle Ages.

The Saltire and medieval Scottish soldiers

The use of the Saltire by Scottish soldiers fits into the wider medieval tradition of using visible symbols to distinguish armies and military groups.

In 1385, an order instructed Scottish soldiers to wear the Saltire on their clothing. This is significant because it demonstrates that the symbol was being used as a practical identifier, not simply as a religious emblem.

It also connects the Saltire directly with the medieval banner and heraldic traditions explored in our Medieval Banners & Heraldry article.

From cross to national flag

Like St George's Cross in England, the Scottish Saltire did not begin as a modern national flag in the way we understand flags today.

It developed through a mixture of religious symbolism, royal authority, military use and Scottish political identity.

Over time, the white saltire on a blue field became the simple design associated with Scotland. The first certain illustration of this design appears in the armorial of Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, dating from around 1542.

Why is the background blue?

The blue field is now one of the defining features of the Scottish flag, but the historical shades of blue were not always identical to the modern specification.

Historical Scottish representations used different blues. Today, the Flag Institute records the Scottish flag with a blue field and lists Pantone 300 among its specifications.

The important historical point is that the combination of a white saltire and blue field became firmly established as Scotland's national flag.

The Saltire and Scottish heraldry

The Saltire belongs to the same broad world of medieval heraldry and symbolic identity as many other European flags.

Crosses were particularly useful heraldic symbols because they were simple, recognisable and easy to reproduce on shields, banners, clothing and flags.

Scotland also has another famous royal symbol: the lion rampant. This is not the same thing as the Saltire. The Saltire is Scotland's national flag, while the Royal Banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland is a separate royal banner.

The Saltire and the Union Flag

Scotland's flag became part of one of the world's most recognisable composite flags after the Union of the Crowns.

In 1603, James VI of Scotland also became James I of England. The two kingdoms remained separate, but their monarch was now the same person.

In 1606, a new Union Flag combined the Cross of St George with the Cross of St Andrew. The Saltire therefore became one of the two principal crosses from which the first Union Flag was constructed.

What happened after the 1707 Union?

The political union of England and Scotland in 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Union Flag became the flag of the new state, while the Saltire continued as a symbol of Scotland.

The relationship between the two flags was not always straightforward. Scottish use of the Saltire continued in different settings, including maritime and military contexts.

The Scottish Flag Trust records that use of the Saltire declined after the 1707 Union but later experienced a significant revival during the twentieth century.

The Saltire at sea

During the seventeenth century, the Saltire was widely used on Scottish ships. Its maritime role helped turn the cross into a practical national identifier as well as a heraldic and religious symbol.

The Scottish Flag Trust notes numerous seventeenth-century examples of ships flying the Saltire and records its inclusion in the Scottish heraldic register in 1672.

Flags at sea were especially important because ships needed to communicate identity and allegiance over considerable distances.

The Saltire today

The Saltire remains Scotland's national flag and is widely used by individuals, public bodies, sporting teams and organisations.

The Scottish Government's current guidance includes the Saltire among the flags flown from Scottish Government buildings and specifies its use on St Andrew's Day.

It is also one of the most recognisable symbols of Scottish identity around the world.

St Andrew's Day

St Andrew's Day is celebrated on 30 November, the feast day traditionally associated with Scotland's patron saint.

The Scottish Government's flag-flying schedule includes the Saltire for St Andrew's Day.

The day is also celebrated by Scottish communities and people of Scottish heritage outside Scotland, helping the Saltire remain an international symbol of Scottish identity.

A short history timeline

Why the Saltire matters to flag history

The Scottish Saltire shows how a flag can develop through centuries of religious, military and political history.

Its story also demonstrates why modern flags cannot always be understood simply by asking when they were officially adopted. The symbols themselves may be much older than the modern political institutions that use them.

From a medieval religious symbol to a national flag and one of the key elements of the Union Flag, St Andrew's Cross has had an unusually long and influential history.

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Sources & further reading

This article distinguishes between traditional stories and better-documented historical evidence. The Athelstaneford origin story is presented as a legend, while dates such as 1286, 1385 and the 1542 illustration are based on published vexillological and historical sources.

Further reading: Flag Institute — Scotland, Scottish Government — Flag flying guidance, and Historic Environment Scotland — Who was St Andrew?.