Flag of Montgomeryshire

Last updated
Montgomeryshire (option 1)
Montgomeryshire.png
Proportion3:5
AdoptedNot yet adopted
DesignSable three nags' heads erased argent
Designed byBased on the later attributed arms of King Brochwel
Montgomeryshire (option 2)
Flag of Powys.svg
Name 'The Lion of Powys'
Proportion2:3
AdoptedNot yet adopted
DesignOr, a rampant lion gules, armed and langued azure
Designed byHistoric

The Montgomeryshire flag (Welsh : Baner Sir Drefaldwyn) refers to proposals for a flag of the Welsh county of Montgomeryshire. Neither has been registered with the Flag Institute. [1]

Welsh language Brythonic language spoken natively in Wales

Welsh ; [kʰəmˈraiɡ](listen)) or y Gymraeg is a Brittonic language of the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa. Historically, it has also been known in English as "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric".

Montgomeryshire historic county of Wales

Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county town, Montgomery, which in turn is named after one of William the Conqueror's main counsellors, Roger de Montgomerie, who was the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.

The Flag Institute is an educational charity headquartered in London, UK. It claims to be the world's largest flag organisation. It maintains a UK Flag Registry and offers advice and guidance about flags and their usage.

Contents

History

There are two rival designs for the flag which are both based on historic armorial devices.

One concept for the flag is a banner of the arms of Brochwel Ysgithrog, famed for his resistance to the invading Saxons. In the medieval period a coat of arms was created for him bearing three white horse heads on a black field. This represented the Saxon white horses, with their heads severed, and thus symbolised his victory over the Saxons at Chester. The arms granted to the local council in 1951 included a black-and-white border as a reference to Brochwel's arms. [2]

Brochwel son of Cyngen, better known as Brochwel Ysgrithrog, was a king of Powys in eastern Wales. The unusual epithet Ysgithrog has been translated as "of the canine teeth", "the fanged" or "of the tusk".

Saxons Germanic tribes from the North German Plain

The Saxons were a Germanic people whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country near the North Sea coast of what is now Germany. Earlier, in the late Roman Empire, the name was used to refer to Germanic inhabitants of what is now England, and also as a word something like the later "Viking", as a term for raiders. In Merovingian times, continental Saxons were associated with the coast of what later became Normandy. Though sometimes described as also fighting inland, coming in conflict with the Franks and Thuringians, no clear homeland can be defined. There is possibly a single classical reference to a smaller homeland of an early Saxon tribe, but it is disputed. According to this proposal, the Saxons' earliest area of settlement is believed to have been Northern Albingia. This general area is close to the probable homeland of the Angles.

Coat of arms unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon

A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest, and motto. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to an individual person, family, state, organization or corporation.

The other concept for the flag is the banner of arms of the former Welsh Kingdom of Powys which had been in use by the kings of Powys since the reign of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn in 1046. [3] In 1160 the kingdom divided in two with the larger, southern portion that was known alternately as "Upper Powys", "Powys Cyfeiliog" or Powys Wenwynwyn (the boundaries of which matched those of the historic county of Montgomeryshire almost exactly) continuing to use the same banner as the former unitary realm of Powys had. In 1283 the whole territory of Upper Powys became a feudal fief subject to the King of England known as the Lordship of Powis. The Lords of Powis continued to use the old banner of Powys for their personal arms and, as such, the banner continued to be associated with the territory, until at least 1421 when ownership of the lordship passed outside the Anglo-Welsh Charleton family. In 1573 the Lordship was transformed into the County of Montgomeryshire by the Laws in Wales Acts however there is compelling evidence that the shire continued to be popularly represented by the banner of arms of Powys because a book published in 1894 illustrates the shields of the counties of Wales and shows Montgomeryshire using a red lion device and the motto 'POWYS PARADWYS CYMRU'. In 1951 the County Council was formally granted official arms which featured the Arms of Powys (the red lion on gold) most prominently. [4] This design however suffers from the fact that it may be too similar to the existing flag used for the English county of Somerset. Ultimately, the county flag will be adopted taking a number of criteria into account, including historic precedent, distinctiveness and how the flag will look when flying.

Kingdom of Powys kingdom in mid Wales

The Kingdom of Powys was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the top two thirds of the modern county of Powys and part of the West Midlands. More precisely, and based on the Romano-British tribal lands of the Ordovices in the west and the Cornovii in the east, its boundaries originally extended from the Cambrian Mountains in the west to include the modern West Midlands region of England in the east. The fertile river valleys of the Severn and Tern are found here, and this region is referred to in later Welsh literature as "the Paradise of Powys".

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, sometimes spelled Blethyn, was an 11th-century Welsh king. Harold Godwinson and Tostig Godwinson installed him as the ruler of Gwynedd on his father's death in 1063, during their destruction of the kingdom of Bleddyn's half-brother, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. He became king of Powys on his brother Rhiwallon's death in 1069. His descendants continued to rule Powys as the House of Mathrafal.

Powys Wenwynwyn

Powys Wenwynwyn or Powys Cyfeiliog was a Welsh kingdom which existed during the high Middle Ages. The realm was the southern portion of the former princely state of Powys which split following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1160: the northern portion (Maelor) went to Gruffydd Maelor and eventually became known as Powys Fadog; while the southern portion (Cyfeiliog) going to Owain Cyfeiliog and becoming known, eventually, as Powys Wenwynwyn after Prince Gwenwynwyn ab Owain, its second ruler.

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Montgomery, Powys town in the Welsh county of Powys

Montgomery is a town and community in the Welsh Marches, administratively in the Welsh county of Powys. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Montgomeryshire to which it gives its name. The town centre lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the English border. Montgomery Castle was started in 1223 and its parish church in 1227. Other locations in the town include The Old Bell Museum, the Offa's Dyke Path, the Robber's Grave and the town wall. The large Iron Age hill fort of Ffridd Faldwyn is sited northwest of the town and west of the Castle.

Welsh Dragon national symbol of Wales

The Welsh Dragon appears on the national flag of Wales. The oldest recorded use of the dragon to symbolise Wales is in the Historia Brittonum, written around AD 829, but it is popularly supposed to have been the battle standard of King Arthur and other ancient Celtic leaders. Its association with these leaders along with other evidence from archaeology, literature, and documentary history led many to suppose that it evolved from an earlier Romano-British national symbol. During the reigns of the Tudor monarchs, the red dragon was used as a supporter in the English Crown's coat of arms. The red dragon is often seen as symbolising all things Welsh, and is used by many public and private institutions. These include the Welsh Government, Visit Wales, the dragon's tongue is in use with the Welsh Language Society and numerous local authorities including Blaenau Gwent, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, and sports bodies, including the Sport Wales National Centre, the Football Association of Wales, Wrexham A.F.C., Newport Gwent Dragons, and London Welsh RFC. The Welsh Dragon is also one of The Queen's Beasts.

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References

  1. ↑ Association of British Counties. "County flag proposals" . Retrieved 5 September 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ "Civic Heraldry of England and Wales 1974-1996".
  3. ↑ Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, Comprising a Registry of Armorial Bearings from the Earliest to the Present Time, Vol. II, (2007), p.543 (citing John ap William)
  4. ↑ "Civic Heraldry of England and Wales 1974-1996".
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