The Red Dragon - The Story of the Welsh Flag

Disgrifiad Cymraeg / Welsh Description

Llyfryn yn cynnwys llu o ddarluniau lliw a thoriadau papur newydd ynghyd â thestun difyr yn olrhain yr hanes y tu ôl i faneri mwyaf nodedig Cymru a'i symbol pennaf - y ddraig goch.

Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description

Learn the story behind one of the world's most distinctive flags and Wales's greatest symbol. A full colour publication generously supplied with photographs, cuttings and illustrations and entertaining text by highly regarded author Siôn Jobbins.

Dosbarthu

Byddwn yn dosbarthu eitemau sydd mewn stoc o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith, fel arfer drwy Royal Mail Tracked 48. Ar gyfer archebion o flaen llaw, byddwn yn dosbarthu’r eitem o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith ar ôl ei derbyn gan ein cyflenwr.

Dispatch

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Bywgraffiad yr Awdur / Author Biography

Siôn Jobbins was born in Zambia and raised in Cardiff. He is one of the founders of dotCymru and the author of ‘The Welsh National Anthem', which has been reprinted twice in two years.

Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review

This fascinating little volume is all about Welsh pride exemplified by our national flag. The Red Dragon is accepted as the most memorable of all national flags. But where did it come from? Involving himself in some detailed detective work, the author reveals all. The agenda is set on the very first page. Despite the fact that we are not known for our flair and that our heroism in battle is in fighting for the freedom of other nations, we should, says the author, be very proud of our flag. There are numerous reasons for such pride. For one, like our anthem, it belongs to all of us. It is not a narrow political flag, neither has it been changed by partisan governments. It is neither republican nor monarchist. Its birth was not baptised in the blood of other people. It is not too English or too British and does not reflect any particular religious credo. And it wasn’t designed by a committee. Not bad as a symbol for a small nation, is it? It crystallises, reasons the author, the history and the psychology of the Welsh people. We learn that the flag and the dragon are historically connected, our language being the oldest continuously spoken tongue in Britain. Welsh place names abound as far as the north of Scotland. The language is the one unbroken link between our Celtic past and Roman memory. And it is through the Red Dragon that we can connect to that history. The dragon icon is examined and can be traced back through ancient mythology and through Rome. We learn that the English also carried dragon flags into battle. The myth that Glyndŵr had a yellow dragon at the siege of Caernarfon is explained. We are guided through the Tudor era and then 300 years of history during which the Red Dragon is barely mentioned. It reappeared at the beginning of the nineteenth century when the Mimosa ferried the first Welsh settlers across the Atlantic to Patagonia, the first time it had been seen publicly since the Battle of Bosworth. The Red Dragon survived two world wars. It became the subject of a symbolic protest at the Eagle’s Tower at Caernarfon Castle in 1932, when the Union Jack was taken down and the Red Dragon raised in its place. Then, on 23 February 1959, it became, at last, the national flag of Wales. As the author exhorts us, we should ‘fly it high and fly it often’.