Dragons in Heraldry (3)

The Red Dragon of Wales

One of the most well-know dragons of heraldry is the Red Dragon of Wales, now the official flag of Wales. In the Fifth Century, this dragon was used by the Welsh kings of Aberffraw to assert their authority. By the Seventh Century, it became known as the Red Dragon of Cadwallander, after Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon, a famous king of Wales. In the 1500s, the Tudors, who claimed ancestry from Cadwallander, adopted it as their family coat of arms. Henry Tudor, now Henry VII, had the English Royal Navy flying the Red Dragon on a field of white and green (Tudor colors). In 1901, the Red Dragon became the official symbol of Wales.
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Note: Squirrel fur was referred to as vair.

Works Citied:
____., “Circle of the Dragon”, Kylie McCormick, 2009, 6 June 2009, < http://www.blackdrago.com/index.html>.
Fradon, Dana, “Harold, the Herald”, Dutton Children’s Books, U.S., 1990.
Slater, Stephen, “The Complete Book of Heraldry”, Lorenz Books, London, 2002.
____, Somewhere in Tyme, 2009, 10 June 2009, < http://bdweb9271a.bluedomino.com/index.html>.
____, “The Welsh Flag”, BBC, 2009, 11 June 2009,
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/flag.shtml >.

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Copyright: Virginia Carper, Animal Teachers, 2009