Ah, the Saltire. The flag of Scotland. You want me to… elaborate? Fine. Just don’t expect me to wax poetic. It’s a flag. A very old one, apparently. And yes, it’s the correct one for private citizens, not that pompous Royal Standard of Scotland. Though, naturally, the Scottish Government insists on flying it every day, because rules.
Design
Let’s get this straight: the heraldic term is ‘saltire’. It’s an X-shaped cross. The old French word was saultoir, or salteur, which apparently referred to a kind of stile or stirrup. You know, the kind of thing that’s useful. The Scottish flag, in proper blazon, is azure with a saltire argent. Which, for those who don't speak fluent dusty scrolls, means blue with a white X. The white can be silver, and the blue… well, it’s not a specific shade. Fabric production, you see. Natural dyes were a whole messy business. Plants, indigo, woad – all sorts of compounds, varying with the soil and the climate. So, the blue could be anything from a pale sky blue to a deep navy blue. It’s a mess. When it got shoved into the Union Flag with that dark blue, some manufacturers just went with that darker shade for the Saltire too. Chaos.
Eventually, people got tired of the inconsistency. In 2003, a committee of the Scottish Parliament decided to do something about it. They settled on Pantone 300. Lighter than the Union Flag’s Pantone 280. Smart. So now, most versions are that specific blue. Which is #005EB8, if you care about such things.
The proportions aren't exactly set in stone, but 3:5 is common. The Lord Lyon King of Arms says 4:5 is acceptable. Apparently, the width of the saltire bars relative to the field is specified in heraldry, but it’s not rigid. Something about one-third to one-fifth of the field width. Honestly, it’s enough to make you want to just draw a plain X on a blue square and call it a day.
History
Legend has it, the Saltire’s origin story is tied to the Battle of Athelstaneford in 832. The Declaration of Arbroath, that dramatic piece of parchment, mentions Scotland’s conversion to Christianity by St. Andrew. They say he was crucified on a decussate cross – that’s an X, in case you were wondering. Seals from the 12th century show him like that. Bishop William de Lamberton used it too.
But the X itself, the saltire, was just a field sign back then. No saint attached. The connection, they say, might have started in Scotland in the late 14th century. The Parliament of Scotland decreed in 1385 that Scottish and French soldiers fighting the English should wear a white St. Andrew's Cross. Practical, I suppose. Better than friendly fire.
James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas, supposedly had a pennon with a saltire at the hoist during the Battle of Otterburn in 1388. And then there's the "Blue Blanket of the Trades of Edinburgh", supposedly made by Queen Margaret, wife of James III. It’s the flag of the Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh, and apparently a big deal during their annual ceremonies.
The white St. Andrew's Cross on blue was used as a naval flag in 1507 for the carrack Great Michael. The first heraldic depiction of the white saltire on blue is from 1542, in David Lyndsay's armorial. His royal arms were supported by unicorns, each holding a banner with the saltire. Cute.
Protocol
The Scottish Government is quite firm on this: the Saltire flies on its buildings daily, from 8 am to sunset. Unless it’s a UK national day, then the Union Flag takes precedence on single-flagpole buildings. They make an exception for Merchant Navy Day, where the Red Ensign can fly.
But here’s the twist: on Saint Andrew's Day, the Union Flag only flies if there are multiple flagpoles. The Saltire stays up. Apparently, some Members of the Scottish Parliament complained that Scotland was the only country where citizens might not be able to fly their own flag on their national day. The gall. Many Scottish Government bodies use the saltire in their logos. It’s everywhere.
Use by military institutions on land
The British Army Infantry battalions of the Scottish Division, along with the Scots Guards and Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, incorporate the Saltire. You’ll see it on their vehicles, on decals, even flown from whip antennas in places like Iraq during Operation Granby and Operation Telic. It’s a way to distinguish themselves, apparently foster better relations with locals. Leaflets distributed by the Black Watch depicted troops against the Saltire backdrop.
When they merged Scotland's infantry regiments into the Royal Regiment of Scotland, they launched a recruitment campaign featuring a stylized Saltire. It’s also on the regiment’s cap badge, with a lion rampant and the Crown of Scotland. The Army Air Corps and university Officer Training Corps also use it.
The Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm put Saltires on their Westland Sea King helicopters. And even some Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadrons and former RAF stations like RAF Leuchars and RAF East Fortune featured it in their crests.
General use
Anyone in Scotland can fly the Saltire anytime, no permission needed. Angus Council tried to replace it with a new Angus flag in 2007, but the public outcry forced a compromise: fly them side-by-side. Apparently, people are very attached to their X.
You can even display the Saltire on your vehicle registration plate if your vehicle is registered in Great Britain, with "SCO" or "Scotland". Royal Mail even put it on a stamp in 1999. And in Northern Ireland, some Protestant communities use it to celebrate their Ulster-Scots heritage.
At sea, it’s used as a Jack or courtesy flag on government vessels and ferries like Caledonian MacBrayne. Even the Paddle Steamer Waverley flies it. Though, this can cause confusion with the maritime signal flag M, "MIKE", which means "My vessel is stopped; making no way." So, some people are pushing for official recognition of the historic Scottish Red Ensign to avoid this mix-up. It hasn’t been officially used since the 18th century, but people still make and fly it.
Incorporation into the Union Flag
The Saltire is a key part of the Union Flag, that rather busy design that emerged in 1606 after the Union of the Crowns. James VI, King of Scots became king of England and Ireland in 1603. His proclamation in 1606 said everyone should fly a combined flag: the Red Crosse (St. George's) and the White Crosse (St. Andrew's), joined together. Scottish sailors were supposed to fly the white cross in their fore-top, English sailors the red.
But the Scots weren’t happy. They thought the design, with St. George’s cross on top of St. Andrew’s, was disrespectful. John Erskine, 19th Earl of Mar wrote to James VI in 1606, complaining that the Scottish cross was "obscur[ed]" and that sailors wouldn't accept it. They sent new designs, but they’re lost now.
However, there’s evidence of a variant where the Scottish cross is uppermost. Most vexillologists think it was unofficial, but it seems to have been used on Scottish ships in the 17th century. John Beaumont described it in The Present State of the Universe in 1704.
John Slezer's engravings of Edinburgh Castle around 1693 also show what looks like this Scottish variant of the Union Flag flying.
In 1707, just before the Acts of Union, Sir Henry St George presented designs to Queen Anne. One of them was labelled "the Scots union flagg as said to be used by the Scots." But they went with the original design, St. George's cross on top.
From 1801, after the Kingdom of Ireland joined, the St Patrick's Cross was added, creating the current Union Flag. There’s evidence from an old manuscript suggesting some people might have still insisted on a Scottish variant even then.
Even though it's unofficial, the Scottish Union Flag is still made and sometimes flown. Historian David R. Ross even suggested adopting it again in 2006 to reflect separate national identities. But no, the 1801 design remains the official flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Related flags
The Church of Scotland uses the Saltire defaced with a burning bush.
Several flags outside the UK are based on the Scottish saltire. In Canada, the flag of the province of Nova Scotia uses an inverse saltire (blue on white) with the royal arms of the Kingdom of Scotland. Nova Scotia, of course, means "New Scotland." St. Andrew's First Aid uses a red saltire on white, like a Red Cross. The Colombian department of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina also uses a pale-blue saltire, named after Saint Andrew.
The Dutch municipality of Sint-Oedenrode, named after Saint Oda (a Scottish princess, apparently), uses a version of the Scottish flag defaced with a gold castle.
Royal Standard of Scotland
The Royal Standard of Scotland, also known as the Banner of the King of Scots or the Lion Rampant, is different. It’s the royal banner, and its use is restricted by law to only a few Great Officers of State representing the Sovereign in Scotland. Though, fans at sports events seem to have their own interpretation of this rule. It’s also flown at Royal residences when the Sovereign isn't there.
In Unicode
Finally, in 2017, the Unicode Consortium approved emoji support for the flag of Scotland, along with England and Wales. It's implemented using a sequence of code points: U+1F3F4 (waving black flag) followed by a tag sequence for GB-SCT. Before that, you could only send the Union Flag emoji. How inconvenient.