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Flag of the English People (16-18th Century publications)

image located by David Prothero, 21 November 2005

Coloured variants
About the flag
Schenk variant

See also:

Coloured versions

The following coloured versions of the flag are based on the scanned image shown above.

image by Martin Grieve, 21 November 2005

This version appeared in all the sources except those of Cornelis Danckerts and Matthaeus Seutter. Short St George's cross impaled with red swallow-tail bearing the three yellow lions of England on a white bordered red shield in its centre. This flag is drawn ignoring the fold in the flag.
David Prothero, 21 November 2005

image by Martin Grieve, 21 November 2005

As above, but drawn by "straightening out" the fold.
David Prothero, 21 November 2005

image by Martin Grieve, 21 November 2005

This version appeared in only the flag-sheets of Cornelis Danckerts and Matthaeus Seutter. Short St George's cross impaled with red swallow-tail bearing the three yellow lions of England in its centre.
David Prothero, 21 November 2005

image by Martin Grieve, 21 November 2005

This version appeared in only the flag-sheets of Cornelis Danckerts and Matthaeus Seutter. Short St George's cross impaled with red over white over blue swallow- tail bearing the three yellow lions of England on a red shield in the centre of the white panel.
David Prothero, 21 November 2005

About the flag

In its October 1949 edition, Mariner's Mirror, Journal of the Society for Nautical Research, published a letter (page 347) from Hilary Mead, author of 'Sea Flags', asking for information about the "Flag of the English People". The flag has appeared in a number of continental publications, but apparently, not in any British ones. Replies were printed in April 1950 (page 164), and added more examples, all of which are listed below. It was suggested that the flag was a "processional route" type flag, put up perhaps for the coronation of William and Mary in 1689. This could explain why it was recorded by foreigner publishers who would have assumed that it was a genuine flag, but ignored by English publishers who knew(?) that it was merely a decoration.

Another correspondent wrote that a somewhat similar flag was shown in Visscher's etching of the ship "White Bear" which was built in 1564. St George canton, three leopards in pale in the fly and letters ER below the canton. The etching was reproduced in Keble Chatterton's 'Old Ship Prints' page 62-3.

1705. In sheet added to Carel Allard's publication of 1695.
"Vlag van 't volk van Engeland."

c1710. Flag-sheet in French and Dutch by Cornelis Danckerts.
Two versions <gb_ep2.gif> and <gb_ep3.gif> both entitled "Vlag van t' Volk van Engeland"

1711. Flag-sheet in Dutch and French by Pieter Schenk.
Entitled "'t' Engelse Volk" and "La nation de Angleterre"

1737. La Connoissance des Pavillon ou Bannieres que plupart des Nations arborent en mer etc. (Á la Haye chez Jaqueva den Kieboom). Plate 5 described as, "Il est rouge, portant au milieu un Ecu de gueules, mais bordé d'argent, & chargé de trois Leopards d'or, qui sont les armes ordinaires du Royaume, & au côté du bâton du Pavillon il y a un Pal d'argent, chargé d'une Croix de gueles." Thought to be a copy of Carel Allard's illustration.

1763. Similar title published "Amsterdam, chez David Mortier" Same description.

c1769. Recueil de Planches sur les Sciences etc.. Paris.

c1770. Flag-sheet by Matthaeus Seutter of Augspurg. Similar to Dankerts' flag-sheet.

1782. Le Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences des Artes et des Métiers (à Lausanne et à Berne) Pl.17, fig.41 described as, "Pavillon du peuple d'Angleterre; il est rouge & fendu, chargé d'un écusson rouge ´ trois léopards d'or, à la bordure d'argent, le pavillon parti à senestre d'argent à la croix rouge." Apparently copied from the French Miscellany of 1769.

1912. Die Flagge by Vize-Admiral R.Siegel.
Plate 37. "Flagge des Englischen Volkes 1737-1769"

David Prothero, 21 November 2005

Schenk variant

image by Tomislav Todorovic, based on one by Martin Grieve, 1 November 2014

Another variant was depicted in flag chart created by the Dutch cartographer Pieter Schenk in 1711, which was published in the atlas by Guillaume Delisle of France in 1730 (reissued in 1739 as the "Nouvel atlas" by Covens & Mortier of Amsterdam). [This chart is actually mentioned in the October 1949 edition of Mariner's Mirror - see the page cited above.] Unlike the other variants, this one is rectangular. The shield of arms of England is bordered white and set off-center on red field, near short St George's cross at the hoist.
Source: Allen, Phillip: The Atlas of Atlases, London: Bounty Books, 2005, ISBN-13 978-0-7537-1311-2
Tomislav Todorovic, 1 November 2014