The red cross emblem of St. George is stated by the chroniclers to have been at once thereafter adopted by Richard I., who immediately placed himself and his army under the especial protection of the Saint, raised his banner at their head, and is reported to have introduced the emblem into England itself after his return in 1194. Further evidence of its introduction and its continued use is given by the record that in 1222 St. George's Day was ordered to be kept as a holiday in England.[21]
Some aver that the emblem was not generally accepted until under Edward I., in 1274. This prince, before his accession to the throne, had served in the last Crusades, and during that time had visited the scene of the victory and the grotto of the Saint. It is pointed out that this visit of Prince Edward to Palestine coincided with the change made in their badge by the English Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem from an eight-pointed Maltese cross to a straight white Greek cross, and that at the time of this change came the appearance upon the English banners of the St. George's cross, but of the English national colour red,[22] therefore they deduce that the further employment of the emblem as the national flag was then additionally authorized by Edward I.
9. The Borough Seal of Lyme Regis, 1284.
From this last date (1274) onward the St. George's cross and the legend of "St. George and the Dragon" in England are, at all events, in plain evidence. An early instance is that found in the borough of Lyme Regis, in Dorset, to which Edward I., in 1284, granted its first charter of incorporation and its official seal. A photo reproduction of a wax impression of this borough seal (9), taken from an old "Toll lease" is here given. The flag of St. George is seen at the mast-head, and below it the Royal Standard of Richard I., with its three lions for England, carried by Edward in Palestine during the lifetime of his father. At the bow of the ship is the figure of the Saint represented in the act of slaying the dragon, and having on his shield the St. George's cross.
"And on his breast a bloodie crosse he bore, The deare remembrance of his dying Lord, For whose sweete sake that glorious badge he wore, And dead, as living, ever Him adored: Upon his shield the like was also scor'd, For soveraine hope which in his helpe he had. Right faithful true he was in deede and word."[23]
The religious and Christian attributes of St. George are commemorated on the seal by the representation of the Crucifixion and by the Saint, the head of whose spear is a St. George's cross, being shown as in angel form. The sea tradition of his adoption is also sustained by the characteristic introduction of the "galley" into the design.
Around the edge of the seal is the rude lettering of the inscription in Latin: "Sigillum: Comune: De: Lim" ("The common seal of Lyme"). Near the top may be seen the "star and crescent" badge of Richard I., adopted by him as a record of his naval victory, and which is still used as an "admiralty badge" upon the epaulettes of admirals of the British navy.
This seal of Lyme Regis is said to be the earliest representation of St. George and the dragon known in England.
The same form of cross was placed by Edward I., in 1294, upon the monumental crosses which he raised at Cheapside, Charing Cross and other places, in memory of his loved Queen Eleanor, to mark the spots at which her body rested during the funeral procession when her remains were carried from Lincoln through Northampton to London.