Athelstaneford and the legend of the Saltire

25 Comments

Athelstaneford in East Lothian is supposedly the birthplace of Scotland’s flag, the St Andrew’s Cross or Saltire. Legend has it that in 832, an army of Picts under King Angus were being pursued by a larger army of Anglo-Saxons under Athelstan. Angus prayed for help and was rewarded by a white cloud in the shape of a saltire (the diagonal cross on which St Andrew was martyred) in the blue sky. He vowed that if Andrew led him to victory he would become the patron saint of Scotland. The rest is, allegedly, history.

The Flag Heritage Centre commemorating this has to be the smallest museum I’ve ever been in! It’s a lectern-shaped doocot (dovecote) behind the parish church with a door you have to bend down to enter. Inside, a short audiovisual presentation dramatises the story. The viewpoint beside it looks over the fields, and in the churchyard there’s a memorial (1965) showing the battle scene. Both sport saltires blowing in the breeze. This didn’t take long to visit, but it was a lovely experience.

Flag Heritage Centre
Viewpoint
From the viewpoint
Saltire Memorial
Parish Church
Parish Church
Churchyard
Scotland, UK , , ,

25 Comments »

  1. I heard that story last year during a quiz at work. Even if it’s not true, it’s a lovely idea for the origin of the flag.

    And that museum looks so tiny. Bet it’s a great place to visit, as long as there aren’t too many of you going there. 😉

    Like

  2. The flag centre is adorable!! And hey, one of my friends is in Glasgow right now, so I’m thinking about your A-Z posts every day. 🙂

    Like

  4. That’s an interesting story- I think Norway and Scotland has some crossing points in the history back then…..:-) Looks like a lovely place- I would love to visit that museum:-)

    Like

    • Yes, there were lots of interconnections between the countries over the centuries. It was certainly an interesting place – I haven’t been to anything quite like it.

      Like

  6. I didn’t know that was the story behind Scotland’s flag. I always thought flags were chose rather arbitrarily, but this makes me think I should look into the background of the French flag and other UK flags too.

    Like

  8. That is a tiny museum. I love the fields picture. The linear look has my eyes doing tricks. The last picture of the gravestone is quite neat-I love graveyards and gravestones

    Like

  9. I really enjoy your daily blogs 😀 With this one I’m going to side with “legend”. Last year I read a little about Athelstan and if I remember correctly he did come to Scotland with an army however it was in the 900s some time. Was he even born in 832? Good story though!

    Like