Today, the flags of Orkney and Scotland fly in celebration of St. Magnus Day. Every year on April 16th, Orkney celebrates St Magnus Day. It’s the date that marks the martyrdom of Magnus Erlendsson, the former Viking Earl of the islands, in 1117.
This flag was selected by an islands wide referendum to select from five designs, each of which had been submitted by islanders. The previous flag of Orkney, the traditional flag of St. Magnus was adopted in 1995, but was denied official recognition by the Scottish Heraldic Authority, Lord Lyon King of Arms, because of its similarity with other national flags.
The Flag Institute, the United Kingdom’s flag study organization, has a great paper on its web site entitled “The Story of Scotland’s Flags” by Graham Barton which breaks down how the saltire became the symbol of Scotland and how it ended up as Scotland’s flag.
On a purely personal note, this is my 600th post on this blog! Happy Vexillology to everyone!
Cruesbreck Flags 