English waving flag -

For the English national flag, see Flag of England. For the Glasgow subway station, see St George's Cross subway station. Not to be confused with the Cross of St. George, a Russian military distinction, or the George Cross, a British medal. The Cross of Saint George as a rectangular (3:5 ratio) flag, used as the contemporary flag of England. In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, also called the Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with the crusades, the red-on-white cross has its origins in the 12th century. It may have been used as the ensign of the Republic of Genoa as early as during the 13th century. The symbol has since been adopted by the Swabian League in the pre-Reformation Holy Roman Empire. The red-on-white cross used extensively across Northern Italy as the symbol of Bologna, Padua, Genoa, Reggio Emilia, Mantua, Vercelli, Alessandria, is instead derived from an older flag, called the "Cross of Saint Ambrose", adopted by the Commune of Milan in 1045.[1] Saint George also rose to the position of "patron saint" of England after the English reformation, and since the early modern period his flag came to be identified as the national flag of England. Saint George is the patron saint of Catalonia and also of Georgia, and the national flag of Georgia (2004) displays a combination of Saint George's cross and the Jerusalem cross.