Flag of Gascony
| Lo Sautèr (the Saltire), Union Gascona (Gascon Union) | |
| Use | Civil |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 3:5 |
| Adopted | 12th century (1188?) |
| Design | A red field with a white diagonal cross that extends to the corners of the flag. In Blazon, Gules, a saltire Argent. |
The Flag of Gascony represents the region of Gascony, France. The legend says that the flag appeared under Pope Clement III (1187–1191) to gather the Gascons during the Third Crusade (12th century), but no proof of that statement has yet been found. The Chronica of Rogeri de Houedene, often taken as a proof for the creation of the flag, mentions only the crosses taken by the crusaders of three nations: the French (a red cross), the English (a white cross) and the Flemish (a green cross).
That flag contains the St Andrew's Cross, from the patron saint of Bordeaux, and the red colour of the Kingdom of England, which ruled over Gascony from the 12th to the mid-15th centuries.
After the end of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), the flag went out of use and was never replaced.
A modern blazon (blue and red with sheaf of wheat and lion) was created in Versailles by the judge of weapons' cabinet (chief of protocol) of French king Louis XIV in 1697–1709 for symbolically adding the province to the French royal coat of arms.