Up a Tree Extra: I didn't know Jack about the Union Jack
Last time I mentioned that King James I, frustrated over Parliament's ability to broker a deal for the formal union of Scotland and England -- the two realms he reigned over -- created the very first version of the Union Jack: Now, he did this by combining the flag of St. George, by this time the default patron saint of England, and the flag of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. St. George: St. Andrew: It's fairly easy to see how this came about. Of course you'll recognize almost immediately that this is very close to the modern day flag, but not quite there. The National Flag of Great Britain: You'll notice the extra red stripe. This represents represents Ireland, back in its united days. A bit about the saints. St. George is thought to be a Christian Roman soldier -- in the days when the Romans persecuted Christians. He refused to recant his faith and was martyred. He became England's saint through the influence of numerous kings, mostly Plantangen...