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{{Short description|Heraldic device used by the county and House of Lancaster}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Red Rose Badge of Lancaster.svg|thumb|The red rose of Lancaster, the [[heraldic badge]] of the royal [[House of Lancaster]], in its basic form]]
The '''Red Rose of Lancaster''' ([[blazon]]ed: ''a [[rose (heraldry)|rose]] gules'') was the [[heraldic badge]] adopted by the royal [[House of Lancaster]] in the 14th century. In the [[modern era]],  it symbolises the county of [[Lancashire]]. The exact [[species]] or [[cultivar]] which it represents is thought to be ''[[Rosa gallica|Rosa gallica officinalis]]''.

[[John of Gaunt]]'s younger brother [[Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York]] (1341–1402), adopted the [[White rose of York]] as his heraldic badge. His descendants fought for control of the throne of England during several decades of civil warfare, which became known as the [[Wars of the Roses]], after the heraldry of the [[House of York]]. 

Adopted after the civil wars of the fifteenth century had ended, the red rose was the symbol of the English Monarchy.

The opposition of the roses was a romantic invention created after the fact, and the Tudor arts under poets like Shakespeare gave the wars their popular conception: The [[Wars of the Roses]], coined in the 19th century. The conflict was ended by King [[Henry VII of England]] who, upon marrying [[Elizabeth of York]], created the [[Tudor rose]], the symbol of the [[Tudor dynasty]].

==Flower==
[[File:Rosa gallica officinalis0.jpg|thumb|''Rosa gallica'' var. ''officinalis'']]
{{Main|Rosa gallica}}

Lancaster's Red Rose (also known as [[Apothecary's Rose]], Old Red Damask and Rose of Provins) is an official variety and is possibly the first cultivated [[rose]]. The rose grew wild throughout [[Central Asia]] and was discovered by the ancient [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] and [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]]. Later adopted by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]], who introduced it to [[Gaul]] (France) where it assumed the name ''[[Rosa gallica]]''. It is documented that [[Charlemagne]]'s court exploited the rose as a [[perfume]]. The rose was also appreciated for its medical value and was utilized in countless [[medicinal plants|medical remedies]].

==Medieval symbol==
[[File:Tudor Rose.svg|thumb|upright=0.45|left|The Tudor Rose of England]]The Red Rose of Lancaster derives from the gold rose badge of [[Edward I of England]].  Other members of his family used variants of the royal badge, with the king's brother, [[Edmund Crouchback]], the Earl of Lancaster, using a red rose.<ref>Henry Bedingfeld and Peter Gwynn-Jones, Heraldry, Chartwell Books, 1993, page 130.</ref>  It is incorrectly believed that the Red Rose of Lancaster was the House of Lancaster's [[Heraldic badge|badge]] during the [[Wars of the Roses]]. Evidence for this "wearing of the rose" includes scant evidence.<ref>Guy Cardogan Rothery, Concise Encyclopedia of Heraldry, Brackten Books, 1915, page 183</ref> there are, however, doubts as to whether the red rose was actually an emblem taken up by the Lancastrians during the Wars of the Roses.  Adrian Ailes has noted that the red rose “probably owes its popular usage to [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] quickly responding to the pre-existing Yorkist white rose in an age when signs and symbols could speak louder than words."  
  
It also  allowed Henry to invent and exploit his most famous heraldic device, the [[Tudor Rose]], combining the so-called Lancastrian red rose and the [[White Rose of York]].  This floral union neatly symbolised the restoration of peace and harmony and his marriage in January 1486 to Elizabeth of York.  It was a brilliant piece of simple heraldic propaganda.”<ref>Adrian Ailes, “Heraldry in Medieval England: Symbols of Politics and Propaganda,” in Heraldry, Pageantry, and Social Display in Medieval England, ed. Peter Cross and Maurice Keen (Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell, 2002), 83-104 (101).</ref> The [[Tudor Rose]] is used as the plant badge of England ([[Scotland]] uses the [[thistle]], [[Ireland]] uses the [[shamrock]], and [[Wales]] uses the [[leek]]).

==Later use==
[[File:Cobblestone mosaic lancaster rose.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|A cobblestone mosaic showing the Red Rose of Lancaster in Williamson Park, Lancaster]]
[[File:Arms of Lancashire County Council.svg|thumb|upright=0.85|Lancashire's official coat of arms has three red roses]]
[[File:Lancashire County Flag.svg|thumb|upright=0.85|Flag of Lancashire]]
[[File:Unofficial flag of Lancashire (until 2008).svg|thumb|upright=0.85|Unofficial flag of Lancashire with a white background, commonly flown until the adoption of the official version in 2008]]

The rose does not form any part of the insignia of the [[Duchy of Lancaster]], but came to be seen as an emblem of the [[county]] of [[Lancashire]], and as such was incorporated in the [[coat of arms|coats of arms]] of numerous Lancashire local authorities including the county council. Since 1974 a number of [[metropolitan boroughs]] in [[Greater Manchester]] and [[Merseyside]] have included red roses in their armorial bearings to show their formation from parts of Lancashire. It is also present in the crest of the [[coat of arms of the London Borough of Enfield]].

The traditional [[Flag of Lancashire|Lancashire flag]], a red rose on a white field, was never officially registered with the Flag Institute and when this was attempted it was found that this flag had been registered by the town of [[Montrose, Angus|Montrose, Scotland]]. As two flags of the same design can not be registered, Lancashire's official flag is now registered as a red rose on a yellow field.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.flaginstitute.org/index.php?location=10&flagtype=county&flagid=108 | title = UK Flag Institute | access-date =April 8, 2017 | publisher =  The Flag Institute | language = en }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.lep.co.uk/news/lancashire-flag-is-all-yellow-1-76611 | title = Lancashire flag is all yellow | date=July 29, 2008 | access-date =May 11, 2017 | publisher = Johnston Publishing Ltd. | language = en }}</ref>

Today the Red Rose is still widely used, and not necessarily on a yellow background. [[Lancashire County Cricket Club]] still use the rose as an emblem. [[The Trafford Centre]] also features Red Roses in its architecture, most noticeably on all of the glass panes in the shopping centre. [[Lancashire GAA]] features a red rose on its emblem. [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City Football Club]] featured the red rose on the club badge from 1972 to 1997 and reinstated it in 2015, reflecting Manchester's history as part of Lancashire.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-35174237|title=Manchester City's new club badge design leaked online|publisher=BBC News|date=24 December 2015|access-date=26 May 2017}}</ref> It also features on the badges of [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]], [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]], and [[Barrow A.F.C.|Barrow]].
[[Edge Hill University]] in Ormskirk uses the Red Rose on a yellow background on its crest along with a [[Liver bird]] which signifies its current location (Lancashire) and origins in Liverpool.<ref>{{cite web |first=Mike |last=Nolan |title=The coat of arms |url=http://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/125by125/logos/the-coat-of-arms/ |work=125 by 125. 125 posts from the archives right through to Edge Hill's 125th year |date=February 21, 2010 |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506164145/https://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/125by125/logos/the-coat-of-arms/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The shield of Lancashire County Council's [[coat of arms]], however, displays not one but three red roses, on gold [[Pile (heraldry)|piles]] on a red background. The arms have been official since 1903.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Lancashire|title=Lancashire|publisher=Heraldry of the World|access-date=20 March 2018}}</ref>

==Military use==
From the nineteenth century the red rose was part of the badge of a number of units of the [[British Army]] recruiting in the county. During the [[World War I|First World War]], the rose was worn by [[55th (West Lancashire) Division]]; their [[motto]] was "They win or die, who wear the Rose of Lancaster". When [[55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division|the division was reformed in 1920]], it maintained the rose as its insignia. The cap badge of the [[Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)|Duke of Lancaster's Regiment]], formed in 2006, features the rose.

The Saskatoon [[Light Infantry]] of the [[Canadian Army]] also incorporated the red rose into the design of their cap badge and regimental buttons, due to an alliance with the [[York and Lancaster Regiment]] of the [[British Army]].

==International use==
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The [[Canada|Canadian]] city of [[Montreal]] has a Lancastrian rose in the top right hand corner of its [[Flag of Montreal|flag]], representing the city's historical English community. 
[[File:Arms of Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg|thumb|Arms of the [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholic]] [[Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)]], including the Red Rose of Lancaster]]
The U.S. [[City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania]], known as "Red Rose City", uses the Lancastrian rose as its seal, and in its flag.

==See also==
{{portal|Lancashire|Heraldry}}
*[[Royal Badges of England]]
*[[Wars of the Roses]]
*[[White Rose of York]]
*[[Tudor rose]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.lancashirevillages.com/redrose/ Lancashire villages homepage concerning the rose] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004034100/http://www.lancashirevillages.com/redrose/ |date=4 October 2017 }}
*[http://www.1914-1918.net/55div.htm 55th (West Lancashire) Territorial]

{{Lancashire}}
{{Wars of the Roses}}
{{Roses}}

[[Category:14th-century introductions]]
[[Category:Roses]]
[[Category:Symbols]]
[[Category:Wars of the Roses]]
[[Category:Red symbols|Rose of Lancaster, Red]]
[[Category:Heraldic charges]]
[[Category:Lancashire]]
[[Category:House of Lancaster]]