A dragon was depicted on the English royal standard at Hastings. The dragon standard was an old symbol associated with the kings of Wessex and appears in representations of Harold Godwinson’s army during the battle.
The dragon was not the same as Harold’s personal banner. Medieval accounts describe Harold’s own standard as bearing a fighting man, richly decorated with gold and precious stones. The dragon represented a broader royal and dynastic tradition, while the fighting-man banner identified Harold personally.
The Bayeux Tapestry shows a dragon-like standard near the English forces during the climactic scenes of the battle. The image is often interpreted as the Wessex dragon, although surviving evidence does not allow every detail of the original standard to be reconstructed with certainty. Early medieval standards could be three-dimensional figures or streamers rather than modern rectangular flags.
The dragon also had a long history in pre-heraldic European warfare. It could be mounted on a pole and designed to move dramatically in the wind, making it visible above a crowded battlefield. Later English and Welsh traditions continued to associate dragons with royal power, but the familiar red cross of St George was not yet England’s national flag in 1066.