The dragon has been recognized as the emblem of Wales for more than one thousand years. The earliest written record of the red dragon as a national emblem of the Welsh is found in Historia Brittonum, written during the 9^th century. It tells the story of the battle of red and white dragons that raged beneath the site of Vortigern’s fortress in Snowdonia, the red dragon at first having the worst of it but finally overcoming the white. According to Historia Brittonum, the combat symbolized the struggle between the Britons and Saxons, and as time passed the fiery dragon became linked with the great Welsh leaders. In 1807, the red dragon was officially declared the Royal Badge of Wales and in 1959, the Queen permitted the national flag of Wales to display the red dragon on a green and white field.