English nationalism Siege of Calais of 1346, King Edward III expelled the inhabitants of that city because, in his words, "I wolde repeople agayne the towne with pure Englysshmen". When King Henry V conquered Harfleur in 1415, he ordered the inhabitants to leave and imported English immigrants to replace them. Edward III promoted Saint George during his wars against Scotland and France. Under Edward I and Edward II, pennons bearing the Cross of Saint George were carried, along with those of Saint Edmund the Martyr and Saint Edward the Confessor. However Edward III promoted St George over the previous national saints of
Basil the Confessor Basil the Confessor Basil the Confessor (died 750) was an Eastern Orthodox saint who lived in the 8th century and was tortured by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine V. Basil was a monk who has elected Bishop of Parium. In February 754 Emperor Constantine V convened a synod at Hieria to condemn the veneration of icons. Basil refused to sign the orders for their destruction. With his pupil Procopius, Basil was imprisoned. Both languished in prison until the death of the emperor in 741, when they were released. Basil died in 750 and is venerated February 28 (New Style; March 13