The **Nordic cross** is a design in which a cross of one colour is set on a field of another, with the vertical arm displaced toward the hoist so that the upper-hoist and lower-hoist quarters are square and the fly-side quarters are rectangular. The pattern descends from the medieval Dannebrog of Denmark, traditionally dated to 1219, and is now the shared form of the flags of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Faroe Islands.
**Example**: The Dannebrog of Denmark, a white cross on a red field, is the prototype of the Nordic cross.
**See also**: [cross](/glossary/cross/), [saltire](/glossary/saltire/), [nordic-colors](/glossary/nordic-colors/), [swallow-tail](/glossary/swallow-tail/)