The Vexillological Historian

21 February is the birthday of the current monarch of Norway, King Harald V. King Harald acceded the throne in 1991, and is the third monarch of Norway following the dissolution of the Sweden-Norway Union.

The Royal Standard of Norway, used by all reigning monarchs, was first introduced on 15 November 1905. This was shortly after the dissolution of Norway’s union with Sweden and just days before Haakon VII took the throne.

While it remains a banner of arms of Norway (with the same blazon), the lion on the royal coat of arms is slightly different from the lion on the state coat of arms in design. The banner was also likely the country’s first flag - a gold lion wielding an axe on a red field was depicted as the flag of Norway as early as the 14th century. It was then, as it is now, truly more of a banner of the monarchy than of the country itself.

https://www.fotw.info/flags/no-royal.html

On 20 February 1935, Caroline Mikkelsen became the first woman to set foot on Antarctica when she accompanied her Norwegian husband, Captain Klarius Mikkelsen, on an Antarctic Expedition. She, her husband, and the crew of the Norwegian resupply vessel M/S Thorshavn planted the Norwegian flag on the continent.

Happy Flag Day in Turkmenistan! On 19 February 1992, a flag very similar to the modern flag of Turkmenistan was adopted, shortly after the country’s independence from the USSR. It has been updated twice since, with the main updates being the addition of an olive branch, the proportions of the flag (from 1:2 to 2:3) and a slight change in the shade of green of the background.

Happy Independence Day and Flag Day in The Gambia! The Gambia gained its independence from the UK on 18 February 1965 and adopted its current flag on the same date.

It is an interesting country geographically, by the fact that, save for a small coastline, the entirety of the country is surrounded by Senegal. Furthermore, the entirety of the country is situated on the banks of a river - the Gambia River - for which the country is named.

As for the flag, the red represents the sun as well as the savanna; green represents the forests and agriculture; the blue stripe in the center represents the Gambia River; the white fimbriation above and below the blue stripe represents unity and peace.

https://www.fotw.info/flags/gm.html

Happy Flag Day in Canada! The Maple Leaf Flag was adopted by the Canadian Parliament in October 1964, proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II in January 1965, and officially adopted on 15 February of that year.

The maple leaf has been used as a symbol in Canada since the 17th century. In 1867, a patriotic song “The Maple Leaf Forever” was composed by Alexander Muir and in 1868 maple leaves first appeared on the coat of arms of Ontario and Quebec.

Until the Maple Leaf Flag was adopted, Canada had no official national flag. While the Canadian Red Ensign was commonly used, the only official flag was the flag of the United Kingdom. When a call for designs was issued in 1964, numerous variations featuring maple leaves were submitted; some featured only one, while others featured three, as seen on the coats of arms of Ontario and Quebec.

Happy 58th birthday to the Maple Leaf Flag!

(https://www.fotw.info/flags/ca.html)

Happy Statehood Day in Serbia! Statehood Day commemorates the beginning of the 1804 Serbian Uprising. This would ultimately lead to Serbia’s independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1817. The first image is of the original Voivode flag, one of the few flags remaining from the Uprising; the second image is my reproduction of the flag.

According to one source on FOTW, “The heraldic signs, a cross with characteristic symbols and a wild boar's head pierced with an arrow, were taken from the work of Hristofer Zeferović Stematogerfija (Stematography). The cross originates from the Serbian medieval heraldry and the boar's head is an alleged coat of arms of the Serbian Empire (it appears for the first time in the XVth century).”

Below the main two heraldic symbols are two flags with white crosses on red and two rifles. This is all underneath a crown.

https://www.fotw.info/flags/rs_up.html

The most recent update of the flag of Bahrain occurred on 14 February 2002. It reduced the number of white triangles from eight to five. The eight-triangle flag was adopted in 1972, replacing a flag with 28 triangles that had been used since 1932.

The five triangles on the modern flag represent the Five Pillars of Islam. (As far as I know, the previous numbers of 28 and 8 had no specific meaning.)

https://www.fotw.info/flags/bh.html

On 12 February 1912, Emperor Puyi, the final emperor of the Qing Dynasty, abdicated. Following this, the monarchy was abolished and the Republic of China was declared.

The first flag is the flag of Qing Dynasty China. Yellow was the color of royalty in Imperial China and the first legendary emperor was even known as the “Yellow Emperor”. The dragon was seen as a symbol of the Emperor and of his power. Meanwhile, the flaming pearl above the dragon was a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

The second flag is the flag of the Republic of China (1912 - 1928). Known as the “Five-colored flag”, each color represented an ethnic group in China. Red for the Han, yellow for the Manchus, blue for the Mongols, white for the Hui, and black for the Tibetans.

Both flags are period pieces, created for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Happy National Foundation Day in Japan! National Foundation Day commemorates the accession of Japan’s legendary first emperor, Emperor Jimmu, which supposedly occurred on 11 February 660 BCE.

The modern flag of Japan, the Hinomaru, was first officially adopted in August 1854. However, a version of the flag could have been used unofficially as early as 701, under Emperor Monmu.

The flag is simple: it features a red circle, meant to represent the sun, on a white field. Japan and its Emperors have long been associated with the sun. The country’s name literally means “sun origin”, often phrased “The land of the rising sun”, and the Emperor is said to be a descendant of the sun god Amaterasu. “Hinomaru” means “circle of the sun” and the flag’s official name, “Nisshōki”, means “flag of the sun”.

This particular flag was brought back to me by a friend who currently lives in Japan.

11 February is celebrated as Victory of the Islamic Revolution Day in Iran. It is one of the country’s two national days and commemorates the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The current flag of Iran was adopted the year following the Revolution, in 1980. It kept the green-white-red tricolor of the Empire but removed the lion and sun. It was meant to be a “holy flag”, and thus includes God’s name in the center, which can also be divided in various ways to spell out the Tawhid (“there is no God but God”) as well as the takbir (“Allahu Akbar” - “God is greatest”) written 11 times on both the green and red bands.

Vatican City became independent from Italy on 11 February 1929, following the signing of the Lateran Treaty.

According to Whitney Smith’s “Flags Through the Ages and Across the World”,

“Saint Peter has frequently been represented bearing the keys referred to in Matthew
XVI:19; his successors, the popes at Rome, adopted keys for a symbol as early as the thirteenth century. The two keys on a red shield indicate the papal claim to dominion over both spiritual and temporal matters.
The tiara is another ancient emblem of papal authority, dating back at least to the thirteenth century.

Throughout the Middle Ages red was the color of the Catholic Church; gold was used for the crossed papal keys. In 1808 Napoleon amalgamated the pontifical army into his own and Pope Plus VII felt that new colors were needed. He chose yellow and white; in 1825 they were approved for various official flags of the Pontifical State. Incorporated into Italy in 1870, this state was revived in 1929 as Vatican City and its flag was resurrected.”

I have no particular flag of the day, so I thought I’d share a random flag from my collection: Meirionnydd/Merionethshire. This flag of the historic Welsh county was officially adopted in 2015.

According to FOTW,

“The design dates from the 17th Century, derived from the seal used by the former Meirionnydd (also known as Merioneth, Merionethshire, Sir Feirionnydd and Mervinia) County Council, which in turn was based on a description of a banner borne by the men of Meirionnydd at the Battle of Agincourt, in the 17th century poem of the same name by Michael Drayton. Here he wrote of ‘three goats dancing ‘gainst a rising sun’; the shield was blue, the sun golden and the goats white. Speculation regarding this unusual arrangement suggests a connection with Cader Idris, where goats browsed and behind which the sun rose.”

(Source: https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-w-mer.html)

On 8 February 1867, Ausgleich concluded, which resulted in the creation of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Two years later, this design would be adopted as Austria-Hungary’s civil ensign. It features Austria’s flag on the left and Hungary’s on the right.

The red-white-red tricolor has been used in Austria since 1230 - initially as a coat of arms and later as a flag. It was the coat of arms of the Babenberg dynasty, which ruled Austria from ca. 962 - 1246. The coat of arms on the Austrian half of the flag features the tricolor once again, beneath a crown.

The red-white-green tricolor first came to prominence in Hungary during the 1848 revolution. The use of a tricolor was inspired by France and the colors were adopted from the Hungarian coat of arms. The stripes on the left half of the coat of arms are those of the Árpáds, who ruled Hungary from ca. 900 - 1300. It is said that the silver stripes represent the Duna (Danube), Tisza, Dráva, and Száva rivers. The double cross on the right half was first used by Béla III of Hungary. It is situated inside a crown, on three mounts (representing the Tátra, Mátra, and Fátra mountains). This is all underneath the Crown of St. Stephen - the coronation crown of the Kingdom of Hungary.

(These are both my own flags - one is on a cigar felt and the other is a sandcastle flag.)

Happy Independence Day in Grenada! Grenada gained its independence from the UK on 7 February 1974 - 50 years ago today! Its current flag was adopted later that year, in December.

Regarding the meaning of the flag, “The yellow star on a red disc stands for the Borough of St George’s, Grenada’s capital, and the other six stars stand for the remaining six parishes [St. Andrew, St. David, St. John, St. Mark, St. Patrick, and the Grenadines]. In the official interpretation, the red stands for courage and vitality, the yellow for wisdom and warmth, and the green for vegetation and agriculture.” Finally, the nutmeg represents one of the most popular exports from the country.

My copy of the flag (made in 1999) is rather poor, as evidenced by the depiction of the nutmeg. The center should be red rather than black.

(Source: https://www.fotw.info/flags/gd.html)

Happy Sámi National Day! On 6 February 1917, the first Sámi Congress was held in Trondheim, Norway. Sámi people from both Norway and Sweden met to discuss issues.

The flag of the Sámi people was adopted in 1986 and its design is based on an earlier unofficial flag originally created in 1962. The original design just featured the red hoist, yellow stripe, and blue fly. These three colors are the traditional colors of gáktis - traditional Sámi garb. Green was added due to its use in the regions of southern Sápmi. The circle comes from a symbol often seen on Sámi drums, where the blue half represents the moon and the red half represents the sun.

6 February is Waitangi Day in New Zealand. Waitangi Day commemorates signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand on 6 February 1840, which is considered the founding document for the modern country of New Zealand.

On New Zealand’s national flag, the Union Flag canton represents the country’s former status as a British colony and current status as a Commonwealth Realm. The Southern Cross on the fly represents the country’s location in the Southern Hemisphere.

Regarding the Maori flag (Tino Rangitiratanga),
“BLACK represents Te Korekore (the realm of potential being). It thus symbolises the long darkness from which the earth emerged, as well as signifying Rangi - the heavens, a male, formless, floating, passive force.
RED represents Te Whei Ao (coming into being). It symbolises Papatuanuku, the earth-mother, the sustainer of all living things, and thus both the land and active forces.
WHITE represents Te Ao Marama (the realm of being and light). It symbolises the physical world, purity, harmony, enlightenment and balance.
The spiral-like KORU, symbolic of a curling fern frond, represents the unfolding of new life, hope for the future and the process of renewal.”

(Source: https://www.fotw.info/flags/nz_mao.html)

So I currently own two Albanian flags - the current national flag and a naval flag from the People’s Republic - and I was just thinking today of how much I love the designs of both of them.

That made me curious - which of these two do you all prefer, purely aesthetically-speaking?

Happy Independence Day in Sri Lanka! Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) gained political independence from the UK on 4 February 1948.

The gold lion on burgundy with a gold border was originally the flag of the Kingdom of Kandy (1469 - 1815). Today it represents the Sinhalese majority of Sri Lanka. The sword represents the nation’s sovereignty. The eight hairs on the lion’s tail represent the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. The four bo leaves in the corners represent the concepts of mettā (amity), karuṇā (compassion), muditā (joy) and upekshā (equanimity).

The two stripes on the hoist side were added in 1951. The green stripe represents the Muslim minority while the orange stripe represents the Tamil minority.

Happy Independence Day and Flag Day in Nauru! It was on 31 January 1968 that the country gained its independence from the UN trusteeship that had been in place since 1947.

The flag of Nauru, which was adopted on the same date as its independence, features a white twelve-pointed star below a thin yellow stripe all on a blue field. The blue field represents the Pacific Ocean, the gold stripe represents the equator and the star being just below the stripe represents Nauru being one degree south of the equator. The twelve points of the star represent the twelve original tribes of the island (Deiboe, Eamwidara, Eamwit, Eamwitmwit, Eano, Eaoru, Emangum, Emea, Irutsi, Iruwa, Iwi, and Ranibok).

https://www.fotw.info/flags/nr.html

30 January is my birthday, as well as that of HM King Abdullah II of Jordan.

(It is also the birthday of King Felipe VI of Spain, but I do not currently own a copy of the Spanish royal standard.)

The first flag here is my personal flag. The dragon rampant was inspired by Y Ddraig Aur, the battle flag of Owain Glyndŵr; the engrailed border was inspired by the purported coat of arms of Rhys ap Gruffudd and the other heads of the House of Dinefwr; the green and gold colors were inspired by the purported coat of arms of Owain Gwynedd.

The second flag is the royal standard of the King of Jordan. It features a variant of the national flag in the center, with green, white, red, and black rays. The colors are those of the Arab Revolt flag - black for the Abbasid Caliphate, white for the Umayyad Caliphate, green for the Fatimid or Rashidun Caliphates, and red for the Hashemite dynasty. The national flag of Jordan features a white Hashemite star in the red triangle, but the royal standard features a gold crown, representing the monarchy/king.

27 January is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is a day for us to remember the six million Jews (and about four million others) who were murdered - two thirds of the Jewish population of Europe.

27 January was chosen because it was on that date in 1945 that Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army. On the 60th anniversary of this, in 2005, Michael Faul designed a Holocaust Memorial Flag, to commemorate those who were murdered.

According to the late Mr. Faul,

“The flag consists of six equal horizontal stripes, alternately grey and blue, with a grey stripe at the top. A six-pointed yellow star, two-thirds the height of the flag, is set 40% of the flag length from the hoist and positioned centrally on the stripes, with two points of the star vertical. The two triangles forming the star are outlined in narrow black lines. At the centre of the star is a stylised drop of blood in red, one-quarter the height of the flag.

"The six stripes symbolise the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. They also refer to the six extermination camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdenek, Sobibor, and Treblinka. The colours of the stripes are those of the prison garb won by inmates of these and other camps, as it appeared at the time of their liberation. The yellow star is that which Jews were forced to wear. The drop of blood symbolises the many Jews who died in the Holocaust, but in massacres and other persecutions, rather than in the camps."

(It should be noted that this design was copyrighted by Michael Faul in 2005. It was his desire that no profit be made from the design. I am sharing this picture under Fair Use.)

https://www.fotw.info/flags/qt-p-hm.html

26 January is celebrated as Australia Day in Australia! It commemorates the date in 1788 that the First Fleet landed at Sydney Cove, where the Union Jack was planted for the first time on Australian soil.

However, by some aboriginal Australians, the day is called Invasion Day, or the Day of Mourning. For those who regard it as such, it represents the beginning of forced British imperialism and colonialism in Australia.

Given the opposing views of the date, I thought I would share both the Australian and Aboriginal flags today:

On the Australian flag, the Southern Cross represents Australia’s location in the Southern Hemisphere; the seven-pointed star under the Union Flag canton represents the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Union Flag canton itself represents Australia’s status as a former British colony and current Commonwealth Realm.

On the Aboriginal Flag, black represents the Aboriginal Australian people and the night sky, red represents the red earth (specifically the red ochre that is often used in aboriginal ceremonies) and the blood of Aboriginal people; the yellow circle represents the sun.

https://www.fotw.info/flags/au.html
https://www.fotw.info/flags/au-ab.html

Happy Flag Day in Belgium! The Belgian flag was adopted on 23 January 1831 and the colors are based on the colors of the arms of the Duchy of Brabant, which featured a gold lion a with red tongue and claws on a black field.

From FOTW,

“On 23 January 1831 the Belgian Provisional Gouvernment decreed the following:

‘The provisional government of Belgium
Central Committee,
In view of the report and the proposal by the Committee on external relations,
considering that the Belgian People have adopted red, yellow and black as its colours; that these colours are borne by the Belgian army; that it is important to determine what will be the merchant flag:
Decides:

Art. 1. The Belgian merchant flag is red, yellow, and black. These colours are placed vertically.
Art. 2. The present decision is to be transmitted to the Administrator General of the War Ministry, to the consuls and the various harbour captains.
[...]’

In Article 124 of the Belgian Constitution of 4 February 1831 no order of colours was given. On 15 September 1831 the Department of the Navy decreed:
‘Black must be placed on the hoist, yellow in the middle and red on the fly.’
A similar dispatch was released by the Department of the Interior on 12 October 1831.”

https://www.fotw.info/flags/be.html

I have no “flag of the day”, so how about a random (and uncommon) one? The flag of the Patriotic Front (Ffrynt Wladgarol) in Wales. The first image is my reproduction, made by Flags by MrFlag.com. The second image shows a period example of the flag from the late 1960s or early 1970s.

The Patriotic Front was a pressure group that existed from ca. 1965 - 1971, with a primary goal of Welsh independence. Its main founders, Gethin ap Gruffydd and Tony Lewis, felt that groups like Plaid Cymru and Cymdeithas yr Iaith were too focused on the Welsh-speaking community, so they created the Patriotic Front for English-speaking Welsh people who supported independence.

Regarding the flag, the three horizontal stripes on the fly represent the colors of the Welsh flag, as well as the Welsh Republican Tricolor (although the bands on the tricolor are vertical rather than horizontal). The significance of the vertical black band at the hoist is unknown, although it has been suggested that it was a nod to the flag of the Free Wales Army (which featured a white symbol on black). Finally, the symbol (three rays) in the canton is known as the “Awen”. It was created in the 18th century by Iolo Morganwg and represents inspiration (often specifically poetic inspiration).

For more information: https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-w-ind.html

Happy Flag Day in Quebec! On 21 January 1948, the flag of Quebec was adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec.

The symbology of the flag of Quebec comes from various sources. The white cross on blue comes from the Merchant Flag of the Kingdom of France’s Navy; the specific placement and color of the fleurs-de-lis on Quebec’s flag originates from the Carillon flag which was flown at the Battle of Carillon in 1758. Meanwhile the fleur-de-lis as a general symbol has long been associated with the Virgin Mary as well as the heraldry and national flags of France (the most prominent of which featured three gold fleurs-de-lis on blue).

https://www.fotw.info/flags/ca-qc.html

On 18 January 1701, Frederick I crowned himself “King in Prussia” in Königsberg.

On 18 January 1871, Germany was unified as an Empire under Kaiser Wilhelm I.

So my flag for the day is perhaps my favorite that I own - a double-sided German Empire flag for veterans of the Franco-Prussian War, made ca. 1880. It was specifically for the Kollmar-Neuendorf Comrades-In-Arms Club. One side features the text, the years of the war, and the flag of the German Empire; the other side features a variant of the Prussian flag with the Prussian Eagle on a shield in the center.

The current King of Norway, Harald V, began his reign on 17 January 1991, following the death of his father Olav V.

The Royal Standard of Norway, used by all reigning monarchs, was first introduced on 15 November 1905. This was shortly after the dissolution of Norway’s union with Sweden and just days before Haakon VII took the throne.

While it remains a banner of arms of Norway (with the same blazon), the lion on the royal coat of arms is slightly different from the lion on the state coat of arms in design. The banner was also likely the country’s first flag - a gold lion wielding an axe on a red field was depicted as the flag of Norway as early as the 14th century. It was then, as it is now, truly more of a banner of the monarchy than of the country itself.

https://www.fotw.info/flags/no-royal.html

On 16 January 27 BCE, Gaius Octavius, also known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, accepted the titles of “Princeps” and “Augustus” from the Roman Senate. Thus, this date is usually considered to be the official “beginning” of the Roman Empire.

Below is a flag based on a reconstructed Roman vexillum. Rome used numerous vexilla, thus their exact appearances varied greatly. Whether one exactly like this was ever used is up for debate.

This particular flag features the letters “SPQR” which stand for “Senātus Populusque Rōmānus” (“The Roman Senate and People”). The laurel wreath surrounding it was traditionally a symbol of victory. It was worn by generals following their great Triumphs. As for the colors, it is said that red symbolizes the god Mars as well as being the color of blood (a common sight in battle). Meanwhile gold is a symbol of wealth, prosperity, and high social status.

King Fuad II, the final King of Egypt, was born on this date in 1952. He became King when he was 6 months old, but was deposed 11 months later, when the monarchy was abolished. He remains the head of the Egyptian Royal Family (the Muhammad Ali Dynasty) to this day.

The flag of the Kingdom of Egypt was green featuring a white crescent and three white stars. The color green and the star and crescent have long been symbols of Islam. In regards to this flag, it is said that the three stars within the crescent represent Muslims, Christians, and Jews all living in Egypt.

https://www.fotw.info/flags/eg-kingd.html

Happy Flag Day in Georgia! On 14 January 2004, the Georgian Parliament readopted the “Five Cross Flag”, which had been used by the Kingdom of Georgia five centuries previously. The design is similar to the Jerusalem Cross, with the main difference being the shape of the four small crosses. Each of the four small crosses on the Georgian flag is known as a “bolnisi” cross, which is considered a national symbol of Georgia. It is said that the five crosses represent either the Five Holy Wounds or Christ and the Four Evangelists.

The flag initially served as the banner of the Kingdom of Georgia, which collapsed in 1490. After this, Georgia was divided into three parts. Following its reunification in 1918, Georgia adopted a completely different flag. This was changed to an SSR-style flag in 1921. After gaining independence from the USSR in 1991, Georgia adopted the flag they had used in 1918. Yet a majority of Georgians supported the restoration of the medieval flag. In 1999 the Georgian Parliament passed a bill to change the flag, but it was not endorsed by the current President. It was thus not adopted until 2004, when a new President was in power.

For more information: https://www.fotw.info/flags/ge.html