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Ideodyssey
How's This For An Idea?

The Peculiar History of Flags (Part 1)

Updated: 14 hours ago


Contents



Introduction


Why do so many flags in the Middle East use the same colours, while pink is suspiciously absent from any flag? Why does the Welsh flag feature a dragon, and why did pirates fly the Jolly Roger? In this article, we’ll be answering these questions and many more as we explore the fascinating history of flags.


Origins



Fig. 1: Member state flags at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
Fig. 1: Member state flags at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland

Using pieces of patterned cloth to represent nations is an idea we take completely for granted nowadays, but this modern conception isn’t as old as you might think. Long before cloth flags were the norm, societies often used so-called ‘vexilloids’ as symbolic representations. From the Latin vexillum, referring to a Roman military banner, vexiloids are essentially objects other than a flag that serve a similar function. Ancient civilisations such as the Egyptians, Akkadians and Persians, for example, often used decorative staffs to represent their regions, empires or gods in battles or processions. Cloth was later implemented on military banners to designate different formations and locate important figures. This started with the Chinese and was later adopted by empires in the West. One of the most famous of these is the Roman 'vexillum' or 'standard', carried by Roman legions into battle. The word vexillum itself derives from the Latin velum, meaning ‘little sail’, due to its resemblance to the sails on a ship.


Vexillum, velum, vexilloid


Heraldry



Royal standard of the United Kingdom
Royal standard of the United Kingdom

It was only in the Middle Ages that flags in the form that we understand them today began to emerge in Europe. They were influenced by medieval heraldry, where symbols were used to identify nobility and royal houses. These symbols were then used on the flags or banners of duchies, kingdoms, and sometimes empires. But not every banner at the time was based on heraldry. For example, the raven banner of the Norse (Vikings) featured pagan iconography. In fact, the English word flag may itself derive from the Norse word flaka, meaning to ‘flutter’ or ‘flap’.


Medieval banners
Medieval banners


Fig. 2: Royal standard over Buckingham Palace
Fig. 2: Royal standard over Buckingham Palace


Early European Flags


Fig. 3: Dannebrog falling from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise
Fig. 3: Dannebrog falling from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise

The modern flag representing nation-states emerged with the rise of nationalism in Europe from the 17th century onwards. States were increasingly forming based not on a nobleman’s territorial boundaries, but on nations - collections of people unified by a shared identity in language, culture, history, etc. These new nation-states thus needed symbols that reflected nationhood. Some of these symbols had deep historic roots, for example the flag of Denmark (Dannebrog), the oldest continuously used national flag in the world. According to legend, it fell from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise in 1219 between the Danes and Estonians, and was subsequently adopted as their national symbol. Whatever the real origin is, the cross on the flag symbolises the Christianisation of the Danes, and was made the official flag of the State of Denmark in 1625.


Europe's earliest flags
Europe's earliest flags

Another early national flag is the English flag, officially adopted in 1552. It features the St. George’s Cross, which had been a common symbol for English soldiers for centuries, who wore it on their armour and flew it as a naval ensign while on crusade from the 12th century onwards. One origin story is that the English King Richard the Lionheart was inspired by the cross after witnessing it in Genoa on the way to crusade and adopted it thereafter.


Fig. 4: Saint George with Earl of Lancaster (c. 1330)
Fig. 4: Saint George with Earl of Lancaster (c. 1330)

Fig. 5: The Noord-Nieuwland with Prince's Flagin Table Bay, 1762
Fig. 5: The Noord-Nieuwland with Prince's Flagin Table Bay, 1762

The oldest tricolour flag in continuous use is the Dutch flag, adopted in 1575. It was based on The Prince's Flag of Dutch revolutionaries who supported Prince William of Orange in his revolt against the Habsburg rulers. It originally featured an orange stripe rather than the current red. The Prince’s Flag also went on to inspire the flag of the Orange Free State (Boer Republic, dissolved in 1902) and Apartheid-era South Africa (abolished in 1994). Today the Prince's flag is associated with far-right movements in both the Netherlands and South Africa.


Derivatives of the Prince's Flag
Derivatives of the Prince's Flag

Thank the French (merci!)



French Tricolore
French Tricolore

Many of Europe’s younger flags were the result of the nationalist and liberal revolutions that swept the continent in the 18th and 19th centuries. These movements needed simple flags representing their populist sentiment. The main inspiration for them was the French flag, which replaced the banner of the House of Bourbon in 1794 after the monarchy was abolished during the French Revolution. The three stripes supposedly originally represented the people of Paris (red and blue) and the monarchy (white) before its abolition, although the colours are now often used to represent the national motto of liberté, équalité, fraternité.


Fig. 6: Liberty Leading the People by Delacroix (1830)
Fig. 6: Liberty Leading the People by Delacroix (1830)

The flag was, however, ultimately inspired by the Dutch tricolour flag, being a literal rotation of it. Other European states, such as Belgium, later followed the French example, with their own vertical tricolours. Others followed the Dutch example, adopting horizontal tricolours, for example, Germany (originally white, black and red). These simple European flag patterns later went on to inspire the flags of a swathe of the world’s nations establishing their independence and statehood for the first time in the 19th and 20th centuries.




Influential Flags



The designs of many flags have been inspired by those of neighbouring countries or those that have strong cultural influences.



Pan-Slavic Flags


As we previously learnt, the Dutch flag influenced the French tricolore, but another flag that it influenced was the Russian flag - the oldest Slavic flag. It was adopted by Peter the Great in 1696, who had spent a long sojourn in the Netherlands and was heavily influenced by Dutch society. So he thought he might claim the flag for his own empire, simply switching the place of the colours. Even though the colours red, white and blue had already been historically used by many Slavic groups, the Russian flag went on to influence the designs of many other Slavic countries, with the colours being officially adopted as the Slavic colours by the Pan-Slavic Congress in 1848. Ironically, at that time, Russia was seen as the protector of the Slavic peoples in Eastern Europe. 



Fig. 7: Pan-Slavic colours, Poland 1605
Fig. 7: Pan-Slavic colours, Poland 1605

Nordic Brotherhood


You may have also noticed that all the Nordic countries, from Iceland to Finland, share the same style cross (referred to as the ‘Nordic Cross’). That’s because they were all inspired by the Danish flag (Denmark once being the region's hegemon), and like Denmark, wanted their flags to reflect their conversion from paganism to Christianity. Remnants of this Nordic influence can also be seen in the local flags of former Nordic colonies such as the Shetland and Orkney Islands (now part of Scotland).  




Fig. 8: Nordic flags displayed in Copenhagen
Fig. 8: Nordic flags displayed in Copenhagen

Pan-Arab Flags


Fig. 9: Flag of the Arab Revolt, Amman, Jordan
Fig. 9: Flag of the Arab Revolt, Amman, Jordan

Have you ever wondered why so many countries in the Middle East use the combination of black, white, green, and red? Well, it's because these are the pan-Arab colours, which go back to the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottomans. The colours they used were inspired by the colours associated with three major historical caliphates - Abbasid (black), Umayyad (white), and Fatimid (green). A red triangle was used to represent the revolters themselves and to an extent, sympathetic Ottomans. 




Flags of Communist/Socialist States



The flags of communist and socialist countries, both current and defunct, share many features that were ultimately inspired by the flag of the now-dissolved Soviet Union. These include heavy use of the colour red (the colour of socialism), a star representing the ruling party and in the Soviet sphere of influence, the hammer and sickle. The only current exception to this is the flag of Laos, which features a moon rather than a star. In former socialist states, displaying non-socialist national flags was illegal and severely punished as they were associated with independence and democratic movements.




Union Flag/Union Jack


Fig. 11: British flag from the Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
Fig. 11: British flag from the Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

If you look at a map chart, you’ll also notice that many feature the British flag, often referred to as the Union Flag or Union Jack. The first Union Flag was formed by the combination of the flags of the English (St. George’s Cross) and Scottish (St. Andrew’s Cross) with the union between England and Scotland in the 17th century. The flag of the Irish (St. Patrick’s Cross) was later added after the Acts of Union of 1800 merged the Kingdoms of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland. You may be wondering why the crosses on the Scottish and Irish flags were diagonal (known as a saltire). Well, this is because St. Andrew and St. Patrick, like many martyrs, were supposedly crucified on this type of cross. The Welsh flag does not feature on the British flag because it had already been unified with England before the Union with Scotland. The flags of many current or former British colonies feature the Union Flag in the top left corner.


Union Jack
Formation of the Union Jack



Motifs



Crosses


Crosses are found on many flags around the world, not just those with the Union Jack or from Northern Europe. In fact, 11% of all national flags feature a cross of some sort, reflecting these nations’ Christian heritage or that of their colonisers. These include, among many others, the flags of Georgia, Greece, Malta, and of course the Vatican City.


Celestial Bodies


Another common flag motif is celestial symbols - the stars, the sun and the moon. In fact, more than 30% of national flags contain at least one star. Sometimes they represent states (e.g. USA) or provinces (e.g. Venezuela), while on others, the people, government or revolution, etc. Some flags include whole constellations, with the most common being the Southern Cross, featured on the flags of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tokelau, Samoa and Brazil. The sun is found on the flags of Argentina, Uruguay, Japan, the Philippines, Malawi, Kazakhstan, Namibia and Rwanda, among others. While the moon is found on the flags of Nepal, Laos and Palau, as well as in crescent shape on the flags of 15 (predominantly Muslim) countries, which we'll explore further on.



Eagle


Many flags feature birds of various species, but the most common is, without a doubt, the eagle, which also features on many national emblems. As a symbol of power and strength, the eagle was often used as an imperial symbol throughout history, including by the Romans, Germany and Russia. Flags that feature eagles today include Albania, Montenegro, Mexico, Moldova, Zambia, Ecuador, Egypt and Romania. 


Weapons 


Many flags feature weapons. Often, this is due to cultural significance or to pay homage to historical conflicts or struggles.


On the more subtle side of things are flags like the Kenyan flag with spears and traditional Maasai shield, representing their tribal heritage and defence of freedom, and the Guatemalan flag with crossed rifles representing their war of independence from 1821. 


The flags of Angola and Saudi Arabia feature weapons that are slightly more eye-catching. The Angolan flag features a star and gear wheel along with a machete representing both the peasantry of the country and their armed struggle against their Portuguese colonisers. The Saudi flag, meanwhile, features its national symbol, the sabre, beneath a Shahada (Islamic declaration of faith) representing the militancy of their faith.



But the flag with perhaps the most striking depiction of a weapon is that of Mozambique, which features an AK-47 complete with fixed bayonet. It represents the country's struggles for independence and vigilance in the face of threats.


Mozambique
Mozambique





 
 
 

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