Table of Contents
The Brief History of National Flags
A flag is a symbol of an independent state as well as all the people living in it. This is a kind of identification mark that distinguishes countries from one another. We recognize the national flags of the most powerful states without much effort, just as every person in the world knows which flag his or her county has.
Mankind performed the greatest feats and committed the cruelest crimes under banners and flags. Brave explorers and sailors reached out to unknown lands and made their great discoveries to glorify the flag of their home country. Courageous patriots fought off invaders with national banners in their hands. At the same time, conquistadors set up the standards of their kings on the enslaved lands.
The fire of revolutions devoured monarchy flags and let the banners of freedom take their place. Many nations had to go through trials and tribulations before they earned the right to have their national flag.
Today’s world knows a lot of flags. These are state, national, and government flags; standards of emperors, kings, and sultans; flags of high-ranking officials (presidents, heads of government, etc.); military unit banners, merchant and warships flags, and many others.
Over the centuries, the appearance of flags, their meaning, and functions repeatedly underwent changes. Their evolution is complex and not yet fully understood. The flag history goes back thousands of years to ancient times.
Ancestors of Flags
Historians say it all began more than 30 thousand years ago. Our ancestors painted different animals and birds thus revering them as their patrons. Perhaps, this was a kind of prayer to the gods to ask for luck on the hunt. Later, some tribes started using animal images as tribal symbols and totems. They were painted on caves’ walls above the entrance or carved on wooden or stone plates.
Men took these symbols to war, often attaching them atop a long pole. Not only did totems guarded and protected our ancestors but also they had a utilitarian function: if a warrior lost sight of his fellow tribesmen in the battle, a long pole crowned with a totem helped easily find them. Over time, this custom spread among most civilizations of the ancient world.
Flags in Warfare
About 5 thousand years ago, the totem of ancient Egypt was a falcon. It personified the god of the sun and sky Horus, the patron saint of the pharaohs. During war campaigns, Egyptian warriors carried long poles with insignia that symbolized their troops. The top of the pole was crowned with a figure of a divine bird, hence giving it religious significance. Later, pharaohs decided to remove the figures and use only falcon feathers along with long ribbons.
Such a design attached made posts more noticeable and helped military leaders identify their troops on the battlefield. On top of that, these standards were supposed to unite and inspire soldiers, as well as strike terror into the enemies.
Soon, similar designs began to be used everywhere. For example, Assyrian warriors embellished long poles with a disk that carried an image of a bull or two bulls mated by the horns. In ancient Greece, animals traditionally designated nations or states: an owl was a symbol of Athens, a galloping horse represented Corinth, and a bull signified Boeotia. The Romans adopted this custom from the Greeks. Signums, the symbols of the Roman army, were adorned with animal tails, bunches of hay, as well as various metal badges.
Not only armies but also gladiators came up with their own insignia. For example, gladiators led by Spartacus (1st century BC) carried standards adorned with the Phrygian caps as a symbol of freedom. They were often accompanied by other symbols – cats that stood for vigilance or handshake images.
The First Banners
In 104 BC, Consul Marius ruled that the image of the eagle would henceforth become a sign of the Roman legion. At about the same time, the Romans came up with vexillum.
Vexillum is a long pole with purple quadrangular cloth fluttering in the wind. Purple was considered to be the color of the Roman emperors as well as legions’ leaders. Thus, vexillum (it gave its name to vexillology, the science studying flags) was the first flag of the Western world, although it still did not look like its modern counterparts. The cloth was not attached to the pole, as it is now. Instead, it hung vertically from a small horizontal bar nailed to the pole.
The first banner similar to our usual ones appeared around 100 BC in China. Presumably, the custom of embellishing military insignia with long pennants came to East Asia from India and Egypt. In the Middle Kingdom (the ancient name of the Chinese Empire) the banners went through a slight transformation. As their symbols, Chinese lords had a quadrangular cloth of silk that was carried before them in chariots.
Chinese silk had some important benefits over the coarse cloth of vexillum. This fabric, then unknown in Europe, was light yet strong. Moreover, it could easily be dyed and it flew even in a light breeze. The Chinese were the first to affix the cloth directly to the shaft. According to ancient ink drawings, such banners were not only the property of the military detachments but also decorated temples and were used in religious processions.
The First European Flags
The tradition to embark on military campaigns under banners quickly spread throughout the ancient world. The founder of Islam, the prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632), first used a black banner (according to legends, the entrance to the tent of his beloved wife was covered with a black veil). With time, black gave way to the green, which then became the prophet’s symbolic color.
In the XI – XIII centuries, during the Crusades to the Holy Land, knights discovered this Arab custom. Back then, the concept of “nationality” did not exist. In the first crusades, the colors found on flags meant belonging to an overlord rather than to a country. Only in 1188, when getting ready for the Third Crusade, the French King Philip II, the King of England Henry II, and the Earl Philip of Flanders, which had been at enmity with each other before that, agreed on distinctive signs for their troops.
Since then, flags have been seen throughout Europe: they flew at knights’ lancets, the masts of ships, over houses, and cities. Every self-respecting feudal lord got his own flag with a family coat of arms.
Besides crests, the first European flags often carried insignia of a ruler’s patron saints. For instance, the flag of England, approved in the 13th century, bears the image of the cross of St. George. A century later, their neighbors, the Scots, placed the cross of their patron saint, St. Andrew, on the official flag called Saltire.
By the way, Denmark has the oldest currently used national flag. Legends say that it appeared as a sign from above to the gaze of King Valdemar II of Denmark in 1219. Since then, the Nordic cross became a sample for other state flags of the Scandinavian region.
Flags of Royal Dynasties
Royal flags represented not only the ruler but also the people. They were called “the flag of the Franks”, “the flag of the Normans”, etc. The sizes of personal standards were different – those belonging to emperors and kings were especially enormous. For example, the huge banner of Charlemagne (IX century) was displayed on a special chariot drawn by oxen. Banners that accompanied rules in military campaigns were installed on an elevation near the principal’s camp. These flags are called standards (derived from the verb ‘stand’).
Over time, the size of personal banners slightly decreased. The medieval flag of the emperor had a six feet side. Kings’ flags had sides of five feet, princes and dukes – four feet, marquises, viscounts, and barons – three feet. Most of the first personal banners sported purple and red colors. A little bit later, supreme banners became multi-colored. The affirmation of the hereditary monarchy influenced the system of standards and banners, as well as their colors.
Royal dynasties acquired patrimonial colors, which were passed down from generation to generation, just like a coat of arms. Heraldic colors were assigned to royal families as well. For example, black and yellow became the colors of the Habsburgs, the Bourbons’ colors are white and yellow, and the Oranje-Nassau dynasty’s banners feature orange colors.
Flags, Banners, Standards: What is the Difference?
Depending on the form and purpose, there are several types of flags.
A banner is a piece of fabric with painted, printed, or embroidered emblems or written messages. It always attaches directly to the flagpole.
A flag’s cloth is usually quadrangular, rarely triangular or square. Most often, it carries multiple colors. It may depict a national emblem or logo of an organization. Flags are attached to shafts indirectly – they are hoisted on the rope. It is done to ensure one can easily remove a flag from a pole and replace it with another one.
Standards are a variety of a banner displaying military symbols attached to shafts, often adorned with animal heraldic images. Standards are also known as war/military/battle flags. Up to the 20th century, standards were used in cavalry units. In addition, standards are official flags of state heads and royal families.
Pennants are small tapered or triangular flags that are used to decorate knightly spears. Today they are utilized mainly in the fleet to give signals and commands.
Pennon is a small triangular flag that also occurred during the time of chivalry. The knights attached pennons to their lancets as a signal sign to indicate its dimensions and prevent accidents. In addition, its function was to instill fear into the opponent.
Ensign is a national flag installed at the stern of naval and trade ships. In the navies of certain countries (in the USA, for example) ensigns are copies of national flags while other countries use national colors and symbols but don’t repeat their exact state flags.
Colors are flags of organizations, business companies, clubs, and communities. They are also known as regimental colors of military units, as well as military-like organizations (Boy and Girl Scouts, for example).
National and International Flags
In addition to the designation of the state as such, flags are owned by individual firms, organizations, military, and merchant ships.
The national flag is a symbol of state sovereignty. The vast majority of state flags formed under the strong influence of national trends. The flags’ main symbols are colors, which are historically explicable and traditional for the people. Many colors correspond to the traits and temperament of the individuals living in specific regions. For instance, the Spanish flag sports exuberant red and yellow colors while the flag of Finland displays calm blue and white hues.
For the first time, specific colors were used to designate nations during the Third Crusade. Crosses sewn on the knights’ clothes and banners differed in color: red belonged to the French, white was for the Brits, and green – for the Flemings. With the growth of national identity, the importance of national colors has increased dramatically. When states just started forming, such colors were of great importance to strengthening unity.
Some countries, besides national, have other types of flags. This is common for countries constituted by several historical regions that have become independent parts of a single state. For instance, each of the 50 U.S. states and each canton (district) of Switzerland has its own flag.
In addition to the flags of individual states, there are also flags designed for groups of countries and international organizations. The most recognizable are the flags of the United Nations, the European Union, the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent. On top of that, the Arab League, African Union, Organization of American States, World Trade Organization, UNESCO, and many other organizations developed their insignia.
Catholics and Protestants have their flags, too. For its banner, the Catholic Church borrowed the yellow and white colors from the flag of the Vatican. Protestants unite under a white banner with a purple cross.