THE WORLD'S FLAGS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 138, 13 June 1931, Page 22

THE WORLD'S FLAGS

The oldest flag in the world is the Danish flag—a , simple white cross on a red -ground. It was chosen as the national flag in circumstances which resembled those surrounding Constantine's conversion to Christianity. Early in 1200, King Waldemar of Denmark saw a cross in the sky at a time when his army, after being in danger of defeat in the field, had rallied and won a hard-fought victory. Tlie monarch interpreted this vision as a sign of divine aid, and at once adopted, the cross as the design for the Danish flag, ■which he. called the "Donnebrog" or "strength -of Denmark." That design has remained unaltered until thb present day. The Union Jack, as it appears today, dale* from 1801, when the legislative unlpn of Ireland with England and Scotland brought, St. Patrick's erOM Into combination with the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. Originally, Great Britain's national flag was called the '^Great Union." It was termed ft "Jack" only when it was flown, from the jackstafr! of a battleship. It is said that the name "Jack'? was derived from the habit of King James I. signing himself "Jacques," the union of the Crowns of England and Scotland having occurred during his reign. Previously the cross gales of St. George ] had been England's national flag, although many different varieties of pennons, banners^ and standards were carried by tho English armies in the Middle Ages. The pennon was the the personal ensign of a knight simple, forked or swallow-tailed and charged with the knight's armorial bearings. It was usually about six or gcven feet in length. The banner, a square flag, was borne by a knight banneret or noblo of higher rank, and, besides being a personal ensign, indicated that the bearer led a section of the army. A knight banneret could win his rank only on the battlefield; tho King conferred the distinction on him by seizing the pennon on iris lance and tearing

CUSTOMS AND COLOURS

the end off it, thus converting it into the semblance of a square banner. The size of the banner denoted the importance of the owner. An Emperor's banner was 6ft square, a King's sft, a Prince's 4ft, and a nobleman's 3ft. The design of the French national flag has been changed no fewer than five times. Clovis and Charlemagne fought under the blue hood of St. Martin, the original standard of the ancient French Kings, and this was supplanted in turn by the red oriflammo of St. Denis, the white fleurs de lis of the House of Valois, and the1 tricolour of the Revolution. The Napoleons introduced tho eagle into the centre of the white stripe, but the Eepubhc reverted o,nce more to the simple tricolour. Of all the world's flags, the Chinese boasts most colours —red, yellow, blue, white, and black; but Abyssinia's garish green, red, and yellow concoction is perhaps the gaudiest of all. Persia's florid flag is white, with a green border on top and a red on bottom, enclosing a gun and a lion in the centre. The South American Republics prefer bright combinations of colours, and most :of them lightly disregard the stern heraldic law that "colour must not be placed on colour." , Heraldically, for instance, the yellow, blue, and red. arrangement of Venezuela is an eyesore, compared with, say, tho tricolour of Belgium, in which the black and red stripes are separated by yellow. Strikingly contrasted, too, are the nags of Nicaragua and of the tiny Adriatia principality of San Marino —the former comprising five volcanoes., a cap of liberty, and a rainbow, s superimposed on blue, white, and blue; the, latter being simply blue and white. There would seem to be real need for some ] ;form of copyright in flag designs. Jugo-. Slavia has appropriated France's coir ours for its own. Ecuador and Colombia, neighbouring republics in South America, have for years hoisted identical flags—horizontal yellow, blue, and red. .■"'.. |