FLAGS OF THE WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2396, 11 January 1909, Page 6

FLAGS OF THE WORLD.

THEIR ORIGIN AND SIGNIFI-- . GANCE.

Ever.since men first gathered together, there has been felt the necessity of something—sonic device or symbol —to mark tins rallying point or to distinguish tribe from tribe, nation from nation. The standards used by tbe nations of antiquity differed from the banners.of mediaeval times and tbe flags .of modern days. Thus the Egyptian hosts marched to war under the shadow of various sacred animals that represented their deities, or the fan-shaped arrangement of feathers that symbolised the majesty of Pharoah, all mounted On the tops of poles' or spears. The Greeks employed the symbol of the Owl of Athene in similar fashion, although Horner describes Agamemnon as rising a piece of purple cloth to rally his followers. Among the Roman legions the Imperial Eagle- ever occupied the place of honor in the camp and in the field. In times of peace the Roman standards were guarded with religious veneration in the temples of the metropolis,

a precedent which modern practice i has very generally adoj)to<l. The Israelites "carried the sacred standard of the Maccabees, with the initial letters of the Hebrew text, “Who is like unto Thee, 0 God, amongst the gods?”

RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM. In the fourth century of the Christian era the Emperor Constantine caused the emblem of the cross to be emblazoned on the Labanim or Imperial standard. In this we see the continuance, under the new dispensation, of the religious influence which was so strongly marked in the early history of flags. This element was particularly conspicuous in the middle ages. The national banner of England for centuries was the red cress of St. George. In a poem on the capture of Rouen by the English in 1418, it is described how the commander

. . rich baneres up lie sette Upon the Porte Seint LI ill a ire A Bauer of the- Trynte: And at Porte Kaux he eette evene A Bauer of the Queen of Heven; And .at Port Martvile.he upplyt Of Seint George a Baner breight. These banners of religioiis significance were often borne from the monasteries to the field of battle. In an old document, still extant, we read that Edward I. made a payment of SJd a day to a priest .of Beverley for carrying a banner .of St. Joim throughout one of his campaigns. The flag of St. Denis was carried in the armies ol' St. Louis and Philip Le Bel, and the banner of St. C'utlibert of Durham was borrowed by the Earl of Surrey in his Scots expedition in the reign of Henry VIII. THE POMP OF WAR.

In mediaeval times, too. the feudal system implied that a good deal of attention was paid to the outward pomp and circumstance of war. In these days of joust and tournament, lace anil pennon, squire and banneret, heraldry was in the hey-dey of its fame, and the designing of banners, standards,. flags, and coat-;-of-arms became -a serious and complicated and absorbing business. It was in fact reduced to something h'ke au exact science, with a terminology and .a literature of its own. which still finds a place in the archives of those nations which are. old fashioned enough to retain .a monarchy. The Royal Standard of Great Britain and Ireland is an excellent example of the heraldic flag, with .its rich blazonry of the lions of England and Scotland and the harp of Ireland. On the other hand, the Union Jack symbolises in a different wav the union of the three Kingdoms by blending the three crosses of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick, being therefore a lineal descendant and exemplar of the formerly all-powerful religious influence.

“ST. DENIS.” The early history of tho French flay is lost in obscurity. At the earliest date of which wc have any record, we find the kings of the Franks marshalling their armies under the plain blu,e- flag known as the Chape de St. Martin. Later on the oriflamme or red flag of St. Denis was even more generally adopted, becoming, about the tenth century, really the national flag, as “St. Denis” became thewvarcry of the French. The last occasion on which this historic and revered red fiag. the oriflamme, was borne into battle was at Agincourt in 1415. After that the fleur-dc-lys came into greater prominence. They had been for a long time blazoned on the coats-of-arms of the Kings of France. The ancient chronicles gravely record that they were lilies brought from Paradise by an angel to .King Clovis in 496. Later authorities differ as to whether these were derived from the iris, from a lance-head, or whether it was an arbitrary floral form adopted by one of the English kings. Be that as it may, the fleur-de-lys appeared on the banners of France for many centuries—right up to the fall of Louis Phillipe in 1848 in fact. The French tricolor dates only from the Revolution period in 1789, but with the exception of the brief Bourbon restoration has been recognised as the French national ensign ever since that time. THE STARS AND STRIPES.

The flag of our sister Republic across the Atlantic has a history brief but chequered. Tip to the year 1700 the CroLs of St. George was in ore tv general use,, but after that time each State began to employ a separate and distinctive device.- Thus in the early stages of the Revolution the people of Massachusetts ranged themselves beneath banners bearing pinetrees ; the men of South Carolina preferred rattle-snakes ; the New Yorkers adopted fa white flag with a black beaver thereon. But even as fate as 1775, at tho Battle of Bunker’s Hill, some of the insurgent States still retained the Cross of St. George. For a couple of years later the pine tree was a prominent device on the flags of the new In 1777, however, Congress resolved “that the flag of the United States bo 13 stripes alternately red and white, --and the Union be represented by 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” As to the origin of the stars and stripes, some theorists have it that the design was suggested by the .arms of the Washington family. These consist of a white -shield having -two horizontal red bars, and above three red stars, and the arms may be seen on a brass in Solgrave Church, Huntingdonshire, on the tomb of Laurence Washington, the

ICth century great-great-grandfather ol George Washington,.- Tradition bells us that a Committee of Council, Accompanied by-General Washington, called on Sirs. Ross, an upholstress, of Arcli-strect, Philadelphia, in 1776, and engaged her to make a flag from a rough sketch they brought. - The ultimate result was that the stars and stripes, which have since, of course', been modified'To suit the increased number of States. TEUTONIC FLAGS.

The ensign of the mercantile marine of tlio German Empire is composed of three horizontal stripes of equal width, black, white, and red respectively. It is emblematic of the black and white Prussian flag with the red and white ensign of the Hanseatic League. Used as a Jack in the German Navy, and in a different form as the war flag of the Empire, the flag boasts of a cross—the iron _ cross of the Teutonic Order, dating from the close of the twelfth century, mentioned by Carlyle, .and highly prized as tbe reward of devoted service. The German Imperial standard_ is still more elaborate. It has the iron cross an a yellow field, with a centred ill ield. ’bearing the Prussian arms, and surrounded by the collar of the Order of the Black Eagle. The Austro-Hungarian Imperial Standard is not dissimilar. The flag is yellow with an ornate border, and has for a centre-piece the black dou-ble-headed eagle as a central device. On the breast of the eagle is an escutcheon bearing on its red field in silver the figure of St. George, slaying the dragon, the whole surmounted by the collar of the Order of St. Andrew. The introduction of the eagle dates back to 1472, when Ivan the Great married Sophia,, a niece of Constantine Balacologfls, and assumed the arms of the Greek Empire. The Russians have a Union. Jack which combines the Crosses of St. Andrew and St. George much in the same way as our own. The flag of the Russian merchant sendee is a striped one of white, blue, and red. Peter the Great borrowed the original idea from the Dutch, when he was amongst them learning shipbuilding. The official Polish flag is only a shadow 'of the white eagle on a field of scarlet—the ancient standard of Poland when she was yet a nation. SOME OLD FLAGS.

Spain has gone through many vicissitudes, and the history of its flags is difficult to unravel. Legend has it that in 873 Charles the Bold honored Geoffrey, Count, of Barcelona, -after a battle in which they were allies, dip-7 pod his four fingers in. the Count’s blood and , drew them down his golden shield. These ruddy bars Avore incorporated in tbe blazon of Barcelona, then of Arragon., and finally of Spain. In fact, these colors of red and yellow predominate in all the Spanish flags, even in the gorgeous Roval Standard.

The Danish flag or “Dannebrog” (the strength of Denmark) is the oldest flag of which we have authentic record. It was adopted as the flag of his country by King ’ Walclemar at the capture of Constantinople in 1453. The origin of the striking flag of Japan, the Rising Sun, like that of the yellow standard and blue dragon of China, is lost in the mists of antiquity.