A moth-eaten rag on a worm-eaten pole,
It does not look likely to stir a man's Soul,
'Tis the deeds that were done 'neath the moth-eaten rag,
When the pole was a staff, and the rag was a flag.
-Sir Edward Bruce Hamley
From "Flags - A European history". ( 2013, Rosefield Books, Oxford)It does not look likely to stir a man's Soul,
'Tis the deeds that were done 'neath the moth-eaten rag,
When the pole was a staff, and the rag was a flag.
-Sir Edward Bruce Hamley
Flags are today a common and beautiful way of expressing identity wether it be ethnic, religious or simply related to the soccerfield. In older times however, coats of arms were favoured and can even in many ways seem the predecessors of flags; flags themselves were mostly used as identifiers in battle and it is from there we indeed get two of the most influential flags across the world, those of England (Later Britain) and france. In 1188 Henry II of England and Phillip II of France agreed to go on a crusade, and that Henry would use a white cross and Philip a red cross. 13th-century authorities are unanimous on the point that the English king adopted the white cross, and the French king the red one and it is from these simple battle standards we derive a large amounts of flags the world over.
Humble beginnings: the crusader flags of England (top) and France (bottom)
As is familiar to anyone who has done a cursory study of history, the english and french would not remain steadfast friends forever and around 1337 the two found themselves in what would later be referred to as the hundred years war. With the burgundians on the opposite side of the french, local commanders realized that in battle the cross may be hard to discern from the saltire and would thus come up with an ingenious solution: Simply adding blue and the three fleur-de-lis of the french royal house in the corner would provide a clear contrast to the red and white used by the English and Burgundians, in the process creating a flag that would define france for the next several hundred years.
Necessity is the mother of invention: a simple way to avoid confusion on the field of battle would grow to become a lasting French symbol.
The revolutionary french Tricolore
The famous British "Union Jack" before union with Ireland
The famous British "Blue ensign" prominently featuring the Union Jack in the corner.
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