ISBN 2009-6437
Vexillology Ireland: Brateolaíocht Éireann
VIBE Autumn Newsletter 2016
Vol. 1 No. 6
Welcome to Vexillology Ireland’s Autumn Newsletter! Autumn time provides the perfect opportunity for flag spotting in nature. The season offers a spectacular display of colours that should impress vexillologists if not everyone. Below is a photograph of three leaves that come from the same European Linden or Lime tree (Tilia × europaea), not to be confused with the fruit. This is an example of the stark yet beautiful contrasts that you can find at this time of the year.
Autumn Time – Pan-African Time One particular flag group that is visible everywhere during autumn is the “Pan-African” – not the 1917 Marcus Garvey group, but rather the Ethiopian one. The Ethiopian colours date back to 1895, while the first adoption of a flag with these colours was in 1897 under Emperor Menilek II. The flag began to depict the Lion of Judah for official purposes which symbolised the Emperor and claimed that he was the son of the Queen of Sheeba and King Solomon from the Bible. Interestingly, in 1897 the original Israeli flag was adopted at the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. As Africa’s oldest independent state, the Ethiopian flag colours of green, yellow and red have inspired many other countries. In 1957 Ghana declared independence from Britain and has often been wrongly considered as the first sub-Saharan African country to do so from a European colonial power (Sudan declared independence in 1956). However, Ghana can rightfully claim that it became the first country to use the Ethiopian-inspired colours and since then many have followed suit, including: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Senegal, Guinea and Mali (Don’t mix up the last two). There are of course countries that use the Pan-African colours that have no association with Ethiopia or Africa, namely Lithuania, Myanmar and Bolivia. The Lithuanian colours were based on the most common colours in use in traditional folk costumes. The flag was originally adopted in 1918 and used until 1940 when Lithuania became annexed by the Soviet Union. It was readopted in 1989, two years before Lithuania regained its independence.
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Interestingly, this was the same year when the military government in Burma changed the country’s name to “Myanmar”. Their current flag was adopted in 2010 and based on the flag of the State of Burma, a puppet state of Japan during WWII. This flag replaced the earlier one which was frequently mixed up with that of Taiwan and Samoa. The current Bolivian flag was adopted on 31 October 1851 (Halloween), although the colours were used from 1825 when independence was declared from Spain. This means that Bolivia has used the “Pan-African” colours longer than Ethiopia. It becomes even more interesting when you realize that both countries are very mountainous and are practically the same size - Bolivia having an area of 1,098,581 km2 while Ethiopia 1,104,300 km2. However, the Bolivian high altitude has yet to produce marathon champions, so we will have to wait to see a Bolivian Haile Gebrselassie fly the national flag. ¡Tened esperanza!
1st Georgian National Conference of Vexillology and Heraldry For the fourth year in a row the Society has once again represented Ireland at a major international conference dealing with flags and heraldry. The head of the two branches, Stan Zamyatin was present in Tbilisi for the 1st Georgian National Conference of Vexillology and Heraldry (29 September - 1 October). While there he gave an important paper entitled “The Irish Harp – Then and Now” which provided at outline on the history and evolution of the harp in Irish th iconography from the 9 century to the present day. The theme of the conference was “Historical Symbols in Contemporary Vexillology and Heraldry”. Over two days a number of very interesting papers were given on various subjects. The Irish representation in Georgia was symbolic in two ways: Firstly, in 2016 our two countries are celebrating their 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and many initiatives have already taken place this year. Secondly the main royal family to rule Georgia was the House of Bagrationi which has historically depicted a harp on its coat of arms. The conference was a great success and our Georgian colleagues were very hospitable. The many presentations and trip to a number of historic Georgian sights all provided for a well-organized, balanced and academic event. It was inspiring to see the work that the Georgian State Council of Heraldry has already accomplished and we only hope to emanate that here in Ireland. We are very honoured to have received a personal invitation to attend from the Chief Herald of Georgia, Mr. Mamuka Gongadze and we are very grateful to the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for providing us with financial assistance. We are confident that we will be able to return the favour and invite our Georgian friends (and many others of course) to attend the ICV 29 Congress in 2021 which we hope to host in our very own Dún Laoghaire. 2
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1270 Coats of Arms The oldest depiction of the harp representing “Ireland” is found in the Wijnbergen Armorial, a French roll of arms that dates to around 1270. The coat of arms features "D'azure a la harpe d'or" and is attributed to "le Roi d'Irlande" or King of Ireland. It is believed that this simply represented an aspiration for the High Kingship as the arms never represented the Lordship of Ireland at that time. On the same page the arms of France, Spain, Aragon, England, Portugal, Germany, Bohemia, Denmark, Slavonia, Scotland, Norway, Sweden and Isle of Man are depicted. Although the usage and depiction of the harp has not been consistent, the current coat of arms of Ireland can be dated back to this 13th century illustration. The Wijnbergen Armorial was once in the possession of the Royal Dutch Association of Genealogy and Heraldry but today both the owners and location of this valuable roll of arms are unknown. No digital copy is available to our society so it would wonderful if that was made possible in the near future. During the Georgian Conference in September, Petr Exner from the Czech Vexillological Society gave a wonderful presentation on the “Historical symbols of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia on contemporary coats of arms and flags of Czech regions”. The following information was taken from this presentation. The first known coloured illustration of the coat of arms of both Čechy (Bohemia) and Morava (Moravia) date to 1270, just as for Ireland, approximately speaking. The images are found on the frescoes inside Gozzoburg (Gozzo’s Palace) in the Austrian city of Krems an der Donau in Lower Austria (The German names for the two historical regions being: Böhmen and Mähren)
The oldest depiction of the “Bohemian lion” is found on the seal of Wladislaus Heinrich dating to 1213. After the fresco in Gozzoburg, the earliest known coloured depiction is found in the Passional of Abbess Kunigunde, a Latin manuscript dating back to around 1312. The oldest image of the Moravian eagle is found on the seal of Przemysl I dating to 1192. The chequered pattern (chequey or in this case “Czechy”) was added to the eagle sometime between 1261 and 1278, during the rule of Przemysl Ottokar II. On a side note, it is worth mentioning the coat of arms of Krems an der Donau which has a very interesting history. As many people know, Austria once used the Doppeladler (Double-headed eagle). In 1461 Vienna was granted a coat of arms which soon became obsolete due to political unrest. On 1 April 1463 (no joke) the old arms of Vienna was granted to Krems by Frederick III, the Holy Roman Emperor and it continues to be used to this day. If you are in Austria, make sure to Czech out the beautiful city!
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Double-headed eagle - “Two heads are better than one” During the Georgian Conference, Petar Gajdov from the Macedonian Heraldry Society gave an interesting presentation on the practical use of the flag and coat of arms of Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. It was fascinating to find out that the oldest known symbol of Skopje is a red double-headed eagle on a yellow field. The use of the Двоглав орел/ Dvoglav orel is perhaps not surprising in light of the Byzantine history and the fact that Macedonia borders Serbia and Albania – two countries today that depict a double-headed eagle on their national flag and arms. The evidence for Skopje appears on a 1339 map of the Italian cartographer Angelino Dulchert (left). The banner depicted is usually attributed to King Stefan Dušan/ Стефан Душан (1308-1355) who ruled from Skopje and founded the Serbian Empire in 1346. There is however historical and heraldic debate surrounding this due to a lack of relevant sources. In 2014 David F. Phillips of the Flag Heritage Foundation published a wonderful book called “The Double Eagle”, where he traces the history of the double-headed eagle. (Some of the information in this article is taken from this book). The oldest known depiction of the double-headed eagle dates to around 2500 B.C. and appears on a cylinder seal from Lagash (right), the ancient Sumerian city that was located in between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The symbol appears later on some Hittite relics but after the collapse of the Hittite Empire in around 1178 B.C. the emblem rarely appears for more than 2000 years. An abundance of the double-headed eagle image is found during the Seljuk Empire (1037–1194), in Muslim Spain in the 11th, 12th centuries and more famously in the Byzantine Empire. However, while in the German, Austrian and Russian Empires, the double-headed eagle was the official emblem, this was never the case in the Byzantine Empire. Although it did have established imperial associations, no iconographical evidence remains to suggest it ever became official. Unlike in the West, there was no tradition of Byzantine family arms, only family monograms. The East simply never developed the same Western interest for heraldry. Arguably the closest to a Byzantine state emblem was the tetragrammatic cross – a simple cross with what was believed to be the letter “B” in each of the four corners. This was said to be the motto of the Palaeologan Dynasty: "King of Kings, Ruling Over Kings" or in Greek "Basileus Basileon, Basileuon Basileuonton" (written in Latin form). Today this symbol forms the shield on the Serbian coat of arms. Unlike the Byzantine form it features white (silver) rather than yellow (gold) on a red background. In addition, the letter is interpreted as a Cyrillic “S”, so “C” and is said to stand for the famous motto “Only Unity Saves the Serbs” or in Serbo-Croatian: Само слога Србина спасава/Samo sloga Srbina spasava. The emblem is undoubtedly beautiful and perhaps can be put into the same category as the flag of Montreal, Quebec, Sardinia and Georgia. Montenegro is another country which has historically depicted the Двоглави орао/Dvoglavi orao. Both it and Serbia share parts of their history, including the period of the Nemanjić Dynasty which was founded by Stefan Nemanja in 1166, just before the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in Ireland (1169). The coat of arms Nemanjić family was inspired by the Byzantines and depicted a white (silver) double-headed eagle on a red field. The emblem continued to be used by the Crnojevići Dynasty who succeeded them. In 1696 the Petrović-Njegoš Dynasty came into power and ruled Montenegro until 1918 (technically 1921), during which time they continued to use the eagle emblem. A lion 7
was added to the arms during the popular reign of Petar I Petrović Njegoš (1784-1830), most likely taken from the Lion of St. Mark symbol due to the historical Venetian rule in the region. His successor was the famous poet and philosopher Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, during whose rule the lion became firmly placed on the shield.
In 1711 the country got de facto independence from the Ottomans and in 1878 got recognized as independent, along with Serbia, by the European Powers at the Berlin Congress. Russia served as an Orthodox Slavic protector of the two countries, something that is evident in the emblems of both nations. In 1905 Montenegro adopted a national flag which was essentially the same as that of Serbia – reversed Russian colours. In 1946 when Communist Yugoslavia was founded under Tito after WWII, a red star was added to the flag. The arms on the other hand was completely transformed and depicted the Lovćen Mountain, the one that gave Montenegro or Black Mountain its name (Crna Gora) and the Chapel of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš surrounded by the Adriatic Sea. In 1994, in order to look different from the Serbian flag, the blue stripe was made lighter on the flag of Montenegro. The difference between the two flags became essentially the difference between the flags of the Netherlands and Luxembourg today. Ten years later, in 2004 the current Montenegrin flag and coat of arms were adopted. The latter changed the eagle from silver to gold, most likely in order to differentiate with that of the Serbian eagle. The changes that were made were part of Montenegro’s drive to distance themselves from Serbia and strengthen their own identity. The fact that Montenegro became independent from Serbia in 2004 and is today a few months away from becoming the newest member of NATO is only more evidence of this. It is interesting to note that since 2002, Montenegro has used the euro. However, since it is not an official member of the “Eurozone” it does not produce its own coins and therefore has no national design. Although the double-headed eagle has played a great role in European iconography, it seems we will have to wait to see it appear on the back of a euro coin. Most people might not know this, but Ireland is also a member of the “Double-headed eagle family”. The only problem is that only one side of the eagle is used. The flag and arms of Connaught feature a dimidiated eagle and an armed hand which are said to come from the arms of the 11th century Schottenklöster (Irish monastery) in Regensburg, Bavaria. The eagle refers to the Holy Roman Empire, in which the monastery was located in back then. The armed hand is believed to represent Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (Rory O'Conor), the 12th century King of Connacht and last High King of Ireland before the Norman Invasion. He was probably a benefactor of the monastery and therefore received the arms of Schottenklöster as a form of gratitude. It is interesting to note that today the arms of the Bavarian cities of Memmingen and Nuremberg also feature vertical demi-eagles. Perhaps it is these Bavarian ties that have made Oktoberfest in Ireland even more popular! 8
Ulster and Abkhaz Hands During the Georgian Conference, the Chief Herald of Georgia, Mamuka Gongadze gave a very interesting paper on the “Symbols of Abkhazia”. Along with the presentation, a recently published book on the topic was handed out to everyone. The publication is well written, researched and illustrated and deals with the historical and modern symbols of Abkhazia (Some of the information has come from here). Arguably the two most known flags in the world that feature hands are that of Abkhazia and Ulster. The flag of Ulster is a combination of the two main historical families in the region –the Burkes and O’Neills, the latter of which gave us the “Red Hand of Ulster/O’Neill”. One of the oldest depictions of the hand appears on the 14th century seal of Aodh Ó Néill, King of the Irish of Ulster (1344-136). One of the oldest depictions of the Abkhaz hand appears on a 1340 Atlas by a Franciscan monk. It depicts a white hand on a red flag with the inscription Sauasko, which is a form of Sebastopol, one of the many old names for Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia. The hand also appears in the 1385 reference map of the Catalan cartographer Gabriel de Vallseca. In addition there are many examples of petroglyphs (rock engravings) found throughout Georgia that feature an open hand, including Svaneti (northwest) and Khevsureti (northeast). In Abkhaz the open hand is said to mean: "Hello to friends! Stop to Enemies!" In Georgian the word “hand” is ხელი (kheli) gives rise to the word “authority” ხელისუფლება (khelisup’leba), meaning literally “power of the hand”. The symbol of the hand has of course featured prominently in the iconography of the three Abrahamic religions. The “Dextra Dei” or “Hand of God” symbol has historically been used in Christianity. The “Hamsa/Khamsa” or the “Hand of Fatima” are common symbols still found today in Judaism and Islam. The word Hamsa means “five” in both Arabic and Hebrew and the emblem is considered a good luck charm that is said to ward off evil. Most ancient symbols that can be found today have their origins in pagan and other early beliefs. Arguably both the Abkhaz and Ulster hand are solar symbols. Indeed, your hand becomes red when you put it to the sun. The reason for this is both the high wavelength of the colour red and the fact that are skin and tissue is red.
VIBE Winter Newsletter 2016 The VIBE Winter Newsletter will be out in January/February 2017. We are now looking for people to contribute to this issue. If you would like to write a short piece on something related to flags and emblems, please send an email to bratachaeire@gmail.com. Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
Further Contact Email: bratachaeire@gmail.com Address: Genealogical Society of Ireland, 11, Desmond Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. A96 AD76 Vexillology Ireland : Brateolaíocht Éireann Website: https://flagsireland.wordpress.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Flags.Ireland Twitter: https://twitter.com/flagsireland
Heraldry Ireland : Araltas Éireann Website: http://heraldryireland.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Heraldry.Ireland/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeraldryIreland
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