Flag symbolism: connexions in vexillology

The Cornish flag

St. Piran’s flag is the symbol of Cornish identity.

The white represents molten tin; the black is peaty soil or rock.

It is also said to represent the overcoming of evil by good.

I have seen people carrying the flags in London, but for some reason planning permission is necessary to fly them back home:

“Thousands of patriotic Cornishmen were facing the renewed threat of investigation by council planning inspectors last night - after the Government confirmed that planning permission is needed to fly the flag of St Piran...although the EU flag, the United Nations flag and the Commonwealth flag have been added to the list of "national" flags that can be flown without permission, the famous Cornish emblem has not.

The decision means that thousands of Cornish households flying the distinctive black and white flag of St Piran without planning permission could face enforcement action and fines. Similar problems could also face the growing number of people flying the green, white and black Devon flag, which was also left off the list.”

www.cornwall24.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1267

The Commonwealth flag

This flag was slightly redesigned in 2013. The changes consisted of a reduction in the number of spears, a tilt to the alignment of the globe and a deepening of the colours. The spears form the letter ‘C’ for Commonwealth.

Blue and gold like the EU flag...

"The six main Celtic nations are Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Isle of Man and Brittany."

Interesting flag there. The triskelion (or τρισκέλιον; Ancient Gr.) symbol seen in the centre of the Celtic nations flag and the Manx flag has a wide distribution.

Also to be seen on the flag of Sicily (where it is called the trinacria), where it features with the Head of the Gorgon, which was introduced around 1282.

The symbol itself could represent swirling and turbulent energy, rather like the swastika, and it is important to neo-pagans.

Another unique appearance of the triskelion is found in nature. The protein clathrin, which forms the coats of biological vesicles, adopts a triskelion structure which allows it to assemble into a cage formation. This molecule was first isolated by Pearse in 1976.

The Flag of Japan is called the Hinomaru which means the Sun Disc. In the Shinto religion, there is a solar goddess called Amaterasu, which the flag venerates.

The more familiar national flag is a white field charged through the centre with the red sun disc.

The other flag is the naval ensign and has a reduced red sun disc with 16 rays. This is analogous to the rose windows, that can be found in cathedrals, which often have 16 rays in their design.

 

The photograph below is an interesting one from the 1931 Japanese Invasion of Manchuria – both of the main flags can be seen in the shot.

The flag of Devon: black, white and green

This is another English county flag. It is unusual in that it was selected in 2003 from a variety of designs after two web-based polls run by the BBC.

The green represents the rolling Devon hills and the black the high windswept moors of Dartmoor and Exmoor. The white represents both the salt spray of Devon’s coastlines and the China Clay industry.

County flags of England

Some kind person made a map showing the flags for each county a few years ago.

There is confusion and contention in some cases, and some of the flags were made official only very recently and after a poll. There does not seem to be much complex or subtle symbolism, just tradition and some obvious references to the sky etc.

It is still a good starting point for an investigation.



https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/1sbujh/i_made_a_flag_map_of_the_counties_of_england/

The flag of Corsica

Napoleon Bonaparte was of Corsican origin.

The Corsican flag is unusual; the Moor’s head design goes back to the 13th century:

The flags of the Bailiwick of Jersey

The flag with three leopards and a Plantagenet crown was officially adopted in 1979:



Flags for individual parishes, with key:

Kazakhstan flag

The flag of Kazakhstan is blue and gold.

From WiKi

“The national flag of the Republic of Kazakhstan has a gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden steppe eagle, both centered on a sky blue background; the hoist side displays a national ornamental pattern "koshkar-muiz" (the horns of the ram) in gold; the blue color is of religious significance to the Turkic peoples”

Flags at Leave Means Leave

I saw many flags at the big demonstration in central London yesterday. It was a wonderful sight.

As might be expected, most were Union flags. There were plenty of red and white St. George’s flags too.

There was a special St. George’s flag just like this one:



I was looking out for special flags. I saw just one Cornish flag, although there may have been more. There were a few other county flags, including the white rose of York and the symbols of Leicestershire. The strange thing in the bottom right is a sleeve:

A big flag fanatic

“A pensioner has revealed his incredible collection of 680 flags, including one of every country and US state.

Grandfather Alex Adlam, 74, keeps Britain's biggest private collection of flags neatly folded up in boxes at his small bungalow in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

He has four flagpoles at his home - two in the front and two in the back - and flies different flags every day.

His wife even updates a daily notice board with details and fun facts about the banners which are flying on that day.“

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7533113/Pensioner-74-boasts-Britains-BIGGEST-private-flag-collection-680-banners.html

There are many colourful pictures if his flags in the article. Best comment:

“I don't see the EU flag: good man!”

One example of the pictures:

County flags in London

That great day now seems a very long time ago. While I was out, I tried to memorise the design of some of the flags I didn’t recognise so that I could look them up when I got home. The Leicester flag was one of them.

Leicester has been mentioned on here in connection with Richard III, and David Icke’s home town is Leicester!

A flag with a jackdaw

This is the flag of the Ivano-Frankivsk Region in Ukraine.

From Wiki:

“In the middle of a white field is depicted a black jackdaw with raised wings and golden (yellow) crown, while facing the flagpole. At the flagpole side and along the side stretch red and black stripes, while on the opposite side the same way stretch blue and yellow stripes. The width of each stripe consists of 1/12 of the flag's length.

The stripes represent the tradition of a fight for independence. The red and black stripes are the traditional colors of Red Ruthenia, while the blue and yellow are the colors of the bigger Ukraine.”

The jackdaw looks a little surprised to be exalted in this way:

Vancouver Island flag

The Sussexes may or may not be staying on Vancouver Island, but the place is now attracting attention and providing a few leads.

For example, the island has a colourful flag, by coincidence with the helix of Hermes that has been mentioned in connection with helicopters.

The principal symbols of the badge are Neptune’s trident and Mercury’s Caduceus or wand. These represent the island’s relationship with the sea and with trade respectively.