Flag of brittany
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The flag of Brittany , also known as Gwenn ha Du , literally translated from Breton white and black , is de facto the flag of the Brittany region and the historic province of Brittany. It is composed of nine black and white horizontal stripes of equal width, which are arranged alternately. In addition, in the upper mast side white are crossing lumped stoats .
The province of Brittany was an independent duchy until 1514, when the French King Charles VIII married the sole heiress Anne de Bretagne . At least two flags were in use in the province of Brittany: the ermine flag and the kroaz du (black cross), both of which were black and white. The Kroaz du has been used mainly for the Breton soldiers and their warships since the 14th century.
Red Dragon
In the early Middle Ages, the common standard of the British peoples was the red Draco (a stylized dragon head, the end of which was a tube of cloth that fluttered in the wind). This Draco was the first emblem of the Bretons when they settled in Armorica in the 5th century (the red dragon has remained the main character of the flag of Welsh to this day). Later they made use of flags that are known only to be "shiny" and "colored". An exception is the Roland song , which describes a "green flag of the seven saints of Brittany".
Coat of arms of Peters von Dreux
It was Duke Peter I. Mauclerc who first chose stoat for his coat of arms. In the 13th century, ermine was often a part of the clothing of prominent clerics (its white color was a symbol of purity and flawlessness). The Capetian Peter von Dreux had added an ermine free quarter to the coat of arms of his family because he was originally supposed to join the clergy. In 1213, when Mauclerc married the Duchess Alix , ermines became part of the shield of Brittany (previously the duchy probably had no coat of arms).
Crusades
During the first crusades , the red cross was the symbol of Christian fighters, since Pope Urban II called in Clermont in 1095 and perhaps since the Reconquista in Spain and Sicily. In fact, Urban had said in Clermont: “Christ […] shows you his cross. Wear it on your shoulder and chest. ”In 1188 it was decided that the French in Outremer should wear a red, the English a white and the Flemish a green cross.
In 1249 Peter Mauclerc took part in the Sixth Crusade under Louis the Saint , so his soldiers used shields and flags with the red cross.
Red Dragon
Coat of arms from 1213
The crusaders under Louis IX.
Ermine shield
From the year 1316, Johann III. a simplified ermine shield. Since then, the ermine has been the symbol of Brittany.
Seal of Franz I.
Duke Francis I and his uncle Arthur von Richemont
Coat of arms from 1316 ( semé d'hermine )
Black cross
Cross flags were used again at the end of the Hundred Years War , but then the English had a red cross on a white background and the French had a white cross on a red or blue background. It is perhaps Duke Johann IV who chose a black cross on a white background.
War flag and banner (14th - 16th centuries)
reversing the Saint Piran's flag from Cornwall .
The Kroaz Du was the most widely used flag during the Middle Ages. It was used in the Tournament of Thirty , the Hundred Years War and by Breton sailors. It is believed by many to be the true flag of Brittany.
Coat of arms of today's Breton capital Rennes
today
The first Gwenn ha Du was created between 1923 and 1925 by the architect and militant Breton nationalist Morvan Marchal . The number of ermines and their shape is not precisely defined; usually there are eleven, grouped in three horizontal rows. This flag has been used by cultural Breton movements especially since the 1950s and 1960s. Today it is even widespread in social classes that historically have never used the ermine flag. You can see them on parades , workers' strikes , student demonstrations and other events.
literature
- Philippe Rault, Les drapeaux bretons, des origines à nos jours (2006)
Individual evidence
- ↑ geschichtsforum.de: Ottfried Neubecker Heraldik. Coat of arms - their origin, meaning and value - Wolfgang Krüger Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 1977
