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I have questions about flags. Looking for answers, I went not to vexillological papers, but to scientific publications in other scientific fields. What follows is a taste of what I found.

Modernism (Modern Style, Modernisme, or Art Nouveau) was an artistic and cultural movement which flourished in Europe roughly between 1880 and 1915. In Catalonia, because this era coincided with movements for autonomy and independence and the growth of a rich bourgeoisie, Modernism developed in a special way. Differing from the form in other countries, in Catalonia works in the Modern Style included many symbolic elements reflecting the Catalan nationalism of their creators. This paper, which follows Wladyslaw Serwatowski’s 20 ICV presentation on Antoni Gaudí as a vexillographer, studies other Modernist artists and their flag-related works. Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Josep Llimona, Miquel Blay, Alexandre de Riquer, Apel·les Mestres, Antoni Maria Gallissà, Joan Maragall, Josep Maria Jujol, Lluís Masriera, Lluís Millet, and others were masters in many artistic disciplines: Architecture, Sculpture, Jewelry, Poetry, Music, Sigillography, Bookplates, etc. and also, perhaps unconsciously, Vexillography. This paper highlights several flags and banners of unusual quality and national significance: Unió Catalanista, Sant Lluc, CADCI, Catalans d’Amèrica, Ripoll, Orfeó Català, Esbart Català de Dansaires, and some gonfalons and flags from choral groups and sometent (armed civil groups).

This year’s international congress of vexillology, held in the capital of the United States of America, fits neatly into the context of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the autonomy and independence of the Republic of Slovenia. 2011 also marks the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Slovene national flag. The design of such an important and recognizable national symbol such as a Slovene flag can be traced to the 7th century, the period of the earliest Slavic state—the Duchy of Carantania. It is exactly through Carantania and its unique system of inaugurating dukes at Gosposvetsko polje (Maria Saal)—a practice which continued in the Slovene language until 1414—that another interesting connection emerges between the Slovenes and the U.S.A. The influence of the installation of dukes in Carantania can be clearly observed in the Declaration of Independence, 1776. Since the flags in their original concept illustrate the colors of an emblem, the first symbol of this kind in the history of Slovene people was the Carantania’s panther. Today’s Slovenian flag developed from this early symbol.

The Confederate commerce raider CSS Shenandoah visited Melbourne in 1865 for repairs and provisions, the only port-visit on its around-the-world mission: a journey that became famous for the Shenandoah being the ship that fired the last shot of the American Civil War. The paper focuses on its Australian visit and the Shenandoah’s use of the Stainless Banner and the naval use of other Confederate flags. The paper is sourced from extensive contemporary local newspaper articles and illustrations, archives, memoirs and several books. The visit created a considerable impact in Australia that indirectly led to the development of the Victorian colonial navy, which required a navy ensign. The Victorian flag evolved to become the current Australian national flag.

Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, is presented by means of geographic data and an historic overview. The history of the symbols of this territory began in 1502 when Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella granted the coat of arms of Gibraltar. Further development of the coat of arms is then described until the present day. The first flag used in Gibraltar, in 1870, was the colonial flag of the Government. Other flags from later periods are described down to the present. Other symbols used in Gibraltar, such as police emblem and flags of the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club, are also described. There is also further demonstration of the use of various symbols in practice, such as on coins, banknotes, and stamps, and in houses, gardens, and public places.

In 1947 the Japanese Mandate on the South Islands became the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until the Trust Territory was dissolved on 10 July 1987. On 22 December 1990 the U.N. Security Council ratified the termination of trusteeship, the last step toward independence of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. During that era three flags flew in the Islands: the United Nations, USA and later TTPI flags. The Trust Territory adopted its own flag in 1962, a light blue flag with six white stars representing the six districts. From the end of the 1970s each district organized its own way to the future, in association with the USA or full independence. In this lecture I will speak mainly on the Federated States of Micronesia. The flag of the Federation is similar to the TTPI flag but with 4 stars. Each of the four states—Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap—have adopted their own flags using local symbols. Laws were promulgated about the protocol and the use of these flags. Some municipalities have adopted a flag but it was impossible to find information about their symbolism.

A handkerchief made in the early days of the American Revolution features George Washington on horseback. Of vexillological interest, it contains four flags: a 25-striped rebel flag (13 red and 12 white), a rattlesnake flag, a pine tree flag, and a final mystery flag. The final flag has been repeatedly misidentified as a British Ensign, but evidence to the contrary shows that it is, rather, a completely different flag. Furthermore, this article retells the story and people associated with the genesis of this mysterious handkerchief. This includes the wife of George Washington—Martha Washington—and the printer responsible for it, John Hewson. A recent colonial immigrant from England, Hewson proudly carried republican views, had connections with Benjamin Franklin, fought for American Independence, and was a descendant of another John Hewson who signed the death warrant of King Charles I in 1649.

Stained glass windows make an impression by pictorial and symbolic means and communicate many things to many people. These windows—first used in churches to teach the gospel story to laypeople—have evolved from a solely religious form of devotion into the secular world. Memorial windows have been commissioned in colleges, libraries, state capitols, museums, and memorials to convey the spirit of their time period. These “tapestries of colored lights”, which use images of flags, coats of arms, and other symbols, tell a story—speaking to all generations—maintaining present the history of the past.

The American writer Washington Irving is well-known for his Knickerbocker’s History of New York, published in 1809. His claim was that this material was derived from ancient Dutch manuscripts dealing with the history of the colony of New Netherlands, 1623–1664, and its capital, New Amsterdam, now New York City. Scholars have debated this claim ever since and none of the manuscripts he cites as sources have ever been discovered to exist.

The presentation begins with the (accepted) date of 1199, the death of King Richard I, the first king known to have used the three gold lions on red. It continues to show how King Edward III added the French Royal Arms, consequent to his claim to the French throne. There is then the change from “France Ancient” to “France Modern” by King Henry IV in 1405, which set the pattern of the arms and the standard for the next 198 years. The story then proceeds to show how, over the ensuing 234 years, there were no fewer than six versions of the standard until the adoption of the present pattern in 1837. The presentation includes pictures of all the designs, noting that, in the early stages, the arms appeared more often as a surcoat than a flag. There is also some anecdotal information regarding the various patterns.

According to historians, twelve American astronauts explored the surface of the Moon between 1969 and 1972. During their time on the lunar surface each Apollo crew deployed a special flag pole, leaving a total of six American flags on the surface of the Moon. Or did they? Since the 1970s conspiracy theories have emerged which claim that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) faked the moon landings. Much of the evidence used by the conspiracy theorists consists of photographs and films released by NASA during the Apollo Program. Not surprisingly, the flags have played a major role in the argument that the moon landings were an elaborate hoax. This paper will examine the claims of the conspiracy theorists, especially those related to flags, and will provide explanations in support of the historical reality of the Apollo missions.

On certain days of the year the Dutch celebrate their royal family, the House of Orange, by flying an orange pennant above their national flag. The Netherlands is the only country in the world which extends its flag with such an added stripe. It is a reminder of the unsolved question; what is the correct colour of the top stripe of the national flag—red or orange? Orange was the original 16th-century colour, to represent Willem of Orange. About fifty years later the top stripe changed to red—and ever since, the Dutch have been divided on this question. The orange pennant, in Dutch a ‘wimpel’, came into use after the Netherlands regained independence in 1815. The ‘old’ republican red, white, and blue flag was reinstated by the newly formed Kingdom of the Netherlands. Half a century later, it became fashionable to show allegiance to the royal family by adding an orange stripe as a pennant attached to the flag. The orange pennant started a new Dutch flag tradition, as nowadays other things fly with the flag as well.

Over one hundred municipal flags have been recorded from the four Atlantic provinces of eastern Canada. Recognising that not all communities in the Atlantic Provinces “face the sea”, an analysis was undertaken to determine the significance of the major categories of local enterprise, and from that the effect of these enterprises in the design of the flags. The analysis included elements from the arms or municipal seal commonly displayed on the flags. The analysis of these flags and the communities they represent reveals that the flags reflect the industries that dominate the economy of the municipalities, especially those that are coastal communities, chief among which are maritime enterprises.

After delivering my paper, “The Voice of Vexillology”, at the Yokohama congress, my radio broadcast vexillological chronicles continue, reaching number 204 in 5 seasons. In the past three years, I have been experimenting with new Initiatives (“I”s or “Eyes”) beyond the radio program, to make Vexillology better known.

San Marino is a small, independent republic, totally surrounded by Italy, with about 32,000 inhabitants. After a period of rule by the Sammarinese Fascist Party (1923–43), San Marino reintroduced a multi-party system very similar to the Italian one (the Christian-Democratic Party, Communist Party, Socialist Party, Social Democratic Party were the main competitors). Since the early 1990s the party system has undergone a number of rearrangements, some of them similar, some of them different from developments in Italy. Currently in the 60-seat parliament there are 11 parties in 8 parliamentary groups. The government is led by the Christian Democrats.

An almost complete double-sided National flag from the 4th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops, owned by the Maryland Historical Society, was conserved and mounted. The mount contained a window in order to keep the painted eagle on the canton exposed.

Citizens of the United States of America choose to imbue their national symbol with special significance, especially those flags associated with history-making events, such as the Battle of Baltimore. We who are charged with caring for the Star-Spangled Banner have to recognize not just its uniqueness but how it fits into the tradition of flag-making, and we need to recover as much of its history as possible. We look to solve the puzzle of the artifact’s identity, to rediscover what has been lost. Before any course of treatment can begin, careful examination of the artifact must be undertaken. In the course of nearly nine years of observation and treatment, we have assembled file drawers of technical reports, 4,000 images—including detailed images, even three-dimensional microscopic images—and undertaken structural and chemical analyses which provided insight into the breakdown of the protein, the type of wool used, the dye materials. Yet we have many unanswered questions. Ultimately, we need to conserve and preserve the flag so that future researchers using new technologies and insights might discover even more about this unique artifact. This paper attempts to share some of the information we have gathered along the way.

As NAVA’s 2004 American City Flags Survey has provided us with design ratings for 150 flags, comparison of any other flag with those 150 flags would allow determining a likely rating for that flag. A more general method would be to derive a set of criteria that, when applied to a flag of United States local government, would yield a rating in line with those in that survey. Are such criteria possible, and what are the limitations of such a method?

Flag designs will come into their own if the special qualities of flags are taken into account. The wind plays an important role in that. So, horizontal patterns will wave better than vertical ones if the flag flies from a vertical mast. Objects moved to the hoist will have better visibility. Using the practice of pars-pro-toto makes flags simpler and more readily recognizable from a distance. And complicated symbols or human figures on coats-of-arms can be translated into clear symbolism. This is how Dutch local flags were and still are designed and can be seen in many examples. This way of designing local flags can now also be seen in abundance in Flanders, the Czech Republic, some parts of Spain, and Puerto Rico.