Weekly Flag Challenge: New Challenges & Previous Winners

Due to the lack of a third entrant, in conjunction with the American holiday forthcoming, I am electing to enact Rule 4 of the Weekly Flag Challenge and extend the submission window by another 7 days. Thus:

FLAG CHALLENGE #155: The Great -Ism

This challenge calls for TWO flags from each participant!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create the flags of two superpowers of opposing ideologies that are locked in a Cold War. Any and all ideologies are up for grabs, and "opposing ideologies" only has to mean they don't believe the same things (i.e. two socialist states that define socialism differently are valid).

Submissions Open: Now
Submissions Close: 30th November 2016
Voting Period: 1st December - 7th December 2016

For more details on general rules, click and read the FIRST PAGE
 
The winner is... @Trackah !

Monarchism & Republicanism

Holy European Empire
Heiliges Europäish Reich
united-european-empire-png.296155

While the Holy European Empire does not include all of Europe it is by far the most powerful country on the continent as it contains all of the former Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Venice, Austrian Netherlands, and more. It was created when all of the Habsburgs Lands that were not already a part of the Holy Roman Empire were incorporated in the early 1900s.
The country has a strong monarchical tradition and is lead almost exclusively by the emperor and very small and select group of other nobles. While the lower class has very little power in their countries government, most are very content if not very pleased with their role as the country also has a very strong sense of duty, one of which is that it is the strong's duty to protect the weak. Because of this the country has an advanced social support system and any modification of thus system must have the personal approval of the emperor.

Democratic Federation of America
united-american-democracy-png.296156

Formed from the unification of the five major republics on the North American continent (Columbia, Louisiana, Texas, California, and Cascadia). as a defense to monarchist influence in the rest of the world, particularly in Europe. The transition into one country was relatively smooth as the four other republics traced their heritage back to the United States of Columbia, which allowed it to focus its attention on building its power and influence. All citizens of the federation have equal rights and the ability to vote on their leaders and policies. The citizens of the federation value their liberty and political voice above everything else, so much that they try to keep the government from impeding on that liberty at all costs. This has led the country to expect all its citizens to provide everything for themselves, and anyone who does not is viewed has have chosen not to.
 
FLAG CHALLENGE #156: Flags of the Decolonized

This weeks challenge is to create a flag of a recently decolonized country. How you interpret decolonization is up to you, the flag just has to be the first national flag used by your country.

Submissions Open: Now
Submissions Close: 17th December 2016
Voting Period: 18th December - 24th December 2016

For more details on general rules, click and read the FIRST PAGE
 
The winner is... @Mirror !

Entry 1
Republic of Tuva

Tıva Respublika

In TTL, Tuva was one of the newly independent states that emerged from the wreckage of the USSR in 1991. It became a parliamentary republic that has established very close ties with China, partly for historical reasons, partly for economic reasons and partly for the fear of its former overlord, Russia.

The flag of Tuva, designed in 1992 uses the traditional colors of blue, gold and silver. Blue stands for the endless Tuvan skies and the traditional morals of Tuvan nomadic herdsmen, while gold and silver stand for both the precious metals that are found in Tuva and Buddhism, the main religion of Tuva people. The eight-spoked wheel is an ancient symbol of the Noble Eightfold Path, used already by the first Tuvan revolutionaries in the 1920s.
Tuva.png
 
FLAG CHALLENGE #157: Mapocalypse Now

Maps on flags. Everyone hates maps on flags. Is there anything that could be salvaged from this stupid idea? Can someone design a flag with a map on it that actually looks decent... or maybe even amazing?

Your flag submission to this challenge should feature a map as a design element. The map in question can be stylized, but not overly so (see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagoshima_Prefecture for an example that would not fly in this challenge).

If you are not sure whether your idea fits this challenge, you can PM me first to ask.

Submissions Open: Now
Submissions Close: 1st of January 2017
Voting Period: 2nd of January - 8th of December 2016

For more details on general rules, click and read the FIRST PAGE
 
FLAG CHALLENGE #157: Mapocalypse Now

Maps on flags. Everyone hates maps on flags. Is there anything that could be salvaged from this stupid idea? Can someone design a flag with a map on it that actually looks decent... or maybe even amazing?

Your flag submission to this challenge should feature a map as a design element. The map in question can be stylized, but not overly so (see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagoshima_Prefecture for an example that would not fly in this challenge).

If you are not sure whether your idea fits this challenge, you can PM me first to ask.

Submissions Open: Now

For more details on general rules, click and read the FIRST PAGE

As there are only two entries, I will use Rule 4 of the Weekly Flag Challenge to extend the submission period as follows:

Submissions Close: 8th of January 2017
Voting Period: 9th of January - 15th of January 2016
 
And the winner is...
@Rarayn!


Flag of the Republic of Sicily
The flag of a Republic of Sicily that emerged from a failing Bourbon kingdom. Cutting all ties with its various former monarchial regimes, it uses none of the traditional symbols or colors of the island. Instead, it uses the red/white/blue known from the American and French Revolutions, and depicts the island itself, surrounded by a wreath and topped by a star. The wreath is a (possibly misguided) nod to former Roman republican traditions, and the star represents the Sicilian people's desire for the freedom so long denied them.

g3056-png.302861
 
FLAG CHALLENGE #158: A Different United States

Design an alternate flag for the United States of America that doesn't contain any of the below:
- Stars
- Horizontal stripes
- The red/white/blue color combination (each color can be used individually, and you can have two out of three, but you can't use all three)

Whether the flag originated during the revolution, modern day, the distant future or anything in-between is up you.

Submissions Open: Now
Submissions Close: 22nd of January, 00:00 GMT
Voting Period: 22nd of January - 25th of January, 00:00 GMT
 
And the winner is...
@Mirror!

Flag of the United States (The Moon and Sash)

One of the most famous and enduring stories of the American Revolutionary War was the defense of Sullivan's Island by Colonel William Moultrie and the first commission of a flag that was to become the flag of the United States.

The original flag featured a dark blue field and a white crescent moon with the word LIBERTY. However, the flag instantly became very popular as a battle flag among several revolutionary groups, overcoming other designs such as the rather crude Gadsden flag and slightly busy Continental Colors. This meant that slightly different designs of the flag also proliferated. One of such was the flag adopted by Dutch revolutionaries of New York, who added an orange diagonal band, as their own national color.

And thus, when the Second Continental Congress was debating the Flag Resolution, the Liberty flag became a clear favorite based on popularity alone. As a compromise between the Northern and Southern states, the orange-band version was chosen in the end, as it symbolized the combined designs of South Carolina and New York. The Resolution added some small tweaks, such as removing the word LIBERTY for the sake of clarity and adding a white fimbriation to the orange band, to make it in line with heraldic rules.

The flag has remained extremely popular for almost 250 years and has inspired enduring nicknames such as The Moon and Sash and The Liberty.

MoonampSash.png
 
FLAG CHALLENGE #159: Purple Rain

In flag design, the color purple is seriously underused. This challenge will try to fix this.

Your flag submission should use the color purple (in any shade you wish, so mauve, mulberry et al are allowed) as a main color or one of the main colors.

The flag should be designed for a country that decides to adopt it in the year 1984. The PoD, however, is up to you.

Submissions Open: Now
Submissions Close: 31st of January 2017
Voting Period: 1st - 7th of February 2017

For more details on general rules, click and read the FIRST PAGE
 
And the winner is:
@BelfastBrawler!

República Popular de España(1944-1989)
After the defeat of the nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, a democratic goverment is to be instaled. However the small goverment is weak and unable to maintain power, as the struggle has not ended with the civil war. The goverment's decision to enter the war in 1940 on the side of the Allies is the final nail in it's coffin, as the war effort greatly drains the already scarce resources of the country. While being experienced, experience is no substitute for equipment. The poorly equiped army cannot face the true power of Germany, along with France capitulates during the early stages of the war. The war continues as in our timeline until the retreat of Germans from the USSR. The Allies attempt to land in North Africa, but fail several times. With no access to North Africa, operations deep within the Axis controlled Europe are impossible. However the soviets eventually ocupy Eastern Europe and from there prepare for their invasion of North Africa, which later proves succesful. The soviets, further occupy Italy, Spain, where they install provisory goverments, and meet up with the British and the Americans in France from where a final push brings down the Reich. In this timeline the communists occupy more nations, having control over all of Eastern Europe, Greece, Italy, Spain and Egypt along with the Suez canal. Spain becomes a communist state, officially named People's Republic of Spain. The country, being far from the influence of the USSR, is much less authoritarian,think Prague Spring, and does not become part of the Warsaw Pact, istead creating strong ties with Yugoslavia. The country benefits from the communist regime, as industry is improved and infrastructure as well. The economy is neither bad or good, but more or less stable. In 1984, The nation chages it's flag to celebrate it's 40th anniversary. The flag consists of the original colors rearranged. The model is made to represent it's support for the freedom of Czechoslovakia, as the nation supported the Prague Spring, and opposed the soviet invasion. Source for the coat of arms here.

spainrep-png.305403
 
FLAG CHALLENGE #160: Death or Communism!

At the end of the 20th of OTL century communism in eastern Europe fell, and democracy took over. However, in this Timeline, communism continues into the 21st century, and it spreads to Central America, Western Europe, and the Middle East.

Your job is to provide a flag for a nation located in the regions mentioned above.

To further force creativity, the flag should NOT use the hammer and sickle, it should use a symbol either invented by you, a real symbol of a movement that existed in our timeline, or the red star. Also the flag should have at least 1 more color beside red and gold, if these colors are used.

Submissions Open: Now
Submissions Close: 15th of February 2017
Voting Period: 16th - 22nd of February 2017

For more details on general rules, click and read the FIRST PAGE
 
An the winner is:
@Xanthoc!
Socialist People's Republic of Greater Scandinavia
Socialistiske Folkerepublik Stor Skandinavien
Socialistiska Folkrepubliken Stor Skandinavien
Sosialistiske Folkerepublikk Stor Skandinavia
Sósíalisti Alþýðulýðveldisins Mikill Skandinavia



2000px-royal_standard_of_denmark-png.307405



"The Fall of Capitalism was a phenomenon that is officially marked with the Dissolution of the United States in the early 1990s, but most historians and political analysts would argue that it began with the Indochinese War. Starting as the Vietnam War, it was initially a conflict between the capitalist Republic of Vietnam in the South against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the North. The United States under the control of the aggressive President McCarthy intervened with the use of military advisers, lend-lease programs, and so-called "patriotic volunteer units," also known as "PVUs", "Blackhats", and their more infamous nickname, "Black Eagles." Initially, the war saw limited televising in America, but after the brutal massacre of several Viet Cong was televised, despite soaring morale amongst the populace, parental protesting allowed for a total media blackout of the war, and soon enough all the information coming out was government propaganda. The war crawled to a stalemate, but to the American people and to America's allies, it was a near victory. So near, in fact, that people cheered when American intervention expanded into Laos and Cambodia, another easy victory against the Red Menace..."

"...The expansion of the Vietnam War into the Indochinese War proved to be a strain on resources of the United States as the Soviet Union began employing the same tactics as the United States, televising their efforts across the Warsaw Pact. In doing so, it became the greatest tool for communism in decades..."

"General Secretary Georgy Zhukov had come in during a period of great unrest following the assassination of Nikita Khrushchev, who was meant to be the next leader of the USSR. Zhukov took over as the leader of Khrushchev's "Anti-Party Coup," seeing it as an obligation to his country to help keep it safe from "imperialist anti-socialist" enemies within. With the purging of the "anti-party," Zhukov became General Secretary, later Chairman of both the Central Committee and the reformed Council of People's Commissars. In a sense this mirrored President McCarthy's rise to power, who used a variety of tapes and witnesses to identify numerous communists in the American government, although many claim the evidence was falsified. Filling their place would be men equally as radically counterrevolutionary as he was, and that catapulted him into a position of power."

"Understanding these parallels, Chairman Zhukov decided that, with McCarthy at the helm of the United States, he needed to match the American's aggressiveness in a policy famously known as the "Checking Doctrine" from a chess analogy made in a British political cartoon. In Indochina, it meant escalating the war. Volunteers, lend-lease, and advisers, he met McCarthy blow for blow. Ultimately, the war was a Soviet-victory in the region, as the Americans over-extended their forces, but it was also a victory abroad as America and its forces became seen as violent aggressors, Soviets as brave defenders, and communism as an ideology of the down-trodden. The Warsaw Pact was revitalized, popularity of the regimes flourishing. More local and popular communists were put into places of power, transforming a previously enforced ideology into a homegrown movement."

"...With the suppression of a communist protest in West Berlin by NATO troops, primarily American, the Red Revolutions began across Europe. The tightening of capitalist markets was the cause, both against communist regimes, and even each other as nationalist tensions flared. It had begun a decline in their economies while the liberalized economies of the former Warsaw Pact, now reformed as the Fifth Communist International, had begun to flourish, stirring unrest. With the House Un-American Activities Committee and other similar groups in the West biting down on any "seditionist beatniks", many young intellectuals and inventors went to communist nations, who welcomed them and paid for their ideas, resulting in the "Red Renaissance". As East Berlin and East Germany suddenly became a cultural hub, West Germans began fighting for reunification, especially socialists. Their protesting turned mildly violent, with only minor looting, but the US took this opportunity to crush the group with excessive force..."

"The German Red Revolution spurred on Revolutions across Europe, particularly in France, Spain, and Italy. Fear of communism spread even more rapidly, and governments began trying to clamp down. In Scandinavia, power was being taken by an unusual source; the monarchies. A league of staunch anti-communists, the Kings of Scandinavia began to use their royal powers to a greater extent as socialist parties began to sweep into legislatures. As anyone can expect, propaganda for the communists was easy, but the monarchs viewed their actions as just. In Sweden, martial law was declared during rioting; in Denmark, a purge was done of communists in government; in Norway assassinations were common place. Soon it all came to a head. The Norse War was the final proxy conflict of the Cold War, with the Soviets funding and training insurgents and the American backing the governments, eventually deploying their own troops..."

"With the death of the Danish and Swedish royal families, the loss of morale brought the Norse War to a close. Soon enough, the Socialist People's Republic of Greater Scandinavia was declared in Stockholm, and as time passed more and more nations would recognize their sovereignty. Eventually the People's Republic of Iceland would join, but Finland, while offered, chose its own independence."

- Pax Sovietica: Rise of the Soviet Century, 2009 Cascadian documentary

"The flag of the SPR of Greater Scandinavia was initially a defaced royal standard of Denmark. The blue was added for Sweden, and the red, blue, and white represented colors found on all the capitalist flags of the Nordic countries. The central symbol of the flag is the Workers' Triquetra, first used by the Scottish Socialist Republic, then the People's Republic of Iceland, and then the Irish Socialist Republic. Soon enough it was the symbol of socialism in Northern West Europe, while the South clung to the common crossed hammers and three-pointed star. The wreath was taken from the German Democratic Republic, considered the first communist state beyond the "American Curtain." Some have protested the cross found on the flag, and that the flag is so reminiscent of the old royal standard, but the majority find it serves as both a common symbol of Scandinavia and as reminder of the past, and what was fought for and against."

- The Little Book of Flags, 4th Ed., 2015
 
FLAG CHALLENGE #161: LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, FANTASTIQUE!

Many amazing fantasy worlds have been crafted by authors and creators throughout the ages. Narnia, Middle Earth, Alagaësia, Thedas, Wonderland, Tamriel, Pern, Westeros, Azeroth, etc. In almost all of these, there exist monarchies and empires due to the medieval nature of their societies. But technology and thought are ever moving, even if magic exists to synthesize with it. One day people will question the status quo. One day people in these worlds will develop notions of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Ideologies, from Communism to Liberalism to Fascism, and many we have no actual equivalent of, will come to exist eventually. And so one day a revolution will come.

Your challenge is to take an established fantasy world from a well-known work of fiction and create the flag of a revolutionary state in that world. A socialist uprising, a break-away democratic state, a dictatorship that favors the guillotine, any kind of revolution will do!

Submissions Open: Now
Submissions Close: 2nd March 2017
Voting Period: 3rd March - 10th March 2017
 
And the winner is...
@The Professor!

People's Republic of Lankhmar

The hand of the Grand Prince of Ilthmar & Lankhmar had grown heavy and the people chafed.
All across the Eightfold Land [1] vandals and saboteurs signed their work with the red banner of radical socialism or the Eye of Public Oversight [2].
In old Lankhmar, most ancient of cities, adherents to the Movement of Public Oversight would often add a golden haloed sun in reference to their city's traditional icon of the white sun.
The Massacre of Fafhrd's Tor ignited revolutions and within the year the so-called Empire of the Eightfold Land had fallen to an alliance of People's Republics.
The People's Republic of Lankhmar displayed a flag with a red hoist on a black field surmounted by a golden haloed white sun - red & gold for the People, white sun on black for Lankhmar [3] - and bearing a green eye - for the fruitfulness of Public Oversight.

[1] Derived from the Land of Eight Cities and now referring to the lands surrounding the Inner Sea of Nehwon under control of the Grand Prince of Ilthmar and Lankhmar.
[2] A movement calling itself "public oversight" would undoubtedly use eye symbolism.
[3] With black being the traditional colour of Lankhmar a white symbol would help show the "venerability" of the later hereditary princes.

prlankhmarsm-png.310040
 
FLAG CHALLENGE #162: The Burgundian Roman Empire

In TTL the so-called Francian Empire has divided into 5 kingdoms: Aquitaine (inc. Spanish March), Austrasia, Burgundy, Italy, and Westrisia [the western lands from Neustria to Frisia].
By 1000CE King Lothere of Burgundy has acquired Aquitaine and conquered Italy, having himself crowned Roman Emperor by the Pope.

Your challenge is to create 2 flags that fit TTL c1500s (or equivalent level).
1 is for the BRE itself, 1 is for a significant territory within the BRE (and can be ruled by an external power).
AS the POD predates OTL heraldry any use of exact OTL local symbols is restricted, specifically the following are banned: Cross of Burgundy (saltires in general are allowed), Cross of Toulouse/Occitan (voided crosses are allowed), the Leopard of Aquitaine.
[EDIT: Imperial banners are acceptable for the BRE flag due to OTL HRE not having a national flag]

As this is a multiple flag challenge please limit entries to within 300x600px - you may include both flags on a single image file so long as the flags themselves fit into 300x600px.
Please see The Rules for details.

Submissions Open: Now
EDIT2 extension and size change:
Submissions Close: 21st March 2017
Voting Period: after 21st March
 
Last edited:
As this is a multiple flag challenge please limit entries to within 200x400px - you may include both flags on a single image file so long as the flags themselves fit into 200x400px.
Please see The Rules for details.

Now that the forum auto-shrinks images, is the 200x400 requirement still really necessary? It really constrains what you can do, especially in terms of image quality
 
Unprecedently we have a 3 way tie!
After a few changes to the design (click for higher quality) so as to make it look better, I present....


The Banner of His Imperial Majesty Lothere, by the Grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, King of Burgundy, Aquitaine, and Westisia, Caesar of Italia, Sovereign of Austrasia, Defender of the Faith, Protector of the Holy See

View attachment 312159


"Upon his final subjugation of the trade republics of the Italian peninsula, King Lothere of Burgundy had himself declared Emperor of the Romans, with a proper coronation in St. Peter's Basilica, being crowned by the Pope. The Empire restored, a practice taken from the Romans was put back into the forefront of military culture: the vexillum. Though no longer a vertically hung cloth for each legion, Lothere believed firmly in the use of symbols to show the strength of the Empire. As such, his personal war banner, a tricolor of blue, white, and green, was altered and used as the standard of the military, each blessed by priests and soaked in holy water, every soldier told that to lose the banner was to lose a blessed piece of the Empire's soul. In doing so, this banner became the standard of the Empire itself."

- Empire Reborn, 2012 Documentary

"...The reason for the existence of his war flag was his personal dislike of his father, and so Lothere preferred not to use a banner of his family arms when leading his own armies into battle during his time as Prince. The origin of the colors blue, white, and green, is not entirely clear to modern scholars. There is, in fact, a great amount of debate over them. Some believe they come from the idea of ground, air, and sky, and that Lothere, being known for his art and poetry, took to using these colors as a symbol of his dominion of all that he surveyed. Others call this completely ridiculous, and instead contend that it first comes from the blue-white banner used by member of the Order of the Shield of Charlemagne, a chivalrous order of knights to which Lothere belonged as Prince of Burgundy. This then, leaves the question of why green was added. Some of the aforementioned scholars that subscribe to the "Order Theory", as opposed to the "Symbol Theory", will either reply "I don't know," or propose that perhaps it was simply added for individuality, being that as a King and later Emperor, using the war flag of a holy order as ones own would not be entirely proper. A third group of theorists also exists, and while readers may wonder why there is such debate over something as simple as a flag, it should be remembered that the topic of the Restorer of Rome is one of the most popular for all historians, and nearly every historian that studies the matter carries his own opinion. Now, the third group are subscribers to the "Eye Theory", which holds that, given the famous legend of the Emperor's heterochromia, perhaps that is the source for his banner. Due several surviving paintings and reconstructed paints for a bust, we do know that, at times, Lothere was painted with possessing one eye that was blue, and one eye that was either brown or green; many believe it may have been hazel, and thus possessing flecks of green and brown. Assuming the Emperor was either green-blue or hazel-blue heterochromatic, it is believed by these theorists that he used this striking feature as inspiration for his personal flag of war, with a white stripe being used as a contrast between the two colors...

..There is also debate over the tail of the flag. Some hold that it was a short spike of only a few inches, while others report stories of it being up to three feet in length. The shape was a common design of the era for war banners, and it is possible (and likely) that different makers of the flags had a variety of lengths in use, based on how much fabric they had left to use. After all, it was unlikely that the Emperor was going to go around inspecting each armies' banner, and in effect it was the banner in itself that served as a symbol, not its proportions."
- Examining Men and Women of History, AP European History textbook, published 2005

"The arms of the House of Juvaire is simple, but displays the familial history well. Four Francian Crosses are used to show the family's ancient roots as lords under King Charlemagne, and the red saltire represents the family's Catholic roots, and specifically its veneration of St. Andrew..."

- Basics of Heraldry, published 1967

The Banner of His Royal Majesty Gaspard, Prince of the Romans, Dictator of Latium

View attachment 312160

"...this title was created by Lothere purely because of the nagging of his heir, Gaspard. Being the Crown Prince of of the Romans, Burgundy, Aquitaine, Westisia, Italia, and Austrasia was not enough for the boy, and he wanted to show his ability to rule and create a powerbase of his own. Believing it could work to make his disliked son more popular amongst the people, and to create greater ties between the Italians and their Frankish conquerors, Emperor Lothere agreed to his request and, taking from both the merchant republic tradition of the peninsula and that of the Roman Republic, he named Gaspard Dictator of Latium, thus making his son the direct ruler of half of the Italian peninsula. Ever since, the heir apparent of the Second Roman Empire was been named Dictator of Latium. In truth, Latium as the territory rule by the Dictator, is in fact comprised of the First Roman regions of Latium, Etruria, Samnium, Picenum, Emilia, Liguria, and Umbria..."

- When in Rome: the Rise and Fall of the Second Roman Empire, 2016 documentary

"Prince Gaspard is said to have designed the banner himself, echoing his father's famed artistic manner, although this may very well have just been told as a story to improve his image. However, as the Banner of the Dictator of Latium, it became a symbol of the region, and even the republican movement that controlled the area centuries later looked to this flag for inspiration. The red and tyrian were used to represent the area's history as the heart of both the Roman Republic and the First Roman Empire, the famed "S.P.Q.R." taking a central place as well. The crest of the House of Juvaire is set centrally, showing their control of the land. Some believe the flag ended in a point, while others contend it was cut to be trapezoidal."

- Flags of Antiquity, published 1991

Holy Roman Empire

In this TL, the flag of the Holy Roman Empire went through a number of changes during the unification process led by the Kingdom of Burgundy between 700-1000. The first Burgundian flags were simple red and blue war banners, where both red cross on blue and blue cross on red were used. With the conquest of Kingdom of Aquitaine, the design was consolidated to a red cross on a blue field with a red border, fimbriated with white. The arms of Burgundy and Aquitaine were quartered on the flag.

This design was to last for more than a century. However, the conquests of Neustrasia, Austrasia and Westrisia in a quick succession added yet more arms to the flag. Then, instead of quartering the arms yet again, it was decided that each field shall bear the separate arms of all four kingdoms, with the arms of Burgundy in an escutcheon above them in the center. This design was to last until Lothere the Pious of Burgundy, the first Emperor.

It is said that after the conquest of Kingdom of the Lombards and the coronation in Rome, Emperor Lothere had an epiphany that made him devote his empire to the glory of God. This had profound impact to his entire reign, but also to his arms and the Imperial banner as a result.

Lothere ordered to clear his arms of all designs accumulated over the previous centuries, leaving only the red cross on blue field, bordered by red and bearing an escutcheon. To this, he added the papal cross, stating: "Only the arms of the Most High should stand above all." This would become the Imperial Banner for centuries to come.

Holy_Burgun_Empire.png


Kingdom of Aquitaine

In this TL, the Kingdom of Aquitaine was dominated by the Basques. Their war banners were originally green and red, often bearing the Basque cross. Before Emperor Lothere, the Aquitaine arms stood in the upper left field of the Imperial banner, bearing the red Basque cross on white.

The banner for the Kingdom alone, after Emperor Lothere, became a field quartered between Burgundian blue and Basque green, bordered by red to recall their position on the original Imperial banner. In the center stands the ancient Basque cross in red, on a white roundel.

Basque_Aquitania.png

Holy Roman Empire

In the early Medieval era Christian religious and temporal authorities clashed repeatedly for control of Europe's social and political institutions. This was exemplified by the conflict between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. The Emperor sought the power to invest Bishops, Cardinals, and other clergy, thus exercising control over the church; the Pope sought to assert their independence from the Emperor as temporal ruler of the Papal States, and thus their supremacy over all of Christendom. The two positions became increasingly intertwined as time went on starting with the Iurgium, a civil war in which a disputed succession erupted into a grueling, bloody conflict. One claimant claimed legitimacy via election by the Empire's senior nobles, whereas the other claimed legitimacy due to appointment by the Pope. Ultimately the latter would succeed and it became accepted that the Pope should have sole power to appoint Emperors and, though the Pope was subservient to the Emperor in temporal matters, the Emperor was a vicar of the Pope appointed to defend all of Christendom. Conversely, the investiture controversy was resolved in favour of temporal rulers, allowing the Emperor to appoint many of the clergy eligible to become and able to elect the Pope.

As Emperors increasingly leaned on the Papacy for support and legitimacy they adopted increasingly religious trappings. This can be seen most clearly in the banners used by the Emperors which, starting in the 1100s, consistently depict the Archangel Michael. The exact design varied over time, even within the reign of a single Emperor, before being set in the late 1400s as a light blue flag hung from a crossbar with three streamers, edged with gold and depicting the Archangel Michael holding a spear and scales below an aquila. Though the Empire would not last forever, the design and colours of this flag would come to influence those of Europe and countries across the world for centuries to come.

p5byzVB.png



Principality of Favonia

Rumours of land beyond the Atlantic Ocean, tall tales of ships swept off-course and reports of Guinean traders heading west, first occur in Europe no later than the early 1200s, but it wasn't until the mid-1300s that Oltremar was discovered by Moorish explorers on an expedition funded by the Emperor himself. Seeking trade, the Empire did not attempt to assert direct authority over any of the newfound land, but various nobles - disgruntled by the increasing centralisation of the Empire and longing for the "good old days" of centuries past - attempted to relive the "Peregrinations" that had seen their forebears invade and assert control over the Levant, but now heading West instead of East, and formed a variety of states on the shores of Oltremar. Their independence lasted a century and a half until the Emperor asserted his control over these colonies, reorganising them as the Principality of Favonia - a name taken from the Latin name for the West Wind. The flag of this new province consisted of five bars, alternating blue and green, with a compass rose placed in each one next to the hoist and each bar tapering and ending in separate points at the fly. Though the compass rose fell out of use as a symbol of Favonia, the colours of this flag would be used by the Oltremar United Polity and later inspire designs for many flags across Oltremar and the world.

7qISpG9.png

It is now up to @Xanthoc, @Mirror, and @Krall, if they wish to propose a joint challenge or if 1 or 3 of them wish to devolve that onto the other(s).
Myself, @Rarayn, and @OAM47, are available as volunteers to help as usual.
 

Krall

Banned
FLAG CHALLENGE #163: City Upon a Crater

"We don't remember much from the before-times. We don't remember why, but we do remember how the world ended; angels falling from heaven, wielding a sickening, divine light. Some claim the world has been cleansed of sin, but if that's the case then the innocent have already begun to sin anew. All we know for sure is when the light's gone out of the world, a city that is set on a crater cannot be hidden."

Create a flag of a post-apocalyptic city-state, which includes an existing OTL symbol that has been reinterpreted to have a different or distorted meaning.

Submissions Open: Now
Submissions Close: 5th April 2017
Voting Period: after 5th April, for 7 days


(Also I just realised I posted in this thread a couple of times when I shouldn't've. I'll delete those posts now.)
 

Krall

Banned
And the winner is...
FlyingParafin!

Ainu Rebuilder Community
アイヌ再建コミュニティ - Ainu Saiken Komyuniti
Айну Перестроное Сообщество - Aynu Perestroynoye Soobshchestvo

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After the Final Plague (so called because it was the last great plague recorded by the developed world before its collapse) destroyed all but a few remaining nations on Earth, several survivors in more rural parts of the world managed to band together and create their own towns and settlements where old ones used to be.

One of the more powerful factions are the Ainu, which in OTL lived in parts of Japan and Russia. A few decades after the Final Plague completely died away and withered, the Ainu created a movement to reclaim parts of what used to be Hokkaido, Sakhalin and the Kurils. Although the ARC's population is predominately indigenous Ainu peoples, all survivors of the plague are welcome to live and work in their land. While not as warlike as some other survivor camps, they spend most of their time fighting off the elements and hunting while not focusing on developing their settlements. Efforts to expand the ARC have been successful, despite nature overrunning most of the long since abandoned Japanese and Russian Cities.

The flag features the Emblem featured on the OTL Ainu flag reduced to navy blue and white, as well as a three fold tomoe above it. This tomoe in particular would normally symbolize the Ryukyu islands in OTL, but it is used on this flag for a union of Ainu, Japanese and Russian Culture. The square pattern on the left has been inspired by the Wiphala which is used by many native communities in various countries in the Americas. The USSR star on the right is not used for ideological purposes and is instead intended as a cultural symbol representing some of the Ainu people living in numerous places owned by Russia where they are indigenous.

After the Final Plague came and went, many people only associate symbols left behind by previous peoples with their nations and very few know the actual symbolism behind them or their meaning.

Some people have interpreted the yellow and red star as a symbol for the cosmos and the symbol to the left therefore being a spacecraft made by an old nation pointed to a planet above.

Others have interpreted it as a monument beneath the moon standing for years to come, outliving its original builders and living on as a testament to lost cultures.

Apart from mere speculation, it seems that the original meanings behind these symbols have been lost to the sands of time.
 
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