Weekly Flag Challenge: Discussion & Entries

United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland, and France

Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland, and France.png


The France of 2022 is much changed from that of the France of 1920, when it was conquered by His Britannic Majesty George VI, acclaimed George I of France subsequent to the defeat and death of Charles X in the Battle of Alençon in the Four Years' War. The new king had been determined make this new kingdom, stretching from Frisia to the Pyrenees, more prosperous and happy than it was when it travailed under the yoke of absolute monarchs from Louis XIV to Charles X. This he did by restoring the parliaments of France and restoring such ancient privileges as the reading and publishing of books without censure, and himself sponsored the translation and printing of many great works of English and German art and science into French, in addition to great construction projects in towns and ports so as to the benefit of trade, and so forth as are further described in The Reign of George VI. 1900-1925; a forecast written in the year 1763.

In the hundred years since, the more enlightened laws of England have been introduced to France, and the freedom and happiness of all of Their Britannic Majesty's realms and territories has grown to such heights that Acts of Union of 2020 were passed by the various parliaments to unite the four kingdoms into a single United Kingdom, with its capital at Stanley in Rutlandshire, which George VI had ordered constructed ere the Four Years' War. Since the Union of Four Kingdoms, there have been renewed calls from North America, a united continent for a century entire, for their several dominions to be united with the Four Kingdoms, as kingdoms in their own right. Such a union would doubtless require a great enlargement of Senate House to accommodate such members of parliament to represent their population of 74 millions.
 
Latin Confederation
(Confédération Latine)
(Cōnfoederātiō Latīna)
Latin Confederation.png

With the formation of the German Empire, many countries felt threatened. The empire was the largest and most powerful single nation on the continent, and it had just proven it by defeating Second French Empire. It is now the year 1900 and alliances are being drawn, and conflict in the African Colonies have thrown the Berlin Conference out the window. Open war has come to Africa.

Africa has seen a century of violence, but Europe has been locked in a perpetual cold war. The destruction found in Africa prevented European leaders from wanting to bring that level terror home. But as diplomacy formed stronger and stronger military alliance the threat of civilization ending war become more and more apparent. The Latin Confederation founded in the year 2000, was conceive as both a natural extension of the Latin Monetary Union and as protection against the growing threat of the Germanic empires. While only France, Italy, and Spain formed the confederation, the rest of the monetary union stayed close allies.

In 2022, the twenty-two year Grand War has finished. No country involved made it out the unspeakable horrors unscathed. But the Latin Confederation survived were the empires did not. Many attribute this to the inherent liberties that the confederation gave to its citizens over it autocratic opponents.

Anomie. Flag of Italy. 3 October 2011. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Italy.svg. Accessed 10 June 2022.​
Gavira, Ignacio, B1mbo. Flag of the First Spanish Republic. 26 May 2006. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_First_Spanish_Republic.svg. Accessed 10 June 2022.​
Skopp. Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1974, 2020–present). 7 July 2017. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_France_(1794–1815,_1830–1974,_2020–present).svg. Accessed 10 June 2022.​
 
United States of Scandinavia
United States of Scandinavia3.png

There has not been a historical moment as important as the Declaration of Independence since the birth of our messiah 1776 years prior. The mighty efforts of our patriots to crush injustice and monarchy under the banners of republicanism and liberty have sent shockwaves throughout the world, ushering in a new era of god-given freedom and ending the era of Kings, whether they yet realize it or not.

To celebrate the ratification of our first constitution an anonymous reader from New Hampshire has submitted her ‘vision of the far future', a glimpse of the distant Year of our Lord 2022, where Mother Europe too has thrown off the shackles of monarchy and division.

She imagines a ‘United States of Scandinavia’, where the peoples of Sweden, Denmark-Norway, and the other Scandinavian realms have overthrown their oppressive masters and joined hands in inspiration of the union of our thirteen former colonies.

She has sewn a flag that combines the colors of the flags of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The Nordic Cross, tainted by association with the monarchies and state-Lutheranism, is not used, instead, the central focus is Yggdrasil, the world tree from their shared mythology. As in mythology; around Yggdrasil are the nine realms, in this case the realms of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, Pomerania, the Faroe Islands, and Orkney, represented by stars.

Is this a true prophecy or merely the result of an overactive imagination? Only time will tell, but the smart money is that soon we shall see this lovely banner flying over Stockholm and Copenhagen!


Excerpt from the Radical Militiaman, ‘A New America and a New World’, 1788
 
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Flag Challenge 270: Fertility idols and mouse gods

The previous challenge explored how the people of the past perceived the present, this one will look at how the people of the future might.

Your task is to:
  1. Put yourself in the shoes of a future historian or archaeologist working with incomplete or inaccurate information and assumptions about their past
  2. Recreate a flag of a modern entity


Submissions Close: 25th June, 11:30pm GMT

Please remember to review the RULES, especially concerning flag size. For an image in a single-flag entry, the shortest side must be 600 pixels or less, and the longest side must be 1200 pixels or less.
 
Flag Challenge 270: Fertility idols and mouse gods

The previous challenge explored how the people of the past perceived the present, this one will look at how the people of the future might.

Your task is to:
  1. Put yourself in the shoes of a future historian or archaeologist working with incomplete or inaccurate information and assumptions about their past
  2. Recreate a flag of a modern entity


Submissions Close: 25th June, 11:30pm GMT

Please remember to review the RULES, especially concerning flag size. For an image in a single-flag entry, the shortest side must be 600 pixels or less, and the longest side must be 1200 pixels or less.
Sound right up my alley, but what do you mean by modern entity? Does it have to be a country that exists as of 2022? Does it include corporations or NGOs?
 
A corporation, NGO, or any other type of organisation is fine.

It doesn't have to exist or still exist as of 2022 -but the future historian should believe that it does.
 
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Carthage was one of the oldest states of the Earth That Was. Founded by princess of Tyre Dido [may be fictitious] in the ninth century BCE, it was destroyed by the Istanbulites in 146 BCE, who later rebuilt the city lavishly. In 1270 CE Louis IX of France [may be fictitious] captured Carthage. It gained independence from France in 1956 CE, when Jan Palach set himself on fire, which triggered the Arab Spring.

Disputes over the meaning and exact symbol on the flag have continued since its image was found in 952 ACE, but in general, based on Carthage's other name, La Marsa, and the red color of the flag, the current consensus of the scientific community is that it is a stylized image of some crater of Mars, probably Hellas.​
 
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Carthage was one of the oldest states of the Earth That Was. Founded by princess of Tyre Dido [may be fictitious] in the ninth century BCE, it was destroyed by the Istanbulites in 146 BCE, who later rebuilt the city lavishly. In 1270 CE Louis IX of France [may be fictitious] captured Carthage. It gained independence from France in 1956 CE, when Jan Palach set himself on fire, which triggered the Arab Spring.

Disputes over the meaning and exact symbol on the flag have continued since its image was found in 952 ACE, but in general, based on Carthage's other name, La Marsa, and the red color of the flag, the current consensus of the scientific community is that it is a stylized image of some crater of Mars, probably Hellas.​

Romans being called Istanbulites might just be the funniest thing ever.
 
Empire of Unity
Excerpt from "Musings on the Pre-Cataclysmic World" by Pyre of Aragon, Historian-in-Chief to His Majesty Roman IX High Prince of the West.

Synopsis
History before the Cataclysm is fragmentary at best however one of the prominent polities appears to have been the Empire of Unity. References to it as the Merciful North or the Holy Empire suggest the Churches did hold significant power as both the Papal Trinity and Conclave have previously claimed; though both agree there was once a single Mother Church before the Cataclysm, the Conclave states it was merely an important advisory body to the ruling Princes, whereas the Popes claim they were the authority that appointed Princes like they mostly do in the domains they hold sway in today.

Banner
Due to the proliferation of flags and banners, heraldry, and oral stories today, we can assume the then Empire also bore a banner to symbolise its domain and dominion. Common features in our heraldry would therefore be descended from features then, such as the sacred eagle, papal lillies, conclave stars (often semy), lions, bordured crosses, and banding; the use of triads and multiples thereof; the use of white with blue and red.
Looking at our oldest recorded heraldry and banners, how dyes and paints fade, and the oft contradictions with regards to colours and orientation of patterns, below is my attempt to reconcile them.


unity-empire.png
 
The Fifth Roman Empire
Quīntum Imperium Rōmānum
Fifth Roman Empire.png

The Fifth Roman Empire was formed in the year 1951 CE. Under the rule of Napoleon VI (Neāpoliō VI) the state covered most of the European continent, and claimed to be the successor state of all the previous Roman Empires. The empire was often beset with corrupt politicians and economic scandals were common. But the common people had hope and faith in Rome so they weathered the turmoil.

FDRMRZUSA. Flag of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (1805-1814) 2. 9 December 2018. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Napoleonic_Kingdom_of_Italy_(1805-1814)_2.svg. Accessed 22 June 2022.​
User:Verdy p, User:-xfi-, User:paddu, User:Nightstallion, User:Funakoshi, User:Jeltz, User:Dbenbenn, User:Zscout370. Flag of Europe. 24 August 2007. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Europe.svg. Accesed 22 June 2022.​
 
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Imperial Standard of the Empire of Disnee, one of the great powers of the pre-Burning World. Founded by Walt the Great and his brother Mickey the Magic, the initially small Kingdom would grow to be a globe spanning empire even as power slipped from Walt’s direct line. The castle is clearly a representation of the Sleeping Castle the traditional holdfast of the Empire. The arc around it recalls the famous “Wishing Star” that supposedly heralded great victories for the empire. The four symbols around are likely stylized mice, mice being a common motif in Disnee Art, sometimes hidden, sometimes featured, but always present. The four mice likely represent the Four Kingdoms the Empire ruled over. However historians cannot agree on what the Four Kingdoms were called. Some list them as Annaheim, Orlando, Euroland, and Shangtokyo Kong. Other sources claim the four kingdoms were the Kingdoms of Epcot, Hollywood, Magic, and Beastland. Still others claim the Kingdoms were Disnee Proper (also known as Old Disnee), Starwarz, Marvell, and the Land of 20 Foxes. Efforts to align the conflicting narratives have been made, some noting that Annaheim, Magic, and Old Disnee are generally accepted as the location of the Sleeping Castle and the origin of the Empire. However this connection remains tenuous, all that can reliably be said for now is that Disnee was a truly powerful empire in its day.
 
Flag Challenge 271: Colonized Europe

Your task is to draw a colonial or post-colonial flag of a European country in a world where global hegemony was achieved by another continent and Europe was colonized.

Submissions Close: 5th July, 06:00 GMT

Please remember to review the RULES, especially concerning flag size. For an image in a single-flag entry, the shortest side must be 600 pixels or less, and the longest side must be 1200 pixels or less.
 
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The end of the Mughal Reich was a cause for celebration across Europe, a symbol of colonialism’s slipping grasp. However jubilation turned to horror as the bloody Partition of Germany began. The All-Catholic League demanded, and received, a Catholic Nation, separate from the Protestant majority of Germany. However the partition was controversial, and the lines between Catholic and Protestant were not always clear. Mass communal violence followed independence, with millions fleeing across the lines drawn by the departing Mughals. In Berlin, the new Republic of Germany was declared, but in Munich the Most Catholic Republic of Bruderland, which took letters from Bavaria, Ostereich, and Rhineland and added some in to make a proper sounding word being “Brother Land,” was proclaimed. Shortly after the First Hesse War ensued, which Bruderland lost. For their flag, Bruderland took the colors of the Old Austrian Hapsburgs (deposed since the Great Mutiny) for much of the flag. The left third was given to the blue of Bavaria and the Virgin Mary, a common Catholic symbol. Notably no nods were given to those living on the Rhine border, presaging the tensions that would soon emerge within the Republic.
 
Colonized Iberia 4.png


Originally (previoulsy to the Japanese colonization) divided into the kingdoms of Castilla, Aragon, Granada and Portugal, the nation that is now known as the United Kingdom of Iberia obtained its independence from the Empire of Japan (its colonizer since the beginning of the Iberian wars between 1590 and 1630) through a combination of hard negotiations and pressure by the guerrillas of the Fronte de Liberaçao de Ibêria (Iberia Liberation Front in Iberian).

This FLI has been dedicated since the 1950s, after the end of the Great Global War, to hostigate the Teikoku Rikugun forces (Japanese Imperial Army) and the infamous iberian-recruited garrisons Teikoku Iberia Minpei (imperial Iberian militia), imperial Iberian militia), popularly known as Kuro no Kishidan / Cabaleiros Negros (Black Knights in Iberian). At the same time, the Cortes Xerales Ibêricas (Iberian National Council in Iberian) have dedicated themselves to doing political activism for the independence of Iberia by non -violent media such as strikes, demonstrations and media and political pressure.

These Cortes Xerales Ibêricas were also threatened by the acts of aggression of the extinct Lliga Catalá (Catalan League in Iberian) and the equally extinct Viriatos Lusitanos (Lusitanian Viriatos, being Viriato an ancient freedom fighter against Old Roman rule), secessionist groups of the extreme right and very violent that respectively sought the secession of the Eastern Aragon and Lusitania regions of the United Kingdom of Iberia.

Currently, the United Kingdom of Iberia (Rêino Unido da Ibêria) struggles to get ahead, after spending some turbulent first decades from its total independence in 1972 and suffering an effective civil war until 1985 (including a coup d'etat by a democratic military board in 1974, which, which He returned power after elections in November 1975, and a terrorist campaign by the terrorist groups mentioned above until their eventual destruction). However, economic dependence from former Asian-based colonizers of Europe persists, particularly by the powerful Chinese Federation and the Republic of Korea, in addition to the great presence of Japanese industries in the Iberian market.

In contrast to its economic performance not-so-good-as-they-could, the United Kingdom of Iberia has dedicated great efforts to accommodate the persistent Japanese community that resides in the country (and is estimated at 12% of the total population). This has helped all Japanese settlers who could have caused problems fled during the emergency between 1972 and 1985, remaining only those who felt more Iberian than Japanese. Discrimination is persecuted by law and severely punishable. Despite this, relations occasionally worsen due to diverse incidents, although luckily the characteristic religious syncretism of Iberia has prevented religious tensions as has happened in other neighboring countries.



The flag combines the symbology of the ancient kingdoms that made up Iberia, especially highlighting the Burgundy cross used by the last dynasty prevailing in Iberia. The blue color and the armilar sphere are symbols that date back to the reign of Manuel I of Avis, one of the last kings of the ancient kingdom of Portugal. The in turn, the coat of arms was designed as a compromise solution to include simplified weapons shields of all the kingdoms, as well as the Crown of Castile, in the same way that the Portuguese Armilar sphere was included.
 
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Union of Ghalisia-Burtuqal (1).png

Flag of the Christian Union of Galicia-Portugal (in Arabic, Ghalisia-Burtuqal), since 1845

Abbasid Colonization and Independence: After greatly declining throughout the 1100s, the Abbasid Caliphate experienced a massive revival, taking back much of their old lands in the Middle East. Defeating the Mongol Armies on the frontiers of the empire in Khorasan, the Caliphate easily managed to stay relevant for most of the rest of the 2nd Millennium. From their core territories in Iran, Mesopotamia, and the Levant, the Abbasids began to conquer European lands, and, then, subsequently sent large amounts of Arabs to settle in Europe. The Islands fell like dominoes: Cyprus, Crete, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands. Finally, the Abbasids began their conquest of Italy, Spain, and the Balkans. Along with this, they also began to conquer and settle northern India. The Byzantines were finally conquered, but this time in the 14th century by the Abbasids rather than the 15th by the Ottomans.

As the rest of the European powers struggled to hold back the tide of the Abbasid advance, the Hispanics, Portuguese, and Galicians began to prosper under the rule of the wealthy Abbasids. Finally, all religions were given (near) equality under the law. However, as the centuries wear on, nationalism took root in many of the native populations that the Abbasids had conquered. Inspired by the anti-Islamic Revolutions in 1790s France, the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula rose up against the Caliphate in 1836, and some managed to secure their independence with French support by 1840. As a result, the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula became composed of Independent States--Navarre (later unified with France), Castille (the largest and most powerful), and two smaller states, Galicia and the northern half of Portugal (The rest remains nominally Abbasid, though actually an Indpendent Emirate).

Despite these countries's independence, their economies are now comparatively worse off than during Abbasid times. A good portion of the educated Arabs in the area were forced to leave, or pushed to live in certain barren sections of the country--these Arabs were the merchants, the scholars, the poets, and the artists of Iberian Society. Though the upper classes in the Iberian states could afford to be educated in France, most peasants could not, leaving a rowdy and unstreamlined workforce without much cultural basis. With a rejection of Arabic culture, these countries had to rely heavily on ornate Catholic rituals to wow their subjects into obeying. However, by the time of independence, Arabic had become the lingua franca of all Iberian states (though unsuccessful efforts were made to change this).

Castille, with it's high amount of valuable minerals and sheer population size, quickly became the most powerful Iberian state. Galicia and Portugal were now left geopolitically isolated--French-supported Castille to the north, and the remnants of the Abbasid Caliphate's Andalusian empire to the south. Thus, in the interest of both country's independence, they decided to form a personal union in 1845, creating the Christian Union of Galicia and Portugal. This state, though still not incredibly powerful, has withstood Castilian attempts at invasion until the modern day.

The Union had largely expelled Arabs from the country by 1900, perceiving such an act as justice against their former colonizers. Galicia and Portugal today remains one of the most isolated and traditionalist states in Europe, with a struggling economy, a poorly educated populace, and a nearly-absolute Monarchy with a heavy emphasis on Catholicism. Though Iberian Islamic converts were once common in the country, most of them have been either killed or exiled from it. Conversion from Christianity to Islam is strictly prohibited on pain of death.

Meanwhile, the Abbasid Caliphate continued to decline and splinter apart into separate states, eventually only controlling Iraq, losing the Holy Land to European states, who had decided that it was time to colonize the colonizer. Arabs remain one of the most discriminated-against minorities in Europe to this day.

...

Flag of Ghalisia-Burtuqal (Union of Galicia-Portugal): For the past several hundred years, the only flag seen in Portugal and Galicia was the black standard of the Abbasid Caliph. However, throughout, memory persisted in Portugal of brave Count Henry's flag, a cross on a field of white, and of the famous Cross of the Galicians, borne by the kings of the same country. When both countries became independent in 1840, their flags were proportioned 1:1, like the battle banners of the attempted Reconquista (and also to stand in sharp contrast to the long, flowing banner of the Abbasids). The flag of (north) Portugal was white with a blue cross, and the flag of Galicia was blue with a yellow cross. However, once these countries merged, their flags were also merged together, with 4 other greek crosses in each of the corners.

The representation is this: The complete small crosses in the upper right and lower left represent the history of independence of both Kingdoms, and thus their national identities. The split small crosses in the upper left and lower right represent total unity and the protection of God. The large split cross in the middle also represents this, but also represents the continued fight for independence against the Arab invaders (as this large cross represents the historical battle banners from both Galicia and Portugal).

...

An Important Note: After tomorrow I will be gone for the next three weeks and I will not be able to respond to anything, as I will not have my computer with me.
Also note, you can find a large image of the flag (though not the image I will be using to enter the competition) below, if you want to see the flag in greater detail.
 

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