Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1907-07-11
THE FLAG IN HISTORY
ORIGIN OF NATIONAL EMRLgMs or
THE OLD WORLD.


Joan of Arc nnd the White Banner OF
Erancc-'Thc Tricnlor of holland.
st. Augustinc. tle missionary, In
troiluccd Flags Into England
The first western sovereign to adopt
a flag wi.s Clovis king Of the Franks
After His conversion 10 christianity in
the fifth ceutliry he TOOK tie 'chape lie
ST. Martin us his standard This,
according TO some writer's. WAS act,l-
ally part of the cloak which the sanity
bishop of Tours cut in two in order to
share ii with 4 bcggar ut Amiens. More
credible authorities, however, assert
that it was the blue flag of St Mar
tins abbey.
After Clovis, the Mcroviu@ian Kings
seem to have returned to the ancient
emblcms. They We're content to fight
under eagles, flowers, crosses or the
images OF saints until the time of Char
lcmagnc, who, il an old mosaic in the
Church of st. john Lateran at Rome
is To be believed, reintrosluccd the blue
flag cml,cilished With six red roses.
The color of the Frcnch tlag was
changed in 1924, when Louis the Fat
carried the red orillamb of st. Denis;
in his struggles against the German
emperor Henry " This continued To
he the official French flag down to the
battle OF Agincpurt i'm HIS. In the
meantime the blue flag had again made
its appearance, now decorated With the
tleur-delis instead of the roses of
Cllarlcmagnc. In this form it WAS car
ried at Acre and Crecy and poiticrs,
until in the fifteenth century it be-
came the banner of France
The first White flag in larcicll histo.
ry WAS the banner OF the Nir@in Marx
borne by joan of Are i'm her heroic
campaigns for the defense of the ,au-
pllin. \ pure white flag w:r; OCCASION
ally nscl by Francis L. in hi; struggles
against the Emperor Charles ". Isn't
it did not become the pelml:lnslll ros,al
banner until Horny IN. the fast iog,i.-
bon. assembled the throne in .3S.,
The trcolor OF the French revolution
was compromise. The cockadcs of
the rcvolutonists We're composed of
two colors, the red of the Paris com
munc anu tile blue of the ancient MON
alchy. In the troubled times lust pre-.
ccdinS the deposition and execution of
Louis NNl. l.aiaA cite. 10 signify the
desire of the people for Il rcconcila-
ton With their king, added the Botlr-
bon white to the cocladc. The tl.icolor
as national emblem WAS adopted by
the convention i'm 1874.
Long before this, however the tri-
color had been the national Nag of
Holland. Tho Dutch We're III fact the
first Ia use it, Mnfi Tire United Prov
inccs gained I dependence from
Spain IN the siNtrenlh cc.ltillv. accord
Ing to n favoritc old story which can.
not be authenticated. they invited Hon
~ OF Navarro 10 chaoSe their calnrs,
and he suggested orange, l,inc and
white. Wirthcr he selected this com
binatinn or not, such wnrc the colors
of Holland until some time In the sev.
| enteenth century, when the orange was
replaced by red When William of
Orange became king OF England il,
1G9s he crossed the channel under tll,
! red, white and blue
The carly Inhabitants of England
like those of other countries used en-.
blematic devices of one kind or an
other that of the SaXons being ii white
horse. The Introduction of flags Into
England is nscrited to the missionary
St Augustine and his followers. who
after the conversion of King l.ihclbsrt
according TO the Venerable Bale. ON.
tered Canterbury In procession. chant.
ing and bearing small banners.
Since the fourteenth, century the cross
of st, George has been the emblem of
the British nation perare that tiu,c i,
was worn ON The .,a4,or ~ mo ,r,,.
sodnrs o,nouo whom n ,a,,nn to y,
known rs he "iackv barring IN.
bloody civil wars Of thn nrtnrntl, con.
tnrv il wo.s nraDt;,.,ll,. s,,,.o,.sn,,.l n,
The rosos v,l,ita ma rnl ..n, il 1rm
bv n-nc,ana,,on ~ I,,nns II -.
tin.,Ilv rcn,,coa H., ,od a., u.;4,. ~,
ja.,, IN flo ,n,,,,. ins.ian na,,,nr mr.,
\ rna et,na,.a ,.f c,n,t pr,,.,:,, ID, l
| att,;n nc nr.sn,,t fa,,,, ha,,.a,.., ,,a.t
,r,,r ,,,o ,,nian ,.,tn, i.,,,,,,, ,en,
~ n,r,i,nnn,,.. ,,,,,,,,n,t =, ,>n,
| into being Inv fine addition or tl,c ,.ross
OF st. Patrick