page_title: Flag of Friuli
section_title: The origins
hierarchical_section_title: Flag of Friuli / History / The origins
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Antico vessillo patriarcale, facente parte delle vesti del Beato Patriarca Bertrando (1258 - 1350), che mostra l'aquila araldica divenuta poi simbolo del Friuli.
context_page_description: The flag of Friuli is the official standard of historical Friuli. A Friuli-Venezia Giulia Autonomous Regional law describes the flag as consisting of “…a rectangular standard featuring at its centre a golden heraldic eagle with outspread wings, headturned to the left, open beak and red claws, set in a sky blue field. The crest covers three fifths of the height of the flag, which in turn is two thirds of its length.”
  The Friulian flag first came to be in 1334, making it the seventh oldest flag in Europe.
context_section_description: The flag of Friuli originated in “Patria del Friuli”, the patriarchal state of Aquileia (also referred to as the patriarchal state of Friuli). The patriarchal state of Aquileia was a sovereign vassal state of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled from 1077 to 1420. The patriarchal state also ruled over the territories of Istria, Cadore, Carinthia, Carniola, and Styria for various periods of time.
  The earliest and most widely recognised example of the Friulian flag can be seen at the museum of the Duomo of Udine. The flag is an impressive 61 x 65.5 cm quadrangular piece of grey-azure (bright blue) silk cloth. A yellow bodied eagle with red claws and its head turned to the left is featured at the centre of the flag. The flag was part of the funeral goods of the patriarch Bertrand of Saint-Geniès who was the patriarch of Aquileia from 1334 until his death in 1350 when Friulian nobles conspired to brutally murder him.
  Various theories have been proposed to explain why the flag depicts an eagle, but none has been proven. According to some, the crest is a reference to the origin myth of the city of Aquileia (however, it is a proven fact that the place-name “Aquileia” does not come from the “aquila” Latin noun for “eagle,” but from Celtic dialects). Other theories allege that it is a reproduction of the coat of arm of patriarch Bertrand. However, as is apparent from his seal kept at Civici Musei di Udine (inv. no. 413), the family’s coat of arms of the Occitan patriarch actually depicted a “shield with crossbars”.
  In addition, there is a further theory, though dubious, suggesting that instead of an eagle the crest depicts an actual griffon. This does not appear to be plausible, as in heraldry a griffon is always depicted as a chimeric figure. Such a theory cannot be supported by the fact that the head and the collar resemble those more of a griffon, as the stylisation dates back to the Medieval times. Conclusive evidence comes from the established fact that an eagle was adopted as a symbol of the Patria del Friuli over a century before the 14th-century flag.
  Indeed, the eagle symbol was tied to the state of Friuli long before its connection with the patriarch Bertrand. Confirmation of this fact can be seen in the numerous archaeological findings that trace the utilisation of the eagle to Wolfger von Erla who was patriarch of Aquileia from 1204 to 1218. An eagle similar to that of patriarch Bertrand was found on coins minted under the leadership of patriarch Berthold von Andechs-Meranien, successor of Wolfger, who ruled the patriarchal state of Friuli from 1218 to 1251. Even on the coins minted by patriarch Raimondo della Torre (ruling the Friulian state from 1273 to 1298) the similarities to the eagle of patriarch Bertrand are evident. Even today, an ancient polychrome fresco depicting the Friulian eagle is clearly visible in Udine on the façade of Palazzo Susanna di Prampero (Palazzetto Puppi) overlooking via Savorgnana.
caption: An old patriarchal standard that was part of the funerary goods of the Blessed Patriarch Bertrand (1258-1350).
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