Banner o Romanie

The naitional **banner o [[Romanie]]** () is a tricolour wi vertical stripes: beginnin frae the flagpole, blue, yellae an reid. It haes a width-lenth ratio o 2:3.

The Constitution o Romanie provides that “The flag o Romanie is tricolour; the colors are arranged vertically in the follaein order frae the flagpole: blue, yellae, red”. The proportions, shades o colour as well as the banner protocol wur established bi law in 1994 an extendit in 2001.

The banner is coincidentally vera seemilar tae the ceevil Banner o Andorrae an the state Banner o Chad. The similarity wi Chad’s banner, which differs anerlie in haein a daurker shade o blue (indigo rather than cobalt), haes caused internaitional discussion. In 2004 Chad asked the Unitit Naitions tae examine the issue, but then-preses o Romanie Ion Iliescu annoonced nae chynge wad occur tae the banner. The Banner o Moldova is relatit tae the Romanian tricolour, except it haes a 1:2 ratio, a lichter shade o blue an the Moldavian coat o airms in the middle.

## Colors
The law mentioned abuin specifies that the stripes o the naitional banner are cobalt blue, chrome yellae an vermilion red. The publication *Album des pavillons nationaux et des marques distinctives* (2000) suggests the follaein equivalents in the Pantone scale:

## History an significance o the colors

Red, yellae an blue wur foond on late 16t century ryal grants o Michael the Brave, as well as shields an banners. Durin the Wallachian uprisin o 1821, thay wur present on the canvas o the revolutionaries’ banner an its fringes; for the first time a meanin wis attributit tae them: “Liberty (sky-blue), Juistice (field yellae), Fraternity (blood red)”.

The tricolour wis first adoptit in Wallachie in 1834, when the reformin *[[domnitor]]* Alexandru II Ghica submittit naval an military colors designs for the approval o Sultan Mahmud II. The latter wis a “flag wi a red, blue an yellae face, an aa haein starns an a bird’s head in the middle”. Suin, the order o colors wis chynged, wi yellae appearin in the center.

In 1848, the banner adoptit for Wallachie bi the revolutionaries that year wis a blue-yellae-red tricolour (wi blue abuin, in line wi the meanin “Liberty, Justice, Fraternity”). Awready on 26 Aprile, accordin tae *[[Gazeta de Transilvania]]*, Romanian students in Paris wur hailin the new govrenment wi a blue, gowd an reid naitional banner, “as a seembol o union atween Moldavians an Muntenians”. Decree no. 1 o 14/26 Juin 1848 o the proveesional govrenment mentioned that “the Naitional Flag will bear three colors: blue, yellae, red”, emblazoned wi the wirds “DPEПTATE ФPЪЦIE” (*Dreptate, Frăţie* or “Juistice, Fraternity”). It differed frae earlier tricolors in that the blue stripe wis on tap, the princely monogram wis eliminatit frae the corners, as wis the croun atop the eagle at the end o the flagpole, while a motto wis nou present.

Nivertheless, decree no. 252 o 13/25 Julie 1848, issued acause “it haes no been unnerstuid [yet] hou the naitional flags shoud be designed”, defined the banner as three *vertical* stripes, possibly influenced bi the French model. The shades war “dark blue, light yellow and carmine red”; as for order, “near the wood comes blue, then yellae an then red flutterin”.

Petre Vasiliu-Năsturel observes that frae a heraldic pynt o view, on the French as well as the revolutionary Wallachian banner, the middle stripe represents a heraldic metal (argent an or respectively), thus, the twoa flags coud be relatit. Ither historians believe that the tricolour wis no an imitation o the French banner, instead embodyin an auld Romanian tradeetion. This theory is supportit bi a note frae the revolutionary meenister o foreign affairs tae Emin Pasha: “the colors o the baund that we, the leaders wear, as well as aw oor follaers, are no o modren oreegin. We hae haed oor flags syne an earlier time. When we received the tricolour insignie an baunds we did no follae the spirit o imitation or fashion”. The same meenister assured the extraordinary envoy o the Porte, Suleiman Pasha, that the banner’s three colors haed existit “for a lang time; oor ancestors bore them on their staundart an their flags. So they are no a borraein or an imitation frae the present or a threat for the future”.

Efter the revolution wis quelled, the auld flags wur restored an the revolutionaries punished for haein worn the tricolour.

Frae 1859 till 1866, the Unitit Principalities o Wallachie an Moldavie haed a reid-yellae-blue Romanian tricolour, wi horizontal stripes, as the naitional banner. The banner wis describit properly in *Almanahul român din 1866*: “a tricolour flag, dividit in three stripes, red, yellae an blue an laid oot horizontally: red abuin, blue belaw an yellae in the middle”. Awtho the Ottoman Empire did no allou the Unitit Principalities tae hae thair awn seembols, the new banner gained a degree o internaitional recognition. Relatin prince Cuza’s Mey–Juin 1864 journey tae Constantinople, doctor Carol Davila observed: “The Romanian flag wis raised on the great mast, the Sultan’s kayaks awaitit us, the guard wis airmed, the Grand Vizier at the door… The Prince, quiet, dignified, concise in his speech, spent 20 minutes wi the Sultan, who then came tae review us… Ance again, the Grand Vizier led the Prince tae the main gate an we returned tae the Europe Palace, the Romanian flag still flutterin on the mast…”.

Airticle 124 o the 1866 Constitution o Romanie providit that “the colors o the Unitit Principalities will be Blue, Yellae an Red”. The order an placement o the colors wur decidit bi the Assembly o Deputies in its session o 26 Mairch 1867. Thus, follaein a proposal bi Nicolae Golescu, thay wur placed juist as in 1848: vertically an in the follaeing order: blue hoist, yellae in the middle an reid flee. The kintra’s coat o airms wis placed anerlie on airmy an princely flags, in the center; ceevilian flags remained athoot a coat o airms. The same distinction wis made atween flags o the Navy an those o the ceevil an merchant ships.

The rapporteur Mihail Kogălniceanu, who an aa conveyed the opinion o Cezar Bolliac, Dimitrie Brătianu, Constantin Grigorescu, Ion Leca, Nicolae Golescu an Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, said: “The tricolour flag as it is the day is no (as the meenister claims) the flag o the United Principalities. It is muckle mair: it is itsel the flag o the Romanian naition in aw lands inhabitit bi Romanians”.

The “Law for modifyin the kintra’s airms” o 11/23 Mairch 1872 did no chynge these provisions, anerlie the design o the coat o airms. This design o the naitional banner lastit till 1948.

On 30 December 1947, Romania wis proclaimed a fowkrepublic an aw the ex-kinrick’s seembols wur ootlawed, includin the coat o airms an the tricolour flags that showed it. Durin the communist era in Romanie, the state banner haed the emblem o the kintra in the middle o the yellae stripe, an for the first time the 2:3 proportion wis regulatit bi law. Till 1989, nae less nor fower coat o airms wur chynged.

Stairtin on 17 December 1989, durin the revolution at Timişoara, the coat o airms o the Romanian Socialist Republic began tae be ripped aff the flags, bein perceived as a seembol o Nicolae Ceauşescu’s dictatorial regime. These flags wur cried “the flag wi the hole”.

Decree-Law no. 2 o 27 December 1989 regardin the membership, organization an functionin o the Cooncil o the Naitional Salvation Front an o the territorial cooncils o the Naitional Salvation Front. providit at airticle 1, amang ither matters, that “the naitional flag is the traditional tricolour o Romanie, wi the colors laid oot vertically, in the follaein order, stairtin frae the flagpole: blue, yellae, red”.

## References