Last modified: 2021-08-25 by christopher oehler
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by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 7 October 2009
by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 7 October 2009
Source: [sig12] flagchart 62. I've interpreted the ratio as being 5:8. As far as I can see, the colours are the standard yellow and blue Siegel uses. Before this, he gives the exact same image, but with the colours reversed. t62/c1/r/1
Both are captioned "Handelsflagge 1820" (Merchant Ensign). The year 1820
suggests that his source in this case is a Danish Flag collection:
"Samling af Nation Flage og Wimpler v. J. Hjorth. Kiöbenhavn 1820." [hjo20].
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 7 October 2009
I must say I find this yellow flag pretty unlikely, since Swedish flags always have
been blue with yellow crosses. So my guess is, this is an error in SIEGEL's
flagchart.
Elias Granqvist, 31 July 2010
In those days, this flag can be considered to have been state flag, too.
Merchant vessels frequently used the three-tailed flag, even though they formally
had no right to. Using the flag of the King and navy, would give an impression
that a vessel had guns or was under the protection of the King. The same thing
happened in Denmark-Norway. Only in 1663 was an ordinance issued in Sweden prohibiting
merchantmen from using the three-tailed flag. On land, the flag (splitflag) was
only flown from castles and fortresses. In the book Från fälttåg till folkfest
(1993), there is a detail from a picture of Fort Christina in
Delaware showing the three tongued flag flying over the
fort. The picture was made in 1654.
Jan Oskar Engene, 1998
1761-1813 there was an all blue three-tongued flag - it was used by the "archipelago
fleet" (skärgårdsflottan) (the fleet of the army), a fleet of light ships to be
used in the Swedish archipelago.
(Literature: Jan von Konow: Svenska flaggan, Atlantis, Stockholm 1986)
Elias Granqvist, 18 November 1999
by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 7 October 2009
The third flag on the same line [in Siegel's flagcharts (1912) [sig12]; cf above at this page], t62/c3/r/1, is an all blue three-tongued splitflag. It's captioned "Scheerenflotte 1820". (Skerry Fleet) The year suggests the same source [i.e. a Danish Flag collection: "Samling of Nation Flage og Wimpler" v. J. Hjorth. Kiöbenhavn 1820]. This probably refers to the military Skerry Fleet of Sweden, as it existed in the latter part of the 18th century.Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 7 October 2009
In 1569, King John III decided that all Swedish flags used at the peace
negotiations
with the Danes in Knäred should be blue with a yellow cross, because they had
been like that "as of old". However, this is the first official decision known
to state this. (See also the text about the flag and arms of
Finland Proper.)
Elias Granqvist, 14 March 2001
The present navy ensign was also used prior to 1815. The oldest source for this is a colourful drawing from the 1620's which now is held at the War Archive. The first act of law which mentions this flag is a Flag Act of 1663, in which it was decided, merchant ships where not allowed to fly the swallow tailed flag.
(Literature: Jan von Konow: Svenska flaggan, 1986 [knw86a])
Elias Granqvist, 18 November 1999
According to Dr. Paul Warming, heraldry advisor of the Danish kingdom, the flag of Sweden was blue with WHITE cross before 1520.
Source: K. Sierksma in vexillinfo 43 [vxf]
Jaume Ollé, 23 July 2001
Flag Bulletin vol. XXVI, #120, Jan.-June 1987, p. 164 has an abstract of a paper presented at the 10th International Congress of Vexillology which was entitled "A Surprising Vexillological Discovery Made Through the Study of Heraldry" by Dr. Warming. The paper states that an armorial of the Order of the Golden Fleece shows eight blue flags with white off-center crosses for Christian II, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Since Christian received the Collar of the Order on 4 Nov. 1520, the day of his coronation as King of Sweden, Warming proposed that the white on blue flags were intended to represent the Kingdom of Sweden. He also said that a 1761 Royal decree indicated that the cross had been white before being changed to yellow.
Since this was only a very short abstract I do not know what details might
have been given about the 1761 decree, nor if the author considered the possibility
of oxidized pigment in the armorial.
Ned Smith, 25 July 2001