Imperial banners used by Holy Roman Emperor
The
flag of the Holy Roman Empire
was not a
national flag
, but rather an imperial
banner
used by the
Holy Roman Emperor
;
black
and
gold
were used as the colours of the imperial banner, a black
eagle
on a golden background. After the late 13th or early 14th century, the claws and beak of the
eagle
were coloured
red
. From the early 15th century, a
double-headed eagle
[1]
was used.
In 1804,
Napoleon Bonaparte
declared the
First French Empire
. In response to this,
Emperor Francis II
of the
Habsburg dynasty
declared his personal domain to be the
Austrian Empire
and became Francis I of Austria. Taking the colours of the banner of the Holy Roman Emperor, the flag of the Austrian Empire was black and gold. Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, with Napoleon forcing the empire's dissolution in 1806. After this point, these colours continued to be used as the
flag of Austria
until 1918.
The colours red and
white
were also significant during this period. When the
Holy Roman Empire
took part in the
Crusades
, a
war flag
was flown alongside the black-gold imperial banner. This flag, known as the "Saint George Flag", was a white
cross
on a red background: the reverse of the
St George's Cross
used as the
flag of Lombardy
and
England
.
[1]
Red and white were also colours of the
Hanseatic League
(13th?17th centuries). Hanseatic trading ships were identifiable by their red-white pennants and most Hanseatic cities adopted red and white as their city colours (see
Hanseatic flags
). Red and white still feature as the colours of many former Hanseatic cities such as
Hamburg
or
Bremen
.
In
northern Italy
, during the conflict between the
Guelphs and Ghibellines
in the 12th to 14th centuries, the armies of the Ghibelline (pro-imperial) communes adopted the war banner of the Holy Roman Emperor (white cross on red) as their own, while the Guelph (anti-imperial) communes reversed the colours (red cross on white). These two schemes are prevalent in the modern civic
heraldry
of northern Italian towns and remains a revealing indicator of their past factional leanings. Traditionally Ghibelline towns like
Pavia
,
Novara
,
Como
, and
Asti
continue to display the Ghibelline cross. The Guelph cross can be found on the civic
arms
of traditionally Guelph towns like
Milan
,
Vercelli
,
Alessandria
,
Reggio
, and
Bologna
.
Imperial banners
[
edit
]
According to
Meyers Konversations-Lexikon
of 1897 (under the heading "Banner"), the German Imperial Banner at the time of
Henry the Fowler
(
r.
919?936) and
Otto the Great
(
r.
936?973) depicted the
Archangel Michael
; at the time of
Frederick Barbarossa
(
r.
1152?90), an eagle; at the time of
Otto IV
(
r.
1198?1215) an eagle hovering over a dragon, and since the time of
Sigismund
(
r.
1410?37), and "perhaps earlier", the
Imperial Eagle
, namely a black eagle in a yellow field, bearing the arms of the emperor's house on its breast.
Reconstructions
|
Date
|
Use
|
Description
|
|
14th century
|
The earliest Imperial Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor and royal banner of the
King of the Romans
|
Or, an
eagle sable
displayed
|
|
early 1400s
|
Imperial Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor
|
Or, an
Imperial Eagle
displayed with a halo sable armed and langued gules
|
|
c.
1430
?1806
|
Imperial Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor
|
Or, a
double-headed
Imperial Eagle
displayed with a halo sable armed and langued gules
|
|
1437?1493
|
Imperial Banner of
Frederick III
|
The Imperial banner with an
escutcheon
of the
coat of arms
of Frederick III (gules, a fess argent)
|
|
1493?1556
|
Imperial Banner of
Maximilian I
and
Charles V
|
The Imperial banner with an escutcheon of the coat of arms of Maximilian I (gules a fess argent, impaling bendy of six Or and azure a bordure gules)
|
|
1519?1556
|
Imperial Banner of
Charles V
|
The Imperial banner with an escutcheon of the coat of arms of Charles V
|
War flag
[
edit
]
The
Reichsfahne
(Imperial flag) was a field ensign of the Holy Roman Empire, originally an equestrian flag or
gonfalon
. An early bearer was Werner I,
count of Winterthur
, who carried the flag for
Conrad II
and
Henry III
and who died in the
battle at Br?dek
in 1040. In the 12th century, the
Reichsfahne
apparently
[
clarification needed
]
showed a white cross on a red field. It was the sign of the united armed forces of the Empire until the late 15th century, but it could be sent by the
king
to local lords to sanction them in their defense of
Landfrieden
. Thus,
king Sigismund
gave the banner to the
Swiss Confederacy
, sanctioning their war against the
Habsburgs
in 1415.
In the late medieval period, the cross design of the
Reichsfahne
was replaced by the
Imperial eagle
. It was treated as an Imperial
fief
traditionally granted to Swabian nobles. In 1336, it was granted to
Ulrich III, Count of Wurttemberg
. On this occasion, it was first referred to as the
Reichssturmfahne
("Imperial War Flag"). It remained part of the heraldic insignia of the
House of Wurttemberg
until the 19th century. The flag itself was kept in
Stuttgart
until 1944, when it was destroyed in a
bombing raid
. The flag showed the imperial eagle in a square field, with a red
Schwenkel
(
pennon
) on top. It is not to be confused with the
Reichsrennfahne
, granted to the
Electors of Saxony
in their function as
Reichserzmarschall
. This latter flag showed two crossed swords in a black and white field.
[2]
[3]
Flag
|
Date
|
Use
|
Description
|
|
12th?early 14th centuries
|
Reichssturmfahne (
War flag
, used alongside the Imperial Banner)
|
It likely developed in the 12th century during the crusades, and was in use as Imperial War Flag during the 13th and early 14th centuries. It was smaller than the imperial banner, carried before the emperor or his appointed commander in battle.
|
|
15th century
|
Reichssturmfahne
|
|
|
15th century
|
Reichsrennfahne
|
|
Free Imperial Cities
[
edit
]
Some
free imperial cities
took to displaying symbols of the empire, especially the
Imperial eagle
, as part of their flags or coats of arms.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Flags of the Holy Roman Empire
at Wikimedia Commons