Flag of Orkney - Citizendia

Orkney Community Flag

The new official^[1] Orkney Community Flag was the winner of a public flag consultation^[2] in February and March 2007. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. In the flag consultation the people of Orkney were asked for their preferred design from a short list of 5 ^[3], all of which had been approved by the Court of the Lord Lyon. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north The Court of the Lord Lyon, also known as the Lyon Court, is a standing Court of law which regulates Heraldry in Scotland. The chosen design was that of Duncan Tullock of Birsay, which polled 53% of the only 200 votes cast by the public. Birsay ( Old Norse: Birgisherað)is a Parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. ^[4]

The colours red and yellow are from the Scottish and Norwegian Royal coats of arms, which both use yellow and red, with a rampant lion. The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland was the official Coat of arms of the monarchs of Scotland, and were used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of The Coat of Arms of Norway is one of the oldest in Europe. It originated as a personal coat of arms for the royal house. In Heraldry and Vexillology, a charge is an image occupying the field on an escutcheon (or shield The flag symbolises the islands' Scottish and Norwegian heritage. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The blue is taken from the flag of Scotland and also represents the sea and the maritime heritage of the islands. The Flag of Scotland is a white Saltire, a crux decussate (X-shaped cross representing the Cross of the Christian Martyr

The new flag resembles the flags of Norway (white for yellow) and Åland (colours reversed). The flag of Norway is red with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag the vertical part of the cross is shifted The flag of Åland refers to the geographical and political position of the Finnish islands of Åland just off the coast of Sweden: it is the The issue of the supposed similarity with the flag of the Norwegian fascist Vidkun Quisling's party Nasjonal Samling^[5] was raised in The Orcadian in May of 2007. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945 was a Norwegian army Officer and politician Nasjonal Samling (Norwegian for "National Gathering" or "National Unification" hereafter abbreviated as NS was a fascist party in Norway The Orcadian is the oldest newspaper in Orkney, United Kingdom, first published in 1854 ^[6] That flag did however not include the blue cross, which make the two easily distinguishable. A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other dividing one or two of the lines in half It should also be noted that a red-yellow flag was, and still is, used by people in Skåneland years before Nasjonal Samling used a red-yellow Cross Flag. The "flag of Skåneland", or the Scanian Cross Flag is a provincial flag representing Scania, the southernmost province of Sweden. A red-yellow Cross Flag is also used by Swedish-Finns. Swedish -speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Fennoswedes or Swedish Finns, see below ( Swedish

Former Flag of Orkney

The former (unofficial) Flag of Orkney

The previous though unofficial flag of Orkney was that created in the mid-1990s and attributed to St Magnus,^[4] a yellow field with a red Nordic cross. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Saint Magnus, Earl Magnus Erlendsson of Orkney, was the first Earl of Orkney to bear that name and ruled from 1108 to about 1115 Nordic Cross Flag Nordic Cross Scandinavian Cross is a pattern of flags usually associated with the Flags of the Scandinavian countries of which it originated St Magnus (Magnus Erlendsson) was Earl of Orkney from 1108 to 1117. Earldom of Orkney The Earl of Orkney was originally a Norse jarl ruling Orkney, Shetland and parts of Caithness and Sutherland However, there is nothing to connect him to the red cross on yellow, this being an attribution of our day. This flag has no official status, having been declined recognition by the Lord Lyon, the heraldic authority of Scotland, due to similarity with the Arms of Ulster (themselves adopted from the Arms of John de Courcy). The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. Ulster ( Ulaidh ˈkwɪɟɪ ˈʌlˠu / ˈʌlˠi is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster John de Courcy (1160 &ndash 1219 was a Norman knight who arrived in Ireland in 1177 A similar flag is also sometimes said to be flown by Finland-Swedes, but this flag has the opposite colours: Yellow cross on red. Swedish -speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Fennoswedes or Swedish Finns, see below ( Swedish Historically, the red cross on yellow is likely the flag of the Kalmar Union (a Medieval Scandinavian state that Orkney was a part of). The Flag of the Kalmar Union was derived from the Dannebrog, bearing a Christian Cross. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well

Former Flag of Orkney

References

See also