Symboler

In late January 1973 twenty-one people from Denmark, Norway and Sweden met in Copenhagen to establish an association aimed at promoting vexillology in the five Nordic countries. Chaired by Christian Fogd Pedersen, Denmark, the meeting was held on 27 January 1973 in the Frederiksberg main library. Klaes Sierksma, Secretary General of FIAV, represented the international vexillological community and gave a presentation on the Frisian flag. Atle Grahl-Madsen of Norway presented his work on Norwegian flag legislation, while Karl-Erik Weggerup from Sweden talked about the flag of Scania. Those present agreed to form a Nordic Flag Society and a board, consisting of two representatives from each the three Scandinavian countries, was appointed.

 

The first flag of the Nordic Flag Society

Naturally the society needed a flag. Dr. Atle Grahl-Madsen brought to the meeting a proposal, sew up in full size: A medium blue field with a yellow pennant-shaped triangle based on the hoist side and with a red Scandinavian cross set on the yellow triangle. By combining the blue field and the red cross on yellow, the idea was to symbolize a flag on a flag. Red and yellow suggested the union colours of the Union of Calmar and the off-set cross represented the Scandinavian type of cross flags. The founding meeting unanimously adopted Grahl-Madsen’s proposal as the flag of the Nordic Flag Society and the original flag was handed over to the society. A description, in English, of the flag was communicated to flag societies in other countries.

 

A flag incident between vexillologists

This design drew criticism from the start. Upon hearing the news of the formation of the Nordic Flag Society and the adoption of its flag, Flagmaster, the publication of the British Flag Institute, went public for the first time with its own flag, obviously similar to that of the Nordic Flag Society, except for the use of white instead of yellow in the triangle. This flag, explained Flagmaster (No. 9, Spring, 1973), had “not been widely publicised before,” though it had been “in a state of gestation” since the founding of the Flag Institute in 1971. It remains unclear whether the designer of the Nordic Flag Society flag actually knew of the Flag Institute’s plans.

 

At the fifth International Congress of Vexillology, held in London in September 1973, the Nordic Flag Society met to apply for FIAV membership. The question of the applicant society’s flag was raised before the FIAV general assembly (see Flagmaster, No. 11/12, Autumn/Winter, 1973). However, no final solution was found, and the Nordic Flag Society kept its flag for many years.

 

The flag is changed

The similarity between the flags of the two vexillological societies worried members of the Nordic Flag Society for some time. In the 1986 issue of the society’s newsletter, chairman and editor Ole Bjerring raised the question of finding new symbols. Members were invited to submit proposals and an award of a bottle of wine was offered to the artist responsible for the successful entry.

 

Half a year later, in the spring 1987 issue of Nordisk Flagkontakt, six proposals for a new flag were presented. The proposals sought to express some Nordic theme, either in colours or in other design elements. Some saw red and yellow as the Nordic colours, other favoured blue and white, whereas other still sought to combine all colours of the flags of the Nordic colours in one single cross flag. Several designs played on variations on the Nordic cross flag. Prominent among proposals was design A, in which the FIAV knot of vexillology was dressed up in the Nordic colours of red for the field and yellow for the knot, and which had an extra set of halyards, also in yellow and running vertically, added to give the new flag the appearance of a Nordic cross flag. This innovative design seemed to compete for favour with design F which combined all colours found in the national flags of the Nordic countries in a single cross flag.

 

Initially the board of the Nordic Flag Society was unable to reach agreement on which proposal to recommend, and members were invited to write in to give their opinions about the best new design. However, as the annual general meeting scheduled for Gothenburg in October 1987 approached, the board did agree on proposing the design containing the knot with halyards as the new flag. The design was proposed by Ole Bjerring, who originally suggested that the field be red and the knot and halyards be yellow. Following a suggestion from Magnus Persson, Sweden, the board proposed to change around the colours, thus making the field yellow and the charges red. The change of symbols for the Nordic Flag Society was eventually instituted by the Nordic Flag Society General Assembly meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 17. October 1987.

 

Symbolism of the Nordic Flag Society’s flag

In sum, the flag of the Nordic Flag Society combines three sets of symbolism. First, the colours yellow and red are indicative of the historical community of the Nordic countries for which the Nordic Flag Society was formed to promote vexillology. The Union of Calmar (1397-1521), which brought together the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and which also encompassed territories that are today the independent republics of Finland and Iceland, may have had a cross flag with a red cross on a yellow field. In our time this flag has been revived by associations working for the strengthening of cultural ties between the five Nordic countries.

 

Second, the attachment of the Nordic Flag Society to the Nordic region is also expressed in the fact that the society’s flag is in the shape of a Nordic (Scandinavian) cross flag. This shape may also be seen as pointing to the long and rich flag history of the Nordic countries.

 

Third and finally, the use of the knot, the international symbol of vexillology, shows that the Nordic Flag Society is devoted to promote vexillology in the Nordic countries and that the society is a member of the international community of vexillological associations.

 

The Nordic Flag Society also has a coat of arms and an emblem, both adopted in 1987. Based on the society’s flag the, the coat of arms consists of a yellow (gold) shield charged with the red knot of vexillology and halyards. As opposed to its orientation in the flag the knot is vertically oriented in the arms. The emblem is in the shape of a seal and has the arms in centre. Around the shield are inscribed the name of the society in the five Nordic languages: Nordisk Flagselskab (Danish), Pohjoismaiden Lippuseura (Finnish), Norræna Fánafélagið (Icelandic), Nordisk Flaggselskap (Norwegian), and Nordiska Flaggsällskapet (Swedish). The letters and the rings are all red and set against a white background.