JCC [Vexillology] ITT I rate flags

You already rated Slovenia, how about other former Yugoslav republics?

Croatia
[image=http://flagsandanthems.com/media/flags/flag-croatia.gif]

Serbia
[image=http://www.topfoto.co.uk/contactus/worldagents/Flags/Serbia.GIF]

Bosnia and Herzegovina
[image=http://balkans360.com/images/balkans-countries-flags/national-flag-of-bosnia-and-herzegovina.gif]

Montenegro
[image=http://www.montenegroskilodge.co.uk/images/Montenegro_Flag.gif]

Macedonia
[image=http://flagsandanthems.com/media/flags/flag-macedonia.gif]

 

That's pretty cool. I can honestly say I've never seen a flag featuring a decapitation before. 7/10

Croatia

[image=http://flagsandanthems.com/media/flags/flag-croatia.gif]

All right I suppose. Good job it has the shield or I'd confuse it with the Dutch flag. 6/10

Montenegro

[image=http://www.montenegroskilodge.co.uk/images/Montenegro_Flag.gif]

I like this one. The colours are good, and the double-headed eagle is awesome. 9/10

Macedonia

[image=http://flagsandanthems.com/media/flags/flag-macedonia.gif]

Pretty bright this one. Imagine waking up to that every morning. 7/10

Bosnia and Herzegovina

This is in my first post.

 

New Zealand Naval Ensign

[image=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/n/nz~naval.gif]

White and fluffy! The red Southern Cross looks good on this one. 7/10

US Naval Jack

[image=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1nj.gif]

It's bold, but who keeps treading on snakes? This dates back to the Revolution, so it scores points for tradition. 7/10

French Naval Ensign

[image=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/f/fr~.gif]

Just the flag of France you say, but look closer. Each bar gets slightly wider, apparently to give it better "optical proportions" when flying. 6/10

 

Sam,

I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread and much appreciated your sense of humour herein. However, I am still a little disappointed that the Union Jack did not receive the full 10 that it so clearly deserves. Whilst I'm happy to agree with your review of the Uraguayan banner - as it is indeed a design classic - I wonder whether it would be possible for you to have another look at your rating for the UK's flag, and give it the recognition it so clearly deserves.

Your help in this matter would be very much appreciated.

Cheers,
Jay.


-JR

 

Also, could you please explain the U.S. Navy's apparent concern with snakes. I do not think that snakes live in the ocean, but I am now worried that U.S. Naval vessels may be infested with them.

Sincerely,

ophelia

 

Thanks Jay, it's always nice to know people enjoying this thread. I rated the old Union Flag, but haven't got around to the current one yet. When I do I'll be sure to take your comments into consideration.

ophelia: I honestly don't know the history behind the snake. According to Wikipedia:

In late 1775, as the first ships of the Continental Navy readied in the Delaware River, Commodore Esek Hopkins issued, in a set of fleet signals, an instruction directing his vessels to fly a "striped" jack and ensign. The exact design of these flags is unknown. The ensign was likely to have been the Grand Union Flag, and the jack a simplified version of the ensign: a field of 13 horizontal red and white stripes. However, the jack has traditionally been depicted as consisting of thirteen red and white stripes charged with an uncoiled rattlesnake and the motto "Dont [sic] Tread on Me"; this tradition dates at least back to 1880, when this design appeared in a color plate in Admiral George Henry Preble's influential History of the Flag of the United States. Recent scholarship, however, has demonstrated that this inferred design never actually existed but "was a 19th-century mistake based on an erroneous 1776 engraving".[1]

The rattlesnake had long been a symbol of resistance to the British in Colonial America. The phrase "Don't tread on me" was coined during the American Revolutionary War, a variant perhaps of the snake severed in segments labelled with the names of the colonies and the legend "Join, or Die" which had appeared first in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754, as a political cartoon reflecting on the Albany Congress.

So I guess it's not as old as I thought.

 

To get into the St Patrick's Day spirit:

St Patrick's Cross

[image=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/i/ie-stpat.gif]

A nice simple red saltire. What's not to like about it? However, compared to the crosses of St George and St Andrew, it's not as striking or unique as it could be. 6/10

The "Green" Flag

[image=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/i/ie-green.gif]

This has had several uses throughout history, and is currently used as the naval jack. Gold on green always looks nice, and the harp is a neat little device. 8/10

Ulster

[image=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/i/ie-uls.gif]

Bright colours. I'm not sure about the hand though, it's like the ultimate talk-to-the-hand flag. 7/10

 

You missed Serbia, though.

 

Do you rate roundels as well? Britain would probably win, because it's transcended into pop culture. But the WWII-era American one is my favorite.

 

[image=http://myhomequestusa.com/images/flags/indiana.jpg]
State of Indiana...or if you were paying attention, the City of Gotham Flag in Burton's first Batman movie.

[image=http://speakersassociation.org/IndianapolisCityFlag.JPG]
City of Indianapolis

 

Well I can certainly do flags with roundels.

Royal Air Force

[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Ensign_of_the_Royal_Air_Force.svg/500px-Ensign_of_the_Royal_Air_Force.svg.png]

Pretty straight forward this one, but I do like the shade of blue used for the background. 8/10

Royal New Zealand Air Force

[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Ensign_of_the_Royal_New_Zealand_Air_Force.svg/600px-Ensign_of_the_Royal_New_Zealand_Air_Force.svg.png]

Wait, isn't this the same flag? I wonder what creative genius came up with this one.

"OK chaps, we need a flag for our new air force."
"It'll be such a pity to waste all these RAF flags we've been using."
"Why don't we just sew NZ into the red bit?"
"Bloody good idea!"

Funny thing is, we don't even use this roundel (the red circle is a red kiwi), but the flag hasn't changed. 5/10

Indian Air Force

[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Ensign_of_the_Indian_Air_Force.svg/500px-Ensign_of_the_Indian_Air_Force.svg.png]

Again with the copy cat! At least they're using their own flag this time. 6/10

Yeah, I always though I recognised that flag. I love it, a burst of stars! 9/10

City of Indianapolis

[image=http://speakersassociation.org/IndianapolisCityFlag.JPG]

I've never seen this one, I like it though. It's simple yet somewhat unique. 8/10

 

[image=http://www.flags.net/images/largeflags/SAMA0001.GIF]

San Marino...?


-JR

 

Most Serene Republic of San Marino

[image=http://www.flags.net/images/largeflags/SAMA0001.GIF]

Yes, it's all right, but has a very subtle and quiet feeling about it. The coat of arms is interesting, but lacks any real punch, know what I mean? 6/10

 

Yeah, it's a beautiful blue.
I'd have probably given it an extra point, but then it's not my thread, is it?




-JR

 

[image=http://www.arcodisplay.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/Bandera_ARAGON_p_49c8ffe7261d1.jpg]

Aragon


[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Flag_of_Zaragoza_province_%28with_coat_of_arms%29.svg/797px-Flag_of_Zaragoza_province_%28with_coat_of_arms%29.svg.png]

Province of Zaragoza


[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Bandera_de_Zaragoza.svg/634px-Bandera_de_Zaragoza.svg.png]

City of Zaragoza

 

[image=http://unimaps.com/flags-africa/mozambique-flag.gif]
Mozambique

[image=http://www.mapsofworld.com/images/world-countries-flags/isle-of-man-flag.gif]
Isle of Man

[image=http://www.euromotutoys.be/documents/t_U_S_S__Flagg__Box___Front__Photo_1_1.jpg]
USS Flagg

 

[image=http://www.freestatecorvette.com/Portals/0/state-flag-maryland-480.jpg]

The State of Maryland

 

That's a good point Jello, I never thought about it before. According to this:

"This is surely among the oldest republics to do so, but a number of other republics in the region did (and some still do) the same. The crown is here symbol of sovereignity and independence rather then the hereditary monarchy. Some examples that come to mind include Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik, on this side of Adriatic), and in modern age both Austrian republic(s) and even more modern Hungarian republic use crowns as symbols of sovereignity. Poland comes to mind, too.

 

Aragon

[image=http://www.arcodisplay.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/Bandera_ARAGON_p_49c8ffe7261d1.jpg]

Like the national flag, I love these colours. Unfortunately, while it's one of the oldest European flags still in use, it's also very popular. The four red stripes on a gold field design is also used for the flags of Catalunya, Minorca, Majorca, Balearic Islands and some others. I can't really knock it for that though. 8/10


Province of Zaragoza

[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Flag_of_Zaragoza_province_%28with_coat_of_arms%29.svg/797px-Flag_of_Zaragoza_province_%28with_coat_of_arms%29.svg.png]

The St George's cross is always good, but combined with the coat of arms there's a total of five crosses. Not that I'm counting. 7/10

City of Zaragoza

[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Bandera_de_Zaragoza.svg/634px-Bandera_de_Zaragoza.svg.png]

I love the lion rampant charge, almost as much as the lion passant. Extra points for gold on red. 8/10

 

All the former provinces of the Kingdom of Aragon use the cuatribarrada, yes.

 

They were all part of Aragon at some point? That's what I love about flags, always teaching me something new!

 

Indeed they were, back when Aragon was like this:

[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Imperi_de_la_Corona_d%27Arag%C3%B3.png]