About the flag
The wild man in the coat of arms of historical province of Lapland
is "of natural color" i.e. pink, but in the modern coat of arms of province
(lääni, län) of Lapland and in the coat of arms of the county (maakunta,
landskap) the man is silver (in flag white).
Ossi Raivio, 8 March 2001
In the earliest known use of the arms of Lapland, at the funeral of King Carl IX in 1611, the wildman was black.
(Source: Ivar Schnell: "De svenska landskapens vapen under 1500-talet", an article in "Meddelanden från Riksheraldikerämbetet IX", 1940, Skånetryckeriets förlag, Malmö 1940, p. 52.)
The arms (and flag) of (Finnish) Lapland looks like the arms of (Swedish) Lapland, only the tinctures are different. Swedish Lapland has a wildman gules on a field argent. Originally, the arms were the same, because Lapland was one province until 1809, when it was split in two and what now is Finnish Lapland was ceded to Russia along with Finland and was made a part of the Grand Duchy of Finland.
Elias Granqvist, 14 March 2001
Blazon
Official blazon in Finnish: "Punaisessa kentässä luonnonvärinen villi mies, joka kantaa olallaan kultaista nuijaa; otsan ja vyötäisten ympärillä vihreä seppele. Kruunu: kreivikunnan kruunu."
Official blazon in Swedish: "I rött fält en naturfärgad vildman med grön krans på huvudet och kring länderna, hållande en på högra axeln vilande klubba av guld. Skölden krönes med grevskapets krona."
Blazoned in English: " Gules, a wildman proper, holding in his dexter hand and carrying on his dexter shoulder a club or, around his forehead and waist each a garland vert. The shield's crown is a count's crown."
English blazon by Lewis A. Nowitz, 13 March 2002
![[Flag of Finnish Lapland]](../images/f/fi-l.gif)
![[FIS Code]](../misc/oxxxxx.gif)
by António Martins-Tuvalkin, 7 March 2001