Last modified: 2002-02-01 by franc van diest
Keywords: frisia | friesland | netherlands | lily leaves |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
![[Provincial flag of Friesland]](../images/n/nl-fr.gif)
Mark Sensen, 16 November 1996
See also:
In 1938 Queen Wilhelmina had reigned the Netherlands for 40 years. On that occasion a lot of municipalities paraded in front of HM with their flags, which consisted of the provincial flag with the municipal CoA in the canton (or something...). Those municipal flags can only be considered as 'curiosities', while the status of the provincial flags is not quite clear. However friesland used their own flag.
Jarig Bakker, 26 January 2001
A flag with pompeblêdden (lily leaves) was already mentioned in the
"Gudrunlied" from the 11th century. This was also used by the Ommelanden.
Since the middle of the 19th century the flag is used by the Fryske Biweging,
and was accepted by the Deputed States (Provincial Legislature) in 1897. During
the festivities of the 40th and 50th reigning jubilee of Queen Wilhelmina in
1938 and 1948 it was used by each municipality with the municipal arms in the
canton.
Finally it was officially adopted 9 July 1957 by the States of Friesland, nr. 12
Prov./besluit 20.
The provincial paper, 1958, nr. 12, gives detailed construction sheets.
Mark Sensen, 19 April 1998
When I was researching Friesland for one of my Up The Pole columns I
was told that the 1984 Guinness Book of Records credits the Frisian flag as
dating from the 9th century. Apparently no reason is given as to why
I was also told that the Frisian flag was designed by Dutch heraldist Heerke
Wenning just before 1897 - is this true, Mark?
David Cohen, 20 April 1998
>From <http://members.tripod.com/~redbad/flag.html>
Short history of the Frisian flag
The Frisian flag, as we currently know it, probably flew for the first time in
the year 1895. The family De Zee from Jirnsum (Irnsum) designed it. Around 1897
it was produced commercially by the company De Leeuw & De Zee in Jirnsum.
Mr. Sj. de Zee was inspired for his design by a historical drawing of a coat of
arms. He had found drawings of a Frisian arms in a book by Hamconius (1620) and
by one in a book by Schotanus (1718).
Hamconius took his image of the coat of arms from an elaborate description given
by the first official
historian of Friesland, Suffridius Petrus (1527-1597). Suffridius states that a
coat of arms was given to the legendary king Friso. It had a blue background and
three slanting silver bars. On these silver bars lie seven red waterlily-leaves.
The number seven is said to symbolize the "Seven Frisian Sea-lands"
that make up Friesland. Suffridius says that examples of arms can be found in
old heraldic books and on church windows.
Some of these armorials of the 15th century have survived to date. In a French
armorial of around 1475 we find an arms of "Le Roy Frise". It has a
blue background, slanting silver bars and nine red hearts.
There is evidence that the Frisian coat of arms originated from Denmark or one
of its surrounding countries. Around 1525 Jancko Douwama writes that King Redbad
(late 7th-/ early 8th century) borrowed parts of his fathers Danish arms and
blended them with the Frisian coat of arms. In the 11th century poems of the
Gudrun-song there are lines that indicate that in the regions between the
Scheldt and Jutland a blue flag could be found with waterlily-leaves on it.
Gudrun can be traced back to the 8th century. In the royal arms of the Swedish
king Waldemar Birgersson dating from 1252 hearts can be found. These hearts
resemble the leaves of the waterlily, and are often interchanged. (Just recently
Mr. J. Nicolay, after doing research on gold hoards, has concluded that the
aristocracy of Friesland in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th century came from
Scandinavia.)
In 1957 the flag with the "pompebledden" (waterlily-leaves) was
officially declared to be the Flag of the province Fryslân.
Source: De Fryske Flagge, in It Beaken (Tydskrift fan de Fryske Akademy), April
1956
Jarig Bakker 8 October 2000
"A flag of seven diagonal stripes of equal width, alternate cobalt blue and white. The stripe in the middle starting at the top of the hoist side and going from corner to corner; the white stripes charged with seven scarlet red lily leaves perpendicular to the axis of the stripe and placed 2:3:2."
Pantone colours: red: 032U; blue: 300U; white: opaque.
Proportions: 9:13.
Mark Sensen, 19 April 1998
The three white stripes could stand for the rural quarters Oostergo, Westergo and Sevenwolden/Zevenwouden, the blue stripes for the Frisian rivers. The seven lily leaves represent the seven old Frisian "zeelanden", as they existed from around the 8th till the 14th century:
See map (5kb).
Mark Sensen, 19 April 1998
Jos Poels in [poe90] Poels 1990 mentions another division of Frisia: West Frisia; the modern province of Friesland; Hunsingo and Fivelingo (both part of the Ommelanden); East Frisia; Jeverland; and North Frisia.
Mark Sensen, 20 April 1998
According to [ped80] Pedersen 1980 the Provincial States of Friesland adopted the national Frisian flag as provincial flag, so that it's possible for Frisians in Germany to recognize the flag.
On the Frisian States' yacht "Friso", (which is property of the province) the Frisian flag is used as jack if the national flag is used at the stern.
It is the most popular provincial flag in the Netherlands, and I'm sure that
there are more Dutchmen who know this flag than there are who know their own
provincial flag!
Also, other flags are popular in Friesland -- not only municipal flags, but also
those of cities and even villages within the municipality that fly their own
flags!
Mark Sensen, 20 April 1998 and 25 April 1998
In 1913 Van der Laars in [laa13] Van der Laars 1913 already proposed the flag with the lily leaves as the most obvious design. As alternatives, he proposed a banner of the arms (blue, with two golden lions passant, accompanied by 7 billets placed 2:2:3), a bicolour yellow over blue, or a triband blue over yellow over blue.
Mark Sensen, 19 April 1998
From: 'De Vrije Fries', 1986
The 'Fryske Rie foar Heraldyk' has proposed for all new Frisian municipalities,
originating from former 'grietenijen'(municipalities), a
swallowtailed wimpel with in the fly two stripes along the length in the colors
of their original 'gouwen' (counties): in Oostergo red-white; in Westergo
blue-white and Zevenwouden green-white. For the Frisian 11 cities it was
proposed to adopt in the fly the colors of the Frisian CoA: blue-yellow. Each
wimpel would have a square hoist, on which the central figure from the municipal
CoA. A similar pattern was proposed for the Wadden-islands: in the fly the
colors blue (for Friesland) and red (of the lion of Holland) - because two of
the four islands (Vlieland and Terschelling) were in the province of
Noordholland until the second World War. <Schiermonnikoog was a possession of
a German until 1945, when it was annexed as Domain of the State of the
Netherlands as 'enemy possession'.>
For the 'waterschappen' (polderboards): on the fly of white three green
'pompebladeren' (lily-leaves)
The wimpel is not subject to flag-protocol and is allowed to hang outside after
dark. A wimpel has the advantage of recognizability and can be flown alongside
other wimpels and flags.
Jarig Bakker 18 October 2000
.gif)
International Civic Arms : http://www.ngw.nl/
"Azure two lions passant in pale or, between seven billets of the same, placed horizontally two, two and three. The shield is crested by a coronet of four pearls between five leaves or. Supporters: two lions rampant or."
Friesland is a province in the North of the Netherlands. Friesland originally included a larger area, of which parts are now in Noord Holland, Groningen and Germany. The Frisians formed an independent state. The German Emperor Frederik Barbarossa made Friesland a condominium between the Counts of Holland and the Bishops of Utrecht. The counts of Holland, however, failed to establish their power in the area. They only obtained West-Friesland, now part of the province of Noord Holland. At the same time the Counts of Gelre claimed the eastern part of the area. They also failed to establish their power for a longer period. To establish their claim they used arms with two lions on a field with silver coins. The lion was the lion of Gelre. It symbolized Gelre and Friesland. When the province finally became part of the Netherlands the arms were continued. In the 16th century the coins were replaced by 7 rectangles, representing the seven districts of (ancient) Friesland. The arms haven't changed since then.
Ralf Hartemink 1997
|
