Denmark - Official Denmark - The National Flag

Denmark
1. Official Denmark
1.2 The National Flag

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1.2.1 Use
1.2.2 National Flags
1.2.3 Days on which Flags are Flown

The name of the Danish flag, the Dannebrog, meaning 'the flag of the Danes' or 'the red flag', is first encountered in a Danish text from 1478 and in a Netherlandish text from 100 years before that. In a Netherlandish armorial (Gelre) from 1370-1386 a red banner with a white cross is annexed to the coat of arms of Valdemar IV Atterdag.

According to legend, the Dannebrog fell from heaven during a battle in Estonia; this legend is mentioned in Christiern Pedersen's Danish Chronicle from the beginning of the 1520s and by the Franciscan monk Peder Olsen c. 1527. This latter relates the event to a battle in 1219, and tradition has maintained that the flag appeared at Lyndanisse on the 15th June 1219. The legend presumably came into being around 1500 on the basis of the idea that the royal banner which King Hans lost at his defeat in the Ditmarshes in Northern Germany in 1500 was the Dannebrog that had fallen from heaven. In 1559 Frederik II recaptured the banner and had it hung in Slesvig Cathedral in present-day northern Germany. In a song from the campaign of 1500 the banner charged with the cross is associated with the Roman Emperor Constantine's dream of the cross in 312 before the battle in which he became absolute monarch in the Roman Empire and according to tradition was converted to Christianity. This vision of the cross, to which are linked the words in hoc signo vinces ('under this sign you shall be victorious') is the prototype of the miracles in the shape of crosses in the sky, which particularly in the Iberian Peninsula were connected with battles between Christians and infidels.

A white cross formy with a red bordure was used by the Portuguese Order of Christ that was founded in 1318 during a crusade against the Moors. The Portuguese gold coin, the portugalese or português, reproduced the Cross of Christ and the words in hoc signo vinces. From 1591 Christian IV struck Danish coins with a similar cross which quickly became associated with the cross of the Dannebrog. 1603 saw the addition of Constantine's apophthegm, which Arild Huitfeldt had quoted in his Chronicle where Constantine's vision and the legend of the Dannebrog falling from heaven are also compared.

Use [top]

During military actions in Sweden in the 15th century, the Dannebrog was the principal banner. After 1625 military colours displayed a Dannebrog in the canton, and during the 17th century this also appeared with a cross formy. The most distinguished military units carried the Dannebrog alone. Since 1842 all military units have used the Dannebrog with a cross formy as distinct from the cross in the national flag and the naval flag, where it has continued to have straight sides. A naval ensign showing the coat of arms of Erik VII of Pomerania with a white Dannebrog cross was one of the spoils of war in 1427 and was hung in the Maria Church in Lübeck in northern Germany. At sea it can be said with certainty that the Dannebrog has been flown since the 1580s.

From a decree of 1630 it can be seen that the swallow-tailed flag was reserved for the navy, and in 1635 it was emphasised that merchantmen were not allowed to fly a swallow-tailed flag. In 1696 the proportions of the Dannebrog were determined, and they are largely unchanged today. It became customary for the State also to fly the swallow-tailed flag ashore. In 1748 it was definitely decided that as a merchant flag the Dannebrog is square, without a cleft end. As a rule, the swallow-tailed flag is reserved for the royal house and the state, whereas private individuals must use the square flag. Since 1731 the royal standard has had the royal coat of arms in a central field, and later similar special flags have been introduced for other members of the royal family. With the royal family's flags as a distinguishing mark the navy and air force indicate that a member of the royal family is on board. There are flags for Prince Henrik, Queen Ingrid, the Crown Prince and the members of the royal house in general. These flags, like the royal standard and that of the regent, can be flown where those concerned are in residence. The royal standard, the regent's standard, a special standard for the Minister of Defence (actually the Minister for the Navy) and admirals' standards are flown as marks of command on warships with the chief concerned on board. Over the years, special emblems or letters representing certain service branches have been added in the red canton of the Dannebrog. Certain private institutions use the Dannebrog similarly marked and in some cases fly the swallow-tailed flag. The naval ensign is deep or dark red, the national flag bright red.

In 1833 private citizens were forbidden to fly flags, and the prohibition was not annulled until 1854. Meanwhile, between 1848 and 1850, a time of national fervour, the population regularly flew the Dannebrog. The Danes still fly the flag at their homes and, for instance, in private allotment gardens on festive occasions of both family and official nature, and they decorate their Christmas trees with small Dannebrog flags.

Nils G. Bartholdy

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