Flag of Norway
The flags of Norway developed from the age of the Vikings. A raven banner was flown by many Viking chieftains from the ninth century and was often used as ‘weather-vanes’ (a kind-of weather compass to show the direction of the wind) on Viking Longships.
In Old Norse the raven was a popular symbol and represented the power and wisdom of the mythological god Odin who would strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest warriors with his two fearless ravens sitting on his shoulders.
Since Saint Olav (the first King of Norway) sailed into the Battle of Nesjar with a serpent flag flying high on his ship, Norwegian Kings became a little more adventurous in their designs. Among them was Inge I of Norway who carried a flag of a red lion on gold. His successor, King Magnus Erlingsson, carried a flag with a golden lion, axe and crown on red. Since 1280 this flag has become a regular in Norwegian history and as in old Norse times, flies today for the King of Norway.
The flag of the King of Norway. This flag is also called the Royal Standard. It is flown on the top of the King’s Palace in Oslo (and signifies that the King is in).
From the 16th century, when Norway was ‘united’ with Denmark, the Danish flag Dannebrog was used. In 1814, with Norway’s stand for independence, the ‘Norwegian Lion’ was placed in the top left corner (canton) of the Danneborg. However, with the ‘union’ with Sweden, Norway was subject to use the Swedish flag with a white cross on a red background in the canton.
In 1821, a new flag was born that symbolised the hope and freedom of the Norwegian people. Fredrik Meltzer, one of the signatories of the Norwegian Constitution in 1814, made it his honour to design the flag of Norway (to bravely replace the modified Swedish flag). A businessman and a member of the Norwegian parliament, Meltzer drew inspiration from the old and new. He chose the Nordic cross, a symbol of Christianity – the union of divinity (the vertical line) and the world (the horizontal line) – to reflect Norway’s ties to Sweden and Denmark. The colours red, white and blue represent individual rights and equality of opportunity that were the driving force in the French and American Revolutions. The new Norwegian flag was adopted by parliament in May 1821, however the King (of Sweden) refused to sign the flag law, but, he did approve the flag for civilian use.
This depiction from 1370 is of a Nordic king holding the flags of Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
In 1844, a union badge was added to both the Swedish and Norwegian civilian flags (triangles of both the Norwegian and Swedish flags at the canton) to satisfy the laws for the war flag. This flag was used throughout Norway and obtained the nickname Sildesalaten (the herring salad) because it looked like a big mess of colours. Because the flag represented equal status by the two states the flag, at first, was quite popular in Norway. When Norway yearned for independence again the flag lost its popularity. In 1898, the Norwegian parliament abolished the union badge from the flag (with disapproval from the Swedish king). The Norwegian flag was first officially flown in 1899. In 1905 Norway regained its independence and could now fly its flag openly to welcome its new Norwegian King (who was Danish).
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It always warms my heart to see the Norwegian flag – I have two hanging in the porch at the entrance of my home, I have a flag sticker on my car, and I constantly adorn bits of my life with the colours of the flag, including my blog!! Sytennde mai here I come!!
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from L-Jay:
Hi Helga
I always love to see the town when there is a special day – full of the Norwegian colour. Even most of the houses fly the flag. Just recently we had Liberation Day (8th May) and I loved walking down the street to the shops with all the flags flying high.
(Helga’s blog is: http://helgahansen.blogspot.com – is she Norwegian, South African or English? You find out.)
its just a damn good looking flag isn’t it?! the british one is a bit of a mess if you ask me, not that anybody uses it anymore anyway. hmph
whats the icelandic flag all about? did they copy norway or did norway copy them?
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from L-Jay:
I think the Norwegian flag is very good looking
. The pattern makes for great face painting! But it really lights up any place with it’s strong red and blue and white highlights flapping in the wind.
I think Meltzer was definitely inspired when he designed this flag. I didn’t actually know the symbolism behind the colours (until I studied it, of course…lol) but I kind of thought the white was the snow, the blue was the mountains and the red was the food (red currants, strawberries, cowberries, raspberries)…lol. But I guess Meltzer’s themes are more idealistic
The Norwegian flag came before the Icelandic one. Iceland was actually governed by Denmark. Their flag was just blue with a white cross. In the early 1900s they added a red cross in the middle. I don’t actually know why but I think it might have something to do with Iceland driving for independence. They might have been taking their lead from Norway. Eventually in 1944 they got their independence from Denmark. (I’ve just check out their flag on wiki – and what do you know? Their colours actually represent the land…lol. Blue for the mountains, white for the snow, and red for the volcanoes.
Iceland was empty when discovered, and was settled by Norwegian emigrants. It was part of the Norwegian Kingdom.
Later the three Scandinavian Kingdoms were joined in a political union called the Kalmar Union, it was during this time Norway fell under Denmarks rule.
When Norway regained independence from Denmark the Danes kept the Norwegian possessions of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe islands.
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from L-Jay:
Yep –
Hello there.
im borderline computer illiterate when it comes to research and im looking at getting a tattoo im memory of my grandfather Leif or i think actually Leifen in runes writing.
Ive seen some websites where it showed me different types of writing and that just frustrated me because well it is a tattoo and permanent so i want it to be the real deal and most common. Would it matter what part of Norway he originated from were from. I fell in love with the idea of runes after watching the movie how to train your dragon.
so i guess im looking at know which is most popular or common for of runes, does it matter where in Norway they came from and is there symbols for numbers?
I would love some feed back it would mean the world to me.
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from L-Jay:
Runes are actually writing for gravestones – ‘here lies Thor who was the son of Thor who died in battle’. It was declared by Odin (a Norse god) that all soliders should be honoured with a gravestone. Runes are also a phonic language meaning there can be 50 different ways to spell something – all of them would be correct as there was no right or wrong in Runes. There are basically two main ages of Runes. You can read more about Runes from our post Viking Runes.
What you get in Runes is always just one persons interpretation. It is best to make up your own so you are happy with it raher than getting someone’s jargon.
Please don’t get a tat. As you get older you’ll know why it’s not good.
klem far tante Marie
I have a question about the Norwegian flag. I have seen beautiful Norwegian flag banners flying from flag poles, mainly along the coast. They are wider at the top
and taper to a point, almost touching the ground, except when floating in a light breeze. If anyone is familiar with these flags and know where I could obtain one, I would appreciate info. Thanks, Bob
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from L-Jay:
If you live in Norway you can get one from Europrise – they are about kr250. Anywhere else try a Norwegian specialty store- or even ebay .
hi my name is kristian vahl østbye ,i’m a norwegian living not far from oslo. My oldest relative was gudulf(godwolf) ringnes born in central norway ca. 1320. On his farm that still exist today tey found a rune stone from the sixth century with this text:ek hirilar hrorar hrorer orte pat arina. This we can translate to: l am the rune writer hror, son of hror, maid this rune stone.
Thank you!
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from L-Jay:
Some great history there!