List of Icelandic flags explained
The following is a list of Icelandic flags.
National flag and State flag
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
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| 1944–present | National flag and civil ensign | A blue flag with a red Scandinavian Cross, fimbriated white. Used unofficially in 1913–1915, and as a territorial symbol as of 1915 until 1944 when the Republic of Iceland was established. Current color scheme established in 1944. The dimensions of the flag are 7:1:2:1:14 horizontally and 7:1:2:1:7 vertically; ratio: 18:25 |
| 1919–present | State flag | Ratio: 37:18 | |
Governmental flags
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
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| 1944–present | President's flag | The State Emblem charged in the center. Ratio: 37:18 |
| 1944–present | Customs ensign. | |
Military flag
See also: Military of Iceland.
Historical flags
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
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| 1262–1397 | | Banner of arms with golden lion on red canvas. |
| 1397-1523 | The "Banner of the realms", flag of the Kalmar Union. | a red cross in a yellow field. |
| 1523-1918 | | A red field charged with a white Nordic cross that extends to the edges; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. |
| July 11th 1809-August 19th 1809 | | It’s not fully known what Jørgen’s flag really looked like. There are no surviving copies and his original description simply read as: “The Icelandic flag shall be blue, with three white stockfishes on it”.[1] Due to this vague description, there can be multiple different interpretations of what the flag looked like. The example shown here shows three stockfishes in the first quarter on a dark-blue field. The word “stockfishes” in Jørgen’s description could also be interpreted simply as “cods”, so the symbols on his flag might not have been stockfishes |
| 1857-1869 | Standard of the Vestmannaeyjar Battalion (Herfylkingin) | A red saltire cross on a white field. In an old drawing of the Herfylking, the flag is shown with seemingly black text at the top and bottom of the flag, although it’s impossible to make out what the text says |
| 1915–1944[2] | National flag and civil ensign of Iceland | It is almost identical to the newer Icelandic flag but this has a lighter blue color. |
| 1915–1944 | War flag and Naval ensign of Iceland | It is almost identical to the newer Icelandic flag but this has a lighter blue color, just like the normal flag, above. |
| 1921–1944[3] | Royal Standard of the King of Iceland | Crowned Gyrfalcon on a blue field |
| 1940-1944 | Flag of the United Kingdom, also commonly known as the Union Jack. | A superimposition of the flags of England and Scotland with the Saint Patrick's Saltire (representing Ireland). |
| 1940–1944 | Flag of the United States | Thirteen horizontal stripes alternating red and white; in the canton, 48 white stars on blue field. |
| 1941–1944[4] | Standard of the Regent of Iceland | State flag of Iceland charged with a capital gold R on a rectangular panel | |
Unofficial flags
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
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| 19th - early 20th century | Flag used by the independence movement | A Gyrfalcon on a blue field |
| | Flag proposal. | White with a sky-blue cross with a white and blue stripe on either side. The flag committee of 1913 presented two proposals, the current flag and this flag. |
| | Republican flag | Unofficial flag used by the republicans in the early 1900s. This flag was rejected by the flag committee of 1913 as it was considered too similar to the flag of Sweden and the Greek naval ensign. |
|
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Jörundur Hundadagakonungur Placat. Vefsafn. 1 November 2014.
- http://flagspot.net/flags/is-hist.html#1915 flagspot.net
- http://flagspot.net/flags/is-royal.html#royal flagspot.net
- Web site: Iceland - Royal Standard. www.fotw.info. May 8, 2022.