Historical flags (Galicia, Spain)

Last modified: 2025-09-27 by olivier touzeau
Keywords: galicia |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

• "Galician Ensign," c. 1700, as shown in 18th-Century "Encyclopédie de Diderot"
• Galicia Council in exile 1944-80
• Spurious contemporary reconstructions of purported historic Galician flags

See also:

• Corunna (La Coruña) Maritime Province (origin of Galician flag)
• Galicia (Spain)
• Spain

"Galician Ensign," c. 1700, as shown in 18th-Century "Encyclopédie de Diderot"

image by Aitor Yuste, 29 Sep 2003

Aitor Yuste sent me two flags based on the "Encyclopédie de Diderot et D'Alembert" (1751-1772), allegedly Galician and Portuguese ensigns of the 18th century. The "Galician ensign" appeared in many flag charts up to 1842, but is most probably mistaken and, if it was ever used as an ensign, it was abandoned long before the adoption of the red-yellow-red ensign in 1785.

Santiago Dotor, 29 Sep 2003

This is the flag of the old Kingdom of Galicia during the XVI, XVII, XVIII and XIX centuries, shown in Diderot & D´Alembert´s Encyclopedia. The flag is white with six red crosses and a "cáliz" in the center. This flag stopped being used at the beginning of the 20th century.

Aitor Yuste, 29 Sep 2003

Excuse my ignorance, but was there a Kingdom of Galicia in the 16th to 19th centuries? I thought that Galicia was definitively incorporated into Castille in 1157 and has not been independent since, although I know the title "King of Galicia" was used long afterwards as one of the attributes of the Kings of Spain. Anyway, during the period in question, Spain was ruled by Habsburgs and then Bourbons, both known for their strong centralizing policies, as I understand it – known, in fact, for disregarding guarantees of communal rights granted by their predecessors in many cases. Did Galicia really have a flag of its own that flew during this period, or is this an 18th century reconstruction of a flag that could have been used in the early Middle Ages?

Also, what happened ca. 1900 to cause such a change in 500 years of practice?

Joseph McMillan, 29 Sep 2003

Diderot's Encylopaedia (Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers) was published between 1751 and 1772. Its aim was as broad as possible but most attention was paid to economy and industry. It would be interesting to know who was in charge of the Flag section of the Encyclopaedia and how knowledgeable he could have been on the topic. I am afraid – this is only my personal opinion – that the Encyclopaedia mostly compiled existing information from flag charts, which were themselves copycats, and therefore cannot be considered as a reliable source for flags.

If the flag was in use until the XXth century, are there any sources more recent then the Encyclopaedia which could confirm the existence of the flag?

Could the six red crosses and chalice be a confusion with Galicia in what is now Poland and Ukraine? The chalice was a symbol of the Hussite reformers, in neighbouring (at least not too remote) Bohemia.

Ivan Sache, 30 Sep 2003

I'd be willing to bet that this is what it is. White and red makes me suspicious, since I'm pretty sure that Galicia has used sky-blue and white for many years. Also, my old (1907) Encyclopedia Britannica pays far more attention to Galicia (Austro-Hungary, as was) than the Spanish Galicia. The former was described as being an autonomous region and, of course, the political changes of WWI would have been a likely cause of the flag's demise in the early years of the 20th century.

James Dignan, 30 Sep 2003

I'd be tempted to take you up on that bet ;-) My reasons for skepticism about the conjecture are:

1. If it was really supposed to be an ensign, then the fact that Polish Galicia is landlocked would certainly be a stumbling block
2. Galicia may have had a degree of autonomy under the Austro-Hungarian regime in 1907, but that had only been granted in 1867. When the Encyclopedia was published Galicia was still incorporated in the Kingdom of Poland.
3. It is very doubtful that the chalice would have been intended as a Hussite symbol on any flag in an 18th century Catholic state, whether Austria, Poland, or Spain. The Hussites did not govern Galicia (they may have raided it occasionally, but that would hardly induce the locals to want to honor their emblems), and in any case the Hussites had been throughly repressed by the Counter-Reformation by 1648. In any case, I'm not quite sure what the device is supposed to be, but it doesn't really look like a chalice to me in the version of the flag published in Norie/Hobbs.

Ned Smith, 01 Oct 2003

I think the flag with a chalix and crosses was used only as a religious banner.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 06 Oct 2003

While the "Galician ensign" appeared in many flag charts up to 1842, it is most probably mistaken and, if it was ever used as an ensign, it was abandoned long before the adoption of the red-yellow-red ensign in 1785.

Santiago Dotor, 07 Oct 2003

Galicia Council in exile 1944-80

Image from Wikipedia by Alangaliza, 22 January 2021 - located by Ben Cahoon

There was an exile Galician government 1944-1980 in South America at Montevideo, Uruguay, then Buenos Aires, Argentina exile that had used a regional government flag.
Source: Consello de Galiza on Wikipedia, where an actual photo of the flag can be seen.

Ben Cahoon, 23 October 2003

As revealed by the photo:
- the field of the COA is too dark - it shall be the same shade of blue as the bend;
- the mural crown shall be silver, not golden;
- the eagle-lion hybrid supporter, as well as the "vines" around the shield, shall be golden, not silver.

Other than that, the reproduction was done very accurately.

Tomislav Todorović, 25 October 2003

Spurious contemporary reconstructions of purported historic Galician flags

Flag Spuriously Attributed to Swabian Kingdom of Galicia image by Anjo Abelaira, 06 Apr 2005		Flag Spuriously Attributed to Late Medieval Galicia image by Anjo Abelaira, 06 Apr 2005
Spurious Contemporary Reconstruction of "Kingdom of Gallaecia" Flag Between AD 407 and 410 about 30,000 Swabian-Germans arrived to the Roman province of Gallaecia and took over the administration of the territory from the Roman Empire. The first Swabian king, Hermeric, established feudal relations with all the Galician chieftains, founding a kingdom known for two centuries as "Galliciense Regnum" (Kingdom of Gallaecia) or "Regnum Suevorum" (Kingdom of the Swabians). Anjo Abelaira, 06 Apr 2005 One cannot enough stress the fact that this flag never existed. It is not even worth discussing – the reasoning behind it is pure fiction. Not to mention the fact that the dragon appears to be borrowed from the Welsh flag and the lion from (IIRC) the Heraldique Europeenne website. Santiago Dotor, 07 Apr 2005 The oldest historical flag in Galicia: in February 15th 1669 the General Council of the Kingdom of Galicia declared that "(...) from then onwards it was decided to erase the green dragon and the red lion (arms of the Swabian kings who ruled this country at the time) and bring onto the golden field of the arms the consecrated wafer (...)." This document describing the flag of the Swabian kings of Galicia was was brought back to the public eye in 1927 by historian Pérez Constanti in his book "Notas Viejas Galicianas" (Ancient texts from Galicia). Based on that historical description from the Council of the Kingdom of Galicia in 1669 we have made a modern flag featuring a green dragon and a red lion over a gold field. The position on the flag of the dragon and the lion has been determined according the common features of European heraldry, which is two rampant beasts facing and confronting each other. This flag can also be used as a historical symbol by many territories which used to be part of the ancient Kingdom of Gallaecia: modern Galicia, northern Portugal, and the neighbouring regions of Bierzo, Asturias, and Leon. Links: http://www.racocatala.cat/banderes/galiza.html http://www.fillos.org/fillos/historia/reino-0 4.htm http://www.bandeiragalega.com/en/gallaecia.htm Isalguer Almenara, 25 Aug 2006		Spurious Contemporary Reconstruction of "Holy Grail" Banner of Arms The Holy Grail has been the flag and coat of arms of Galicia since the XIII century. The Grail first appeared as the Arms of the Kings of Galyce on the Segar Armorial in England circa 1282. This first appearance showed three Grails over an azure field. Later on, the Arms changed to just one golden Grail alone over a blue flag; that is the way it appears on the Bergshammar Armorial (Sweden, 1436) or on the Gymnich Armorial (Flanders, 1445). During the 15th century the flag started to be made on other colours such as with a white or red field instead of blue, and it also started to be decorated with varied icons such as angels or crosses. The crosses around the Holy Grail were added to the flag from the 15th century as a simple way of decorating the empty space around the Grail. Originally, the number of crosses was 6 -three on each side of the Grail- plus a seventh one over the Grail. On some old flags, those original 6 crosses have also appeared under the shape of stars (symbol of the 6 Galician Churches: Lugo, Iria, Britonia, Tui, Ourense and Astorga) or shells (Coat of Arms of the city of Corunna). The Holy Grail became progressively as a symbol of Galicia and a new and modern blue-diagonal-band flag was adopted during the XIX century. In 1972 the Royal Academy of Galicia officialised the Holy Grail as the historical Coat of Arms of Galicia, adding to it a new feature: a Crown. The flag we have reproduced is a 7 cross + Holy Grail over azure field flag, based on the XV-XIX flag tradition, brought together with the official design of the Galician Academy made in 1972. Anjo Abelaira, 06 Apr 2005 One cannot enough stress the fact that this flag never existed. It is not even worth discussing – the reasoning behind it is pure fiction. The alleged flag is an armorial banner of the current arms of Galicia, adopted in 1972 following designs of the 17th century – long after Galicia had lost all independence or home rule, according to the Galician regional government (Source). Santiago Dotor, 07 Apr 2005