Senyera - Origin and History

Origin and History

The Senyera is one of the oldest flags in Europe to be used in present day, but not in continuous use since its creation. There are several theories advocating either a purely Catalan or a purely Aragonese origin for the symbol. On the one hand, the Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana claims that the first appearance of the flag is in the arms of the tomb of Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona, died in 1082 as well as later in the seals of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona of Barcelona, first in a Provençal (1150) and then in a Catalan (1157) document. On the other hand, the Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa states that its first material undisputed evidence dates back to a royal seal of Alfonso II of Aragon (1159), and that all evidence about a "Catalan" origin must be discarded, since historically nothing can be accepted other than the concept of "barcelonès", and understanding that as allusive to the County House of Barcelona (Counts of Barcelona), but not of Catalonia.

Furthermore, the Pennon of the Conquest of Valencia is documented as the world's oldest extant flag, dating from 1238, even though the yellow part was originally white, but the red stripes design was the same.

The Government of Catalonia states about its official symbols that it may derive from 11th century or 12th century pre-heraldic symbols and the County of Barcelona's coat of arms, in which the yellow and red bars were vertical, while horizontal in the flag. The dynastic coat of arms became also the one for the lands ruled by the counts. It is thus present in the flags and shields of the territories that once were part of the Crown of Aragon and also in the arms of Andorra and Sicily among others.

Another version is that the Kingdom of Aragon used and adopted the colours of the Papal States in their own coat of arms as a public and notorious submission to the Pope, something which the County of Barcelona would have followed shortly after according to this version. The colours for the city of Rome, which in those times was controlled by the Pope, were the same. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the flag of the Holy See's Navy from the 12th century on consisted of two vertical red and yellow bands, sometimes bearing the tiara and the keys. According to the Vatican official website, the yellow and red of the flag of the Holy See were two colors traditional of the Roman Senate and People. This ancient flag can still seen on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, near the Roman Forum. The Papal States changed its colours in 1808 to the present yellow and white, while the City of Rome sticks to the old colors to this day. We can reject this theory based on the works of Geronimo de Blancas, chronicler of the Kingdom of Aragon, 1585. This author reports that Pope Innocent III after crowning the King Pedro II (the Catholic) accepted that Aragon was a tributary kingdom of the Apostolic See. To compensate for this gesture the Pope appointed King Peter II confalonier of the Church and that the Church's banner had the colors of the crown of Aragon.

The Almogavars of the Catalan Company used a royal pennon with the arms of the Kings of Aragon when campaigning in the Byzantine Empire. It was used as ensign of the Aragonese Navy from 1263 to 1516.

The plain version of this was used as official flag of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia during the Second Spanish Republic and since the Spanish transition to democracy. In its plain version, it is also used in the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales, part of the former Crown of Aragon. It is also used as the flag of Provence, a distinct region with historic ties to Aragon.

The blazon of this standard version is Or, four bars Gules.