Flags

A Belgian friend, also a resident of Birgu, once told me, “They like their flags, the Maltese”.  Since then I have been an avid follower of flag flying in Birgu, but even after a year I have much to learn.

My biggest question is always “Why are we flying flags today?”  The only flag which can be seen almost every day is a Maltese flag that flies over the Malta at War Museum in the Couvre Porte.  As a nearby interpretation board explains, this is the unofficial Maltese flag that was regularly used after Malta had been awarded the George Cross during World War Two.  Unlike the modern flag, the image of the Cross is shown in the top corner against a blue background.

Other flags are flown less predictably.  Some feast days are marked by flags on every pole in the city, and during Lent the same poles stand unadorned.  Between these two extremes is any number of bunting permutations.  Rather than try to unravel the rules of the impenetrable flag etiquette of the city, in this post I will instead share the various designs that I saw fluttering over Birgu during the celebrations that I described in my last blog. (If memory serves, there are even more designs that appear throughout the year, connected to the Dominican presence in the city.  I’ll return to these at a later date).

The most easily recognisable designs are on flags connected to places.  As well as the Maltese flag, the flag of Birgu is often seen in the main square, at the entrance to the Couvre Porte, and over the archway in the St. John Bastion that is now the main road into the city.

Local organisations fly their own flags on their premises, such as the two main poitical parties, or this flag flying over Palazzo Huesca, home of the St. Lawrence Band Club.

Other flags reflect religious affiliation, such as the yellow and white of the Vatican,

the white cross on red of the Knights of St. John,

or this flag symbolizing the long-standing connection between the Church of St. Lawrence and the Order.

Other flags are somewhat less official.  This flag, with the yellow and white of the Vatican, remembers two Popes:  Urbanus II, under whom the parish of Birgu was initially recognised in the late eleventh century; and Pius VII, who elevated the parish church to Collegiate status in 1820.

The latter event is also celebrated with a new flag, seen flying for the first time only recently. The coats of arms to the left and right of the image are: on the white side, those of Bishop Mattei, who was the bishop when the Church of St. Lawrence became Collegiate; and on the red side, those of Fr. Lawrence Lanzon, the priest who campaigned for this Collegiate status.

Other flags hark back to earlier eras.  The flags shown below are three of many flown on feast days along the waterfront.  Here the emblem of the Knights is quartered with other symbols. They are examples of the flags of the twenty-seven Grand Masters of the Order who ruled when the Knights were based in Malta.

A commonly seen flag is this one, flown during events related to the festa of St. Lawrence.

The red and gold hark back to the Aragonese, the thirteenth century rulers of Malta. It is widely assumed that these colours became associated with St. Lawrence as he was an Aragonese martyr.

This flag is also flown at particular times of year in Birgu.

Clearly it has particular significance, as it even features as a flag within this more ornate flag .

I originally assumed that it was the flag of the Langue of Provence, perhaps a reference to Jean de Valette. He was Grand Master of the Order during the Great Siege, and was himself was affiliated to the Langue of Provence.  However, the image on the flag of Provence is yellow. In fact this flag, with the five crosses displayed in red, was the emblem of the medieval Kingdom of Jerusalem. In Birgu it is used to represent both the Holy Land and the relationship between the Order of St. John and Jerusalem.