vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. A person who studi ...

, defacement is the addition of a symbol or charge to a flag. For example, the Australian flag is the British Blue Ensign defaced with a Southern Cross in the fly. In the context of

, the word "deface" carries no negative connotations, in contrast to general usage. It simply indicates a differentiation of the flag from that of another owner by addition of elements. For example, many state flags are formed by defacing the national flag with a coat of arms.

History

Where countries pass through changes of regime with contrasting ideological orientations (monarchist/republican, fascist/democratic, communist/capitalist, secular/religious etc.) – all of which, despite their differences, claim allegiance to a common national heritage expressed in a venerated national flag – it can happen that a new regime defaces that flag with its own specific emblem while keeping the basic flag design unchanged. Such changing ideological emblems appeared over time, among others, on the flags of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(West and East; see illustration),

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. For example, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Romanian Revolution of 1989, insurgents tore the emblem of the regime that they opposed out of the national flag and waved the flag with which they identified. An already defaced flag can be further defaced. For example, the Australian flag is a defaced British Blue Ensign. The Australian Border Force Flag is further defaced with the words "Australian border force" in block letters. In the United States, it is against the Flag Code to deface the national flag with advertising or with any other sigil, image, or insignia. Such flags are nevertheless commercially available, depicting the seals of various branches of the U.S. military, Native American-related objects such as tomahawks or war bonnets, and the like. It is common for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

supporters travelling abroad for a match to bring a national flag defaced with the name of their hometown or a similar local identifier.

Gallery

References

{{reflist Heraldry Flags by design