The Flag of the province of Friesland or Frisian flag ( West Frisian: ''Fryske Flagge''; nl, Friese vlag), is the official flag of the Netherlands province of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

. It consists of four blue and three white diagonal stripes; in the white stripes are a total of seven red '' pompeblêden'', leaves of the yellow water-lily, that may resemble hearts, but according to the official instructions "should not be

heart-shaped The heart symbol is an ideograph used to express the idea of the "heart" in its heart (metaphor), metaphorical or symbolic sense. Represented by an anatomy, anatomically inaccurate shape, the heart symbol is often used to represent the center of ...

". The jerseys of the football club

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

and the are modeled after this flag.

Symbolism

The seven red

seeblatt (, German for 'lake leaf', plural '; da, søblad; fy, pompeblêd; East Frisian: Pupkeblad) is the term for the stylized leaf of a water lily, used as a charge in heraldry. Background This charge is used in the heraldry of Germany, the Nether ...

s (or ''pompeblêden'', as they are called in West Frisian) are a reference to the Frisian "sea countries" in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

: independent regions along the coast from Alkmaar to the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

who were allied against the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

. There were never precisely seven distinct regions, but the number seven probably has the connotation "many." Some sources hold, however, that there have been seven Frisian lands: West Friesland,

Westergoa Westergoa was one of the seven sealands and one of the three that now lie within the borders of today's Dutch province of Friesland. Later it was one of the three goaen of Frisia. In the Middle Ages Westergoa most probably formed the political ...

, Eastergoa, Hunsingo, Fivelingo, Emsingo, and

Jeverland Jeverland refers to the northern part of the present-day district of Friesland in northern Germany with the town of Jever as the seat of its local government. The Jeverland was formed in the 15th century from the Barony of Jever, which itself desc ...

. The ''pompeblêden'' are used in other related flags such as the flag of the ''

Ommelanden The Ommelanden (; ) are the parts of Groningen province that surround Groningen city. Usually mentioned as synonym for the province in the expression ("city and surrounding lands"). The area was Frisian-speaking, but under the influence of th ...

'' in neighbouring Groningen Province, a historically Frisian area, and for a proposed pan- Frisia flag put forth by the Groep fan Auwerk.

History

In the 13th century, a flag with ''pompeblêdden'' is described in the Middle High German epic poem Gudrunlied: : Noch ſihe ich hie bî weiben einen vanen breit : von wolkenblâwen ſîden. daȥ ſi iu geſeit: : den bringet uns her Herwîc dâ her von Sêlande. : ſêbleter ſwebent dar inne... : here I see uplifted a flag outspreading wide; : Of sky-blue silk 'tis woven. The truth I will not hide; : Herwic bears this banner, he in the Sealands dwelling. : Sea-leaves are shown upon it...ref>Mary Pickering Nichols, trans. ''Gudrun: A Mediaeval Epic''. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin. 1889. p. 292. https://archive.org/details/gudrunmediaevale00nichiala/page/292/mode/1up Around 1200

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

n coats of arms reveal many traces of water-lilies and hearts, found often in combination with images of lions. 15th century books on heraldry show that two armorial bearings were derived from the early ones: a coat of arms showing lions and seven ''pompeblêdden'' (water lilies) transformed into

billets A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, al ...

, the other being the arms with the seven now known lilies on stripes. File:Flag Ommelanden.svg, Flag of ''Ommelanden'' The current design was officially approved in 1897 and was first used by the provincial government in 1927.

References

External links

Site of the province of Friesland
{{DutchFlags Flags of the Netherlands Culture of Friesland Flags introduced in 1957

Symbolism

History

See also

References

External links