Flags Used To Be Cool, What Happened?
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
- Medieval and Feudal flags used to look much cooler than the ones we have today. Why is that? In this video we find out about the impact that Feudalism had in medieval banners; how they began changing with the need for naval flags and their simplicity requirements, and how, through colonialism, those naval flags, or at least the simplicity they represented, then transitioned into modern country flags with the emergence of the concept of a nation state.
Timestamps:
00:00 Flags used to be cool
00:15 The example of Spain / Castille
00:49 Spain's naval flag contest
01:26 The problem with old naval flags
03:35 Choosing the new flag
05:09 Socks (dog) interlude
06:17 Feudalism and Medieval flags
07:14 Origin point of flags
08:53 Why Medieval flags were detailed
09:55 French Revolution and the emergence of nation states
11:04 The impact of Colonialism
12:07 Why flags are (mostly) rectangular
13:08 Summarizing why flags changed
15:05 Flags today
15:31 Credits
Channel contact: gilfamc@gmail.com
The problem with a new contest is designs are becoming too simple and not unique!
True! You can see it a lot with the US State redesigns. Minnesota even had pretty cool and more detailed proposals that were overlooked in the final result. But you also have some pretty cool examples of modern simplistic designs, like Japanese Prefectures, for instance.
Yeah they keep making corporate flags. It’s annoying.
If you want a really intricate flag, have a look at the French flag from 1815-1830.
Castille isn't the same as Spain, important thing to be noted!
And in fact that flag represents both Castille and León
@@MGdelOeste Yes and no, it represents both the Kingdoms of Castile and Leon, (and nowadays it's the flag of the Autonomy of Castile and Leon) but it used to represent the CROWN of Castile.
Viva España
@@MGdelOeste In fact, the coat of arms in the spanish naval flag of 1785 don't represent castille an leon, in reality the naval coat of arms is an extreme over simplifayed version of king Carlos the III of Spain.
ansina ye... poro tamos como tamos
Nah, I like our flag 🇪🇸. The “Aspas of Borgoña” were cooler anyway, 🇯🇪
ARRIBA ESPAÑA
@@Nick-eu3ot ARRIBA. De qué provincia?
@@ottovoncesar8025 Islas Canarias. ¿Y usted?
@@Nick-eu3ot Murcia. Dicen que está la situación complicada en Canarias con la inmigración, es tan grave?
No hace falta que me digas de usted a lo mejor soy más joven y todo.
@@ottovoncesar8025 Si, está chunguele. Son demasiados y no hay lugar donde cuidarles en condiciones. Y por si fuera poco, el tiempo está como loco. Tuvimos un invierno de 30°C casi todos los meses.
No way you're not General Knowledge man, great video btw
A couple other people have commented this too!
wait you're not?@@GilGeographyGuide
@@GilGeographyGuide you arent general knowledge? same voice!
@@FlowerPotsM I think it's the Portuguese accent
Where are the drawing animations gone? 😰 I'm confiused
I cant believe you only have 13 subscribers. You will blow up surely!
Let's see! Hopefully some more people will want to follow along, yeah!
Congrats for the new channel, General K. And by the way, yes Portugal needs a new flag. Ditch the red and green that doesn’t combine and just keep the coat of arms which has been with us for nine centuries
The red and green are nice enough imo and complement the coat of arms that is over the armilary sphere
Made up explanations say they represent hope and the blood of those who fought for freedom, but truth be told, they're the colours of the old republican party and they represent our republican tradition, which imo is something to uphold and safeguard...especially in these trying times, when the modern trend of right-wing populism has reached Portugal with a bang these last 2 years.
As a Portuguese I agree... But in truth, in video mode is worse than in "reality" (since green and red and primary colours in video but not in light). The traditional colours of Portugal used to be Blue and White... But since this became a symbol of the Monarchy, the Republic changed it to "Green and Red" (with a meaning, of course) in early XX century. The old colours are still in the inner cross made by the small shields. If you want to check, google "bandeira da monarquia portuguesa". With the exception of the crown, that could be our flag.
I was watching the video and I thought it was from a giant channel, I was very surprised when I saw the number of subscribers, your channel's content deserves much more notoriety, excellent content!
Hello General Knowledge.
I thought the exact same thing 😭
Absolutely wild to me that someone can describe the late 18th Century as ‘almost mediaeval times’. That said, great video! Very informative, well presented. Looking forward to seeing more of them!
Yeah that wasn't really correct from me; my logic was that *some* feudal practices common to Medieval times were still in practice - namely regarding flags. But it was a wrong definition regardless. Thanks!
We still have that same flag in the Castilla and Leon autonomous region within Spain
The thing with the Castile flag is that it doesn't represent the whole country: the Crown of Aragon, and the kingdoms of Navarra and Granada are not depicted. And Castile flag is still used today, as the regional flag of Castilla y Leon. I agree that the modern one can be too simple though, I would prefer to have the Burgundy cross back
Burgundian Cross isn't that complex but still stylish
All the flag nerds keep saying how simple flags are better. Aesthetics are subjective, but I really don't see how a bicolor looks better than a medieval-style coat of arms. I do understand the practical concerns that you brought up like being recognisable enough, but at least put a cool coat of arms or emblem on your bi- or tricolor. Simple isn't always better. Yes, there are some flags and coats of arms that are ridiculously cluttered to the point they tire out your eyes just by looking at them, but there is a middle ground between that and just painting your flag with two or three colors.
I agree!
Sock's cuteness and the quality of video convinced me to subscribe, Good Job!
I am glad to hear it! He will continue to be a regular feature.
Great video, hope to see more.
One note, the middle ages ended around the year 1500 we were well into the modern era by the late 18th century.
Correct!
Awesome video, subscribing immediately!
Thanks! :)
Love the video man, well made!
Thanks!
man this video is actually really good, i hope it get more views :D
Flags back then: Very complex and deep. Flags now: "NOOoo,you cant have more then 3 colors!"
Bring back complicated flags!
Really cool video, I subscribed. I think the aspect ratio is an interesting topic to discuss if there's any actual reasoning behind the fact flags have a specific one and why there are so many of them.
Thanks! It definitely is. I think some of them have a reasoning behind it (mostly the unique ones).
That was a great video!
Great stuff, my historical knowledge is really lacking. Interested to see what direction this channel takes, good luck with your CZcams journey!
Thanks! Hope you'll like the next videos too.
Epic! We need a part 2
Thanks! The next video is on a different topic than flags; it's more conected with history. But the one after that will be flags again! :)
@@GilGeographyGuide Epic, can't wait to see it
@@GilGeographyGuide dont listen to em this video already has bad opinions
You have to remember that the flag you put for Castile is the flag of the union of Castile and Lion.
And also Spain is the union of Castile-Lion and the crown of Aragon, thats why they change the flag.
Great work
Deserve more views
Thank you!
This channel looks awesome. I'm sure you're gonna succeed. Keep up the good work. 😃
Thanks, Ahmad!
Such a good video, my favorite part was the Socks break
He is the star of the video
HOW DO YOU NOT HAVE LIKE 100K SUBS, YOUR CONTENT IS SOOOO GOOOOOD
Thank you! :) I'm working on a second video now, hopefully people will enjoy that one too!
Keep it up man!
Thanks!
Underrated youtuber
Also you sound exactly like general knowledge
It's the same guy 👀
Great video. You also sound a lot like another CZcamsr called general knowledge by the way.
true, that's what I thought as well
I've heard this a few times now!
Only 227 subs? How? Ur video making skills are awesome
Thanks! I'm really glad you liked the video. It was the first one I published so hopefully as I go on the subscribe count will grow :)
Nice video
Thank you!
Very good content. Another subscriber. Keep up the good work. 👍
Note: I don't know why, but the way you talk and your expressions, are very close to European Portuguese, my native language. 😅
Castilla... Castle...
Leon... Lion...
Granada... Pomegranate...
Maybe they...
No, I'm crazy.
Let's bring back more uniquely shaped flags and banners. Vertical banners, no square ends. Bring back the swallowtail and other shapes. Bring back the triangle in Asia. 🇳🇵
I agree!
Hey man, are you the same guy from General Knowdlege?
I am now the 380th subscriber.
GOOD VIDEOS DAW G. HERE BEFORE1K
Thanks!
I like simple flags when they put some effort in and arent just tricolors
1:47 Nah thats not what I see, a cat played with the Queen's knitting
Why did you delete the spanish coat of arm on the thumbnail though?
I used the civil variant, which is apparently not commonly used in Spain itself despite being the official civil flag.
For the Algorithim, good content channel deserves to grow
Thank you! :)
Just a question, are you General Knowledge? You sound very very similar to him
Fun with flags :)
Yes!
This guy got the spririt. 644th sub when 144 comments and 13k views
Thanks!
Simple flags can be good for example; England, Sweden, Denmark, France, Estonia & Japan.
so did music look at it now :D
We still have some good music though!
General Knowledge Detected: Immediately I know the video is going to be good
Bro I like this content
Thank you!
You explained how they came to be, but not why they stayed
The military or the navy aren't that important anymore, and yet we still have simple flags, sometimes différert from naval flags
Why have they kept being simple? Personally this is why i think they are still cool, even cooler than in the past
In the past you only knew a few flags, the one of your lord the one of the militia and and 2-3 more
But in the modern day, with thousands of languages constantly being talked simultaneously thanks to the internet, we need icons to recognise countries
This means, every person should know all flags of every nation in the world, just as everyone should know every country and capital, this is a necessary skill today, but it was not the case in the past
In the UN, in international organisations, to select language in a website... We need to memorize 200+ flags, they NEED to be simple for us to use them
Flags were very rarely used in the past, compared to today, so it's not thsy they aren't cool, it's that the coolness of modern day flags comes from their interaction, a thing that was pretty much absent in the past
The more local q flag is, like subnational flags, the more intricate and full of history it can be, since it interacts less and less with other flags in daily use
Having complex local flags that are only ever paired with the national flag, and having national and supra national flags be simple is a matter of utilitarianism
That's a good point!
It's a wrong idea to place a picture of a coat-of-arms on a flag as a picture of a shield, to begin with. The entire field of the shield should correspond with the entire cloth of the flag, which should not have the contour line of the shield drawn on it. From this standpoint, the original flag of Leon and Castilia - just divided into red and white quarters, without a shield shape picture - is correct.
That flag in the miniature is only that of the Crown of Castile and Spain is the union of the Crowns of Castile and ARAGON, so that flag never represented Spain
New flags are better and more pleasent to look at. It's better having simple and colourful design than overcomplicated illegible banners spammed with shitloads of different CoAs
You're Portuguese? And that voice of yours... That kind of narration...
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE!?
I personally prefer the simpler designs.
Hey! That's still the flag of Castile and Leon, but however I prefer our nowadays flag🇪🇸
That's true!
I wouldn’t fully agree with the opinion that flags back then were cooler, sure there were some unique and well-designed ones (such as Cross of Burgundy) but a lot of them are just complicated coat of arms on a mono-colour background.
Though yes, a lot of flags nowadays are very similiar in terms of both colour and layout (such as Mali, Guinea, Benin, Ethiopia, other yellow-red-green Pan-African flags or Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador) most of them are probably meant to signify their shared past an heritage. It also gives people less of a headache looking at them, though they should still have a bit of design to make them stand out (look at most Caribbean nation flags, they are unique) and (cough cough) toned down Minnesota state redesign.
The Portuguese coat of arms as seen in the last version of the Kingdom of Portugal flag was likely changed due to there being no more monarch (notice the lack of crown). Though for a what appears to be first video, still good.
There was definitely a lot of over complicated flags that would end up being unrecognizable and impractical. Maybe even more than today's boring and redundant flags.
General Knowledge face reveal. O video pelo qual todos esperávamos.
Gostei enorme do video, parabens da Espanha
I wouldnt mind a resurgence of monarchism if it got rid of the tricolor ngl
Which tricolor in particular?
You're that guy from that other channel
11:30 Ephiopia apart from brief period of Italian occupation during ww2 was pretty much never colonised or any other control
although we can argue whether Italian occupation counts or not
You sound like that guy from the other channel
Castille is not the same as Spain, if we kept the castillian flag a big chunk of the territory wouldn't be represented
sadly nowdays people are to obsessed with vexiological standards for flags, and how flags need to be simple so I dont think a new change of flags will take place
Doesn't the flag of the North American vexillological association break all of their own rules too?
@@GilGeographyGuide I don't know, but I know that a lot of people who are interested in the topic of flags think that those are golden rules that can not be broken
Grunwald or Žalgiris how we call it!
As a vexillologist and heraldist, it's because of egalitarianism
Interesting! How so?
@@GilGeographyGuide i wrote it before the vid, and you more or less got it
Burgindian Cross probably my favourite 'Spanish' flag, not too complex and I just like ir
I agree! My only complaint about it is that it's a little similar to other saltires.
And complicated.
But the shapes 😫😫😫
A little mistake, the king Charles III was not a medieval king, that was already the last years of the XVII century
That is true! Thanks for the correction
I just subscribed bc of the cute ass dog. jk I liked the video too
I wouldn't blame you. He's the main character here.
I was actually surprised by this video, because the explanation turned out to be much more complex than 'revolutions happened and they ditched the monarchic flags', which I was expecting.
Also, you butchered the pronounciation of Żary in Poland to the point that I had no idea what town you were talking about and had to google 'a town with a dog in its coat of arms' in Polish in order to find out what it was 😂 No worries though, I can't blame you.
Is this the Portuguese guy from general knowledge?
Canada only got its own flag in the 1960s but it looks unique.
True! It does have certain elements of uniqueness
Yes and no, Canada did definitely have distinctive flags with official status prior to the Maple Leaf, but the Red Ensign was never the "National" flag in law. That being said, the main reason the Union Flag remained our "National" or "Official" flag for so long had a lot more to do with the fundamental definition of Citizenship within the Dominions and the UK than it did with actual flag debates. The Canadian Red Ensign was created immediately following confederation and was absolutely seen as a distinctive national flag, especially from the 1890s on, it's just that Nationality was a much more fluid thing in Empire before the postwar era and as far as hierarchy of flags, the King's flag (Union Flag) was always the one seen as representing our Sovereignty and State, while the Ensign was used to espouse a more localized national identity and to identify Canada internationally.
General Knowledge secret alt account
I have an English note, on *"to* whom this ship belonged *to."* Using "to" twice in that sentence is not necessary. Some people are persnickety about where the preposition is placed within an English sentence; I'm not. I think it's just as good in front of the phrase as at the end of it. But you definitely don't need _both._ That's just redundant.
Not an important mistake at all. Just something you might want to know.
Thanks for the correction! English isn't my native language so I tend to make some of these mistakes.
@@GilGeographyGuide Oh, of course, it's no trouble. I would only bother correcting when someone's English is good enough that the mistake becomes noticeable.
Spain doesn’t have Castile and Leon’s flag because Spain is not Castile and Leon, Spain is the union of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Navarre and Grenada.
That is true! But I still think we can make a comparison between what was once a national flag of the independent kingdom of Leon & Castille with the national flag of Spain today, and how the first is much more detailed and interesting - in my opinion - than the modern latter one.
@@GilGeographyGuide that is very true, and I agree with it, medieval flags and flags that portray detailed coats of arms and symbols are so much better
Well I think Flags are perfectly fine tbh, flags are not supposed to be beautiful, they are supposed to be instantly recongnisable, if both can exist at the same time? Great, but most of these flags feel too complicated for something that you are supposed to see and in the first second say 'Oh that's this country"
Why can’t they be beautiful though, you can have your coat of arms on a tri or bi colour flag
@@satiresaturn8783 im not saying they can't, what im saying is that it's very rare to be able to do both
Wait u aint general knologe?
vamos-la mostrando a nossa bandeira NOS SOMOS ESPANHA OS PORTUGUESES SAO ESPANHOÍS
Carful Icarus
Castille and Spain aren't the same thing. Also, nothing happened to that flag. It's still the flag of the region of Castilla y León. It's still used as the flag of the same region it has always represented. Furthermore, the fact that the modern Spanish flag is the only purely tactical flag in the world, the colors don't represent anything, makes it have a lore that is much cooler and deeper than a lion and a castle because your name is literally Castle and Lion. So, I reject the entire premise of the video when it comes to Spain. Not only did you compare two flags that represent different things, but the "previous" is still used and isn't previous to anything that came later and the new one has a level of uniqueness that actually makes it way cooler.
You sound like General Knowledge
A lot of people have commented this!
you remind me of someone
General Knowledge RIght?
olá gil
Bro you look like Gonçalo Ramos
The PSG player?
@@GilGeographyGuide sim hahah
1785 is not medieval. That period had been over for like 300 years at that point
That is true! Thanks for the correction
@@GilGeographyGuide np
false, the official flag of Spain includes the kingdoms of Castile Aragon Leon Navarre and Granada the are in the spanish shield
True, but they're sort of 'hidden' in the small scale of the shield, wouldn't you agree?
Very familiar voice lol…..
habsburg spain>>>
Nah I'm sorry but you saying that the German and Polish flag is cool while Spain and Portugal isn't is simply wrong, you make the argument that every flag nowadays is simple and those two countries (Germany and Poland) are examples of this but Portugal and Spain still have a coat of arms that's unique
Even if Poland and Germany official flags started including the eagles let's be real a eagle as coat of arms is the most generic coat of arms in Europe
Liberalism happened
I really despise most modern flags, I accept zero tricolours other than the Dutch and French. Bring back heraldic flags. Enough graphic designer pet projects and digitized logos slapped on fabric, those aren't flags, just imitations.
I tend to agree, especially the lack of originality is an issue in my view.
Graphic designs don't just make logos btw They are perfectly capable of making more complex designs.
@@Snitram19 I didn't say they only make logos, I think you misread my comment.
@@rocksandforestquiver959 Sorry if I missunderstood you. I assumed you blamed graphic designers as a whole when you said "enough graphic designer pet projects". Many people assume that "graphic designers = minimalism" when in reality designers are also capable of doing heraldric flags if people want them to. I'm a designer myself and I agree with your hate of tricolor flags (other than the Dutch and French), not all of us want to slap minimalist logos on everything. Don't get me wrong, I love logos, but they don't belong in flags. That's why I hate the japanese prefecture flags, they are literally just logos on a bed sheet.
@@Snitram19 Yeah I wasn't calling out every graphic designer, I just meant the phrase more to call out the ones that spend so much time focusing on making unnecessarily unique or "cleverly abstract" flags that tend to represent their personality more so than any of the things a flag really should invoke.
Idk, majority of old flags look like over detailed shit, modern simple flags look way better.
14:30
please never show this atrocity ever again
What is wrong with the image?
The flag of the current autonomous community of Castille and Leon is the Crown of Castille flag
That is true!
You're blocking the cool part about Spain's flag with your big head bruh
My head is pretty big! But actually I used Spain's civil flag variant which does not fly the coat of arms on it.
😂 11:30 ethiopia has be never colonized maybe is bleu
I think the map makers took into account the Italian invasion and occupation of Ethiopia between 1936 and 1941.
@@GilGeographyGuide but china Was occupation by Uk the map said is bleu what website you pick in gogle 😅
Next time put the source OK I love yours video
The "Enlightenment" and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race
I'm not sure we can blame the Enlightenment period altogether. I would say it had its advantages too.
this video is BAD