🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <721933845.F00001@ocitor.fidonet> Tim@f4229.n124.z1.fidonet.org (Tim) writes:
>
> EO> In the Time-Life series Great Ages of Man, in their book covering
> EO> Byzantium, there was a picture of a monastery in Greece flying what they
> EO> said was the Byzantine flag.  As nearly as I could figure out what it was
> EO> they were flying, it was: 
> EO>    Gules, a two-headed eagle displayed sable.
>
> The two-headed eagle was, so far as I know, primarily associated with the
> Holy Roman (post-Charlemagne western) empire; I know of no instance of its
> use by the Eastern empire.

Not only was it used by the Eastern Empire, it may well be that its adoption
by the Holy Roman Empire (late 14th, early 15th c.) was in imitation of the
Eastern Empire. See Woodward's Treatise on double-headed eagles. And, since
you have Neubecker's book handy, check out his maps that show the use of 
charges like crosses, lions, eagles and fleur-de-lys across Europe. You 
will notice the double-headed eagle Or on a field Gules for Byzantium. 

As I described in my post on Balkanic heraldry, the Byzantine double-headed
eagle was adopted contemporaneously by Serbia (its color changed to Argent).
The 19th and 20th century Balkan states (Serbia, Montenegro, Yugoslavia) also
used the double-headed eagle Argent.

Further evidence can be found in the arms of former imperial families 
that moved to Western Europe or married into Western European families:
look up Lascaris, Paleologue, Comnenos in the Rietstap to find multiple 
variants of the double-headed eagle, often with imperial crown.

-- 

	Francois Velde

In article <721933845.F00001@ocitor.fidonet> Tim@f4229.n124.z1.fidonet.org (Tim) writes
> The two-headed eagle was, so far as I know, primarily associated with the
> Holy Roman (post-Charlemagne western) empire; I know of no instance of its
> use by the Eastern empire.

The double-headed eagle was the VERY emblem of the Byzantine empire from the
early beginning on. Eagle was the emblem of the Roman empire: perhaps the
double-headed eagle dates back to the Imperator Constantinus I as the 
founding of Constantinopolis as the "Second Rome". Certainly the basileus
Iraklios (Heraclius) used double-headed eagle as his emblem. Double-headed
eagle was something a badge for the Byzantine Empire (like the Red Star for
the Commies). "Officially" it was not until the emperor Theodoros II who
adopted it as the "official" emblem of the state.

About the west: one-headed eagle (Sa on Or) was the arms of King of Germany;
double-headed eagle indicated he was also the Holy Roman Emperor (these two
things were not the same). Sometimes even a third head would be added: this
indicated the kingship of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

> EO> Was that the right Byzantine flag, and was there any such thing as
> EO> Byzantine heraldry?  Among other things, I'm working on a GURPS game book
> EO> about Byzantium.  
>
> The only "Byzantine flag" I've ever seen is illustrated on p. 106 of
> Ottfried Neubecker's "Heraldry: Sources, Symbols, and Meanings". It shows
> a flag quarterly of "Argent a cross gules" and what are represented to be
> the family arms of the Palaeologoi, "Gules a Cross between four
> fire-stele's addorsed or". The latter, because of their resemblance to the
> letter "B", are suggested to represent the Palaeologos motto: "Basileus
> Basilewn, Basileuwn Basileuoin". It allegedly dates from a 14th century
> source, the "Conoscimentos de todos los Reinos".

Vasilevs vasileon, vasilion vasilefsin, like it would be translated from the
Greek, meaning "King of the kings, ruling all over the kings". The Greek "B"
is pronounced as "V".

Good sources are the Wargames' Research Group books "Armies of the Dark Ages
600-1066", "Armies and the Enemies of the Crusades 1071-1291" and "Armies of
the Middle Ages, volume 2, Eastern Europe 1300-1500", all by Ian Heath.
All include excellent information of the Byzantine empire, armies, organizat-
ion, tactics, troops and emblems. The most popular Byzantine flag type was of
the vexillum-like, which hanged from a crossbar. Most popular charges were
of course the double-headed eagle, labarum (Christ-monogram), birds, and,
of course, other Christian symbols like crosses and ikons. Good sources are 
also the Osprey Men-at-arms series books of the era, although not infallible.

(Yes, I am a wargamer and one of my favorite armies is the Nikephorian
 Byzantine 963-1071. Watch out for the Katafraktoi !)


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