Senyera

Lore & Background

The Senyera pattern is currently in the flag of four Spanish autonomous communities (Aragon, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community), and is the flag of the historically Catalan-speaking city of Alghero in Sardinia, Italy. It is also used on the coat of arms of Spain, the coat of arms of the Pyrénées-Orientales department and of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, the flag of Roussillon, Capcir, Vallespir, and Provence in France, on the coat of arms of Andorra, and on the local flags of many municipalities belonging to these territories.

The Senyera is also used informally in Catalonia to represent the Catalan language. The earliest known impressions of the equestrian seal of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (c. 1150) depict the count on horseback, holding a shield bearing a paled coat of arms (vertical bars), regarded as one of the earliest heraldic representations of the County of Barcelona and the Crown of Aragon. The Pennon of the Conquest of Valencia is documented as the world's oldest extant flag, dating from 1238, with the same red stripes design.

Reader's Guide

The plain version of the Senyera (Or, four bars Gules) is used as the official flag of the Autonomous Region of Catalonia during the Second Spanish Republic and since the Spanish transition to democracy. It is also used in the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales and as the flag of Provence.