Flags of the World Quizzes

The flag has its origins on the battlefields of ancient times. 4,000 years ago armies in the Middle East carried bronze flags before them, and 2,000 years later the legions of Rome held aloft representations of eagles as they marched into battle.

By the Middle Ages flags had become a more personal affair and heraldic symbols were painted onto shields as a means of identifying individual knights. Then, at the start of the Renaissance military regiments adopted their own standards and battlefields became festooned with various flags, each identifying a different unit.

Flags representing nations first appeared in the 17th century. Before then countries had usually been represented by their ruler’s coat of arms. Britain started to fly the newly designed Union Jack in 1606 after the union of England and Scotland and, following their revolutions in the late 18th century, the USA and France both started to use their own flags too.