Eight white and black gironnies with the ship and the crows of Saint Vincent: the 1920 model served as a pattern for the flags of Portuguese towns.
Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.
Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
CivilFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.YesIt carries the coat of arms on the cloth.The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.
It is a rectangular field with a 2:3 ratio divided into eight gironnies, which are eight triangles starting from the centre and alternating in white and black, with the coat of arms of the town in the middle.
Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.
Every date in its story, at a glance.
There are already records of a flag of Lisbon in 1385
An alvará of King Manuel I of 1508 ordered six square ones, carmine and white
The colours white and black appear around 1552 on the awnings and liveries of the town council’s…
After the liberal victory, a blue and white standard, imitating the Portuguese flag of 1830
It burned in 1863 in the fire at the town hall
Standards of white silk with the arms embroidered on them, like that of 1880 for the tricentenary…
The Republic of 1910 did not change them
It was proposed in 1919 to recover the one that would have been used at the taking of Ceuta
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
The flag of Lisbon has eight white and black gironnies and, in the centre, the arms of the ship with two crows. Its model served as the pattern for all the town flags of Portugal, and that of Ceuta is identical.
There are already records of a flag of Lisbon in 1385. In the fifteenth century it was called the “flag of Saint Vincent”, after the patron of the town. But nobody knows what it looked like then: all that is known is that the letters of King John I mention it. The colours white and black appear around 1552 on the awnings and liveries of the town council’s ships.
The current flag is not medieval. It was proposed in 1919 to recover the one that would have been used at the taking of Ceuta, in 1415. The councillor Eduardo Moreira presented the design in 1920 and it came into force on 5 October 1920. In 1940 the coat of arms was touched up to fit the 1930 heraldic rules.
Before the current one, the town council had several standards. This is their history, according to the Portuguese Wikipedia:
1508-1833
Carmine flags and standards, with the royal arms on one side and those of the town on the other. An alvará of King Manuel I of 1508 ordered six square ones, carmine and white.
1833-1863
After the liberal victory, a blue and white standard, imitating the Portuguese flag of 1830. It is the same blue and white as the flag of the Azores. It burned in 1863 in the fire at the town hall.
1871-1920
Standards of white silk with the arms embroidered on them, like that of 1880 for the tricentenary of Camões. The Republic of 1910 did not change them.
1920-1940
The gironnied flag in white and black appears. The arms become a Roman bireme with a crow. In 1927 the ship with two crows is recovered.
1940
Current flag. Portaria 9468, of 28 February 1940, changes the field of the coat of arms from silver to gold and stylises the ship.
White and black
the official colours of the town since the mid sixteenth century. Their origin is unknown.
Ship with two crows
according to tradition, the crows guarded the body of Saint Vincent when they brought it to Lisbon.
Silver and black cords and tassels
it carries the pole and spear in gold.
The town of Ceuta uses an identical one, because the flag of Lisbon was the first to be hoisted in its castle when the Portuguese took it on 21 August 1415.
Castelo Branco, Marco de Canaveses, São João da Madeira and Tavira also have eight white and black gironnies, because the law requires the colours of the coat of arms to be used.
The crows of the coat of arms recall the transfer of the body of Saint Vincent to Lisbon. It is a tradition, without proof. Flags of the World adds that there are hardly any crows in the city.
Test what you have read about the flag of Lisbon.
Text based on the article “Bandera de Lisboa” from the Spanish Wikipedia, published under the licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources consulted:
Flag image: Sérgio Horta, a partir de orginal de Ornellas e outros, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain.
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