Flag of Department of Aisne

The flag associated with Aisne is a white field with the coat of arms of the department in the centre. The coat of arms is divided into two halves and a wavy white line crosses it through the middle.

How it came about

Aisne is a department in northern France. The coat of arms was proposed by the heraldist Robert Louis.

The coat of arms brings together three references: Ponthieu, Champagne and the river. The wavy white stripe crossing the shield is the river.

How it has changed

It has never changed. No approval date is recorded.

What it means

• White

  the colour of the field, plain and with no stripes. The coat of arms goes on top, centred.

• Coat of arms

  divided into two halves.

• Upper half

  gold field with three blue bands diagonally.

• Lower half

  blue field with a white diagonal band and, at its sides, two gold fillets with zigzag ends.

• Wavy stripe

  a white band in the shape of a wave that covers the junction of the two halves. It is the river.

Fun facts

1. A line of water as the axis of the coat of arms

   The river is not in a corner of the shield: it crosses the whole coat of arms, joining the two halves. The wavy stripe covers the junction between them, so that the water is literally the element that stitches the two histories together.

2. The zigzag ends of the fillets

   In the lower half, the two gold fillets have zigzag ends. It is a minor heraldic detail, but the description records it because the zigzag is what distinguishes those fillets from a plain line.

3. A heraldist’s proposal, not an ancient inheritance

   The coat of arms was proposed by Robert Louis, a heraldist. It is not an old tradition handed down: it is a modern design, composed from three historical references. It is the kind of French departmental coat of arms that gets designed rather than inherited.

Location