CIRCA - 1279/ 1870 🇱🇻 - horizontal triband of 2 carmine stripes (top & bottom) separated by a thinner white (middle) stripe
HISTORY: The Latvijas karogs was first documented in the 13c Rhymed Chronicle of Livonia as a banner used by Latvian tribes
in 1279, giving it one of the oldest flag traditions of the continent.
Oral (likely post-hoc) legends trace it to a fallen Latgalian tribal leader, wounded
in battle, whose body was wrapped in a plain white sheet that absorbed 🩸 blood
along the edges, leaving the central portion unstained where it lay beneath him.
[A surprisingly similar legend & design to it's contemporary 13c Austrian flag🔍, both long pre-dating similar tribands of the 18c like those of France🔍 or Italy🔍.]
The ancient standard inspired 19c scholars who were looking for a nationalist symbol to distinguish Latvia from Baltic🔍
German banners, and by 1870's the karogs gained real significance when it was raised in 1918 by the newly declared
independent Latvia, following the collapse of Russia & Germany's imperial control. It was officially adopted in 1921, then
later restored by a mass popular awakening movement in 1990, (after Soviet & Nazi suppression since 1940)
VEXILLOLOGY:* Symbolizing the readiness of the Latvian people to defend their liberty;
The RED Stripes represent blood 🩸 spilled & unyielding resolve, both in the legend and specifically the 1918 struggle for independence while...
The WHITE Stripe represents purity of spirit, moral clarity in the face of existential threats & the untainted national character like the 'untouched core' of legend