Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Flags of The Grand War

My friend Lynn Davis has always been one of my favorite alternate history map makers.  When she said she wished she had flags I made a flag of an Islamic China based on one of her maps.  Lynn loved it and ask if I wanted to make more flags for her Grand War series.  Well, how could I say no to something like that?

So in this post I'm going to share those flags with you.  So without further ado let's get on with it.


So here's the flag of Islamic China.  It's green since that's a color you see in a lot of Islamic flags, and the star and crescent moon are included as well.  The writing is Arabic, the sacred language of Islam, and it says "Truly there is no god but Allah and Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him".  The dragon adds Chinese influence, plus Lynn and I really like dragons.  Fun fact, this flag was featured in a work of art Lynn commissioned of two Chinese soldiers having sex.  You know you've hit he big times when your work is featured in a Rule 34 commission!  


Here we have the flag of Ruthenia.  Lynn wanted something that looked like the OTL flag of Ruthenia, and I figured nothing says alternate Russia quite like a bear holding an ax. 


For this one we have the Holy Germanian Empire.  Lynn wanted a red background and white cross, but that struck me as too simple.  So I added these crests to symbolize both the empire's earthly power and holy authority. 


This one is Norman France.  We've got the Norman lions along side the French fleur-de-lis to represent the mixed heritage of the nation.  Also, gotta love the red-blue contrast.


Here we have Japan.  It has black and white like the flag of the Tokugawa Shogunate, because it was opened up earlier in this world, and the imperial chrysanthemum.


This one is the flag of Anglo-Saxon Britain.  It's red, white and has a dragon.  All common Anglo-Saxon symbolism.  Plus, again, who doesn't love dragons? 


And here we have the United Kingdoms of Arcadia.  Lynn wanted something that was like a cross between the flags of America and Canada, and she like what I came up with. 


For this one it the flag of the Punjab Empire.  I wanted to do a pennant to mix things up, and I gave it orange since it's a Hindu empire and I added the pillar of Ashoka for added effect.


This one is the flag of Hispania.  It's Christian, but retains many elements of it's Moorish heritage, and the flag reflects this mixed heritage in it's symbolism. 


This is the flag of the Byzantine Empire.  Lynn wanted something like the Russian flag.  The gold is for God, the purple is for the emperor and the red is for the common people.  It's contains the imperial double headed eagle, and the Alpha and Omega symbols are to stand for the empire's strong Christian influences.   


Here we have the flag of The Caliphate.  It's a swallow tale to add variety to the fairly basic design.


Here we got the flag of Persia.  Pretty much the same as Iran's flag save for the inclusion of the Persian sun and lion.


This one is the flag of Vinland.  It follows the same pattern as all of the other Norse flags in reflecting it's Nordic heritage. 


Finally we have the flag of Korea.  I figured that as a Chinese vassal they'd get some Islamic influence as well.  We've got a flow and some phoenixes along with the phrase "God is great" in Arabic. 

Well that wraps up this flag post.  If you like Lynn's maps be sure to donate to her Patreon account.  I hope you all enjoyed getting to see these flags.  I love how they all have medieval feel to them.  Fitting, give that's when this world's history diverged from our's.  I'm actually credited as a vexillologist, someone who studies flags and banners, in Lynn's Grand War book.  Until next time everybody.     

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