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Capita Selecta on Red and Blue Coloration jwr1947

Introduction

The colors' symbolism played an important role in history.Initially bipolarity has been identified in the cups and pillars, in various burial rituals, positioning

the corpses in distinct directions according to their gender. In a second phase the Indo-Europeanlanguage developed a bipolar god's name *Deiwos and a sky-god's name *Dyeus and its derivatives

Zeus, Dieu, Dios, Dio ..., in which the bipolarity may be identified in the vowels “Y” or “I”, “E”,

“O” and “U”1. 

Earliest witnesses of color symbolism are found in the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman templesand sculptures, which have been painted in the brightest primary colors2.

In Hochdorf a Celtic burial site revealed the marvelous, high-quality garments made 500 BCE,

which had been used to wrap the sovereign's corpse in alternating red and blue, respectively purple

colors3.

According to a number of divine commands in the Book Exodus and the second Book of Chroniclesthe colors Purple, Red and Blue must have been religious symbols for a very long time4.

Roman historians report the religious symbolism in purple decorations for the senators and purple

garments for the emperor and his family. Purple stripes (named clavi) were reserved for the knights

and senators. As a divine emperor Nero reserved purple clothing for the imperial family.

As more recent document the 5th century Notitia Dignitatum probably represents the missing link  between Exodus, the symbolism in Roman garments and the medieval illuminated Bibles 5. Notitia

Dignitatum details administrative symbols in the Roman empire, which at that time already had

 been governed for 90-100 years by a religious tolerance of Christianity. The manuscript(s) providesus with an overview of the late Roman shield patterns for the military forces around 400 AD.

Most decorations of all medieval manuscripts are often in two or three primary colors, in which red

and blue are the dominant colors for initials, decorations and illuminations6.

Early English royals preferred red and blue garments for their tombs, located at Fontevraud Abbeyand for their coats of arms7.

The central religious image of Hieronymus Bosch' Garden of Earthly Delights may be identified in

the androgynous symbolism of the red pillar over a blue pond in the fountain(s) of fertility and

love8.

Ancient religious symbolism in the colors red, blue and purple has been inherited from the biblicalsources to the Masonic traditions9. The Aprons, Banners, the Breastplate, the Canopy, the Garments,

the Ephod, the decorations of the Tabernacle and the Veils have been made “of blue, purple, and

scarlet or crimson, decorated with gold upon a ground of fine white linen”.

1 Bipolar Monotheism (A Historical Record of God, Colors and Vowels)

2  National Archaeological Museum of Athens - Bunte Götter exhibition3 Hochdorf Revisited - A reconstructed Celtic Site

4 Bipolar Monotheism (A Historical Record of God, Colors and Vowels)5 Blue and Red in Notitia Dignitatum

6 Illuminated Manuscripts7 Red and Blue in British Royalty

8 The Central Religious Images in the Garden of Earthly Delights9 Blue and Red Symbolism in Freemasonary

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Although the Book Exodus defines blue as a divine prescription for the Hebrew High Priests'

garments and curtains at the Covenant Tent the symbol blue (and equally yellow) have been avoidedas standard liturgical colors, probably resulting from the idea of avoiding any evil influence from

the altar 10.

Most of these details have been documented in separate manuscript, but some of the investigations

will have to be revised or completed with some new insights.

Exodus 25:4

With respect to Exodus 25:4 I found a comment explaining that the colors never have been

understood. Due to a failing explanation the translation errors in Exodus 25:4 may have been

existent for a long time as interpreting errors before the first translations were to be made. Thismight explain why so many translators missed the correct translation.

Flags

The flags' design may have been based on the coat of arms, derived from the Roman shields. Allmilitary relevant objects may have been restricted to simple primary colors for safe identification in

the battle fields. This may restrict colorations to 5 or 6 simple basic colors.

In a search for the oldest traces for flags I found a description in the Kudrun (or  Gudrunlied ),

which provides us with a medieval description of medieval flags 11. In tale the 27th (“ How Ludwig 

and Hartmut met the Hegelings”12) Hartmut names to Ludwig the banners of the coming knights.

The earliest historical evidence for an existing flag may be found for the Frisian flag. Additionally I

found another source for the  East India Company's flag  as a predecessor for the Stars and the

 Stripes. Evidence may be found for masonic origins for flags and other predecessor links between

flags.

 Alternating row of red and blue gems in a crown

The flag of the Dutch province Sealand reveals the popular alternating row of red and blue gems ina crown, which as an additional observation may prove that Elisabeth I's necklace in the high 

resolution image seems to contain an alternating sequence of red, white and blue gems.

Seraphs are Red and Cherubim are Blue

Seraphs are Red, whereas Cherubim are Blue, but no real explanation for the coding is given.

Seraphs and cherubs are the heavenly creatures standing nearest to the throne of God. 

According to Exod., xxvi, 31, cherubim were embroidered on the Veil of the Tabernacle, separatingthe Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. "With blue and purple and scarlet and fine twined linen"they were made13. This however implies that the illustrations of red seraphs and blue cherubs do not

really meet the specifications in Exod., xxvi, 31. and must be considered as an artistic interpretation.

 

10 Liturgical (and Royal) Colours

11 see appendix 1 for the text12 Gudrun: a Mediaeval Epic, verse translation by Mary Pickering Nichols , 1889, Boston and New York: Houghton,

Mifflin and Company.13 Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Cherubim

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The comments to Exodus 25:4

A website lists the parallel translations including the comments14 for various Bible-quotations suchas Exodus 25:4. The comments are illustrative:

Clarke's Commentary on the Bible15 

• Blue - techeleth, generally supposed to mean an azure or sky color; rendered by the

υακινθον

• Purple - argaman, a very precious color, extracted from the purpura or murex, a

species of shell-fish, from which it is supposed the famous Tyrian purple came, so costly,

and so much celebrated in antiquity. See this largely described, and the manner of dyeing it,

in Pliny, Hist. Nat., lib. ix., c. 60-65, edit. Bipont.

• Scarlet - tolaath, signifies a worm, of which this coloring matter was made; and,

 joined with shani, which signifies to repeat or double, implies that to strike this color 

the wool or cloth was twice dipped: hence the Vulgate renders the original coccum bis

tinctum, "scarlet twice dyed;" and to this Horace refers, Odar., lib. ii., od. 16, v. 35.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible 16 

And blue, and purple, and scarlet,.... The Jewish doctors are much divided about the sense of 

the words so rendered by us; some will have one color, and some another meant; but,according to those learned men, who have taken much pains in searching into the meaning

of them, as Bochart and Braunius, it appears that our version of them is most correct: and by

these we are not to understand the colours themselves, which could not be brought, nor eventhe materials for dying them are intended; but wool, or clothes, either silken or linen of those

colors: of the former the apostle has taught us to expound them, Hebrews 9:19 and so Jarchi

interprets them of wool thus died, and Josephus (a) also; which was made up into yarn, andwove, and was much used in the garments of the priests, in the curtains of the tabernacle,

and in the vail between the holy and the most holy place

Translation errors in Exodus 25:4

Strange as it may seem none of the comparative investigations ever mentions the errors17 in Luther's

and others' translations of Exodus 25:4 and other, equivalent lines.

A great number of Bible-translations does not refer to blue, but to yellow. The error has beenrevealed at the Luther Bible 1534, but the error had been introduced at least 1477 - decades beforeLuther published his work. In fact a similar problem has been identified in a great number of Dutch

Bibles. Not any one of the translators seems to have noticed these errors, which misinterpreted thedivine words. In fact the error still has not been listed in the "Bible errata", listing the printers' errors

and peculiar translations. The particular phrase of the Vulgata is "hyacinthum et purpuram

coccumque", which normally is to be translated to "blue, and purple, and scarlet".

By now I consider this problem to have existed for centuries before the first translations had beenmade (1477). Some of the medieval monks simply must have considered “hyacinthum” as a yellow

element.

14 Exodus 25:4 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair;15  Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

16 Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible17 Analysis of the Translation Errors in Exodus 25-4

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Flags

More than 28 Countries have flags in the color scheme of   Red, white and blue18:

United States19, United Kingdom20,  France 21  ,  Netherlands22, Russia, Costa Rica, Iceland,Paraguay,  Norway (1899), Luxembourg23, Dominican Republic, Czech Republic, Chile,

 North Korea, Cuba, Thailand, Serbia and Montenegro, Laos, Faroe Islands, Croatia,

Australia, Slovenia, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Cambodia, Slovakia, Panama, China.

The list may be extended to regional flags such as the Frisian flags, which are in use for countiesand minorities. These local flags often combine variants of the symbols, which allows us to identify

the fundamentals as the most common elements.

A great number of flags have been inherited from predecessor flags and other symbolic elements

(mostly from masonic and religious origins).

Kudrun

In a search for the oldest traces for flags I found a description in the Kudrun (or  Gudrunlied ),

which provides us with a medieval description of medieval flags 24. In tale the 27th (“ How Ludwig and Hartmut met the Hegelings”25) Hartmut names to Ludwig the banners of the coming knights.

The banners' descriptions involve the type (e.g.  pennon), material (silk), colors (brown, gold, red,

white, sky-blue) and illustrations (sharpened spears, sea-leaves) and their origins (Sturmland or Stormarn near Hamburg in Northern Germany, Denmark, Sealands, and Friesland ).

Frisian Flags26 

The Frisian flag consists of four blue and three white diagonal stripes; in the white stripes are atotal of seven red  pompeblêden, stylized heart-shaped leaves of  yellow water-lily. Since the 11th

century a coat of arms with  pompeblêdden is known. Evidence for this lies within verses of the

Gudrunlied. Round 1200 Scandinavian coats of arms reveal many traces of water-lilies and hearts,found often in combination with images of lions.

18 Countries with Red , White, and Blue Flags 

19 The earliest of flags was adopted by the Continental Congress, and remained in use until 1977. Interestingly, it didn'thave any stars, but rather closely resembled the flag of British East India Company. → ↑ The Striped Flag Of The

East India Company, And Its Connexion With The American "STARS And Stripes" - Article By Sir Charles Fawcett20 The combined crosses of St. George (red) St. Andrew (white) and St. Patrick (Red) the red fimbrated in white all on

a blue ground.21 Members of the Parisian militia which stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789 had worn blue and red cockades on

their hats. To provide the blue and the red a national appeal, Marquis de La Fayette, the French leader suggested

including a white cockade to the uniform of the National Guard.

22 Prince William of Orange had used this flag in the latter half of the 16th century to mark the Dutch revolution

against Spain. In this way, the flag was called the "Princeflag" (or "Prinsenvlag"). The colors used in the flag in that period were white, blue and orange. Later, this orange color was changed to red.

23 The colors of the flag of Luxembourg have been based on the 13th century coat of arms of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The coat of arms featured a red lion with a background of white and blue stripes.

24 see appendix 1 for the text25 Gudrun: a Mediaeval Epic, verse translation by Mary Pickering Nichols , 1889, Boston and New York: Houghton,

Mifflin and Company.26 Frisian Flags

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15th century books on heraldry show that two armorial bearings were derived from the early ones: a

coat of arms showing lions and seven pompeblêdden transformed into little blocks, the other beingthe arms with the seven now known lilies on stripes.

(Former) area of Frisian settlement, areas with Frisian languages spoken today,areas represented in today's Inerfrisian Council27. 

27 Published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later by the Author T. Bosse

 Fig. 1: (Former) area of Frisian settlement 

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• Frisian flag (red, blue and white)

• Sylt Flag (red, blue and yellow)

• Eastfrisian flag (red, blue and black)

•  North Frisian flag (red, blue and yellow) (“Lewer diad üs Slav!”)

•  Northern Holland (Noord-Holland) (red, blue and yellow stripes)

• Southern Holland (Zuid-Holland) (red lion and yellow)

• Sealand (red, blue, white)

Regional flags

A great number of the regional flags in Northern Germany base on red and blue elements such asthe flags of:

• Mecklenburg - Vorpommern (red, white, blue,yellow)

• Thuringia Flag (red, white, blue)

 Fig. 2: Flag of Frisia with seven red   pompeblêden

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The Flag of the United States28 

A great number of US-symbols have been traced to masonic elements, but the flag itself may be based on a predecessor flag, which in its initial phase had been based on red and white elements.

At the time of the  American Revolution the East India Company flag was identical to the Grand 

Union Flag. The flag probably inspired the Stars and Stripes 29

from a drawing from the notebook of William Downman public domain 

In Buckminster Fuller's Book "Critical Path", he has this to say about the 1 st flag proposedfor America,

"In our tracing of the now completely invisible power structures it is important to

note that, while the British Empire as a world government lost the AmericanRevolution, the power structure behind it did not lose the war. The most visible of the

 power structure identities was the East India Company, an entirely private enterprise,whose flag as adopted by Queen Elizabeth in 1600 happened to have 13 red andwhite horizontal stripes with a blue rectangle in it's upper lefthand corner. The blue

rectangle bore in red and white the superimposed crosses of St. Andrew and St.George. When the Boston Tea Party occurred, the colonists dressed as Indians

 boarded the East India Company's three ships and threw overboard their entire

cargoes of high-tax tea. They also took the flag from the masthead of the largest of the "East Indiamen", the Dartmouth.

George Washington took command of the U.S. Continental Army under an elm tree

in Cambridge, Mass. The flag used for that occasion was the  East India Company's

 flag , which by pure coincidence had the 13 red and white stripes.”

28 Freemasons Control The World!!29 as argued by Sir  Charles Fawcett in 1937.[26] 

 Fig. 3: First British East India Company flag (1685)

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Masonic Roots

The triangle is a masonic symbol and flags (or banknotes) with triangular elements may have beendesigned by masons. The George Washington Apron is bordered with in a red, white and blue

 borderline, the ALL-SEEING EYE, a RAINBOW, PILLARS B. and J

Three examples may illustrate the basic idea.

The Philippine flag - its masonic roots30 (1896)

In one of his speeches delivered after the Revolution, the first president of the PhilippinesAguinaldo said; "The successful Revolution of 1896 was masonically inspired, masonically led, and

masonically executed. And I venture to say that the first Philippine Republic of which I was itshumble president, was an achievement we owe, largely, to masonry and the freemasons."

“The Hong Kong designed flag that Aguinaldo brought with him from his exile on board the

US dispatch boat McCullock, and which became the official flag of the first Philippine

Republic, consisted of two horizontal stripes, blue on top and red below. It had a whiteequilateral triangle at the hoist that is smaller than that in our flag today. Within the triangle,

at its center, a mythological sun was depicted with eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth in black,

 bearing eight rays without any minor ray for each, and three five-pointed stars, one at eachangle of the triangle. All these devices were in gold or yellow color.”

Cuba's flag31 (1848)

The first version says that the Venezuelan general Narciso López, made in 1848 the first seriousattempt to help Cuba break away from Spanish rule. He carried 'La Estrella Solitaria' -'The Lone

Star'-banner, Cuba's present flag. (While he was having important meetings on the revolution, hiswife embroidered it). His attempt was not successful; only in 1902 Cuba became an independent

republic and López's flag was adopted as the official flag.The three blue stripes are the symbols of the original three provinces. The triangle is a masonic

symbol, here signifying liberty, equality and fraternity. The red color is for the blood sacrificed bythe Cuban patriots.

Nicaragua (1823)

The Flag of Nicaragua and its the national coat of arms (1823) has a 'Triangle within a Circle' and

within the triangle there is a Sun and a Rainbow in the background.

30 The Philippine flag - its masonic roots – Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon31 Origins of Cuban Flag

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Derivations from predecessor flags

Haiti's Flag (1803)

Haiti's flag has been derived from the French tricolor (red, blue and white) by eliminating the white

element32

.In Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, chief of the black rebels, andAlexandre Pétion, leader of the mulattos, decide in February 1803 to stop fighting alongside

the French. During the Arcahaie Congress, Dessalines, on May 18, 1803, removes the white

 band from the French flag – which was used in Haiti during the French rule, and therebycreates the first Haitian flag, symbol of the alliance of blacks and mulattos in their fight for 

freedom. Dessalines, who orders that the phrase “Freedom or Death” be inscribed on theflag, is soon nominated General of the Insurrection.

On November 18, 1803, French troops capitulate in Vertières; Haiti is independent. OnJanuary 1, 1804 the generals of the revolution decide to change the flag so that the bands are

now horizontal. This is the first flag of the free and independent republic. This new bi-colored flag is confirmed by article 192 of the Constitution of 1843.

The Russian and pan-Slavic banners

Red, white and blue are the pan-Slavic color combination, which had been spread in the flag-

definitions around the 19th century. The Russian flag had been derived from the Dutch tricolor byCzar Peter I the Great (1672-1725)33. 

• Russia (red, white, blue)

The Flag of Russia is the source of the Pan-Slavic influence. The flag of  Slovenia was

introduced in 1848, when group of Slovenian intellectuals in Vienna (Austria) created thetricolor flag (white-blue-red). It was heavily influenced by Russian flag and pan-Slaviccolors. Slovakia also has the same tricolor flag design as Slovenia and Russia. The first

Slovak flag was also introduced in 1848.Yugoslavia, both the Kingdom (Kingdom of  Yugoslavia, 1918–1943) and the Republic (SFR Yugoslavia, 1943–1992) was a union of 

several Slavic nations, and therefore not only sported the pan-Slavic colors but adopted the

 pan-Slavic flag as its own (later adding a red star). The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a successor state of Yugoslavia, also used the pan-Slavic flag 34.

• Flag of the Sorbs (Serbja, Serby, Wenden) (red, white, blue)

From this overview red and blue may be identified as a common factor at the coastal areas of the

 North and East Seas. Red, blue and white have been inherited by Czar Peter I the Great as the Pan-Slavic colors to a great number of European nations.

•

32 Flags of Haiti 1697-1986

33  Peter the Great in Holland 34 From Wikipedia's entry: Pan-Slavic colors 

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Etruscan Flag

 Necropolis of Cimitile-Nola, Tomb Weege 30 ca. 330-320 BCE35

A red, white and blue banner is carried by a warrior.

35 Ancient Italy 4.2 Etruscans and Samnites in Campania

 Fig. 4: A red, white and blue banner is carried by a warrior 

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Red and Blue elements in Crowns

The coat of arms organization is exactly according to heraldic rules determined. One rule says thatthe coat of arms must be identifiable to a specific distance (200 feet) unambiguously. That is the

reason why there are only a limited number of coat of arms colors, the tinctures there are: red, blue, black, green and rarely purple36.

The colors in heraldry may have been designed by special names:

Gules (red), Azure (blue), Vert (green), Sable (black), Purpure (purple), Or (gold), Argent(silver), Tawny (orange), Sanguine (maroon)37.

The flag of the Dutch province Sealand 

The flag of the Dutch province Sealand reveals the popular alternating row of red and blue gems ina crown.38

36 Coat of arms - Josef Ramsperger: http://www.ahnen-und-wappen.de/ (2010)

37 The Meanings of Colors in a Family Crest38 Red and Blue in British Royalty

 Fig. 5: Red and Blue elements in Crowns

 Fig. 6: Flag of Sealand 

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St Edward's Crown

These red & blue alternations had also been identified in a number of British crowns 39, which maysignify a long tradition of using red & blue in the British monarchy.

St Edward's Crown used in English coronations as published by Hugo Gerhard Ströhl (1851–1919)The present St Edward's Crown contains much of the crown made in 1661 for the coronation of 

King Charles II, and also pearls owned by Queen Elizabeth I. Constructed of solid gold, the crown's

design includes a base, with four cross pattées alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, within which is avelvet cap with ermine border, and two arches above and surmounted by a cross, all set with 444

 precious stones. Formerly the latter were hired for each coronation and then detached, leaving only

the frame. However, in 1911 the jewels were set permanently.

39 Red and Blue in British Royalty

 Fig. 7: St Edward's Crown

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Imperial State Crown

Queen Victoria's crown has been created 1838 and contains 3093 jewels. The model for this crownis a crown of Carl II. Clearly visible is the large ruby which Don Petro offered as a gift to the Black 

Prince. Both large red and blue colored gems are dominating the crown.

 Author: Hugo Gerhard Ströhl (1851–1919)from Wikimedia Commons.

 Fig. 8: Imperial State Crown

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The Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom

The Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom is of a design similar to St Edward's Crown: itincludes a base of four crosses pattée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, above which are four half-

arches surmounted by a cross. Inside is a velvet cap with an ermine border. The Imperial State

Crown includes several precious gems, including: 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11emeralds, and 5 rubies. Apart from silver the dominating colors are  purple and blue and a large red

Black Prince's ruby (not clearly shown in this image – at the left).

The Crown includes several famous jewels. The Cross atop the Crown is set with a stone known asSt. Edward's  Sapphire, a sapphire taken from the ring (or possibly coronet) of Edward the

Confessor. The Black Prince's Ruby (actually a spinel) is set on the front cross pattée. Furthermore,

the famous Cullinan II, or Lesser Star of Africa, is set on the front of the Crown. The back of thecrown is set with the 104-carat (21 g; 320 gr) Stuart Sapphire in its band.

Coronation robes for Elizabeth I of England (1533 – 1603)

The following painting displays Queen Elizabeth I of England in her coronation robes, decoratedwith Tudor roses and trimmed with ermine. Queen Elizabeth I wears her hair loose, as traditional

for the coronation of a queen, perhaps also as a symbol of virginity.

The necklace seems to contain an alternating sequence of red, white and blue gems, but the color 

identification is rather difficult. It may be studied in details at a high resolution image at Wikipedia.

The white gems are pearls. The red stones may easily be identified as red. The dark stones however may vary between dark blue and black. We might reconstruct the colors by calibrating the image in

a comparison of the crown's gems. Unfortunately the stones were hired for each coronation and then

detached, leaving only the frame. From 1911 the jewels were set permanently. The same proceduremay have been followed in the robes.

The painting, by an unknown artist, dates to the first decade of the seventeenth century (NPG gives

c.1600) and is based on a lost original also by an unknown artist. Currently in the collection: National Portrait Gallery, London: NPG 517516

 Fig. 9: Queen Elizabeth I of England 

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Elizabeth I of England with a Coat of arms

I found another portrait of queen Elizabeth I of England, which also contains a coat of arms. Thedark blue sections coat of arms (which should be a combination of red and blue) is colored in the

same dark hue as the dark sections of her garments.

 Fig. 10: queen Elizabeth I of England with a coat of arms in red &

“black”

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Seraphs Are Red, Cherubim Are Blue

Cherubim are mentioned in the Torah and in the books of  1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, and  2 Chronicles mainly in the construction of the House of God. Tradition places seraphs in the fifth rank 

of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy and the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy.

It was Pope Gregory the Great (540- 604) who established nine angelic orders divided into threechoirs, with cherubim and seraphs populating the highest choir 40. Traditionally cherubim aredepicted in blue, while seraphs41 are clothed in red.

Seraphs

Seraphim is a Hebrew masculine plural form, designates a special class of heavenlyattendants of Yahweh's court42. They are distinct from the cherubim who carry or veil God,

and show the presence of His glory in the earthly sanctuary, whilst the seraphim stand before

God as ministering servants in the heavenly court.

Cherubs

The word cherub (cherubim is the Hebrew masculine plural) is a word borrowed from the

Assyrian kirubu, from karâbu, "to be near", hence it means near ones, familiars, personalservants, bodyguards, courtiers. According to Exod., xxvi, 31, cherubim were embroidered

on the Veil of the Tabernacle, separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. "With blueand purple and scarlet and fine twined linen" they were made.

How many such cherubim were embroidered on the Paroket, or Veil, we do not know. It isoften supposed that as this veil screened the Holy Holies, two large- sized figures to

represent guardian spirits or keepers were thereon depicted43.

This however implies that the illustrations of  red seraphs and blue cherubs do not really meet thespecifications in Exod., xxvi, 31. and must be considered as an artistic interpretation.

40 Seraphim Are Red, Cherubim Are Blue41 Literally "burning ones"

42 "Seraphim". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.43 Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Cherubim

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"The Angelic Council" 

Beneath the mandorla of Christ Emmanuel are representations of  Cherubim (blue) and Seraphim (red).

"The Angelic Council". 44 

44 Eastern Orthodox Church icon of the "Seven Archangels." From left to right: St Jehudiel, St Gabriel, St Selatiel, St

Michael, St Uriel, St Raphael, St Barachiel. (public domain) - Russian Orthodox icon, ''Synaxis of ArchangelMichael''. Tempera and gold leaf on wood.

 Fig. 11: "The Angelic Council" 

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Madonna and Child Surrounded by Angels

In Jean Fouquet’s Madonna and Child Surrounded by Angels the model for the Virgin seems to beAgnès Sorel, mistress to King Charles VII.

Public domain image

 Fig. 12: Madonna Surrounded by Seraphim and Cherubim - 1452

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Petites Heures de Jean de Berry 

From the Petites Heures de Jean de Berry, a 14th-century illuminated manuscript.

Public domain - Bibliothèque nationale de France

 Fig. 13: God surrounded by seraphs.

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Appendix 1: The flags' descriptions in Kudrun45 (13th century)

Tale the 27 th : How Ludwig and Hartmut met the Hegelings46 

 Hartmut names to Ludwig the banners of the coming knights. On learning that the Hegeling army is

approaching, Gerlind counsels her son, Hartmut, to await a siege ; but he chooses to sally forth, with Ludwigand their followers, and a battle ensues, in which Ludwig overthrows Herwic.

SLEEP still left he lying all his faithful men.O He and his father Ludwig, the twain, to go were seen,

And, gazing from the window, they saw the throngs below them.

Quickly then said Hartmut : "Too near our castle-walls me thinks they show them.

"I ween they are not pilgrims, in truth, my father dear ;More like it is that Wa-te and all his men draw near.

He from Sturmland cometh, the lord of Ortland bringing ;

The men I see are like them, as I know from the flag that they to the breeze are flinging.

"I see a brown silk  pennon, that comes from Karadé" ;Before that flag is lowered, many will rue the day.

On it a head is blazoned, as red as gold it glitters :Guests so bold and warlike we well can spare ; their sight the day embitters.

"The Moorland king is bringing full twenty thousand men,Knights as strong and daring as any I have seen ;

To win from us great honor methinks they now are craving.There comes another banner, that o'er yet other knights its folds is waving 1 .

"It is the flag of Horant , the knight from the Danish land ;

I see with him Lord Frute, I know both him and his band.

And hither, too, from Waleis, many foemen leading,Morunc now comes riding ; he, for the morning's fight, o'er the sands is speeding.

"I see another banner, on it a chevron red ,

With sharpened spears within it ; for this shall many bleed.

Ortwin it is who bears it, from Ortland hither faring :Erewhile we slew his father ; no kindly thought to us he now is bearing.

"There floats another banner, whiter than any swan ;

Blazons bright and golden you well may see thereon.It is our mother  Hilda who sends it o'er the water ;

The hatred of the Hegelings will soon be known by me who stole her daughter.

"There I see uplifted a flag outspreading wide ;

Of   sky-blue silk 't is woven. The truth I will not hide ;

 Herwic bears this banner, he in the Sealands dwelling.

 Sea-leaves are shown upon it ; he soon on us his wrath will here be telling.

"There Irold, too, is coming, this that I say is true,

From Friesland leading many, as well indeed I know,With fighting men from Holstein, warriors brave and daring.

A stormy fight is nearing ; now in our castle all must arms be wearing."

45  Kudrun (sometimes known as the Gudrunlied ), is a Middle High German epic, written probably in the early yearsof the 13th century, not long after the Nibelungenlied , the influence of which may be traced upon it.

46 Gudrun: a Mediaeval Epic, verse translation by Mary Pickering Nichols , 1889, Boston and New York: Houghton,Mifflin and Company.

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Then cried Hartmut loudly : "Up, my faithful men !

If to these guests so warlike, who 'neath our walls are seen,It may not now be granted to ride so boldly near us,

Then, before the gateway, with sword-blows we must greet them, and bravely bear us."

Then from their beds upsprang they all who yet did lie ;

At once, to bring their war-gear, loudly did they cry.

The call to guard their master gladly they were hearing ;Forty hundred warriors showed themselves, their shining armor wearing.

Ludwig and Hartmut with him armed themselves for fight :

To the sad and homeless maidens this was a sorry sight ;These within the castle uneasy hearts were keeping ;

They said to one another : "Let him who smiled before this day be weeping ! "

Quickly came Queen Gerlind, old King Ludwig's wife ;

She said : "What will you, Hartmut ? Would you lose your life,With that of all your kinsmen who here our lot are sharing ?

The foe will surely slay you, if to leave the castle-walls you now be daring."

…..

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction..........................................................................................................................................1

Exodus 25:4.....................................................................................................................................2Flags.................................................................................................................................................2

Alternating row of red and blue gems in a crown............................................................................2Seraphs are Red and Cherubim are Blue.........................................................................................2

The comments to Exodus 25:4.............................................................................................................3

Clarke's Commentary on the Bible..................................................................................................3Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible ...............................................................................................3

Translation errors in Exodus 25:4....................................................................................................3Flags.....................................................................................................................................................4

Kudrun.............................................................................................................................................4

Frisian Flags.....................................................................................................................................4Regional flags..................................................................................................................................6

The Flag of the United States..........................................................................................................7

Masonic Roots.................................................................................................................................8The Philippine flag - its masonic roots (1896)............................................................................8

Cuba's flag (1848).......................................................................................................................8 Nicaragua (1823).........................................................................................................................8

Derivations from predecessor flags.................................................................................................9Haiti's Flag (1803).......................................................................................................................9

The Russian and pan-Slavic banners..........................................................................................9

Etruscan Flag .....................................................................................................................................10Red and Blue elements in Crowns......................................................................................................11

The flag of the Dutch province Sealand........................................................................................11St Edward's Crown........................................................................................................................12

Imperial State Crown.....................................................................................................................13The Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom .......................................................................14Coronation robes for Elizabeth I of England (1533 – 1603).........................................................14

Elizabeth I of England with a Coat of arms...................................................................................15Seraphs Are Red, Cherubim Are Blue ...............................................................................................16

Seraphs......................................................................................................................................16

Cherubs.....................................................................................................................................16"The Angelic Council"...................................................................................................................17

Madonna and Child Surrounded by Angels...................................................................................18Petites Heures de Jean de Berry.....................................................................................................19

Appendix 1: The flags' descriptions in Kudrun (13th century)..........................................................20

Tale the 27th : How Ludwig and Hartmut met the Hegelings.......................................................20