Last modified: 2001-11-30 by dov gutterman
Keywords: lithuania | samogitia |
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by Ivan Sache, 24 November 2001
based on image from http://daugenis.mch.mii.lt/Samogitia/ISTORIJA/veliava-en.htm
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Samogitia (Western Lithuania; Zemaitija in Lithuanian) is a
historical region in Lithuania which in medieval times enjoyed a
wide authonomy.
Visvaldas Kairys ,University of Iowa , 20 January 1999
It's hard to say when the original Samogitian first appeared
and what it looked like, since none of the early flags survived .
No flag accompanied the Samogitians into battle at Zalgiris
(Gruenwald) in 1410.
The Samogitians didn't yet take along a flag when they attended
the Church gathering in Constance and asked the Grand Duke
Vytautas for permission to use his heraldry.
In 1528 military records only regional flag-bearers are mentioned
- for example, the Vilkija flag was carried by Mykolas
Stankevicius and the Veliuona flag by Mikna Rusteikovicius.
The Samogitian flag was first officially mentioned in 1565-66
during a period of administrative reform. Then it was described
only as a "white coat of arms on a red background."
That was the Samogitian battle flag, kept in the Lithuanian
treasury. It's unclear when this flag was sewn - perhaps during
the first military conscription in the early 16th c.
The Samogitian flag was taken out
