Holy Roman Imperial Cities Banners

By Crusader1307

Cities located throughout The Holy Roman Empire were often identified with Flags and Banners to show their “status” within The Empire. Some Cities were ranked of more importance than others. This ranking was based on if the City was a major supplier of Soldiers or related materials. In Peacetime, the same ranking was applied to Trade and Commerce. City Banners were based on the meshing of both The Imperial Standard and City Flag (often in existence prior to their inclusion to The Empire. Typically, an Imperial Banner was divided into (2) Components.

The Left portion of the divided Field always bore The Black Eagle in profile. This portion was either in White or Yellow. White Fields represented a “Lessor” Supplier (but no less important, due to the bearing of The Imperial Eagle), A Yellow or Golden Field was seen as a much higher “status”. The Left Field of The Flag featured The Cities Personal identifying Colors or insignia. These were of course, varied in both design and color. The use of Imperial City Flags were at their height in the 15th Century, with their decline well before the decline of The Empire in the 1830s.