Originally posted by BarristerBoy
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3. I was diappointed with the Ukraine flag and shield. The flag, in particular, looks like it just has a white smear in the middle. Any chance of finding an image of the Archangel that has more relief on it, so that it stands out a bit more?
I don't mean to seem critical - it looks great!
This is what I found out about the Archangel flag:
THE COSSACK PERIOD.
The most common banners were rectangular or oblique (_skosheni_), that is, right-angled trapeziums with angular upward or downward cuts. Triangular pennants were used on the lances of cavalrymen and as standards of small military units. The most important state emblems were the two hetman standards: the first was
red with a white figure of the Archangel Michael; the second had a representation of the coat of arms of the individual hetman. The flags were in the charge of the *general standard-bearer. The flags of the Hetman state in the 17th century were of many colors, but red was predominant. There were company, regimental, and kurin standards, banners, and pennants. In the 18th century azure flags with golden or yellow crosses and sometimes other devices (celestial bodies, weapons, saints) began to predominate.
The Zaporozhian Sich had its own flags.
The great banner of the Sich was red with a white Archangel Michael on the right side and a white Greek cross surrounded by a golden sun, crescent, and stars on the left side. The flags of the kurins and palankas were usually crimson with representations of the Archangel Michael or white cross. The ensign used in sea campaigns was white and contained a depiction of St Nicholas. In the 17th and I8th centuries, not only military units, but also so-called privileged cities and their guilds had their own flags.[/B]
