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The Flag of Denmark ((デンマーク語:Dannebrog) ) is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. The cross design, which represents Christianity, was subsequently adopted by other Nordic countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands, as well as the British archipelagos of Shetland and Orkney. During the Danish-Norwegian personal union, Dannebrog ("Danish cloth") was also the flag of Norway and continued to be, with slight modifications, until Norway adopted its current flag in 1821. The design of the Dannebrog is recorded on a seal from 1397.〔Swedish Encyclopedia "National Encyclopedin", "NE2000",digital version, article "Dannebrogen"〕 According to legend, the flag came into Danish possession during the Battle of Lyndanisse in 1219. The Danes were on a failing crusade in Estonia, but after praying to God a flag fell from the sky. After this event, Danish King Valdemar II went on to defeat the Estonians. The first recorded use of the flag appears one hundred years later.〔"Dannebrog" by Hans Christian Bjerg, p.12, ISBN 87-7739-906-4.〕 == Legendary origin == The legend states the origin of the flag to the Battle of Lyndanisse, also known as the Battle of Valdemar (Danish: "''Volmerslaget''"), near Lyndanisse (Tallinn) in Estonia, on June 15, 1219.〔 The battle was going badly, and defeat seemed imminent. However the Danish Bishop Anders Sunesen on top of a hill overlooking the battle prayed to God with his arms raised, which meant that the Danes moved closer to victory the more he prayed. When he raised his arms the Danes surged forward and when his arms grew tired and he let them fall, the Estonians turned the Danes back. Attendants rushed forward to raise his arms once again and the Danes surged forward again. At a second he was so tired in his arms that he dropped them and the Danes then lost the advantage and were moving closer to defeat. He needed two soldiers to keep his hands up and when the Danes were about to lose, 'Dannebrog' miraculously fell from the sky and the King took it, showed it to the troops and their hearts were filled with courage and the Danes won the battle. No historical record supports this legend. The first record of the legend dates from more than 300 years after the campaign, and the first record connects the legend to a much smaller battle, though still in Estonia; the battle of Fellin (Viljandi) in 1208. Though no historical support exists for the flag story in the Fellin battle either, it is not difficult to understand how a small and unknown place is replaced with the much grander battle of Reval (Tallinn) from the Estonia campaign of King Valdemar II. This story originates from two written sources from the early 16th century. The first is found in Christiern Pedersen's "''Danske Krønike''", which is a sequel to Saxo’s Gesta Danorum, written 1520–23. It is not mentioned in connection to the campaign of King Valdemar II in Estonia, but in connection with a campaign in Russia. He also mentions that this flag, falling from the sky during the Russian campaign of King Valdemar II, is the very same flag that King Eric of Pomerania took with him when he left the country in 1440 after being deposed as King. The second source is the writing of the Franciscan monk Petrus Olai (Peder Olsen) of Roskilde, from 1527. This record describes a battle in 1208 near a place called "''Felin''" during the Estonia campaign of King Valdemar II. The Danes were all but defeated when a lamb-skin banner depicting a white cross falls from the sky and miraculously leads to a Danish victory. In another record by ''Petrus Olai'' called "''Danmarks Tolv Herligheder''" (Twelve Splendours of Denmark), in splendour number nine, the same story is re-told almost to the word; however, a paragraph has been inserted correcting the year to 1219. Some historians believe that the story by ''Petrus Olai'' refers to a source from the first half of the 15th century, making this the oldest reference to the falling flag. It is believed that the name of the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, came into existence after the battle. It is derived from "Taani linn", meaning "Danish town" in Estonian. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Flag of Denmark」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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