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The Senyera (, ; meaning "pennon", "standard", "banner", "ensign", or, more generically, "flag" in Catalan) is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a golden background. This coat of arms, often called ''bars of Aragon'',〔(Presidencia del gobierno. "The coat of arms" ).〕 or simply ''"the four bars"'' (''les quatre barres'' in Catalan), historically represented the King of the Crown of Aragon. The senyera pattern is nowadays in the flag of four Spanish autonomous communities (Catalonia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Valencia), and is the flag of the historically Catalan-speaking city of Alghero in Sardinia. It is also used on the coat of arms of Spain, the coat of arms of Pyrénées-Orientales and of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, the flag of Roussillon, Capcir, Vallespir and Provence in France, one quarter of the coat of arms of Andorra, and on the local flags of many municipalities belonging to these territories. The Senyera (sometimes together with the flag of Andorra) is also used more informally to represent the Catalan language. It is also a synonym (in Catalan ''Senyal Reial or Senyera'' and old Spanish ''Señal Real or Señera'') for ''Royal Flag'', although the word normally refers to the Catalan and Aragonese flags. Also in Aragonese, it is usually referred to as ''O Sinyal d'Aragón'', i.e. "The Sign of Aragón". ==Origin and history== The Senyera is one of the oldest flags in Europe to be used in present day, but not in continuous use since its creation. There are several theories advocating either a purely Catalan or a purely Aragonese origin for the symbol. The ''Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana'' claims that the first appearance of the flag is in the arms of the tomb of Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona, died in 1082 as well as later in the seals of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona of Barcelona and III of Provence in Provençal (1150) and then in Catalan (1157) documents. The ''Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa'' states that its first material undisputed evidence dates back to a royal seal of Alfonso II of Aragon (1159), and that all evidence about a "Catalan" origin is debatable since historically nothing can be accepted other than the concept of "barcelonès", and understanding that as allusive to the House of Barcelona (Counts of Barcelona), and then, nothing referring to the ancient geographical area known as ''Cathalania'', ''Catalonie'' (Catalonia) where the County of Barcelona was found. Besides, amongst the ancient manuscripts preserved today in Poblet Monastery is found a ''carte plegada on son tots los Reys d'Arago e Comtes de Barchinona figurats'', a genealogical roll of the Kings of Aragon and Counts of Barcelona commissioned between 1396 and 1400 by King Martin I of Aragon. In the document, the four red stripes on a golden background appears only in the royal images painted of Wilfred the Hairy Count of Barcelona (878–897), Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (1131-1162), King Martin I of Aragon (1356-1410) and King Martin I of Sicily (1390-1409). So it may suggest the ''Four Red Bars on Golden Background'' emblem was believed to belong to the House of Barcelona and the Counts of Barcelona in times of the initial dynasty (1164–1410) who ruled the Crown of Aragon. Furthermore, the Pennon of the Conquest of Valencia is documented as the world's oldest extant flag, dating from 1238, even though the yellow part was originally white, but the red stripes design was the same. The Government of Catalonia states about its official symbols that it may derive from 11th century or 12th century pre-heraldic symbols and the County of Barcelona's coat of arms, in which the yellow and red bars were vertical, while horizontal in the flag.〔(Los símbolos nacionales ) Page of Governtment of Catalonia〕 The dynastic coat of arms became also the one for the lands ruled by the counts. It is thus present in the flags and shields of the territories that once were part of the Crown of Aragon and also in the arms of Andorra, Provence-Côte d'Azur and Sicily among others. Another version is that the Kingdom of Aragon used and adopted the colours of the Papal States in their own coat of arms as a public and notorious submission to the Pope, something which the County of Barcelona would have followed shortly after according to this version. The colours for the city of Rome, which in those times was controlled by the Pope, were the same. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the flag of the Holy See's Navy from the 12th century on consisted of two vertical red and yellow bands, sometimes bearing the tiara and the keys. According to the Vatican official website, the yellow and red of the flag of the Holy See were two colors traditional of the Roman Senate and People. This ancient flag can still seen on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, near the Roman Forum. The Papal States changed its colours in 1808 to the present yellow and white,〔 while the City of Rome sticks to the old colors to this day. We can reject this theory based on the works of Geronimo de Blancas, chronicler of the Kingdom of Aragon, 1585. This author reports that Pope Innocent III after crowning the King Pedro II (the Catholic) accepted that Aragon was a tributary kingdom of the Apostolic See. To compensate for this gesture the Pope appointed King Peter II confalonier of the Church and that the Church's banner had the colors of the crown of Aragon. The Almogavars of the Catalan Company used a royal pennon with the arms of the Kings of Aragon when campaigning in the Byzantine Empire. It was used as ensign of the Aragonese Navy from 1263 to 1516.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Ensign of the Aragonese Navy 1263-1516 (Aragon, Spain) )〕 The plain version of this was used as official flag of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia during the Second Spanish Republic and since the Spanish transition to democracy. In its plain version, it is also used in the French ''département'' of Pyrénées-Orientales, part of the former Crown of Aragon. It is also used as the flag of Provence, a distinct region with historic ties to the Counts of Barcelona and the Crown of Aragon. The blazon of this standard version is ''Or, four bars Gules''. 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「Senyera」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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