Though Switzerland is known officially as a confederation (an association of soveriegn sub-national units for whom the national government exists and receives its authoirty), it has over the years actually evolved into a federation (an association of sub-national units that share soveriegnty with the national government). Arguments may be made for and against the idea that this evolution occurred subconsciously. Nevertheless, Switzerland's political and social policies have served it well throughout much of its modern history. This is not surprising because it is a political system that began in the midst of - and survived - numerous wars, some of which directly involved the Swiss state and others that did not but to which Switzerland supplied troops as mercenaries. For much of the first 600 years of its existence, Switzerland was involved in one way or another in many wars until the Napoleonic upheavel of the 19th century nearly did Switzerland in. After so much fighting, and after suffering the consequences of war for so long, the Swiss evolved with their political institutions into the world's most notable neutrality-based state. So firm are the Swiss in this policy that they were spared much of the devastation of both World Wars and stubbornly refuse to even consider the notion of joining the European Union that has grown up around them.
Switzerland's war-torn history is still borne togday, however, in its vexillological traditions. It is one of only two sovereign states to possess a flag that is proportioned at 1:1. The reason for this is that war banners in Europe were, until recently, often square devices, and Switzerland's flag began as a war flag. As with many flags of Europe, the Swiss flag is steeped in the legends of the region and attempt to connect the emblem to the Church and the religious faith of the people over whom it flies. The earliest of these legends surrounds the martyrdom of the Thebian Legion in the 5th century, a large force of the Roman Imperial army consisting of 6,666 men who had been sent from their headquarters in Thebes, Egypt to squash a rebellion in Gaul. Along the way, the entire force converted en masse to Christianity. Word of the conversion reached Rome. A message was sent out to legion at its camp in Augunum in what is today Valais canton. They were were required to sacrifice to the emperor, a common test of the empire to determine if rumors of conversion to Christianity is true, since no Christian would perform such a sacrifice. Indeed, when the legion's leaders, including St. Maurice, St. Victor, and St. Ursus, they refused as suspected. As a result, they were order to put a tenth of the entire legion to death after which they were once again offered the chance to perform the requried ritual. In this manner, all 6,666 members of the Thebian Legion were martyred. The city in which these events took place is now named in honor of the commander of the Thebian Legion and is called St. Maurice-in-Valais. Years later, arms were granted posthumously to St. Maurice that consisted of the equal-distant Greek cross of white on a blue and red field. Later this was sometimes illustrated as a red cross on a white field, very similar to the Cross of St. George. Though this legend eventually gave rise to a gulled cross emblem in Switzerland, most vexillologist do not consider this story to be the origins of the modern Swiss flag.
Many historians and vexillologists point to the Holy Roman Empire as the origin of the Swiss flag. Most of the cantons of Switzerland, including the original three that formed the Swisss Confederation in 1291 were originally feudal states of the empire. It was the custom in the empire that when the emperor granted soveriegnty to a state or other political entitity, he conferred upon that state a red flag with a white cross as a symbol of that state's authority to administer justice in the emperor's name. This is very likely the origin of the flags of some of the Swiss cantons and may very well be the origin of the flag of the Swiss Confederation itself. Any flag of red with a white cross was a symbol of sovereignty and independence and it makes perfect sense that such a design would be used to symbolize the authority of a confederation that was created as a means of escaping the emperor's authority. The first emblem used to identify the confederation as a whole occurred during the Battle of Laupen in 1339 during which the Swiss that fought all did so under their respective cantonal banners, most of which used the Swiss cross as some element of the overall design. However, it was realized during this campaign that a unifying symbol was needed, and so a red bands with a white cross were utilized as arm bands for Swiss soldiers. From this particular use of the emblem came the national emblem and then a flag. |
