Banner of Poland
The banner of Poland traces its origins to the ancient vexilloids known as stanice (pronounced [staˈɲit͡sɛ]; singular: stanica), probably used at least as early as the 10th century.
Although no specimens or images are preserved, a stanica was probably a cloth draped vertically from a horizontal crosspiece attached to a wooden pole or spear, resembling the Roman vexillum.
This relic, together with the vexillum attached to it, was probably the first insignia of the nascent Kingdom of Poland, a symbol of King Boleslaus's rule, and of his allegiance to the Emperor.
During the reign of King Ladislaus the Elbow-High (r. 1320–1333), the red cloth with the White Eagle was finally established as the Banner of the Kingdom of Poland (Polish: chorągiew Królestwa Polskiego).
[4] With the establishment of a dynastic union with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1386, it became customary to use two banners—Polish and Lithuanian—as equally important insignia of royal authority.
It was plain red emblazoned with the crowned White Eagle and bordered with a wężyk generalski, a wavy line used in the Polish military as a symbol of general's rank.
[1] As a symbol of presidential authority, the banner was carried or flown to mark the presence of the head of state and, at the same time, the commander-in-chief.
The banner was also used on special national occasions including the welcome ceremony for Ignacy Paderewski in Poznań in 1918 and Poland's wedding to the Baltic Sea in Puck in 1920.
[1] Following the German-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, President Ignacy Mościcki fled to Romania, taking the presidential insignia, including two specimens of the Banner of the Republic, with him.
[1] On December 22, 1990, the last Polish president-in-exile, Ryszard Kaczorowski, handed the presidential insignia, including one of the banners rescued by Mościcki in 1939, to Lech Wałęsa, the first democratically elected president of post-war Poland.
[1] Today, a kilim embroidered with the design of the pre-war Banner of the Republic is hanging in the Senate chamber, above the chair reserved for the President of Poland.
[5] In 1996, the Minister of National Defense established a jack of the President of the Republic of Poland with the purpose of flying it on Polish Navy ships while the commander-in-chief is on board.
