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Flag of Sardinia


The Flag of the four Moors, or simply the four Moors (I quattro mori in Italian, Sos bator moros in Logudorese Sardinian, Is cuatru morus in Campidanese Sardinian) is the official flag of the autonomous region of Sardinia, Italy, and the historical flag and coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Described as a "white field with a red cross and a bandaged Moor's head facing away from the left (the edge close to the mast) in each quarter" (Regional Law 15 April 1999, n. 10, Article 1.)

The flag is composed of the St. George Cross and four heads of Moors which in the past were not blindfolded but forehead bandaged and turned towards the left. The most accepted hypothesis is that the heads represented the heads of Moors princes defeated by the Aragonese, as for the first time they appeared in the 13th century seals of the Crown of Aragon, although with a beard and no bandage, contrary to the Moors of the Sardinian flag, that appeared for the first time in a manuscript of the second half of the 14th century.

The oldest certified emblem of the four Moors dates back to 1281: it was the seal of the Royal Chancellery of Peter of Aragon, but the four heads had no bandages and were bearded; the coat of arms of Sardinia never appeared in such a way. After that the kingdom of Sardinia was founded in 1326, it became part of the Crown of Aragon; these seals will come to closing documents of King James II (1326), Alfonso Benigno (1327-1336) and Peter I (1336-1387). Some specimens are preserved in the Historical Archive of the city of Cagliari. The late 14th century Gelre Armorial attributes the Four Moors to the Kingdom of Sardinia in the states of the Crown of Aragon. It is found in another Armorial perhaps from Lorraine area (preserved in the National Library of France) and of uncertain date but certainly in the 15th century. In 1509, another Portuguese Armorial Book (Livro do Armeiro-mor). Sardinia is represented only with the cross of St. George.


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