Flags and uniforms

As stated, some Imperial units of the 30 Years’ War had coats of a regimental colour. This might correspond with flag colours—in Wallenstein’s army, Berchtold von Wald-stein’s Regiment had green flags. Max von Waldstein’s yellow. Wallenstein’s pages wore scarlet and light blue livery, so these colours might also appear on his lancer-bodyguard. and on his foot-lifeguard of 600, who had gold-laced clothing, silver-laced bandoliers, and silvered pike-points.

The Croats were very fond of gold lace, jewellery, and bright colours, especially red, and like most Balkan irregulars wore striped waistsashes. They avoided green and blue for fear of confusion with the Turks, and wore black boots for the same reason. They carried large triangular flags with devices including Fortuna and the Imperial Eagle.

The Lansknechts, and some 17th Century Imperialists too, were given to standards with geometrical patterns — checks, diamonds, etc, — in bright colours. The Imperial Eagle could appear on both white and yellow backgrounds, and on a white standard of 1620 was seen crowned, depriving Frederick of Bohemia of his crown. On some cavalry flags of 1631 it grasped the Pontifical Crown in its right talons, a sceptre in its left, with the motto ‘Pro Ecclesia et Pro Imperio’ (a heavy cavalry flag like this would be square, a light cavalry one usually with two rounded points).

Other common devices on Imperial flags of this period were the monograms of the Emperors Ferdinand II and III, and the Virgin Mary. It would appear that the custom of having a white Colonel’s flag in Austrian regiments dated from the 30 Years’ War.

When serving the Empire, the Lansknechts could carry the double Eagle illustrated, black on yellow, and brightly-coloured flags with geometrical patterns were also popular.

The standards were some six feet square, on short staffs, and their bearers were sworn to defend them to the death — the anti-German historian Paul Jovius told of a Lansknecht found with his right hand severed and his left broken, holding the flag in his teeth.

If serving foreign powers, the Lansknechts would bear their flags, and the example shown probably belongs to the French ‘Black Band’ — cross is white, background black and red or blue, I believe.