PART II
The conquest of Majorca.
The conquest of Majorca (Menorca will remain as a small Moslem vasal kingdom for some years until finally being incorporated to Majorca) takes place since 1228. The ships of Pisa and Genoa collaborated decisively on it. The Pope granted the expedition a "vexillium vermilium" (red flag). Some drawings show a red flag with the lozenge-shaped shield of the Catalan Kings in the center. The lozenge-shaped shield was attributed to women and its use for the royal arms is not generalized until more than a century after, and therefore the said drawing should be an anachronism.
But the troops of each kingdom carried their own banners. Thus the Catalans carried their traditional senyera, that appears in swallowtailed form, two bars red and three gold
The forces of the Republic of Genoa used white flag with red Saint George's cross
The Pisans used red flag with cross
This flag is mentioned with golden cross in "Banderas", nº 33, page 28. We do not know Adolfo Durán's source for this
Barcelona-Aragon-Majorca.
The conquest of Majorca began in 1228 and perhaps it altered the three bars or pales since from a study of the seals it could be deduced that they were four pales (golden) since this era. Nevertheless there we come into a period of confusion on the number of bars, since portolanos, paintings and other documents are not coinciden t, and with relative frequency appear the three bars, as well as five, seven and eight. In the paintings of Aguilar Palace in Barcelona, dated around the end of the13th century, the conquest of Majorca is represented and the flag appears with two, four, six and seven red bars and three, five, seven and eight yellow bars.
It is more logical to suppose that a pale was added for the new kingdom, remaining with four. Now the pales would represent: one Barcelona and its dependencies; other Aragon; and other Majorca
Moslem Majorca
A flag that flew in the field of the Moslem king of Majorca in the era of the conquest was red over white
In the frescoes other flags are represented with the hexagram and the hand of Fatima, and some striped flags in various arrangements.
Book of the Knowledge of all the Kingdoms
In the Book of the Knowledge of all the Kingdoms is attributed to Majorca a flag with black (6) and green (6) bars, round-shaped in the fly, probably a mistake with the red and yellow pales of the royal insignia.
Majorca since 1230
It seems proved that the royal pavilion was scarcely used in Majorca. James I carried it to the island in the last days of 1229, when the City of Majorca was on the verge of being conquered (it wa s occupied on 31 december 1229). The banner of James I is mentioned in this era, as swallowtailed and with three golden pales (fresh of the Aguilar Palace in Barcelona)
But this is not the only form since as already said also appears with four red bars and five yellow (and with an only point ), what would be an anachronism derived from the fact that the paintings are some years later to the conquest. With four red bars and five golden, and ending in point, is drawn it the book "Flags of Spain ", using the same source, this is the paintings of the Conquest of Majorca of the Royal Palace of Barcelona.
Also in the paintings of the Aguilar Palace of Barcelona, in addition to the royal flag (with five stripes in total) put over the king's tent, another flag is seen in a tower with seven red and eight yellow stripes
In another image the number of yellow pales seems to be six.
The book "Banderas de España" shows the flag of seven yellow pales in triangular form.
It is not clear if this confusion on the number of pales was made in 1229, the time of the conquest of Majorca, when probably it was correct with three pales, or maybe around the end of the 13th century, when the paintings were finished and in a moment when the number of bars was uncertain or even changing.
The granting of standards or flags to the kingdoms was not a Catalan usage (but Castilian) and the Catalan kings only conceded heraldical seals or well exemplars of the royal standards or banners, as a honor and sign of sovereignty, without modification, and could equally be conceded to a whole kingdom, to a single city, or even to a humble confraternity.
Since 1230 the royal standard, with two, three, four red bars represents also Majorca and it can be supposed in the round-end shape characteristic of the Catalan medieval flags
But in Majorca the most used standard is white with the red cross of the military arm of Barcelona, and of the Knights of Sant Jordi of Alfama, who with the aid of the Jews of the island, assumed the administration and pacification
They were also used the flag of the Bishop of Barcelona
and those of the various knights that obtained fiefs in the island (many of they well documented, with some examples in "Banderas" 33 and "Banderas de España" page 31).
