Royal Bend of Castile

By Crusader1307

The Flag of The Royal Bend of Castile was a Monarchal Banner used by The Kings of Castile while in battle or present on a battlefield. It dates to around 1322 AD under King Alfonso XI. The Flag was seen as a Blood Red Field in it's entirety. Centered and running from Hoist to Fly, is the image of a Golden Baton or Dragnate. The Heads of The Baton are those of Wolves. Historically, this Baton was carried by Roman General Scipio when he invaded Hispania in the 1st Century BC.

The Flag imagery was also used with permission of The King to identify his short lived Military Order of Knights known as The Order of The Royal Bend. These Knights (which existed for only a year), wore a Red Chest Sash to identify themselves. Both The Flag and the short lived Order often refer to The Flag and The Sash as a “Bend”.

By the establishment of The Holy Roman Empire over Spain and the surrounding Region, the use of The Flag for The Kings of Castile changed briefly. It was recolored from Red to Purple, with The Baton changed to White. Variants were adopted throughout the 17th to 19th Centuries – with even Dictator Francisco Franco adopting The Royal Bend as his Personal Standard from 1940 to 1975.