Editing Flag of Romania (section)

===The 1848 Revolution===

[[File:Tricolore1848.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Early 1848 tricolor inscribed "''Dreptate, Frăție''": watercolor by C. Petrescu]]

In April 1848, the flag adopted by [[Wallachian Revolution of 1848|the revolutionaries]] was initially a blue-yellow-red tricolor (with blue above, in line with the meaning "Liberty, Justice, Fraternity"). Already on 26 April, according to ''[[Gazeta de Transilvania]]'',<ref>Gazeta de Transilvania, year XI, no. 34 of 26 April 1848, p. 140.</ref> Romanian students in [[Paris]] were hailing the new government with a blue, gold and red flag, "as a symbol of union between [[Moldavia|Moldavians]] and [[Wallachia|Muntenians]]".<ref>Dogaru (1978), p. 862.</ref><ref name="Căzănișteanu 1967, p. 36">Căzănișteanu (1967), p. 36.</ref>

Decree no. 1 of 14/26 June 1848 of the provisional government mentioned that "the National Flag will bear three colours: blue, yellow, red", emblazoned with the words "DPEПTATE ФPЪЦIE" (''Dreptate, Frăție'' or "Justice, Fraternity"). It differed from earlier tricolors in that the blue stripe was on top, the princely monogram was eliminated from the corners, as was the crown atop the eagle at the end of the flagpole, while a motto was now present.<ref>Dogaru (1978), p. 861.</ref>

Later on, Decree no. 252 of 13/25 July 1848, issued specifically because "it has not been understood [yet] how the national flags should be designed", defined the flag as three ''vertical'' stripes, possibly influenced by the [[Flag of France|French model]].<ref name="Năsturel 1900/1901, p. 255">Năsturel (1900/1901), p.&nbsp;255.</ref> The shades were "dark blue, light yellow and carmine red"; as for order, "near the wood comes blue, then yellow and then red fluttering".<ref>''Anul 1848 în Principatele Române'', II, Bucharest, 1902, p. 477.</ref>

St. Luke’s Church, built in 1782-1791 in [[Sibiu]], hosts a Romanian flag with vertical stripes that was flown at the national assemblies at [[Blaj]] on [[Câmpia Libertății]] during the [[1848 Revolution|Revolution]]. The flag's colors and the icon painted in the center have faded. The flag was hidden in order to avoid being taken or destroyed by the Communist regime and subsequently lost, then rediscovered in 2014.<ref>"[https://basilica.ro/unul-dintre-cele-mai-vechi-steaguri-tricolore-din-romania/ Unul dintre cele mai vechi steaguri tricolore din România]", at Basilica.ro, 11 December 2014.</ref>

[[File:Flag of Wallachian Revolution of 1848, vertical stripes.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|right|Flag of the 1848 provisional government]]

Petre Vasiliu-Năsturel observes that from a heraldic point of view, on the French as well as the revolutionary Wallachian flag, the middle stripe represents a [[Tincture (heraldry)|heraldic metal]] ([[argent]] and [[Or (heraldry)|or]] respectively), thus, the two flags could be related.<ref name="Năsturel 1900/1901, p. 255"/> Other historians believe that the tricolour was not an imitation of the French flag, instead embodying an old Romanian tradition.<ref>Căzănișteanu (1967), p. 36</ref><ref name="Dogaru 1978, p. 868">Dogaru (1978), p. 868.</ref> This theory is supported by a note from the revolutionary minister of foreign affairs to Emin Pasha: "the colors of the band that we, the leaders, wear, as well as all our followers, are not of modern origin. We have had our flags since an earlier time. When we received the tricolor insignia and bands we did not follow the spirit of imitation or fashion".<ref name="Căzănișteanu 1967, p. 36"/> The same minister assured the extraordinary envoy of the [[Ottoman Porte|Porte]], Suleiman Pasha, that the flag's three colours had existed "for a long time; our ancestors bore them on their standard and their flags. So they are not a borrowing or an imitation from the present or a threat for the future".<ref name="Dogaru 1978, p. 868"/>

After the revolution was quelled, the old flags were restored and the revolutionaries punished for having worn the tricolor.<ref name="Dogaru 1978, p. 868"/>