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Namur (Municipality, Province of Namur, Belgium)

Namen

Flag of Namur - Image by Filip van Laenen, 21 November 2001

Flag of Namur
Former flag of Namur
Yacht clubs
Alfers namurois

See also:

Municipal flag of Namur

The unofficial flag of Namur is horizontally divided black-yellow.
The colors come from the municipal arms, "Or a lion rampant sable crowned langued and armes gules".

Jarig Bakker, 21 November 2001

Former flag of Namur

Former flag of Namur, c. 1900 - Image by Ivan Sache, 12 June 2005

Nouveau Larousse Illustré, Dictionnaire Universel Encyclopédique (7 volumes, published in Paris, 1898-1904) shows the flags of the main Belgian towns, then based on the traditional colors of the towns.
The flag shown for Namur is horizontally divided yellow-black-red.

Jan Martens & Ivan Sache, 12 June 2005

Yacht clubs

Beez Boating Club

Burgee of BBC, two versions - Images by Ivan Sache, 9 August 2010

Beez Boating Club (BBC), founded in 1969, is based at Beez (1,509 inhabitants in 2007), a former municipality incorporated into Namur in 1976.
The burgee of BBC (photos; club house) is blue with the white emblem of the club and the white letters "BBC". Another, slightly different version of the burgee, seemingly older or home-made, has a dark blue background and the white letters "bbc".

Ivan Sache, 9 August 2010

Cercle de Voile de Dave

Burgee and pennant of CVD - Images by Ivan Sache, 22 August 2010

Cercle de Voile de Dave (CVD) is based at Dave (1,490 inhabitants in 2007), a former municipality incorporated to Namur in 1976.
In 1971, the waterman Léon Lomba, retiring for health reasons, offered his barge to the local yachtmen, who renamed it to Titine and made of it a floating club house. Titine is moored on river Meuse, along the park of the Dave Castle - built in the 14th century and totally revamped in the 18th-19th centuries by the Dukes Fernan Nunez -, upstream from Dave Island - the biggest island in Belgium.

The emblems of CVD are prescribed in Article 1 of the Club Regulations (text), published in April 2005 in the club journal Les Échos de la Titine, as follows:

I. Colors, burgee and pennant of the C.V.D.
The colors of the domain and of the municipality of Dave are blood and silver. The pennant of the C.V.D. shall be triangular in shape, made of two colors placed horizontally, red over white.

Indeed not described in the Regulations, the burgee of the CVD (photos), is horizontally divided red-white, with the club's emblem placed in the red stripe.

The emblem of CDV is a red oval charged with a white sailboat "made of" the stylized letters "CDV", "C" for the left sail, "D" for the right sail and "V" for the hull, and flying the club's pennant. The full name of the club is written in white capital letters in the base of the emblem.

Ivan Sache, 22 August 2010

Royal Club Nautique Sambre et Meuse

The Royal Club Nautique Sambre et Meuse (RNCSM) was founded in 1862 by a number of rowing enthusiasts, including the famous artist Félicien Rops. It is established at Wépion, a village on the river Meuse south of Namur, the town where this river and its tributary Sambre meet.

The flag of RCNSM seems to be a very dark blue flag with the club emblem in white. The emblem (image) is made of an oval shield, azure, three silver mullets (pierced?) above a bar or in chief, and a diagonally placed anchor, argent, in base. The shield is surmounted by a royal crown and placed in front of two crossed oars, has the club name R.C.N.S.& M. as a motto and is flanked by two sorts of plants, perhaps laurel and reed.

Jan Mertens, 13 March 2007

Royal Yacht Club de Sambre et Meuse

Royal Yacht Club de Sambre et Meuse (RYCSM, website)), founded in 1909, is based at Wépion.

The burgee of RYCSM, as featured on the club emblem, might be blue with the white letters RYCSM and a white royal crown in the upper hoist.

Jan Mertens, 12 February 2007

Alfers namurois

Alfers namurois (website) is a folkloric group from Namur maintaining the flag game tradition. In Namur, Brabant and Flanders, game was probably derived from the Spanish tradition, therefore the name of "alfers" given to the flag artists, from Spanish alférez, "a standard-bearer".
In the 17th century, every company of the burgher's militia had its "alfer", on the model of the Spanish tercios. The show offered today by the Alfers namurois is given by several alfers, clad in 17th century costumes; the music is an old tune from that same period, played by a fifer and drums band created in 2015. The traditional flag game practiced in Namur used big, heavy flags, which were not thrown as in the Italian tradition. In 2007, Alfers namurois initiated a second game involving flag throwing.
Alfers namurois appear to have been established in 1951 by Pierre Botty, sports teacher at College Notre-Dame de la Paix, to celebrate the solemn visit (joyeuse entrée) of King Baldwin to the town of Namur. Since then, the group has been participating in folklore festivals all over the world (USA, Taiwan, Venezuela, Sweden, Canada).

The flags, produced in the Chainiaux-Quentin embroidery workshop (Namur), are made of nylon, in size 140 cm x 140 cm; the length of the staff is 235 cm, for a total weight of 1.9 kg. The flags are equipped with a counterweight to facilitate operation.
The flags represent the colors of some municipalities, or former municipalities in the Province of Namur, of the two Échasseurs brigades, and even of Charles the Bold.

The color plate Répertoire des drapeaux des Alfers et leur signification shows 17 flag used by Alfers namurois.

Alfer flag: Former municipality of Bouvignes - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Vertically divided red-white with a counter-colored saltire in each field.
These are neither the colors nor the arms of Bouvignes, which was incorporated to Dinant; the arms granted by a Royal Decree signed on 20 July 1871 are "Or a lion rampant sable armed and langued gules".

The flag in real use features raggy saltires.

Alfer flag: Municipality of Couvin - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Quartered yellow-blue.
This is a banner of the traditional arms of Couvin, "Quarterly sable and azure". The modern arms, granted by a Royal Decree signed on 3 February 1950, have the emblem of the Piron Brigade added inescutcheon.

Alfer flag: Standard of the Avresses Échasseurs - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Quartered white-red per saltire.
The échasseurs are stilt (French, échasse) jousters. In Namur, the Avresses and the Mélans Échasseurs compete every third Sunday of September for the Gold Stilt.
The legendary origin of this emblematic component of the Namur folklore relates that in the beginning of the 14th century, John of Flanders besieged the revolted town of Namur. After the surrender, the burghers of the town implored pardon, which was refused: "No, no, no pardon, whenever you'll come by foot, on horses, on boats or on carts". The burghers came on stilts and were pardoned by John, who was amused by the trick.
The stilt tradition in Namur is most probably related to the flood of the streets of the town by rivers Meuse, Sambre and Houyoux, which was quite common in the Middle Ages.
The Avresses represent the old town, while the Mélans represent the new town. Each group has its captain, flag and stilts of the same colors, red and white for the Avresses and yellow and black, the traditional colors of Namur, for the Mélans.
[Fédération des Groupes Folkloriques Wallons]

Alfer flag of unknown origin - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Horizontally divided black-yellow-yellow-black-yellow.

Alfer flag: Municipality of Fosse - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Vertically divided green-red.
This is similar to the flag of Fosses-la-Ville, which features the traditional colors of the town.

Alfer flag of unknown origin - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Horizontally divided yellow-black-yellow.

Alfer flag; Municipality of Jette - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Vertically divided blue-yellow.
This is similar to the flag of Jette (Brussels-Capital), which features the traditional colors of the town.

Alfer flag: Municipality of Andenne - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Horizontally divided yellow-black.
This is similar to the flag of Andenne, which features the traditional colors of the town.

Alfer flag: Charles the Bold - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Vertically divided black-purple.
Charles the Bold used these colors when Count of Charolais, while his father, Duke of Burgundy Philippe the Good, used black and gray. When erected Duke of Burgundy, Charles switched to blue and white.
[Devise-CESCM, Université de Poitiers]

Alfer flag: Municipality of Bouillon - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Horizontally divided red-white-red.
This is similar to the flag of Bouillon (Province of Luxembourg)

Alfer flag: Standard of the Mélans Échasseurs - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Horizontally divided yellow-black-yellow-black.

Alfer flag: Former municipality of Jambes (Namur) - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Quartered blue-white per saltire.

Alfer flag: Former municipality of Belgrade (Namur) - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Vertically divided green-white.

Alfer flag: Municipality of Namur - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Vertically divided yellow-black.

Alfer flag of unknown origin - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Horizontally divided black-white-black-white-black-white.

Alfer flag: Former municipality of Temploux (Namur) - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Vertically divided blue-white.

Alfer flag: Former municipality of Saint-Servais (Namur) - Image by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Vertically divided blue-red.

Another two alfer flags - Images by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

Photos of the Alfers Namurois' performances indicate that the flags used are not always in proportions 1:1. A minimum number of seven flags appears to be used in each performance, sometimes including a Belgian flag and plain blue flag not featured on the aforementioned chart.

Alfer flags, 1961 - Images by Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

The photos taken during the Gymnastics Festival, held in Floreffe in 1961, show some flags no longer used during the present-day's performances:
- A yellow flag with a red raggy saltire - now the main element of the Alfers' costume;
- A flag vertically divided black-white;
- A flag vertically divided black-yellow;
- A flag vertically divided purple-white;
- A flag quartered yellow-blue per saltire.

Ivan Sache, 27 July 2019

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