Crosses in heraldry Crowns. Several national flags are based on late medieval war flags, including the white-on-red crosses of the flag of Denmark and the flag of Switzerland. The elongated Nordic cross originates in the 18th century due to the rectangular shape of maritime flags. The Red Cross flag originates in 1906 as a colour-switched version of the flag of Switzerland. Crosses in heraldry The cross is a basic design of two intersecting lines (X) used from pre-historic times. Its use was enormously expanded as the Christian cross, from about the 6th century, deriving from a T-shape representing the gibbet ("stauros", "crux") of
Flag of Switzerland so that the ratio of cross to flag width is 5:12. The shade of red used in the flag was not defined by law prior to 2017. The 2017 flag law specifies the colour of the flag as: In 2004, the Federal Chancellery published a corporate design guide for the federal administration, in force since 1 January 2007. The colour specifications given there are compatible with those later put in the annex to the flag law. The matching of heraldic tincture to modern color specifications for print or screen display is very uncertain, and to some extent left to the