Champagne

The flag of Champagne bears a blue shield charged with a diagonal silver band (bend) flanked by two double-barred golden cotises, with the field strewn with small golden crosses recroisettées. This intricate heraldic composition derives from the arms of the Counts of Champagne, one of the most powerful feudal dynasties of medieval France. The Champagne fairs of the 12th and 13th centuries made this province the commercial crossroads of Europe. The blue, gold, and silver color scheme gives the flag an aristocratic elegance, while the scattered small crosses and the distinctive bend pattern make it one of the most complex provincial arms in France.