Sovereign Military Order of Malta - Grand Masters Cotoner

Rafael Cotoner (1660-1663) and Nicolas Cotoner (1683-1680)

Last modified: 2008-12-20 by rob raeside
Keywords: sovereign and military order of malta | cotoner |
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image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 November 2008

On this page:

• Description of the flag

See also:

• Sovereign Military Order of Malta
• Historical standards of the Grand Masters

Description of flag

The two Grandmasters with the same name were Rafael Cotoner (1660-1663) and Nicolas Cotoner (1683-1680). As far as I know they were brothers. I do not know, which one it was, but that doesn't really matter, for both Grandmasters had the same coat of arms and therefore the same flag.

Flag of Grandmaster Rafael de Cotoner y de Oleza (1660-1663)
It is a quarterly divided rectangular flag. The 1st and 4th quarter are showing the white Greek cross in a red field of the Order of St. John. The 2nd and 3rd quarter are showing the personal arms of the grandmaster. In a golden (= yellow) field is a cotton bush in natural colour, i.e. green with white blossoms.
Source: I spotted an image of this flag in Malta National Maritime Museum on 2 October 2008.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 November 2008