Recently, a controversy has arisen in the media about the original colours of the Maltese flag. Assertions have been made denying the traditional belief that the colours of the flag were donated to the island by Count Roger of the Normans.

The facts are the following:

Count Roger I was a successful leader of a combination of powers headed by the Normans, which had been expanding for centuries, and eventually absorbed the province Le Puglie, in Southern Italy, Sicily and then Malta.

The Normans conquered Calabria, in Southern Italy, in 1059-1060. Roger I conquered Noto, in the extreme south of Sicily, in 1091, and immediately afterwards his troops invaded Malta.

In 1098 he received the apostolic bond from Pope Urban II, having restored Christianity to Sicily. He became Count of Sicily in 1101, and in 1130 the whole of Southern Italy and Sicily formed a united kingdom.

The Arabs, who dominated Malta when the Normans arrived, were subdued to Norman rule. But as Roger I was rather liberal with his foes, they were not expelled, allowed to remain here, and even to practice their religion.

From the outset, the colours of the Normans were white and red. They are still to be seen, painted on the Norman emblem in stone, embellishing the municipal palace in Bari.

As the colours forming our flag were first used when the Normans conquered Malta, and at that time the Norman combination of powers was commanded by Roger I, it is likely that the tradition took root that the Count himself assigned to Malta the colours of our flag. Tradition has paired Roger I and the Normans, and vice-versa. In any case, the colours of our flag took shape when the Normans arrived here.