A banderole (, "little banner") is a comparatively small but long

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

, historically used by knights and on ships, and as a heraldic device for representing

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s. Bannerol, in its main uses is the same as banderole, and is the term especially applied to banners about a yard square carried at the funerals of great men and placed over the tomb. Often it commemorated a particular exploit of the person bearing the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. Banderole (a wooden stick having one pointed end covered with metallic shoe) is used in conventional military survey. It's used to depict various stations established during carrying the survey forward. Double banderole are used to erect Survey Beacon.

Knights, bishops and ships

A banderole is a small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, or a long narrow flag, with cleft end flying from the mast-head of a ship in battle. Meuble Lion de gueule tenant une banderole

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

, a banderole is a streamer hanging from beneath the crook of a bishop's crosier and folding over the staff, and for other small streamers or ribbons.

Art and architecture

The term is also used in

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

for a

speech scroll In art history, a speech scroll (also called a banderole or phylactery). is an illustrative device denoting speech, song, or other types of sound. Developed independently on two continents, the device was in use by artists within Mesoamerican cu ...

or streamer, representing a roll of

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

carried by or surrounding a figure or object, for bearing an inscription, mainly during the medieval and Renaissance periods. In particular banderoles were used as attributes for

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

s, as may be seen in the ''

Santa Trinita Maestà The ''Santa Trinita Maestà'' (Italian: ''Maestà di Santa Trinita'') is a panel painting by the Italian medieval artist Cimabue, dating to -1292. Originally painted for the church of Santa Trinita, Florence, where it remained until 1471, it is ...

'' by

Cimabue Giovanni Cimabue ( , ; – 1302), Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. . also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian p ...

, (

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

, 1280–90),

Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ), commonly known as just Duccio, was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religi ...

's ''

Maestà Maestà , the Italian word for "majesty", designates a classification of images of the enthroned Madonna with the child Jesus, the designation generally implying accompaniment by angels, saints, or both. The ''Maestà'' is an extension of the " ...

'' (1308–11), and other works. The convention had a historical appropriateness, as the Old Testament was originally written on

scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyru ...

s, whereas nearly all surviving New Testament manuscripts are

codices The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

(like modern books). They may also be used for the words of angels, especially

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

's greeting to Mary in

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

scenes.Ladis, Andrew & Maginnis, Hayden B. J., ''Painting in the Age of Giotto: A Historical Reevaluation'', pp. 155-156, 1997, Penn State Press, ,

Notes

References

* Earlier version first published in New English Dictionary, 1885. * Attribution: *{{EB1911, wstitle=Banderole , volume=3, page=312 Heraldry