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 ...

and

vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. A person who studi ...

, fimbriation is the placement of small stripes of contrasting colour around common charges or ordinaries, usually in order for them to stand out from the background, but often simply due to the designer's subjective aesthetic preferences, or for a more technical reason (in

only) to avoid what would otherwise be a violation of the

rule of tincture The rule of tincture is a design philosophy found in some heraldry, heraldic traditions that states "metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour". Heraldic furs, such as Ermine (heraldry), ermine and vair, and Charge (heraldry), charg ...

. While fimbriation almost invariably applies to both or all sides of a charge, there are very unusual examples of fimbriation on one side only. Another rather rare form is double fimbriation (blazoned "double fimbriated"), where the charge or ordinary is accompanied by two stripes of colour instead of only one. In cases of double fimbriation the outer colour is blazoned first. The municipal flag of Mozirje, in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, show an example of fimbriation that itself is fimbriated. Fimbriation may also be used when a charge is the same colour as the field on which it is placed. A red charge placed on a red background may be necessary, for instance where the charge and field are both a specific colour for symbolic or historical reasons, and in these cases fimbriation becomes a necessity in order for the charge to be visible. In some cases, such as a fimbriated cross placed on a field of the same colour as the cross, the effect is identical to the use of cross voided, i.e. a cross shown in outline only. According to the

, one of the fundamental rules of heraldic design, colour may not be placed on colour nor metal on metal. (In heraldry, "metal" refers to gold and silver, frequently represented using yellow and white respectively. "Colour" refers to all other colours.) Sometimes, however, it is desired to do something like this, so fimbriation is used to comply with the rule. Flag of South Africa

In vexillology that is not specifically heraldic, the rules of heraldry do not apply, yet fimbriation is still frequently seen. The reason for this is largely the same as the reason for the heraldic rule of tincture: that is, the need for visibility — the separation of darker colours by white or yellow is an aid to the visual separation of the darker colours. A good example of a flag which uses fimbriation is the national

flag of South Africa The national flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, during South Africa's South African general election, 1994, 1994 general election, to replace the Flag of South Africa (1928–1994), previous flag used ...

which is fimbriated in white above and below the central green area, and in yellow between it and the triangle at the hoist. Though fimbriation is, heraldically, intended to be used to separate areas that are both colours (by the use of a metal) or both metals (by the use of a colour), occasionally flags may be found which use fimbriation in non-standard ways. One example of this is the flag of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

, which separates a red cross from a white field with blue fimbriation. Another example of this non-standard fimbriation is the flag of the

United Tribes of New Zealand The United Tribes of New Zealand () was a confederation of Māori tribes based in the north of the North Island, existing legally from 1835 to 1840. It received diplomatic recognition from the United Kingdom, which shortly thereafter proclaimed ...

, which separates areas of blue and red with black fimbriation. The

flag of Uzbekistan The national flag of Uzbekistan, officially the State Flag of the Republic of Uzbekistan, consists of a horizontal triband of azure, white and green, separated by two thin red fimbriations, with a white crescent moon and twelve white stars at ...

also uses this form of "pseudo-fimbriation" - it adds a thin red band between a colour and a metal, separating blue (above) and green (below) from a central white stripe. Some 15 to 20 countries use fimbriation on their national flags. National flags that use fimbriation include those of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and - most famously - the British

Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

. On this last flag the fimbriation is unusual, as a white fimbriation separates a blue field from a red cross (representing England) but also from a divided red and white saltire (the red representing Ireland and the white representing Scotland). The white fimbriation along the white part of the saltire - possibly unique in

- is responsible for the famous "lopsidedness" of the Union Jack, giving it the appearance of having a red saltire fimbriated more widely on one side than the other.

Flags using fimbriation

File:Flag of Åland.svg,

Flag of Åland The flag of Åland (; ) is a yellow or gold Nordic cross flag, Nordic cross with another red cross inside on a blue background with the vertical bar shifted towards the hoist side. It is intended to resemble the Flag of Sweden, Swedish flag Def ...

(Finland) File:Flag of American Samoa.svg, Flag of American Samoa (United States) File:Flag of Botswana.svg,

Flag of Botswana The national flag of Botswana (Tswana language, Setswana: ''folaga ya Botswana'') consists of a sky blue field cut horizontally in the centre by a black stripe with a thin white frame. Adopted in 1966 to replace the Union Jack, it has been the f ...

File:Flag of Burundi.svg,

Flag of Burundi A flag is a piece of 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 flags have ...

File:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg,

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The national flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a sky blue flag, adorned with a yellow star in the upper left canton and cut diagonally by a red stripe with a yellow fimbriation. It was adopted on 18 February 2006. A new constitut ...

File:Flag of Eswatini.svg,

Flag of Eswatini The flag of Eswatini was adopted on 6 October 1968 after Eswatini (then known as Swaziland) gained independence from the British Empire one month before. The design by King Sobhuza II features a black and white shield, with a staff and two spear ...

File:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg, Flag of the Faroe Islands (Denmark) File:Flag of The Gambia.svg,

Flag of the Gambia The national flag of The Gambia consists of three horizontal red, blue and green bands separated by two thin white stripes. Adopted in 1965 to replace the British Blue Ensign Defacement (flag), defaced with the arms of the Gambia Colony and P ...

File:Flag of Iceland.svg,

Flag of Iceland The flag of Iceland () was officially described in Law No. 34, set out on 17 June 1944, the day Iceland became a republic. The law is entitled "The Law of the National Flag of Icelanders and the State Arms" and describes the Icelandic flag as ...

File:Flag of Kenya.svg,

Flag of Kenya The flag of Kenya () is a tricolour of black, red, and green with two white edges imposed with a red, white and black Maasai shield and two crossed spears. The flag is mainly based on that of Kenya African National Union and was officially ado ...

File:Flag of Mississippi.svg,

Flag of Mississippi The flag of the U.S. state of Mississippi consists of a white magnolia blossom surrounded by 21 stars and the words "In God We Trust" written below, all put over a blue Canadian pale with two vertical gold borders on a red Glossary of vexillolo ...

(United States) File:Flag of Mozambique.svg, Flag of Mozambique File:Flag of Namibia.svg, Flag of Namibia File:Flag of New Zealand.svg,

Flag of New Zealand The flag of New Zealand (), also known as the New Zealand Ensign, is based on the British maritime Blue Ensigna blue field with the Union Jack in the ''canton (flag), canton'' or upper hoist corneraugmented or ''Defacement (flag), defaced'' wit ...

File:Flag of North Korea.svg,

Flag of North Korea The national flag of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) consists of a wide horizontal red stripe bordered above and below by a thin white stripe and a broad blue stripe. The red stripe is charged near the hoist with a fi ...

File:Flag of Norway.svg,

Flag of Norway The national flag of Norway (; ; ) is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross bordered in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the ''Dannebrog'', the flag of De ...

File:Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg, Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis File:Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg,

Flag of the Solomon Islands The flag of Solomon Islands consists of a thin yellow diagonal stripe from the lower hoist-side corner, with a blue upper triangle and green lower triangle, and the Glossary of vexillology#Description of standard flag parts and terms, canton C ...

File:Flag of South Africa.svg,

Flag of South Africa The national flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, during South Africa's South African general election, 1994, 1994 general election, to replace the Flag of South Africa (1928–1994), previous flag used ...

File:Flag of South Sudan.svg,

Flag of South Sudan The flag of South Sudan was adopted following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. A different version of the flag was previously used as the flag of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. T ...

File:Flag of Suriname.svg,

Flag of Suriname The flag of Suriname () was legally adopted on 25 November 1975, upon the independence of Suriname from the Netherlands. The flag was designed as a result of a national competition. It was raised for the first time on the Independence of Sur ...

File:Flag of Tanzania.svg, Flag of Tanzania File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg,

Flag of Trinidad and Tobago The flag of Trinidad and Tobago was adopted upon independence from the United Kingdom on 31 August 1962. Designed by Carlisle Chang (1921–2001), the flag of Trinidad and Tobago was chosen by the independence committee of 1962. Red, black and w ...

File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg,

Flag of the United Kingdom The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag. The design of the Union Jack dates back to the Act of Union 1801, which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in pe ...

File:Flag of Uzbekistan.svg,

Flag of Uzbekistan The national flag of Uzbekistan, officially the State Flag of the Republic of Uzbekistan, consists of a horizontal triband of azure, white and green, separated by two thin red fimbriations, with a white crescent moon and twelve white stars at ...

File:Flag of Vanuatu.svg, Flag of Vanuatu

References

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