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 ...

, a heraldic flag is a

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 ...

containing

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

heraldic badge A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

s, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, guidons, and pinsels. Specifications governing heraldic flags vary from country to country, and have varied over time.

Types

Pennon

The pennon is a small elongated flag, either pointed or swallow-tailed (when swallow-tailed it may be described as a

banderole A banderole (, "little banner") is a comparatively small but long flag, historically used by knights and on ships, and as a heraldic device for representing bishops. Bannerol, in its main uses is the same as banderole, and is the term especially ...

). It was charged with the

or some other armorial ensign of the owner, and displayed on his own lance, as a personal ensign. The ''pennoncelle'' was a modification of the pennon. In contemporary Scots usage, the pennon is 120 cm (four feet) in length. It tapers either to a point or to a rounded end as the owner chooses. It is assigned by the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officer of State, Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scotland, Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

to any armiger who wishes to apply for it.

Banner

The

banner of arms A banner of arms is a type of heraldic flag, characterised by sharing its imagery with that of the coat of arms (''i.e.'' the shield of a full heraldic achievement, rendered in a square or rectangular shape of the flag). The term is derived from ...

(also simply called ''banner'') is square or oblong and larger than the pennon, bearing the entire coat of arms of the owner, composed precisely as upon a shield but in a square or rectangular shape. The banners of members of

Orders of Chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and p ...

are typically displayed in the Order's chapel. Banners of Knights of the

Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

are hung in the 1911 chapel of the Order in

St Giles High Kirk St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alteratio ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Banners of Knights of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

are displayed in

St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...

. From Victorian times Garter banners have been approximately . Banners became available to all English armigers as a result of a report by Garter to the Earl Marshal dated 29 January 1906. The report stated that the size of a banner for Esquires and Gentlemen should be considered in the future. Until that date, they were available to all noblemen and knights banneret. In 2011, Garter Woodcock said that the banner for an Esquire or Gentleman should be the same size as a Marquess's and those of a lower rank down to Knight, that is, . In

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the size of personal banners, excluding any fringes, are specified by the

Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gran ...

Heraldic standard

The heraldic standard appeared around the middle of the fourteenth century, and it was in general use by personages of high rank during the two following centuries. The standard appears to have been adopted for the special purpose of displaying

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fir ...

s. "The badge was worn on his livery by a servant as retainer, and consequently the standard by which he mustered in camp was of the livery colours, and bore the badge, with both of which the retainer was familiar." Heraldic flags that are used by individuals, like a monarch or president, as a means of identification are often called 'standards' (e.g. royal standard). These flags, usually

banners A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

, are not standards in a strict heraldic sense but have come to be known as such. The heraldic standard is not rectangular – it tapers, usually from , and the

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

edge is rounded (lanceolate). In England, any armiger who has been granted a badge is entitled to fly a standard. The medieval English standard was larger than the other flags, and its size varied with the owner's rank. The Cross of Saint George usually appeared next to the staff, and the rest of the field was generally divided ''per fess'' (horizontally) into two colours, in most cases the livery colours of the owner. "With some principal figure or device occupying a prominent position, various badges are displayed over the whole field, a

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

, which is placed bend-wise, having divided the standard into compartments. The edges are fringed throughout, and the extremity is sometimes swallow-tailed, and sometimes rounded." The Royal standards of England were used by the kings of England as a headquarters symbol for their armies. Modern usage of the heraldic standard includes the flag of the

Master Gunner, St James's Park The appointment of Master Gunner, St James's Park, goes back to 1678 and has generally been held by a senior officer in the Royal Artillery. The early incumbents (known then as the Master Gunner of Whitehall and St James's Park) were responsible ...

and the flag of the

Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...

(used by the chairman and the Vice Chairman). The

Oriflamme The Oriflamme (from Latin ''aurea flamma'', "golden flame"), a pointed, blood-red banner flown from a gilded lance, was the sacred battle standard of the King of France and a symbol of divine intervention on the battlefield from God and Saint ...

was the

battle standard A war ensign, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few co ...

of the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. In

, a standard requires a separate grant by the

. Such a grant is made only if certain conditions are met. The length of the standard depends upon one's noble rank.

Banderole

A Banderole ( Fr. for a "little banner"), has both a literal descriptive meaning for its use by knights and ships, and is also heraldic device for representing bishops.

Gonfalone

A gonfalone or gonfalon is a vertically hung banner emblazoned with a coat of arms. Gonfalons have wide use in civic, religious, and academic heraldry. The term originated in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where communities, or neighborhoods, traditionally displayed ''gonfaloni'' in public ceremonies.

Guidon

The Scots guidon is similar in shape to the standard and pennon. At long, it is smaller than the standard and twice the size of the pennon. Guidons are assigned by the Lord Lyon to those individuals who qualify for a grant of supporters to their Arms and to other individuals who have a following such as individuals who occupy a position of leadership or a long-term official position commanding the loyalty of more than a handful of people. The Guidon tapers to a round, unsplit end at the fly. A guidon can also refer to a cavalry troop's banner, such as that which survived the Custer massacre.

Pinsel

The Scottish pinsel is triangular in shape, high at the hoist and in width tapering to a point. This is the flag denoting a person to whom a

Clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

Chief has delegated authority for a particular occasion, such as a

clan gathering A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

when the Chief is absent. This flag is allotted only to Chiefs or very special Chieftain-Barons for practical use, and only upon the specific authority of the Lord Lyon King of Arms.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * Personal communication dated 23 December 2011. Attribution