Towards Less Vexing Vexillology
By Peter S. Jensen
Writing as
Lord Malcolm mac Lachlainn
Then in the
name of God and all these rights; Advance your Standards, draw your willing
swords.
Richard III,
Act V, Scene 3
Vexillology, the study of Flags, is in these modern times a science in and of its own right, and a first cousin to Heraldry. In period, though, vexillology was a function of Heraldry, and is one of the most exciting ways to display arms, both on and off the battlefield.
Part of what we come to expect in SCA life is a recreation of the splendor and pageantry of those times. Certainly, the herald is one of the most obvious facilitators of this, as a herald sets the tone for the pomp and ceremony of a court or a list field. The herald alone cannot accomplish all of this, though, and it would be unfair to burden them with total responsibility for setting the mood. The good gentles of the realm can do much to aid the visual spectacle by copious display of their arms on tabards and flags.
These displays of heraldic achievements are even more effective when they are the product of careful research. Most of us take great pains to dress appropriately for a court; consider then the effect on a battlefield with the fighters arrayed with flags and standards flying in the wind, or a feast hall decorated with the armorial banners of the assembled personages. Court would not be court for many without the arms of the Presiding Royalty on the gonfalons behind their thrones, the much more so when a court has the flags and devices of many of the assembled dignitaries, nobles, and officials.
It is the intent, then, of this article to draw distinctions between the many varieties of flags within a historical context, and to make suggestions as to their proper display within our society, or at least kingdom.
The use of specifically decorated pieces of cloth as personal, tribal, and military ensigns can be found, but are not limited to, with the Egyptians, Assyrians, and even the ancient Jews. In the book of Numbers it says, “Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his standard, with the ensign of their father’s house [1] .” Some standards were not cloth, but often carvings or placards of wood affixed to a pole. Often they were effigies or busts of famous personages. It is with the Romans that we first see the vexillum as a cavalry flag, which resembled a small gonfalon (qv). In later times, the Labarum served as the Imperial Standard, decorated with the Chi Rho after the time of Constantine the Great. By then the flag has ceased to be suspended from a crossbar, instead attached to a pole or pike, much like our modern flags.
Throughout the period, various flags are mentioned, such as Harald Hardrada’s “Landwaster,” or the French “Oriflamme.” It is not until the practice of heraldry had begun to set rules to things, and use definitive language that we begin to see anything that resembles a modern flag. Up until then, such banners either were a personal display, or often reverenced due to tradition.
The most common form of flag we are familiar with is the Gonfalon, or sometimes Gonfannon. The Gonfalon often appears in multiple shapes, such as a square, an escutcheon, or even triangular, and it may be fringed, with the lower end swallow-tailed or dagged. Typically, this will bear the arms of the person associated with it, or less frequently in period, their entire achievement. This is often displayed when a noble is sitting in state, or in a procession. It should be noted that the distinction between the Gonfalon and the Gonfannon that the North American Vexillogical Association [2] makes is that the Gonfannon has two horizontal bars, one at the top, and one at the bottom
Pennons, Pennoncels, Pavons, and Banners are all closely related. Except for the Pennoncel, these flags are flown from vertical poles. The Pennon is the earliest form of this, sometimes being rectiform with dags, pointed tongues, or streamers from the fly, or point furthest away from the hoist. In other instances the Pennon is an isosceles triangle, or swallow-tailed. This is a medium sized flag, about three – 5 feet in length, and is usually the predominate livery color of the bearer [3] , decorated with their badge. The Pennoncel is similar to this, but smaller, about eighteen inches in length, and oriented vertically and suspended from a lance or spear. The orientation of the badge in this case should be turned ninety degrees so it can be deciphered when the lance or spear is “at charge” or leveled at the enemy.
In the Thirteenth Century, King Edward I created a higher rank of knight, the Knight Bannerette [4] , given for superior valor and service. In such instances, the end or tails of the pennon would be cut off, and the Knight given leave to place his full arms on the remaining square portion, or banner. Often such promotions would be accompanied by grants of land, and such arms as were borne by these knights made inheritable arms; thus, many believe that this is the origin of the “baronet.” It is this class of knight that SCA chivalry is most closely analogous to, with knights of inferior rank thereafter known as a “knight bas chevalier” or Knight Bachelor. Later the banner was cut diagonally, forming a right triangle with the lower end perpendicular to the hoist, and these flags became known as Pavons, and were borne by the Knights Bachelor.
There are some interesting variations on the banner. First is the Oriflamme, from the Latin “Aurae Flamme,” or “Golden Flame.” While properly the oriflamme is a particular flag, the one raised in battle by the Kings of France, later on any banner that included multiple streamers of up to double its length became known as an oriflamme. Such banners were usually red and carried with the king, and strewn with a semy of the principal charge of the royal arms, most often Or (Gold, or yellow). Frequently these flags, while not fringed, were tasseled.
The Guidon was a larger version of the Pennon, and was normally carried by cavalry units. The name seems to be derived from “Guide Homme” which is French for “Leader of Men.” This would have the livery colors of the unit, with the badge of the unit placed on a field closest to the hoist.
From Germany, we get the schwenkle. The schwenkle is often a streamer flown above or below a flag, and signifies honors in battle to an individual or company. In many instances, it is attached to a banner at the fly end, and decorated with the badges of any honors.
The Pinsil is another banner; it seems uniquely of Scottish origin. The Pinsil is in the form of an equilateral triangle, and about the length of a pennon. It is flown from a vertical staff, usually of the primary livery color, and decorated with the crest of a chief encircled by the strap and buckle, with the motto inscribed upon in.
The last, and greatest, of the medieval flags was the Standard. Sources describe these flags as being huge, some 11 yards long for sovereigns, with diminishing lengths for landed nobility and peers of the realm [5] . These are usually described as hanging from a stationary point, for instance, a royal keep, to indicate the overlordship or presence of a noble or monarch, serving much the function of a modern garrison flag.
Obviously, such flags would be unwieldy on a battlefield, and sources seem to indicate that there was a smaller “Battle Standard,” which was a scaled down version of the massive flag. The size of these is placed at between eight and twelve feet, depending on the rank of the bearer. These flags would be carried either at the vanguard of the main body of troops, or kept at the command point of the army.
A standard should be about a yard high, and the square section immediately adjacent the hoist should bear the simple arms of the kingdom, or the kingdom badge. (For the Midrealm, this would be “argent, a pale gules, overall a dragon passant vert.”) The fly end of it should be split, with rounded tails, for about a quarter to a third of its length. The main field aside from the national device should be of the livery colors of the bearer, usually with a large primary charge, and any secondary charges strewn in semy. On the banner will be found the motto, or a motto, and the whole is usually fringed, (except, of course, for the hoist end) typically in gold. Such banners were restricted to great landed gentry, and of prescribed sizes depending on rank.
USE OF FLAGS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE SCA
The use of flags within our society proves a bit problematic, as several of our customs and practices are not directly analogous to life in medieval times. For instance, we do not differentiate between Knights Bachelor and Knights Bannerette. We have no permanent keeps and castles. We do not have cavalry on the field of battle. We do not have naval forces. Our Dukes and Counts are not necessarily land magnates. Nonetheless, with but a few small adjustments and allowances for modern demands, we can still use a wide variety of flags to add to the milieu, and provide a rich panoply of heraldic splendor.
Whether such displays should be regulated under sumptuary law or by sumptuary custom is for wiser heads than mine to determine; I would assert that such a thing would be desirable both as a logical growth and expansion of heraldic practice, as well as adding more of the flavor of the times to SCA gatherings and events.
The use of flags was regulated in medieval times, and was a ready means of making quick assessments of both peacetime protocol and in war to understand who was on the battlefield, and of identifying bodies of troops; hence much of the discussion will center around martial displays of colors, but there is no reason that such flags should not be displayed in a camp, or carried in a procession.
It is hoped that this article will serve to begin a discussion of sumptuary regulation of the display of flags within the Midrealm, whether by custom or de jure. We would certainly be breaking no new ground to do so, as such customs and laws already exist, for example, in both Merides [6] and the East Kingdom.
Display of the Gonfalon is appropriate for all members of the populace, both armigerous and non-armigerous, and Heraldic Devices should be displayed on them as if they were a shield. Some have suggested that the Gonfannon is properly reserved for armigerous members of the populace, and should display the entire achievement of arms, including torses, supporters, and so on. Alternatively, such displays of armorial bearings could be restricted to those who held grants or patents of arms.
For purposes of sumptuary regulation, while our system of peerage does not directly correspond, Banners could reasonably be reserved for knights or other peers, bearing the full arms of the peer much like a Gonfalon, and up to five feet in length. Squires would be entitled to the Pavon, in their livery colors with their principal charge, up to three feet in length. As squires are a custom, and not a title, use of the pavon in this fashion would be strictly a matter of custom in any case, and fighting apprentices of Laurels or protégés of Pelicans could reasonably use these as well. Pennons and pennoncels could be used by the populace at large, with non-armigerous gentle using a swallow-tailed version, with their chief livery color and badge (or principal charge) and armigerous members of the populace bearing the more triangular form. These would be no more than three feet in length, and 18 inches high for pennons, and about half scale of that for pennoncels.
It would not be at all inappropriate for fighting households, or branches with a formal fighting contingent to bear a guidon on the field of battle, and used as a rallying point similar to a standard. Guidons are not individual banners, but those of a company, and such groups as were a barony would use rather a standard, as discussed below
For our purposes, a schwenkle could reasonably be used to display badges of awards or of warranted offices, as a “brag banner.” Either flying below a flag, or attached to it, depending on the shape of the flag, such displays could be either individual or group awards. It could also be the perquisite of royalty or a landed baron to bestow a schwenkle upon a fighter or fighting group as a battle honor.
In the society, the Pinsil could be conceivably displayed by heads of households or leaders of non-baronial branch units (without the strap and buckle), or by those troops that are marching into battle under the command of a knight. Such pinsils would be of household, branch, or livery colors, and would display the badge of the branch or the knight.
Standards are cumbersome at best. In period, as previously noted, even a battle standard was a ponderous thing. If we accept the postulate for a scaled down battle standard, the standard described for Joan of Arc (and recreated from the recent movie about her) was twelve feet long and three feet high. Such standards were generally carried on a tall pole, and from horseback. As we in the society do not fight from horseback, the challenge before us is to make such standards large enough to be impressive, but not so large as to drag the ground, or so heavy that they only hang limply.
Such things should rightly be restricted to royalty, royal peers, and landed barons. In period the kingdom arms or badge would be on the hoist end of the flag, nearest the pole. The flag would be double sided, and dexter would always be considered nearest the pole. If we allow for a three-foot high flag, this portion should be roughly square.
Normally the rest of the standard would be of the colors of the noble whose standard it was, and of decreasing size as one went down in rank. Standards, also, were connected with an office, or holdings, so the remainder of the standard would have the arms of a county, duchy, or such on it, rather than the personal arms of the count or duke. This is easy enough to do with landed barons, who would decorate the rest of their standard with the colors of their barony, a principal charge, a motto, perhaps on a scroll or ribbon; and if appropriate might include a semy of secondary charges.
Our Dukes, Counts, and Viscounts do not hold lands in the SCA, or if they do, they do so as barons. In such cases, one must bow to practicality, then, and state that they should be allowed to decorate the remainder of their standard with such colors and charges of their own personal arms. Where such personages are also holders of a barony, (in the Middle Kingdom, I believe Count Valerius and Duke Moonwulf are the only two) some indication of that should be made on their banner of their feudal relationship with the King.
I would suggest a royal standard be allowed to be twelve feet long. Holders of a Territorial Principality should be allowed banners of ten feet as should the banner of the Tanist, Dukes and Principality Heirs eight, Counts Seven, and Viscounts and Landed barons (who are not also royal peers) six, with the caveat that those of a baron must display the arms of their barony rather than personal arms. Obviously, royal banners of any kind should bear in the remaining portion of the flag some indication of their suzerainty. Further, I would suggest limiting gold fringes to sitting royalty, such as Kings and Territorial princes, with other banners being allowed colors appropriate to the banner. Tanists and Territorial heirs should as well have the label of the heir somewhere prominently displayed to indicate their rank.
Such banners may be appropriately carried by forces working under the direct authority of the noble or royal, even in such cases where that dignitary is not present. Further, Royal and Principality Standards should only be borne in inter-kingdom war; at in Kingdom war events the banner should not be carried against loyal troops.
Banners were often carried into battle by high-ranking office holders, especially when such an office was a military position. Thus, the right of a standard could logically be extended to Great Officers of State, with the dimensional restrictions of a landed baron, the badge of office prominently displayed upon it, and a fringe in the principal kingdom or principality color.
The last case I will examine is that of the oriflamme. Originally, the oriflamme was the war flag of the Kings of France, and was carried by them into battle. Over time, however, an oriflamme came into more common use, as every king wanted one. In other words, even trendiness is period! Such banners should be made of red or gold colored cloth, and should be of a glossy finish (Nylon, satin, silk, et. al.) with the principal charge of a kingdom in semy upon it in the opposite color, and should only be borne into battle when the King or Prince of a Principality is present on the field of battle, and used to mark his position on the field. The oriflamme of a Territorial Prince should be restricted to three tails.
CONSTRUCTION OF FLAGS
While a period construction of a flag is always a laudable goal, there were significant variances in materials used in period so as to make the construction of a period looking flag an achievable goal for just about anyone.
A primary consideration is materials. For smaller flags, a heavier material can be used with little problem, for larger flags a heavy material will merely hang lifelessly. One should select a durable and colorfast fabric, as it will be exposed in many instances to the elements and direct sunlight, and those used as battle flags will often fall, be dropped, and stepped on. Like most sewing projects, pre-shrink the material, especially if you are using different types of material for on flag.
The fly side should be reinforced. In period, a sleeve or ties were often used to attach a flag to the pole, though we have many more options. As with everything, obtrusive modernity should be avoided. Edges of the flag should be finished, and optionally a fringe may be added, but this should be a last step.
In period, most flags were painted and a resin-based paint was often favored, though modern fabric acrylics are an excellent substitute. As these paints tend to stiffen materials, it would be wise to select fabric in the colors of the field, sew them together, and to only paint on charges. Charges were most often painted in one color, and details later filled in with another color of paint, and this is a good practice to follow now. Less is more, the paint should be applied just enough to be opaque to the color of the field. For two sided flags, as they should be symmetrical, the first side should dry thoroughly before the opposite side is painted. For those with the means, silk screening is an excellent choice for painting the charges and details on a flag, for the truly ambitious, appliqué may be used
A rule to take note of when painting flags, especially those with two sides, is that the side closest to the hoist (where the flag is attached to the pole) is always heraldic dexter. In the case of pennoncels, the portion closest to the spear end is heraldic dexter. Except for the Gonfalon, flags are two sided, and should mirror each other.
When a flag is finished, a coat of Scotch-Guard™ is an excellent choice for finishing a flag and to protect it from elements, mud, and rain. (A word to the wise, the manufacturer is not kidding about drying times. Add some more time to it if things are especially humid. Do not be a Malcolm.) For storage, rolling the flag and placing it in a canvas sleeve will prevent creasing.
We can see from all the foregoing material that the primary use of flags was a martial one, but this should not prevent the display of flags by non-martial members of the populace. Flags may be use to mark camps, to decorate halls for feasts and courts, to be carried in processions, or sometimes to demonstrate allegiance to a region, household, or guild.
In closing, the use of flags of various and sundry kinds was a venerable practice in period. With small preparation and effort, they will lend much in the way of dignity and majesty to any event or gathering.
Gonfalon
|
Pavon |
Banner with Schwenkle |
Pennon |
Banners
|
Pinsil |
Pennoncel |
Guidon |
Standard |
Bibliography
Neubecker, Ottfried. A GUIDE TO HERALDRY, McGraw-Hill Co., England, 1979.
Norris, Herbert. COSTUME
& FASHION, VOLUME TWO - SENLAC TO
BOSWORTH, 1066-1485, J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., London, First published 1927, reprinted 1940.
THE COMPACT EDITION OF THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY, Oxford University Press, England, 1971.
Fox-Davies, A.C.; A COMPLETE GUIDE TO HERALDRY (1960)
Rothery, Guy Cadogan; CONCISE ENCYLOPEDIA OF HERALDRY, Senate, London 1994
ONLINE DICTIONARY OF THE NORTH AMERICAN VEXILLOLOGY ASSOCIATION