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MR-Disc: Standards and Practices




Poster: edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com

>   When you make a banner of your arms to display at a large interkingdom
>   event, be sure to include the badge of your kingdom in the hoist, to
>   distinguish your banner from those with the same arms in other kingdoms.
>
> Hmmm.  This might be considered, by some, an affront, for some Kingdoms use
> variants on their arms as augmentations.  Those are given as distinguishing
> honors.  Heraldically, it's a bit like putting a Ducal Coronet on your head.
>
> There is no real period method of doing the above, that pops to my mind.
> Perhaps there is one I am not thinking of.

I have consulted "A Dictionary of Heraldry" (by Stephen Friar, Director
of The Society of Heraldic Arts) and found that I was half right.
There were indeed period flags that indicated allegience by using the
national device in the hoist (the part of the flag nearest the staff).
However, this flag was the Standard, not the Banner.  I didn't realize
the distinction before.

A Banner is a square or oblong flag that displays the arms of the owner.
It indicates the physical presence of the owner.  It was also known as
the Lieutenant (literally, "place-holder"), which is also the name of
the officer entrusted with carrying it.

A Standard is a long tapering flag that has the national device (for
example, argent a cross gules (Cross of St. George) for an English noble)
in the hoist.  The fly, however, does _not_ have the arms of the owner;
it is a field of his livery colors, strewn with his principal livery
badge and the badges of subsidiary territories from which his retainers
were drawn.  Often there is a Cri-de-guerre, either on the tail or on
'motto bends'.  The Standard, and the officer who held it, was known
as the Ancient.

Note that "the national device" was _not_ anything like the national arms
(which would be something like gules three lions passant guardant Or in
the above example).

As far as I can see, there was no flag that combined the national device
with personal arms.  I'm sorry I stated otherwise.

-- Alfredo

 
Alfredo el Bufon
Elvegast, Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia
edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com
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