Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/290

 278 FLAG the knigbts present with Edward I. at the siege of that fortress. Of the king himself the writer says &quot; En sa bannicre trois Inparte De or fin estoicnt mis eu. rouge ; &quot; and he goes on to describe the kingly characteristics these may be supposed to symbolize. A MS. in British Museum (one of Sir Christopher Barker s Heraldic Collection, Harl. 4G32) gives drawings of the standards of English kings from Edward III. to Henry VIII., which are roughly but artistically coloured. The terms for describing a flag are the same as those applied in heraldry to the corresponding parts of a shield. The part of a flag furthest from the point of suspension is called the &quot;fly.&quot; The principal varieties of flags borne during the Middle Ages were the pennon, the banner, and the standard; guydhommes, banderolls, pennoncells, streamers, Arc., may be considered as minor varieties. The pennon (fig. 5, B) was a small personal ensign, pointed or swallow-tailed, borne below the lance-head of its owner, and charged with his armorial bearings in such a manner that they were in true position when the lance was held FIG. 5. A, Labarum from medallion of Constantine ; B, Mediaeval Peniion ; C, Mediaeval Banner ; D, Standard of Henry V. horizontally for action. It was a strictly personal flag, and was borne by every knight. Pennons were sometimes charged with the cross of St George in place of the personal bearings. A manuscript of the 16th century (Harl. 2358) in the British Miiseum, which gives minute particulars as to the size, shape, and bearings of standards, banners, pennons, guidhommes, pencells, &c., says &quot; A peanon must be two and a half yards long, made round at the end, and conteyneth the armes of the owner,&quot; and warns that &quot; from his standard or streamer a man may flee, but not from his banner or pennon bearing his arms.&quot; The banner (fig. 5, C) was generally about square in form, charged in a manner exactly similar to the shield of the owner, and borne by knights bannerets, and all above them in rank. The rank of knights bannerets was higher than that of ordinary knights, and they could be created on the field of battle only. It was the custom, after a battle, for the king or commander in person to honour a knight who had distinguished himself in the conflict, by tearing off the fly of his knightly pennon, thus creating it a banner and its bearer a banneret. The banner was not a personal ensign but that of a troop. Every baron, who in time of war had furnished the proper number of men to his liege, was entitled to charge with his arms the banner which they followed. The standard (fig. 5, D) was a large, long flag, gradually tapering towards the fly, varying in size according to the rank of the owner, and generally divided fesse-wise. The shape was not, however, by any means uniform during the Middle Ages, nor were there any definite rules as to its charges It seems to have been first used by Edward III., the head of whose standard was charged as his shield of arms, and the fly powdered with fleurs-de-lis and lions. The Tudor manuscript mentioned above says of the royal standard of that time &quot;The standard to be sett before the king s pavillion or tente, and not to be borne in battayle ; to be in length eleven yards.&quot; &quot;Every standard and guydon to have in the chief the cross of St George, the beast or crest with his devyce and word, and to be slitt at the end.&quot; The standard was always borne by an eminent person, and that of Henry V. at Agincourt is supposed to have been carried upon a car, and to have preceded the king. The guidon borne by a leader of horse &quot; must be two yards and a half or three yards long, and therein shall no armes be put, but only the man s crest, cognizance, and devyce.&quot; A streamer was a long, tapering flag, and &quot;shall stand in the top of a ship or in the forecastle, and therein be put no armes but a man s conceit or devyce, and may be of length 20, 30, 40, or 60 yards, and is slitt as well as a guydhomme or standard.&quot; A pencil was a small streamer-like flag borne by an esquire. The present royal standard of England was hoisted on the Tower, January 1, 1801, and is thus described: Quarterly : first and fourth, gules, three lions passant gardant, in pale, or, for England ; second, or, a lion ram pant, gules, within a double treasure, flory counter flory of the last, for Scotland; third, azure, a harp or, stringed argent, for Ireland. On an escutcheon of pretence were charged the arms of the sovereign s German dominions; but after the accession of Queen Victoria these were removed. This flag is displayed at the main whenever the sovereign or a member of the royal family is on board a ship, and is also hoisted over the royal residence. The Admiralty flag Fio. 6. A, St George s Banner ; B, St Andrew s Banner, C, St Patrick s Banner; D, First Union Jack; E, Present Union Jack. stands next to this in importance, and is red charged, fesse- wise, with an anchor and cable. The national ensign of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack, is the not altogether admirable result of an attempt to combine the several ensigns of the three countries. St George had long been the patron saint of England, and his banner, argent, a cross gules, its national ensign (fig. 6, A). St Andrew in the same way was the patron saint of Scotland, and his banner, azure, a saltire argent, the national ensign of Scotland (fig. 6, B). On the union of the two crowns, James I. issued a proclama-