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Vexillological terminology

Vexillological terminology
Division of flags by users
Division of flags according to W.Smith
On ensigns
Some comments
Civil vs. State Flags
Vexillum
Vexillology

Vexillological terminology

by Zeljko Heimer, 1996-05-21, based on image from WBE

Here is a table from World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. F, Flag, p. 193, written by W.Smith, named Flag terms:

Badge: is an emblem or design, usually on the fly.
Battle flag: is carried by armed forces on land.
Battle streamer,: attached to the flag of a military unit, names battles or campaigns where the unit served with distinction.
Bend on: means to attach signal flag to a halyard.
Breadth,: a British measurement for flags, is 9" (23 cm) wide. A four breath-flag is 36" (91 cm) wide. The term originated when flag cloth was made in 9" strips.
Bunting: is cloth decorated with the national colors. The term is also used for the woollen cloth used in making flags.
Burgee: is a flag or pennant that ends in a swallowtail of two points.
Canton: is the upper corner of a flag next to the staff where a special design, such as a union, appears.
Civil Flag: The official (or unofficial) flag of the country used by the people, perhaps public flag would be clearer. As opposed to the flag reserved for the government or the military. A civil ensign is a flag used at sea by private (or any non-government) ships - Nathan Augustine, 1996-09-27.
Color: is a special flag carried by military unit or officer. In the armed forces of many countries, regiments and larger units often carry two colors - the national flag and a unit flag.
Courtesy flag: is the national flag of the country a merchant ship or yacht visits, hoisted as the ship enters port.
Device: is an emblem or design, usually on the fly.
Ensign: is a national flag flown by naval ship. Some countries also have ensigns for other armed services.; - a flag used at sea (from a ship) to show the nation of origin of the ship, and/or the company/organization that owns it (like a cruse line or shipping company) - Nathan Augustine, 1996-09-27; See British variants for complication reflecting British usage of the term ensign.
Ensign staff: is the staff at the stern of a ship.
Field: is the background of a flag.
Fimbration: is a narrow line separating two other colors in a flag.
Flag hoist: is a group of signal flags attached to the same halyard and hoisted as a unit.
Fly: is the free end of a flag, farthest from the staff. The term is also used for the horizontal length of the flag.
Garrison flag,: in the United States Army, flies over military posts on holidays and special days. A garrison flag is 20 feet (6 m) wide by 38 feet (12 m) long, twice as wide and long as a post flag.
Ground: is the backround of a flag.
Guidon: is a small flag carried at the front or right of a military unit to guide marchers.
Halyard: is a rope used to hoist and lower a flag.
Hoist: is the part of the flag closest to the staff. The term is also used for the vertical width of a flag.
House flag: is flown by a merchant ship to indentify the company that owns it.
Jack: is a small flag flown at the bow of a ship.; - A flag flown from the bow (jack staff) of a ship while in port, AFAIK only used by navies to further denote the country of origin of the ship - Nathan Augustine, 1996-09-27
Jackstaff: is the staff at the bow of a ship.
Merchant flag: is a flag flown by a merchant ship.
National flag: is a flag of a country.
Pennant: is a small triangular or tapering flag.
Pilot flag: is flown from a ship that wants the aid of a pilot when entering port.
Post flag,: in U.S. Army, flies regularly over every Army base. It is 10 feet (3 m) wide by 19 feet (5.8 m) long.
Reeve: means to pull the halyard through the truck, raising or lowering a flag.
Staff: is a pole a flag hangs on.
Standard: is a flag around which people rally. Today, term usually refers to the personal flag of a ruler, such as the Royal Standard of a British monarch.; - W. Smith (1975) defines this as [paraphrased] 1) a flag around which soldiers rally in battle, especially one fixed in place; 2) a flag based on a heraldic shield (which is how the term is most often used on FOTW) 3) a flag representing a military unit; 4) the personal flag of a king, president or other high official - Nathan Augustine, 1996-09-27.
State flag: is the flag flown by the government of a country. Many state flags are the same as national flags but with the country's coat of arms added.; - The official flag of the country used by the government, perhaps government flag would be clearer. As opposed to the flag used by the people or the military (see civil, war and national flag, below). A state ensign is a flag used at sea by government ships - Nathan Augustine, 1996-09-27.
Storm flag,: in U.S. Army, flies over an Army base in stormy weather. It is 5 feet (1.5 m) wide by 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m) long, half as wide and half as long as a post flag.
Truck: is the wooden or metal block at the top of a flagpole below the finial (staff ornament). It includes a pulley or holes for halyard.
Union: is a design that symbolizes unity. It may appear in the canton, as the stars do in the U.S. flag. Or it may be the entire flag, as in the Union Flag of the United Kingdom.
Vexillology: is the study of flag history and symoblism. The name comes from the Latin word vexillum, which means flag.
War Flag: The official flag of the country used by the military, perhaps military flag would be clearer. As opposed to the flag used by the people or the government. A war ensign is a flag used at sea by war ships - Nathan Augustine, 1996-09-27.

British usage

To further confuse things, the British custom is often to refer to the civil ensign as the Merchant Naval ensign, and the White ensign as the Royal Naval ensign. This dates from times when Britain was still a powerful enough seafaring nation to have a governmental freight navy ("The Merchant Navy"). The term 'merchant navy' is still sometimes used to refer to British based trading vessels.
James Dignan, 1996-09-30

Eh? "Merchant Navy" is just a traditional term, although there were (are?) various support institutions for the shipping industry that used it. It never, AFAIK, signified wholesale government ownership of cargo ships. A condition of British registry is that the government can requisition a merchant ship during times of war (last used during the Falklands, IIRC), but the ship remains the property of and is operated by its owners, and they receive full payment for its use.

I believe merchant ships continue to wear the Red Ensign on such duty, unless, of course, they meet the conditions of having a captain a certain percentage of the officers holding commissions in the Royal Naval Reserve, in which case they would be entitled to wear the plain Blue Ensign instead. Though given the perilous state of our merchant fleet today I wonder if any merchantmen still qualify for that privilege..
Roy Stilling, 1996-09-30

Another table from the same source gives Interesting facts about flags:

The first "flags" consisted of symbols attached to the tops of poles. Such flaglike objects appear in Egyptian art of the mid-3000's B.C.

Cloth flags were probably first used in China about 3000 B.C. These flags were made of silk.

Knights in the Middle Ages carried pointed flags called pennons. A knight's promotion to a higher rank was symbolized by having the end of pennon cut off. The resulting square flag was called the banner, and the knight become a knight-banneret.

National flags are among the most recent kinds of flags. They first came into use during the 1700's in Europe and North America. Until then, most flags stood for the personal authority of rulers.

Flags at sea. Before the days of radio, a complicated system of flag design and display grew up around the need for communication at sea. Flag codes enabled the sending of messages between ships or from ship to shore. A ship would salute another vessel by dipping, or lowering, its flag. Such salutes played a major role in international diplomacy.

Flag colors. Most national flags use one or more of only seven basic colors. These colors are red, white, blue, green, yellow, black, and orange.

Flag symbols often reflect historical events. The cross that appears in many European flags originated in the flags carried by Crusaders to the Holy Land. Some flags used in Arab nations show the eagle of Saladin, a Muslim warrior who fought the Crusaders in the 1100's.

Burning is considered the most dignified way to destroy a flag that is no longer fit for display. But burning a usable flag often signifies political protest.

Division of flags by users

Civil flags: The national flag flown on land by private citizens.
State flags: representing the actual government power for example the nation itself, districts and cities, and govenment functions like customs and border guards. The national flag flown on land over non-military [yet government-owned] property; also called government flag.
Personal flags: Colors representing an individual power or authority. The President of the United State's flag or Minister of National Defence of the DDR.
Organisation Flags: Sports teams and Trade Unions.
Naval Flags: Navies and Merchant Marine use all sorts of flags and signals. I lump them together for ease, also the construction of the flags is different that land flags (in most cases)

James Gaddis, 1995-12-08
Nick Artimovich, 1996-02-23

Division of flags according to W. Smith

W. Smith has a nice six fold table making up a typology of flags. In English it goes like this:

               PRIVATE          PUBLIC         MILITARY
__________________________________________________________
LAND           CIVIL            STATE           WAR
               FLAG             FLAG            FLAG
__________________________________________________________
SEA            CIVIL            STATE           WAR
               ENSIGN           ENSIGN          ENSIGN

Jan Oskar Engene, 1995-12-08

On ensigns

I am an accomplished naval flag collector - that doesn't give me any special credentials to answer this question other than a strong interest. I believe the ensign flag is used only when the ship is in port. It is flown from a mast at the bow. When the ensign is flown it means that the ship is "open" for individuals to get on or off. If the ensign is not flown in port the ship is closed to borders. I know this to be true for the US navy and my favorite navies, East Gemany and the Soviet Union.

Interestingly the East Germans used their national flag for their ensign; unlike the USA and USSR who have special flags for this purpose.

One note, the British have primary flags called ensigns. Their use of the term could be misleading. We could accept ensigns to mean the small signal flags I mentioned above and leave the Brits as an exception. If it is a problem we could use the German term for it- Gosh.

James Gaddis, 1995-12-08

Some comments

1. In English speaking countries -- at least in the US and UK -- it is common to speak of war flags as military flags. This would include personal flags, such as that of an army commander or a general, and unit flags, such as a particular regiment.

2. Naval ensigns are normally flown are referred to a jack in the USN and flown from the jack staff -- at the bows -- when in port. National colors are flown from the flag staff at the stern when in port and from the mainmast when at sea. Both the jack staff and the flag staff are removed when at sea to permit a clear field of fire for naval weapons.

3. National colors are flown 24 hours a day when at sea, but it and the jack are flown only between sunrise and sunset when in port.

4. One caveat -- the above were the custom in the mid-1950's -- when I did my National service -- and before. As we all know, economics and politics have a way of changing century-old traditions, and I cannot state with certainty that this hasn't happened!

Alvan Fisher, 1995-12-08

Civil vs. State Flags

The laws regarding use of civil flags versus state flags vary from country to country. For example, private citizens are not allowed to purchase the state flag of Germany (Bundesdienstflagge, black/ red/ gold with a central gold shield with a black eagle) because it is the flag of the state - only state officials and institutions may use it. The flag laws of Austria were changed a number of years ago and the flag with the eagle was restricted to official use only. According to J.O. Engene, he is unable to purchase the Norwegian state flag. I believe that in most cases the state flag was designated for use by government officials only, and the civil flag, or "national colors", could be used by citizens. Note the illustration in Flags Through the Ages and Across the World page 129 shows a bullring in Spain with meters and meters of flags/ banners in the red/ yellow/ red pattern of the national flag with the caption "the length of the flag here is no concern, only its colors and the widths of the stripes are considered important."

The implication that people may fly the "state" flag just because it is available and inexpensively printed does not legitimize its use. We in the US only have the Stars and Stripes to wave for civil flag, state flag, national ensign, etc. I would appreciate comments from other FOTW members about the "correct" use of your state or government flag versus actual flag display.

Nick Artimovich, 1996-02-23

That is right. The Norwegian state flag is strictly for official use, and state flags are not sold to the public. For ordinary people to use one would be prepostrous - claiming an authority one does not possess. Using one outside the country would amount to the same, at least in the eyes of Norwegians. I would find it strange if Norwegian-Americans would want to buy flags with split and tongue. Perhaps the situation is different for the Nordic flags, since the state version does not add arms to the national flag but instead adds a split and/or tongue.

Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-02-26

Vexillum

According to Charlton Lewis' Elementary Latin Dictionary, a vexillium is "a military ensign, standard, banner, or flag." A vexillarius is "a standard-bearer, or under the empire, the oldest class of veterans."

According to Lawrence Keppie, The Making of the Roman Army, "Marius [Gaius Marius, Roman general of the early 1st century B.C. and reorganizer of the Roman army] is also credited with making the eagle (aquila) the legion's first standard, and a focus of loyalty and affection. Our source, the Elder Pliny, places the adoption of the eagle at 104 B.C...He notes that the legion hitherto had had a variety of standards--the eagle (which had always had the first place) the wolf, the minotaur, the horse and the boar, and that all ahd been carried in front of different elements of the legion...All were animal totems, reflecting the religious beliefs of an agricultural society. The boar also appears as an important battle-standard among the Celts...coins of 82 and 49 [B.C.] show an aquila flanked by other standards which bear a little square plaque or flag with the single letters H and P. These must be standards specifically for the hastati and princepes [two of the three components of the legion, along with the triarii]...they consist of slender poles decorated with circular bosses, but bear no animal figures....At the close of the Republic [late 1st cent. B.C.] it seems likely therefore that the legion's three most important standards were teh aqquila in the care of the primus pilus (chief centurion of the triarii) and two others, presumably in the charge of the princeps and the hastatus (senior centurions of the other two groups)...the eagle-bearer (aquilifer) of the legion was thus the man who carrid the standard of the senior century of the First Maniple of the triarii [i.e. he was in front]. In battle and on the march the standards were important as a rallying point. To lose, or surrender, a standard, especially the eagle itself, was a disgrace."

Josh Fruhlinger, 1996-03-13

Vexillology

From the Oxford English Dictionary:

vexillology veksilo+-lo'dZi. f. L. vexill-um flag + -ology. The study of flags.

1959 Arab World (N.Y.) Oct. 13/1 One of the most interesting phases of vexillology -the study of flags- is the important contribution to our heritage of flags by the Arab World.
1961 Flag Bull. Fall 7/2 Editors Grahl and Smith use `vexillology' and its cognates, vexillologist, vexillological.
1966 Occasional Newslet. to Librarians Jan. 4 This unknown specialist has demonstrated his great knowledge of heraldry and vexillology.
1970 W. Smith Flag Bk. U.S. i. 3 In 1965 the first International Congress of Vexillology was held in the Netherlands.

vexillo'logical a.;

vexi'llologist

1961 [see above].
1963 Recall (Boston) Oct. 4 (heading) Travel notes and vexillological addendum.
1965 W. Smith Bibliogr. Flags of Foreign Nations p. v, Its three principal activities have been the encouragement of contacts and exchanges of information between vexillologists around the world, the coordination of research efforts, and the building up of a library of books and other flag materials.
1971 Daily Tel. 19 Nov. 13/7 Between 60 and 70..historians, antiquaries, designers and students of heraldry are expected at an international vexillological congress.
1973 Smithsonian Dec. 50/2 Redividing the states would mean redesigning the flag. In vexillologist Whitney Smith's scheme, he retains the symbolism of 13.
1983 Christian Science Monitor 8 Apr. 20/1 Father Young is the official community vexillological custodian.

vexillum veksi-lA'm. L. (in sense 1), f. the stem of vehe're to carry.

1. a. A flag or banner carried by Roman troops; a body of men grouped under one banner.

1726 Gordon Itin. Sept. 79 The Figures of two winged Victories, supporting the Roman Vexillum.
1805 James Mil. Dict. (ed. 2), Vexillum, the standard which was carried by the Roman horse.
1891 Cent. Dict. s.v., These vexilla averaged from 500 to 600 in strength.

b. Eccl. A small piece of linen or silk attached to the upper part of a crozier.

1877 F. G. Lee Gloss. Eccl. & Liturg; Terms 438 Many examples of the vexillum are represented in illuminated MSS.
1905 Ch. Times 3 Feb. 136/3 The vexillum sometimes attached to a pastoral staff was a `sudarium' or handkerchief, in all probability.

2. Bot. The large external petal of a papilionaceous flower.

1727 Bailey (vol. II), Vexillum, the Banner of the broad Single Leaf, which stands upright.
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. ii. xx. (1765) 116 Vexillum, the Standard, a Petal covering the rest.
C. 1789 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) III. 446/2 The superior [petal] ascending, (called the vexillum or flag).
1821 W. P. C. Barton Flora N. Amer. I. 11 Corolla with a long sabre-shaped vexillum of a deep carmine-red colour.
1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. App. 304 Corolla [of garden pea] papilionaceous, white; vexillum large.

3. Ornith. The vane or web of a feather.

1867 P. L. Sclater tr. Nitzsch's Pterylography 10 The Barbs..form, with the parts seated upon them, the so-called Vane (vexillum).
1872 Coues N. Amer. Birds 2 The rhachis..alone bears vexilla.
1872 Coues N. Amer. Birds 34 Except in the case of a few of the innermost remiges, their outer vexillum...is always narrower than the inner.