Heraldic Arts and Sciences: Beyond the Banner and Shield. Part 14, Dec 2005. Last Edit: 19 MAY 07

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Other Sites, Supporting Documents, and References

V&A Access to Images: No museum numbers today; the only examples of extant banners were Chinese. However, the words "banner" and "standard" will bring up a number of interesting items that have depictions of period flag shapes.

Whips and Angels (PDF): Excellent article on cloth painting in the middle ages, including some pictures of period banners.

Thumbnails of Pictures

Pictures I have taken of other people's banners, presented without any comment beyond pointing out that they're reasonable examples.

Heraldic Arts and Sciences:
Beyond the Banner and Shield
Part 14: A Banner Wrap Up

Banners are an intergral part of any heraldic display. There are already a noteworthy number of sites online that provide instruction in a variety of ways to make banners. When I initially conceived of this series of articles, I thought I might write an article strictly about standards, and there is no doubt in my mind that I will, eventually.

I'm working hard to decide what sort of standard I will make. One for my persona, with the Cross of St. George at the hoist? One for the SCA, with the badge of Northshield at the hoist? Both? The truth of the matter is that I've enough material and enough ideas to make several standards with different sorts of processes. Lots of choices and processes means a long time before the standard articles get written.

However, this series feels incomplete to me without that standard article, and there is no telling when I am going to get around to writing it. This article, then, collects the works of others, mixes my my notes about what I've done and what I will do, shakes it all up, and spits out something that will allow you to make a heraldic flag of some sort.

My only warnings? 1. Remember, the most typically SCA flag you will see is the one-sided, eschutcheon-shaped gonfalon--this is what most of us think of when we think "banner." Please. Please. Don't do it. While you could convince me that "one-sided" is appropriate for gonfalons intended as wall decorations, I have never found--nor has anyone ever shown me--a single shred of evidence that banners of any sort were shaped like heater shields.

2. Unless you are making a proper gonfalon to hang against the wall, your medieval-style flag should be decorated with the heraldic embellishments on both sides. The back side should be a mirror image of the front. A good way to achieve this: remember, the beastie (or whatever) should always face the hoist. symmetrical charges will be the same no matter what, but beasties can sometimes be confusing. Just make sure that it's always facing the hoist and you'll be good to go.

General Information on Flags:

Heraldic Display in the SCA: Flags

Standards and Pinsils and Pennons, Oh My! (wayback version)

Karen Larsdatter's links to period examples

A 1540-ish drawing of a standard and some badges

Design and Construction:

Wade's Standard: Design considerations

No Sew Heraldic Banners

Brief notes on applique: Appliqued Herald Banner

A more historical article, with better instruction and a period appliqued gonfalon: Applique: Lay On!

Silk painted standards: Banners and Standards (scroll down just a bit)

Painted with screen printing inks, period examples: Heraldic Display: Personal Standards

Painted banners, nice wrap of period materials: Sable Rose: Banner Notes (wayback version)

Painting Banners, not specifically heraldic, but still excellent useful: Candlemas Banner

Another take on painting with easily available materials: Banner Painting

An embroidered, applique, beaded banner: Heraldic Banner

Another: Heraldic Display: Gonfalon Banner

A painted and appliqued banner: Heraldic Personal Banner

My poor old banner; eschutcheon shaped before I knew better, appliqued. The yellow isn't so yellow anymore. The shrinkage in the yellow is more severe than in the black. I can improve this by disassembling it, maybe painting the yellow, and applying it to a strong and simple rectangle.

My poor old second banner. This one is acrylic paint on linen. Backing it was a mistake; the backing held in the nice moisture, and the nice moisture damaged the linen. ::sigh:: I'll take it apart, clean it, repaint both sides, and trim it with trigger or cording.

Small pinsil-type flag, the Sept Pendray badge painted with acrylic paint on to a lightweight lining material. It needs grommets or ties applied to it. It's too small to be a pinsil proper, but it will do a nice job of flying above a standard! The nice thing about painting so fine a material is that the paint soaks all the way through the material, automaticly painting the mirror image on to the back of the flag.

A small pennon made to hang off of guide ropes in camp. It was a temporary expediency set of small flags. They're made out of craft felt, and the best way to describe the technique is "glue applique." That it, I cut the seeblatt out of red felt and glued it on to the white felt. This made fast and easy flags, but they look like kindergarten projects. The glue held together even in the rain, but the red dye bled all over, ruining most of them. The couple that remain get used inside the tent to brighten up dark corners. I'm thinking it wouldn't kill me to satin stich the edges of this last one.

Work has begun on my first standard. It's been cut and the edges have been stay stitched about 1/2 from the edges. I want to see if the fringes can be created by the fraying that will occur as the fabric is handled.

Wish me luck on my projects, as I wish you on yours!