ARMORIAL ENSIGN

flag with heraldic significance, distinguished by its shape and purpose. The principal armorial ensigns are the banner, the pennon, the guidon, the standard, and the pendant, or pennant. Originally, the banner was restricted to magnatespeers, feudal barons, and knights bannerets, for example. A square or rectangular flag bearing personal or family insignia, it was carried in action before such royal and noble warriors. Today this most cherished ensign of medieval times is generally used by all armigerous persons throughout Europe except in Scotland, where it is restricted to magnates. The ensign used by simple knights was a small triangular flag called a pennon. Flown from the lance, the pennon was used to terrorize the enemy as well as to indicate rank. All armigerous persons below banneret's rank may use it. On the field of battle, when promotion to the rank of knight banneret was made, the points of the knight's pennon were cut off, to make it an improvised banner. The guidon, a long, tapering flag, was the cavalry standard and was carried in battle by warriors below the rank of knight. In the hoist (the part nearest the staff to which the ensign was attached), the guidon usually had the national cross (St. George, St. Andrew, and so forth) and, in the fly (the part farthest from the staff), a principal (beast) badge, which, with the field, was in the livery colours. The standard, half as long again as the guidon, was the largest form of armorial ensign and was intended to be stationary. It marked the carrier's position in battle, in a ceremony, or at a tournament. The flying of a standard often indicated the monarch's presence at a palace, castle, saluting base, or ship. The pennant, or pendant, earlier called a streamer, was a long, tapering flag, 2060 yards (1855 m) long and 8 yards (7 m) wide, ending in two points. Used mainly at sea, it was flown in the 15th century from a pole rising above the fighting top and later from the yardarm or topmast. It came to distinguish the warship from the merchant ship. Hoisted when the captain assumes his command, the pennant indicates a warship in commission, as opposed to a warship laid up.