Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1873-09-11
Flags and Banners.

nal, or rallying point, or special token.
The first expression of this was a spear,
ornamented to distinguish it. The Egyp-
tian princes carried one covered with
silver, and surmounted with gold ball.
and they set the example of using some
peculiar mark for each tribe.
When the Hebrew host was numbered,
every man was commanded to pitch his
tent by his own camp and his own
standard, with the ensign of his fathers
house. By ensign" is supposed to have
been meant the banner of his tribe which
was in its groundwork, of the color of
the corresponding stone in the breast
plate, and had, painted or embroidered
on the field, the emblematical figure, which
all could UNDERSTANDINGS that of Issachar,
the picture of an ass bowed by his bur
den; that of Cad, a troop of horse. The
word itself suggests something which
should be token-it was sign, answer
ing for a body Of men the same purpose
which the device did for the individual
The earliest used by the Romans was a
bundle of straw, borne aloft on the point
OF the spear; then, the dragon, red or
purple next, the eagle, in silver or gold,
with wings outspread- famous Roman
eagle, under which their arms were vic
torious in so many lands, known near and
far as sign of conquest-and this was
their military standard until Constantine
the Great, in commemoration of his vision
and the words he heard, ain this over.
come" changed it to the ldbarum, or
standard of the cross
Every national symbol has its history.
The crescent, which has been set against
the cross on so many Eastern battle fields,
representing the opposing force of Mo-
hamm p1 apicrn had ire nriuip II, Tho @; inn
pie circumstance that the ancient city of
Byzantium was saved from falling into
the hands of Philip and his army, be-
cause their approach was betrayed to the
inhabitants by the light of the moon and,
III consequence, they adopted the cres-
cent which the Turks, when the place
came into their possession, retained, be
lieving it to be of good omen and proba-
bly, in its meaning they saw a promise of
increasing power
My powers a crescent, and my auguring hope
Says it will come to the full
Hardly less famed in history than the
labarum has been the 0rifdmme of France
(''the standard of golden tames'), "a spear
of gold, and silk of the color of gold and
fire, gashed in five points, each finished
with a green silk tassel. The royal stand
ard was a gilded staff, and white silk
was the consecrated banner, tabled to have
been brought by an angel to st. Denis,
whose name was on it. 1t was sacred to
| him, and was suspended over his tomb in
| the ancient abbey of st. Denis, and was
never taken down except on extraordinary
| occasions, to be carried against heretics,
or ,Then the crown was in danger. Then,
| with its naming foia5
them, shouting the war-cry, For
! God and st. Denis" the knights
| rushed with confidence into the fight.
1t was borne against the Flemings in
the battle in which Philip Won Arteveldt
was slain Says Froissart: 1t was "A
most excellent banner, and had been sent
from heaven with great mystery. 1t is
sort of ganfanon, and is of much comfort
| in the day of battle to those who see it.
Proof was made of its virtues at this time;
for all the morning there was so thick Il
fog that with difficulty could they see
each other, but the moment the knight
had displayed it, and raised his lance in
the air. the fog instantly dispersed"
Ganfanon, which Chaucer uses, or gon-
talon, which Milton took directly from
the Italian, was properly sacred banner,
| carried in religious professions.
The words colors, flag, standard, ban
ner pennon, and others, are often en-
| ployed without discrimination. The first
may perhaps, in general terms, stand for
all the rest.
advance our waving coIors on the walls"
Shakespeare there means the flag. But,
| originally, colors distinguished the indi-
| vidual and he was known in that way,
as we'll as by the device on his shield
| Those of the Tudors were green and
white. All Of the insignia of the house of
| Orange and its followers was Of the gor-
geous hue of the family name. The Cid
| of Spanish story had green
6 There knights five hundred went armed
before,
| And Bermudez the Cid's green standard bore"
| The meaning of standard would seem
! to be plain enough from the derivation
| and ordinary use of the word. The
standard might or it might not have a
banner attached to it.. The labarum had
one of silk, on which were embroidered
| the pictures Of Constantine and his chill
dren. Although, by custom the two
words are used without distinction, it is
nevertheless true that, though there might
be thousand banners on the field, there
| could be but one standard OF the king.
| Flag is said to be derived from the
! Anglo-Saxon word meaning "tO fly" be
cause the light material of which it is
made is lifted or floated by every breeze.
In colloquial usage, it comprehends all
the others.
I The difference between pennon and
| banner seems anciently to have been that
the former was long, the latter square, ex-
cept when belonging to a prince. Frois-
| sart, who understood all about these
things, is particular about the use OF the
words, Under the pe1ar.0n OF st. George,
and attached to the banner of Sir John
/ Chandos, were the,free companions, who
had in the whole number twelve hundred
| strednserS."
The streamers were the little flags, of
which each knight carried one on his
lance, called variously pennoncedur, pen
st1s, pennants, banderO1es, and, by Spenser,
baaneralls. This pennant was in the form
of swallows tail; and, when the points
were cut off, it became banner, and the
rank of the one who bore it was advanced
he became a leader of knights as well
as squires Froissart describes the cere-
mony of creating the knight banneret, the
most honorable of all the orders, which
was always performed on the battle-f1eld
The word banner belongs to chlvalry
It has been claimed from bann, to sum-
mon the vassals to appear in arms; from
ban, field, because none but landed tmen
could have one; and from banduna, the
band Of union, the latter being the
! favorite explanation, and one dear to the
brotherhood "A. B. Harris, IN Appleton's
Journal