page_title: Military colours, standards and guidons
section_title: Portugal
hierarchical_section_title: Military colours, standards and guidons / Guidons and standards / Portugal
caption_attribution_description: English: Guião da Companhia Independente nº 3 da antiga Guarda Fiscal
context_page_description: In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago. The Roman Empire also made battle standards a part of their vast armies. It was formalized in the armies of Europe in the High Middle Ages, with standards being emblazoned with the commander's coat of arms.
context_section_description: Until the 1960s, the Portuguese Military followed the traditions of its foot units having colours (Portuguese: bandeiras, literally "flags"), while mounted units had standards (estandartes), the latter being smaller versions of the colours. Standards were also carried by naval and aviation units. In the 1960s, the traditional separation between colours and standards was abolished, with all being reclassified as "national standards" (estandartes nacionais). At the same time, a new type of standard, the heraldic standard, was introduced. Presently, the military units, commands, forces and establishments have both a national standard and an heraldic standard. While the design of the national standards reflects the National Flag, the designs of the heraldic standards reflect the individual heraldic symbology of each of the units.
  In the Portuguese military parlance, a guidon (guião) is a small square flag of a battalion sized unit. Guidons of a very simple design were introduced in the 19th century, as the tactical field signs of the foot units that didn't carry colours, namely the second battalions of the infantry regiments and the independent caçadores (light infantry) battalions. In the early 20th century, the tactical role of the guidons was discontinued. The guidons assumed then a ceremonial role, coming to have a more elaborate design which incorporated the symbology of their respective units. Guidelines for the design of guidons accordingly with heraldic rules were introduced in the 1950s, these becoming mandatory and standardized in the 1960s. The present guidon design - similar in all branches of the Military - consists in the quadrature of the coat of arms of the corresponding unit or of its parent unit, framed by a bordure. The colors of the bordure can be used to identify a sub-unit inside its parent unit.
  Besides heraldic standards and guidons, the Portuguese military units also use heraldic pennants (flâmulas). These are small swallow-tailed or triangular flags used to identify company sized units.
  Some of the Portuguese uniformed security forces and civil emergency organizations also make use of heraldic standards, guidons and pennants, usually modeled after the military ones.
caption: Guidon of a unit of the former Portuguese Fiscal Guard.
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