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Continued from page 1 - Special
Heraldic Flags |
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All
the flags described so far may be used by anyone who has a coat of
arms (an armiger). However, there are flags which are authorised
specially by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, Scotland and are blazoned in
the grant of arms or matriculation of arms of the armiger. These are
the standard, guidon, pennon, and pinsel. |
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The Standard
The standard ia a long, narrow, tapering flag, granted by the Lord Lyon
only to those who have a following, such as clan chiefs or chieftain. As
a 'headquarters' flag, its principal use is to mark the gathering point
or headquarters of the clan, family or following and does not
necessarily denote the presence of the standard's owner as his personal
banner does. The standards of peers and barons have their ends split and
rounded; for others the end is unsplit and rounded. At the hoist, the
standard usually shows the owner's arms, though some are still granted
with the former practice of having the national saltire in the hoist.
The remainder of the flag is horizontally divided into two tracts of the
livery colours for chiefs of clans or families, three tracts for very
major branch chieftains and four for others. Upon this background are
usually displayed the owner's crest and heraldic badges, separated by
transverse bands bearing the owner's motto or slogan. The whole flag is
fringed with alternating pieces of the livery colours. The length of the
standard varies according to the rank of its owner, as follows: The
Sovereign 8 yards, Dukes 7 yards, Marquesses 6.5 yards, Earls 6 yards,
Viscounts 5.5 yards, Lords 5 yards, Baronets 4.5 yards and lastly
Knights and Scottish barons 4 yards. (One wonders if these ensigns are
likely to come under European weights and measures legislation soon!) |
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| Standard
of the Earl of Rothes |
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The Guidon
This is a long flag similar in shape to the standard. The guidon is
eight feet long and is assigned by the Lord Lyon to non-baronial lairds
who have a following. It tapers to a round, unsplit end at the fly and
has a background of the livery colours of the owner's arms. The owner's
crest or badge is shown in the hoist and his motto or slogan is lettered
horizontally in the fly. |
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Guidon of Charles J. M. Mckerrell of
Hillhouse |
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The Pennon
Strictly speaking, a small guidon, four feet long, which nowadays is
very rarely assigned today. The pennon carries the owner's arms in the
hoist and his livery colours dividing the fly which tapers down to a
rounded end. This term pennon, however, is more commonly used to refer
to a long triangular flag borne at the end of a lance or spear, or flown
from the mast of a ship. |
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| Pennon
of John A. Duncan of Sketraw |
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The Pinsel
A small triangular flag granted by the Lord Lyon only to chiefs or very
special chieftain barons for practical use to denote a person to whom
the chief has delegated authority to act in his absence on a particular
occasion. The flag is 4 feet 6 inches long by 2 feet high, with a
background of the main livery colour of the chiefs arms. On it is
depicted his crest within a strap and buckle bearing the motto and
outside the strap and buckle a circlet inscribed with his title. On top
of the circlet is set his coronet of rank or baronial chapeau if any. In
the fly is shown the plant badge and a scroll with his slogan or motto. |
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Pinsel of Peter Barclay of Towie Barclay, Chief of the Clan Barclay |
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Manufacture
No material is wrong for a flag, although some are more suitable than
others in certain situations. For external use, including naval flags
flown at sea, the traditional woollen bunting has largely given way to
modem synthetic fibres such as polyesters. Indoors, and for decorative
purposes, silk, satin, damasks and brocade may be used, as well as finer
spun polyesters. In general, the brightest possible colours give the
best effect although luminescent dyes are not recommended. Gold and
silver are represented by yellow and white respectively. However,
special flags are sometimes decorated with gold thread or paint, as for
example, to emphasise a coronet. Except in a few cases such as
standards, fringes are regarded in Scotland as mere decoration, to be
added or not according to the whim of the owner. If plain, they should
be of the same metal as chat which is predominant in the flag. They may
also be made of alternate pieces of the principal colour and metal of
the flag. Flags are a practical and prominent form of heraldic display
and however they are made, it is essential that they are suitable for
the purpose intended. In
particular, flags to be flown on a flag pole must be light enough to
lift in the wind or the effect will be lost. |
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