| No. 411.— Pennon, from the Painted Chamber. | No. 412.— Pennon of Percy; A.D. 1400. |
2. Second, the Banner, square or oblong in form, and of a larger size than the Pennon, bears the entire Coat of Arms of the owner blazoned over its whole surface, precisely as the same composition is blazoned upon a Shield: [No. 162]. The Banner has been described as the ensign of the Sovereign, or of a Prince, a Noble, or a Knight who had been advanced to the higher rank or degree of a “Banneret”; but it would seem almost certain that the display of Arms upon a Banner was never confined to a Banneret. Two Banners are represented in each of the Hungerford Seals, Nos. [391], [392]. A small group of oblong Banners, with two pointed Pennons, is represented in No. 413, from the Painted Chamber.
No. 413.— Oblong Banners and Pointed Pennons, from the Painted Chamber.
In the olden time, when a Knight had distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry, it was the custom to mark his meritorious conduct by prompt advancement on the very field of battle. In such a case, the point or points of the good Knight’s Pennon were rent off, and thus the small Flag was reduced to the square form of the Banner, by which thenceforth he was to be distinguished. Froissart, in his own graphic manner, has described the ceremonial which attended the first display of the Banner of a newly-created Banneret on the field of battle. Sir John Chandos, one of the Knights Founders of the Garter, appeared with his maiden Banner on the field, on the morning of the battle of Naveret, in Castile, April 3rd, 1367:—“He brought his banner in his hands,” says the chronicler, “rolled up” (rolled round the staff), “and said to the Prince of Wales”—it was the Black Prince,—“’My Lord, behold, here is my Banner: I deliver it to you in this way,”—still rolled round the staff, that is—“’that it may please you to display it, and that this day I may raise it; for, thank God, I have land and heritage sufficient to support the rank as it ought to be!’ Then the Prince and the King”—Don Petro, King of Castile—“took the Banner, which was of silver with a sharp pile gules, between their hands by the staff, and displayed it, and returned it to him, the Prince saying—’Sir John, behold your Banner; may God grant you may do your duty!’ Then Sir John Chandos bore his Banner (displayed) to his own Company, and said—’Gentlemen, see here my Banner and yours; preserve it as your own!’” We see that, like another hero of a later period, the Black Prince held the maxim—“England expects every man to do his duty.”
Quarterings, Marks of Cadency, and Differences (but not impalements) are blazoned on Banners under the very same conditions that they appear on Shields of Arms. For example, the Banners, as well as the Shield, on the seal of Sir Robert de Hungerford, [No. 392], are Differenced with a label for Cadency, and thus are distinguished from the corresponding Banners and Shield on the Seal of Sir Robert’s father, [No. 391].
Crests, Badges, Supporters, and other external accessories and ornaments of Armorial Shields have no place on Banners, a Banner representing a Shield, and being charged as a Shield. In the seventeenth century, however, English Banners sometimes were charged with Achievements of Arms, including all the accessories and ornaments of Shields.
In early times Banners appear in use at sea, as well as on land; and the same Banners were used both on shore and afloat. The sails of our early shipping, also, are constantly represented as covered with armorial blazonry, and they thus were enabled to act as Ship-Flags. Many curious and interesting representations of the strange, unwieldy, unship-shape looking craft that were the ancestors of the British Navy, are introduced with their heraldic sails and their Banners into the compositions of Seals. A fine example of its order is the Seal of John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, A.D. 1436, “Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine,” No. 414. The ship is really a noble-looking vessel, with her solitary sail blazoned with the Lord Admiral’s Arms—England, within a bordure of France,—the same arms that were borne by Prince John of Eltham, [No. 24]. In this example the crew are not represented: but in other Seals of early shipping figures are commonly introduced, and almost always they are drawn of ludicrously disproportionate size. This ship does not display any Banner from a banner-staff, but has a nautical Pennon of ample size flying at the mast-head: when Banners are displayed on board ships upon early Seals, they are generally narrow in proportion to their height, a form of Banner adopted on land as well as at sea, in consequence of the greater inconvenience attending the display of broad or really square Banners. At a later period, however, Ship-Flags of very large size came into favour.