Were, however, the King's arms (see frontispiece) and those of his city of London placed on upright oblong or even square banners, all difficulties of drawing them would be avoided, and from appearing to be glaring examples of mean modern heraldry they would forthwith become fine pieces of artistic decoration.
A close approximation to the better way of displaying the King's arms is illustrated by the lately adopted banners of Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra, both of which show the Sovereign's arms impaling those of his consort. The King's arms are thus restricted to half the usual length of the present 'royal standard,' that is, to a square, and so can be drawn with less waste space on either side of the charges.
Whatever be their shape, banners, like shields, ought as a rule to be covered completely with the heraldry, like the banners of the Knights of the Garter at Windsor (which, though modern, are quite good in this respect) and those of more recent institution of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in St. Paul's cathedral church.
Examples are not lacking, even in the fifteenth century, of banners charged with regular heraldic achievements instead of arms, and quite an interesting series may be found among the Windsor stall-plates. Two small oblong plates of Sir Peter Courtenay and Henry lord FitzHugh are practically complete banners of their arms, but Walter lord Hungerford (after 1426) displays his arms, with helm, crest, and mantling, upon a dull black banner with fringed gold border attached to a writhen gilded staff (fig. [136]). Richard Nevill earl of Salisbury (c. 1436) (fig. [137]), John earl of Shrewsbury (c. 1453), John lord Tiptoft (c. 1461), and several others have their arms, etc. on plain gold-coloured fringed banners, but Richard lord Rivers (c. 1450), Thomas lord Stanley (c. 1459), and George duke of Clarence (c. 1461) have the field worked all over with decorative scroll-work. Sir John Grey of Ruthin (c. 1439) also displays his arms on an undoubted banner with black ground and gold fringe and staff (fig. [138]), and William lord Fauconberg (c. 1440) on a banner with the field bendy of blue and silver, with a gold fringe and staff. It is not improbable that several other quadrangular stall-plates with coloured grounds represent banners. Edmund of Langley duke of York has the field paly of three pieces of silver, green, and black; John duke of Bedford (1422-3) has a ground party blue and silver, and Thomas duke of Exeter (c. 1422) a ground all black. John duke of Somerset (c. 1440) has the field of his plate bendy of silver, red, and green, with a gilded border of scrolled leaves; and Walter lord Mountjoy (c. 1472) disposes the same three colours in vertical stripes.
Fig. 136. Stall-plate, as a banner, of Walter lord Hungerford, after 1426.
