Flag Sections:
Origins of Flags and Banners
Ancient China and India were probably the inventors of flags and banners as we know them today. Tradition tells of the founder of the Chou dynasty in China (1122 BC) who had a white
flag and that in AD 660 a prince was punished for failing to lower his standard before his superior.
Flags were of equal importance in ancient India and was the first object of attack in battle. Its fall would mean confusion and probable defeat. Mughal royal insignia included things besides the flag like yaks' tails and the state umbrella.
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The Saracens probably transmitted flags to Europe where the first flags were adopted in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Patron saints became the focal point of these flags to represent their country. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, flags had adopted symbols, colors and the like of guilds, towns and city states.
Standards and banners depicted the influence and patterns of a personal, family, or local significance. Standards being the largest were to be stationary. They marked the position of an important individual for a battle, during a siege, a ceremony, or at a tournament. They were originally long and tapering toward the fly, ending in two points. The pennon was a smaller banner borne by leaders and was a small triangular flag. The streamer (now known as a pendant or pennant was long. Because of its great length, almost its only use was at sea. It came eventually to distinguish the warship from the merchantman and, more specifically, the warship in commission from the warship laid up in harbor.
The colours and designs of national flags are usually not arbitrarily selected but rather stem from the history, culture, or religion of the particular country. Many flags can be traced to a common origin.
Among the better know of Europe's striped flags was the red-white-blue flag of the Netherlands. Because of its use in that country's long war for independence from Spain, the flag and its colours became associated with the concepts of liberty and a republican form of government.
The flags of the countries of Asia present a remarkable diversity that is due largely to the development of distinctive national symbols before the era of European colonization.
Since World War II interest in flags has expanded beyond their creation and use. See our Vexillology section for links and a discussion.