…and half a dozen of the other

Don’t know your hoist from your fly? Well, you’re gonna have problems if you ever want to go hoist fishing then, aren’t you?

But seriously, study of flags is known as vexillology. The word comes from those big one-sided banners the Romans (and possibly organizations like the Orangemen and the National Union of Mineworkers) used to carry at parades, demonstrations, rallies etc: the name for this sort of banner was a vexillum.

Flags however, are meant to be viewed from either side. And so the designs have to be a bit different from those on a vexillum.

Basically, if you like heraldry, you’ll probably find something to interest you in vexillology. Here’s a good starting point:

• Flags of the World

Filed under: Heraldry, Flags  |  Permalink