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While calling the images below the standards of the clans is a convenient
shorthand, they are really one of several types of personal insignia of the
chief. The
leaflet published by Lyon Court says they are granted only to those who have
"followings," including chiefs of clans. While the chief's banner (i.e., his
arms in rectangular cloth form) indicates his personal presence, his standard
marks the location of his headquarters or the clan's gathering point. So the
mere fact that someone's name is Fraser does not mean he or she is entitled
under Scottish law to fly the Fraser standard, any more than to display the
chief's arms or banner.
Joe McMillan, 17 March 2004
From what I understood in the leaflet, the images below (e.g.
Clan Fraser) seems to be rather a guidon (rounded end)
instead of a standard. And it seems to be a "role" flag, assigned to a clan
chief as someone who has a following and a headquarters.
Dirk Schoenberger, 17 March 2004
Dirk is correct, the illustration should have a double-rounded end to be the
standard of a peer, as I suspect Lady Saltoun is. Joseph points out an error on
the Fraser website, the Standard CAN be used without the personal presence of
the Chief, it is a headquarters flag. The BANNER can only be used in the
personal presence of the Chief. The design system for Standards is more of a
guidance than hard and fast rules. There are variations, but the length is set
in stone (it's even by metricated!) A Guidon is granted to someone below the
rank of Chief who still has a following, or holds a lieutenancy in a Clan, for
example The MacDonald of Castle Camus who is Lieutenant of Sleat in Clan
MacDonald. The Pinsel is a more general flag yet, often for a lieutenant who
does not have a title (in Scotland you can be a noble, have a title and yet not
be a peer of the realm), but also used more widely. For example The Macneill of
Barra flies his pinsel on Kismull Castle when he is not in residence.
Graham Bartram, 17 March 2004
All standards have rounded flies; they are split if the owner is of the rank
of lord (lowest grade of the Scottish peerage, like the chief of Clan Fraser) or
baron (holder of a Scottish feudal barony) or above, but unsplit otherwise. As
noted in the leaflet, "The standards of non-baronial chiefs, or others who for
special reasons get standards, have round unsplit ends." There are many
chiefs of clans (The Macmillan of Macmillan and Knap, for example) who are
neither peers nor barons. (Before someone corrects me here, we're talking
Scotland, not England. In Scotland, the lowest rank of the peerage is "Lord (or
Lady) of Parliament." It is the equivalent of a baron in England or on the
Continent. A Scottish baron is something else and of lower rank.)
Joe McMillan, 17 March 2004
The standards are so complicated that verbal descriptions don't work very well, but the usual composition of these things is:
Joe McMillan, 17 March 2004
I think it is quite common in Scotland for the standard to show the owner's
arms rather than the saltire. Most of those I've seen follow this pattern.
Graham Bartram, 21 March 2004
I read somewhere recently that the system of putting the St. Andrew's cross
in the hoist (or St. George's cross in England) generally pre-dates 1900 and
that standards designed since then have normally had the owner's arms in the
hoist. But, as with all matters heraldic, I'm sure there are exceptions.
Joe McMillan, 22 March 2004
In Scotland it is normal for a lieutenant to use his Chief's banner if he is
representing him (this is why Scottish Lord Lieutenants fly the Scottish Royal
Standard). The lieutenant can also use his chief's pinsel, a triangular flag
which uses one of the livery colours as a background, has the clansman's badge
in the hoist (the chief's crest surrounded by a belt (not a garter) on which is
written the clan motto or slogan. The belt is itself surrounded by a band
bearing the Chief's name or title and ensigned with the chief's coronet of rank
(or a cap of maintenance for a feudal baron). In the fly is the plant badge of
the clan over which is a ribbon (of the other livery colour) bearing the motto
again. If a chief has a permanent lieutenant he can be granted his own guidon, a
special short standard (2.4m long).
The chief himself has a banner (his arms on a square-ish flag) and a standard (a
long tapering flag, 4.5m long for a baron). The standard normally has the
chief's arms on the square nearest the host and narrows to a double rounded end.
The rest of the standard usually shows the crest (the flaming mountain for
Grant), the motto ("Stand Fast" for Grant) and the plant badge (a sprig of Scots
Pine for Grant). It would have a fringe of the two livery colours (red and gold
for Grant). The standard would normally be flown from his headquarters at the
gathering, even if he is not personally present, whilst the banner would
accompany his presence.
Graham Bartram, 11 October 2007
From "Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia":
THE BANNER: this is the personal flag of an armiger which shows the
arms, as depicted on the shield, and nothing else. Conventionally, the design is
placed on the flag as if the flagstaff were to the left of a drawing of the
shield. Thus, a rampant animal is said to 'respect' the staff, an eagle
displayed looks towards the staff and so on. The design should go through the
fabric so that on the reverse side all the devices will be turned round but will
still respect the staff. It is quite wrong to use a banner of a plain colour
with the owner's arms on a shield in the middle. This implies that the arms are
of that colour with a small inescutcheon in the centre. It is equally wrong to
show the helmet, crest, motto and supporters on the banner. The purpose of a
banner is to locate and identify its owner and it is the visual equivalent of
his name. Flown over his house, it identifies his property; elsewhere, it
indicates his presence. The size of a house banner will depend on the height of
the building and the pole. It should be large enough to be identifiable from a
reasonable distance. The best shape for a heraldic house flag is square,
regardless of its size. A smaller banner may also be carried in processions,
either by its owner or by his appointed bearer. Such a banner is usually made in
fine fabric and may be fringed. Its proportions should be those of an upright
rectangle about five wide by six deep.
THE PIPE BANNER: where an armiger has appointed a personal piper, he may
provide him with a banner to be attached to the base drone of the pipes. The
same applies to an armigerous corporation, and where such a body has a pipe
band, the pipe major attaches the banner to his pipes. The pipe banner may take
various forms but is always shaped with an angle at the top corresponding
approximately to the angle of the drone on the piper's shoulder. It then hangs
down behind him and may end in a swallow tail, a double rounded end or any other
way suited to the arms. The arms themselves are shown in the same manner as on a
personal banner but are commonly turned so that they are right way up when the
pipes are being played. A certain amount of distortion is allowed to enable the
artist to fit the arms into the odd shape. Pipe banners are also much used in the
Highland regiments, where each company commanders' arms are borne on the pipes
of the regimental band. Each regiment has its own tradition for the display of
the arms and the regimental badge and these traditions are so well established
as to have become acceptable even when they do not conform to the strict
rules of heraldry. A pipe banner may have a different design on either side and
in this case it needs to be rendered opaque by including a layer of black fabric
between the two sides. A fringe may be added to any pipe banner, either plain or
of the appropriate tartan.
THE TRUMPET BANNER: rarely now called for, the trumpet banner consists of
an approximately square banner of the arms, usually in very rich materials,
fringed and tasselled according to taste and suspended from the trumpet by
ribbons or straps. The arms are placed in such a way that the charges are right
way up and facing away from the trumpeter when he is playing.
THE STREET BANNER: where the only available flagstaff is attached to the
facade of a building, the usual house flag is sometimes unsuitable. The design
is often obscured due to its being at an angle or the flag is partly furled when
there is no wind or blown over the staff when the wind eddies round the
building. The street banner can be adapted to overcome these difficulties. In
shape, the street banner is very like a large pipe banner. The charges upon it
however should look outwards away from the buildings. The heaviest fabric which
is practical should be employed and stiffeners may be sewn into the hems or
fringes attached to the staff. A smaller form of the street banner may also be
used for internal decoration, as for example in the great hall of a castle.
THE GONFANNON: also known as a gonfalon, this is the form of banner often
associated with the church where it is used in processions. Its essential
feature is that it hangs from a horizontal bar which may in turn be suspended
from a carrying staff. Not all church gonfannons are heraldic and may have
highly decorated pictorial designs. Heraldic gonfannons are particularly suited
to the internal decoration of historic buildings with arms appropriate to the
people and events associated with them. The gonfannon is capable of a variety of
interpretations, the simpler the better. A rectangular upright banner of the
arms with long tails of the livery colours is recommended.
THE LIVERY PENNON: the livery pennon is a very simple flag consisting of
the tinctures of the field and the principle charge in the arms arranged on a
long streamer parted horizontally and tapering to a point. Such a pennon has a
practical value as a storm flag when, in high winds and rain, an expensive
heraldic flag might quickly deteriorate. The livery pennon spaced along an
avenue or around a games ground in an economical means of heraldically based
decoration.
SPECIAL HERALDIC FLAGS: all flags described so far may be used by any
armiger. However, there are flags which are authorised specially by the Lord
Lyon and are blazoned in the grant or matriculation of arms. These are the
standard, guidon, pinsel and pennon, all of which are fully described in the
glossary.
STANDARD (p. 490): a long, narrow, tapering flag, granted by the Lord
Lyon only to those who have a following, such as clan chiefs. As a
'headquarters' flag, its principle 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:
On rare occasions, a uniform length of standard for a decorative display may
be laid down by the Lord Lyon.
GUIDON (p. 486): 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 its 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.
PINSEL (p. 489): 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 chief's 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. See also descriptions of clan
pinsels.
PENNON (p. 489): strictly, a small guidon, four feet long, which,
nowadays, is very rarely assigned. This term, 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.
Randy Young, 18 March 2004
