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Dictionary of Vexillology: B (Black and White - Bow Pennant)

Last modified: 2024-09-07 by rob raeside
Keywords: vexillological terms |
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• Introduction
• Table of Contents
• Index of Terms
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On this page:

• BLACK AND WHITE
• BLACK FLAG
• BLACK LIBERATION FLAG COLORS/COLOURS)
• BLADED WHEEL
• BLATTKRONE
• BLAZON
• BLAZONING (or BLAZONED)
• BLESSING OF A FLAG
• BLEU CELESTE
• BLOODY FLAG (or COLOURS)
• BLUE ENSIGN
• BLUE FLAG
• BLUE JACK
• BLUE PETER
• BLUE STAR BANNER
• BOAT ENSIGN
• BOAT FLAG
• BOAT-TAILED
• BOB (or BOB-FLY)
• BORDER
• BORDERED
• BORDERING
• BORDER OF THREE
• BORDER OF TRIANGLES
• BORDURE
• BOROUGH ARMS
• BOROUGH FLAG
• BOWED
• BOW FLAG
• BOW PENNANT

BLACK AND WHITE

1) In vexillology - see ‘monochrome 2)’.

2) In heraldry - see ‘argent’, ‘sable’ and ‘hatching 1)’.

Flag of Cornwall, UK (fotw); Flag of Verquigneul, France (fotw); Flag of Tal-Pietà, Malta (Wikipedia & fotw)

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BLACK FLAG

1) A plain flag implying allegiance to nothing higher, and considered symbolic of anarchism.
2) See ‘jolly roger 1)’.
3) See ‘mourning flag’.

Flag of the Anarchists (fotw); Flag of Edward Lowe c1719 (fotw); Mourning Flag, Denmark (fotw)

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BLACK LIBERATION FLAG (or COLORS/COLOURS)

See ‘Garvey colors/colours’.

Marcus Garvey’s Flag 1917 (fotw)

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BLADED WHEEL

See ‘St. Catherine's Wheel’.

Flag and Arms of Lokve, Croatia (fotw)

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BLATTKRONE

See ‘leafy crown’.

Lesser Arms and Civil Flag of Baden-Württemberg, Germany (fotw)

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BLAZON

In heraldry the description, either oral or written, of an armorial banner, set of armorial bearings or a shield from those arms, given according to heraldic conventions (see also ‘armigerous’, ‘armorial bearings’, ‘banner of arms’, ‘emblazon 2)’, ‘heraldry’ and ‘shield 1)’.

Arms of OmiÅ¡alj, Gornja Vrba and Barilović, Croatia (fotw)

Notes
a) The shields illustrated above may be blazoned as follows:
   Gules, a tower embattled Argent issuant from a base Azure and in chief a mullet Or;
   Parti per pale Gules and Argent overall a willow tree eradicated of the second and first counterchanged;
   Gules a bend Argent between two swords in bend of the same hilted and pommelled Or.
b) This term and its use should apply only to heraldic symbolism, and be employed in vexillology solely in that context.

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BLAZONING (or BLAZONED)

(v) The act of describing (or having earlier described) heraldic symbolism as defined in ‘blazon’.

Arms of Donja Dubrava and Krapina-Zagorje, Croatia (fotw)

Notes
The shields illustrated above may be blazoned as follows:
Gules an oak tree eradicated Or in base a cannon Sable;
Party per pale and per band embattled Gules and Or in chief three mullets of the second and first counterchanged.

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BLESSING OF A FLAG

See ‘consecration’.

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BLEU CELESTE

The heraldic term for the colour sky-blue - see ‘shades of tincture’.

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BLOODY FLAG (or COLOURS)

1) See ‘flag of defiance’.

2) See ‘red flag 2)’.

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BLUE ENSIGN

1) In British maritime usage, the ensign worn (undefaced) by those merchant vessels commanded by an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve – but see 2) and the note a) below (also ‘armorial ensign’, ‘government ensign’ ‘red ensign 1)’, ‘undefaced’, ‘white ensign 1)’ and ‘yacht ensign’ under ‘ensign’).
2) In English then British RN usage, now obsolete (and largely – but not exclusively – dependent upon the seniority of the admiral in command), the junior of three alternative (undefaced) ensigns carried by a warship until 1864 – see ‘red ensign 2)’, ‘white ensign 2)’, ‘yellow admiral’ and note b) below.
3) Generically, any canton flag (either plain or defaced) with a blue field – particularly (but not exclusively) if flown at sea – a British-style ensign (see also ‘canton flag 1)’, ‘deface’ and ‘red ensign 3)’).

Blue ensign c1630 – 1707, England (fotw); Reserve Ensign, UK (fotw); Government Ensign, Mauritius (fotw)

Notes
a) With regard to 1), the blue ensign is also used either plain or defaced as the ensign of many British yacht clubs, as a template (or archivexillum) for the flags of Government departments and – with few exceptions – of British Overseas Territories (see also ‘armorial ensign 2)’, ‘colonial flags’, ‘defaced’, ‘template flag’ and ‘warrant’).
b) Regarding 2), before 1864 an Admiral’s seniority was outwardly displayed by the colour of his command flag and by the ensigns flown by any ships under his command - the junior colour being blue, the next white and the senior red - however, in 1864 this colour system was abolished, and thereafter all flag officers flew a white command flag from the appropriate masthead where applicable, and all Royal Naval ships the white ensign (see also ‘distinction of colour’ and ‘flag of command 1)’).
c) Furthermore, the ensigns worn within a fleet could be arbitrarily changed (if the tactical situation required it) by order of the Flag Officer in overall command of that fleet irrespective of the grade held by any of his subordinate admirals.

Ensign of the Department for Transport, UK (fotw); Ensign of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, UK (fotw); Flag of Montserrat (fotw)

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BLUE FLAG

In European usage a flag awarded to beaches and marinas which have met established criteria with regard to environmental protection – a beach quality flag – see ‘clean marina flag’ (also ‘award flag’, ‘beach flag’ and ‘green flag’).

Beach Quality/Blue Flag, European (fotw)

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BLUE JACK

see ‘colonial jack 1)’, and ‘government service jack’ under ‘jack’.

Jack of the Royal Maritime Auxiliary, UK (Martin Grieve); Jack of the Northern Lighthouse Board, UK (fotw), Jack of the Board of Trade c1939. UK (fotw)

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BLUE PETER

A blue flag with a white panel in the centre, flown alone whilst in harbour to signify that all persons should report on board as the vessel is ready to proceed to sea - now also Papa in the International Code of Signals, but in use (with the same or similar meaning) since the 1750’s (see also ‘International Code of Signal Flags’, ‘preparatory flag’ and ‘signal flag’).

Signal Flag P (Papa) (fotw)

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BLUE STAR BANNER

See ‘service flag 3)’.

Blue Star Banner/Service Flag, US (fotw)

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BOAT ENSIGN

1) A small ensign (usually storm ensign size) used on ship's boats for identification when more than one nation's naval vessels are present in an anchorage (see also 'storm flag 2)').

2) See ‘boat flag 1)’ below.

Please note with regards to 1) that the ship's boats of naval vessels would not normally wear ensigns when operating in an anchorage if no foreign ships are present.

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BOAT FLAG

1) In US naval usage, now obsolete, a small national ensign of modified design (with 13 stars rather than the number on the normal U.S. ensign) formerly flown on small boats and submarines.

2) In US army usage, that version of a positional or rank flag intended to be flown on boats, or sometimes in front of that officer's headquarters (see also 'positional flag' and 'rank flag').

3) In British RN usage, that version of a flag of command which was originally for use only in boats, but from which the current versions of those flags are derived (see also ‘ball(s) of difference’ and the notes below, ‘barge flag’, 'flag of command', 'broad pennant' and vessel flag).

Late 19th – Early 20th Century, US (fotw); Boat Flags of a Vice-Admiral and Rear Admiral of the White c1702-1864 (fotw)

Notes
a) With regard to 3) these flags came to be flown aboard major vessels from c1872 onwards because the abandonment of an auxiliary sailing rig (due to the increased efficiency of marine engines and the weight of armour plate) meant that there was only one mast available from which to display a flag of command, and the previous system of varying mastheads to denote seniority, therefore, no longer viable.
b) The current versions of UK command flags date from regulations of 1898. These regulations reduced the width of the red cross, increased the size of the balls and changed their position on the flag of a rear-admiral (as illustrated below).

Boat Flags then command Flags of a Vice Admiral and a Rear-Admiral 1864 – 1898, UK (fotw): Flag of a Rear-Admiral according to current regulations (fotw)

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BOAT-TAILED

See ‘ogival’.

Flag Ascribed to Ibernia, 14th Century (fotw)

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BOB (or BOB-FLY)

In UK usage, the alternative terms for a small flag or pennant flown from the topmast truck of a sailing barge, bearing the owner’s logo and/or colours, and used to indicate wind direction – a bob-fly or Kent vane-fly (see also ‘colours 6)’, ‘house flag 1)’, ‘logo’, ‘main’, ‘truck 1)’, ‘vane 1)’ and ‘vane 2)’).

Bob of the Thames Barge Sailing Trust, UK (CS)

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BORDER

The term for a (comparatively) wide band surrounding a field of a different colour, which may consist of one colour - either plain or have charges placed upon it - or may be made up of two or more colours in a variety of designs – a bordure (see also ‘double-tressure’, ‘flammulets’, ‘inner border 1)’, ‘inset border’, ‘orle 1)’ ‘outer border’, ‘panel’, ‘pierced 1)’, ‘plain 2)’, ‘tressure’ and ‘wolfteeth’).

National Flag of Maldives (fotw); Flag of King João II, Portugal 1485 - 1495 (fotw); National Flag of Grenada (fotw)

Please note - not to be confused with a fimbriation which is invariably plain and whose sole purpose is to divide one colour from another (see also ‘charge’, ‘fimbriation’, ‘panel’ and ‘rule of tincture’).

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BORDERED

adj) The act of having placed a border around a flag – see ‘border’.

Prime Minister’s Flag, Portugal (fotw)

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BORDERING

(v) A practice, now largely obsolete, of edging a flag in a different colour than the field, either for decorative purposes or to prevent fraying.

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BORDER OF THREE

The term used to describe a flag whose border does not run along the hoist – but see ‘outer edges’ (also ‘inset border’).

Flag of Prince Edward Island, Canada (fotw); Flag of Ameliasburgh, Canada (fotw)

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BORDER OF TRIANGLES

See ‘wolfteeth 1)’.

Presidential Standard of Hungary (fotw); War Ensign of Hungary (fotw)

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BORDURE

The heraldic term for a border – a border which sources suggest should occupy one-fifth of the field – see ‘cadency, mark of’ and its following note).

Flag of La Palma, Spain (fotw); Flag of Oprisavci, Croatia (fotw); Former Flag of Catió, Guinea Bissau (fotw)

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BOROUGH ARMS

See ‘civic arms’.

Arms of Westminster 1601 and 1964, UK (fotw)

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BOROUGH FLAG

See ‘civic flag’.

Flag of Horn-Bad Meinberg, Germany (fotw); Flag of Southend-on-Sea, UK (fotw)

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BOWED

An alternative heraldic term to embowed - see ‘embowed’.

Flag and Arms of Kyjov, Czechia (fotw)

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BOW FLAG

See ‘jack’ (also ‘bow pennant’ below).

Naval Jack of Argentina (fotw)

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BOW PENNANT

A small, usually triangular flag flown at the bow of pleasure craft, often facetious, but sometimes a personal flag (see also ‘personal flag 3)’).

(Colorfastflags.com)

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