Vexillology
Vexillology is the study of flags. Its vocabulary is small and precise, and once you know it you can describe any flag in a sentence. Start with the parts of a flag.
Canton
The upper hoist quarter, the place of honour. The U.S. and Australian flags carry emblems there.
What vexillologists study
The American scholar Whitney Smith coined the word in 1957, from the Latin vexillum, the square flag carried by Roman cavalry. Vexillology covers why flags look the way they do (the history and politics behind each colour and symbol), how they are used (protocol, ensigns at sea, flags at half-mast), and increasingly how they should be designed. The North American Vexillological Association’s 2001 survey of U.S. state and Canadian provincial flags, and the flag redesigns it inspired in places like Mississippi and Utah, brought design principles into public debate.
Glossary of flag terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bicolour / tricolour | A flag of two or three bands of colour (Poland; France, Italy, Germany). |
| Nordic cross | A cross whose vertical bar is shifted toward the hoist (Denmark, Sweden, Finland). |
| Saltire | A diagonal cross, as on Scotland’s flag and Jamaica’s. |
| Pale | A vertical band in the centre; Canada’s flag is a “Canadian pale”, a square centre band. |
| Obverse / reverse | The front (hoist on the left) and back of a flag. |
| Ensign | A flag flown by ships to show nationality. |
| Standard | A personal flag of a head of state, or historically a military flag. |
| Pennant | A long tapering flag, usually triangular. |
| Swallowtail | A flag with a V-shaped cut in the fly. |
| Defaced | A flag with a badge added to a plain design, like British ensigns with a colonial badge. |
| Proportions | The ratio of height to length, written height first: 2:3, 1:2. |
| Halyard | The rope used to raise and lower a flag on a pole. |
Now use the vocabulary: open the flag maker and build a flag with a canton, a fimbriated cross and a charge, or learn the rules behind them in how to design a flag.
Questions
What is vexillology?
Vexillology is the study of flags: their history, symbolism, design and use. The word was coined by the American scholar Whitney Smith in 1957, from the Latin vexillum (a square flag carried by Roman cavalry) and the Greek suffix -logy.
What is a vexillologist?
Someone who studies flags. A person who designs flags is sometimes called a vexillographer, and someone who simply loves flags a vexillophile.
Which side of a flag is the hoist?
The hoist is the half nearest the flagpole; the fly is the half furthest away. By convention, flags are drawn with the hoist on the left, which shows the obverse (front) side.
Is there an international vexillology organisation?
Yes. FIAV (Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques) links flag societies worldwide and holds the International Congress of Vexillology every two years. National groups include NAVA in North America and the Flag Institute in the UK.