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"Shire levy banners ?" Topic


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Comments or corrections?

HappyHiker28 May 2020 1:48 p.m. PST

Would shire levy have fought under a banner during wort? The perry agincourt infantry box shows French city banners, but I can't find any for English towns. I'm painting a couple of peasant units and I want to give them a flag, I could just make one up, but it would be nice to be more accurate.

Old Peculiar28 May 2020 2:00 p.m. PST

Look at the coat of arms of towns and work with those, or if you can find Patron Saints for the places use their banner. Or who was the Feudal overlord? Use their livery badge.

GurKhan28 May 2020 4:38 p.m. PST

There would be some sort of flag, not necessarily a banner. There is a discussion of town contingents at link including the 1455 Coventry order to raise 100 archers:

"First, for tartan to make a new pennon, 16d. For ribbon for the same, 14d. For making the pennon and a silk tassel, 14d. For furbishing the spear-head, 2d"

Of course "Tartan" didn't yet mean "Scottish chequered pattern" – link

GildasFacit Sponsoring Member of TMP29 May 2020 12:20 a.m. PST

Not all towns had a coat of arms. It wasn't something that they could just decide on and adopt for themselves, it needed official approval by a royal (or possibly a local) herald.

York & Durham contingents usually carried a banner of a saint as mentioned above and that would have been common to towns that were dependant on a religious institution.

From the costs given in Gurkhan's post, the pennon (which usually, but not always, means a triangular flag) must have been a relatively simple design. Either painted on or sewn on shapes – embroidered designs would likely have been more expensive.

HappyHiker29 May 2020 12:29 a.m. PST

ok thanks, I think I'll just do a small triangle pendant then, it'll distinguish it from proper banners. I was going to do Derbyshire, but that would be Stanley and I've got enough of his flags. Maybe a saintly head just to brighten it up.

Thanks for the help.

Warspite110 Nov 2020 2:48 p.m. PST

All my 15mm English WOTR shire units have a St George's cross banner. It is the best default banner for any English troops.
The same default applies for French (the cross of St Denis) or Scotland (the diagonal saltire cross of St Andrew).
Bear in mind that the background colour can vary, it is the colour of the cross which is all important.
The white French cross of St Dennis can appear on red or blue maybe green, while the traditional Scots cross is not restricted to a blue background either.
See 3) and 4) here:
link

If doing Welsh do NOT use the Cross of St David as I see that one company has started selling it as a flag sheet. The cross of St David only dates back to the Victorian period.
For Welsh troops I have used green and white with the image of a dove on the banner, St David was associated with miracles involving doves.
I think he was in the Magic Circle! :)

Barry

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