banner

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United Kingdom and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

Banners of Knights of the Thistle displayed in St. Giles' Cathedral.

A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. Banner-making is an ancient craft.

The word derives from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made (Latin: banderia, Italian: bandiera, Portuguese: bandeira, Spanish: bandera). The German language developed the word to mean an official edict or proclamation and since such written orders often prohibited some form of human activity, bandum assumed the meaning of a ban, control, interdict or excommunication. Banns has the same origin meaning an official proclamation, and abandon means to change loyalty or disobey orders, semantically "to leave the cloth or flag".

Heraldic banners

A heraldic banner, also called banner of arms, displays the basic coat of arms only: i.e. it contains the design usually displayed on the shield and omits the crest, helmet or coronet, mantling, supporters, motto or any other elements associated with the coat of arms (for further details of these elements, see heraldry).

A heraldic banner is usually square or rectangular.

A distinction exists between the heraldic banner and the heraldic standard. The distinction, however, is often misunderstood or ignored. For example the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom is in fact a banner of the royal arms.

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  The full armorial achievement of the arms of the Kingdom of Scotland (before the Union of the Crowns)

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  The arms as depicted on the escutcheon.

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  The Royal Standard of Scotland: the banner of the King of Scots

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  Banner of Cardinal Wolsey

Banners in a religious context

Russian Orthodox Crucession with lantern, processional cross and Khorugvi (banners).

The prophet Isaiah was commanded to raise a banner and exalt his voice (Isaiah 13:2 KJV). Habakkuk received a similar order to write a vision upon tables that could be read by one who runs past it (Habakkuk 2:2).

In Christianity

Banners in churches have, in the past, been used mainly for processions, both inside and outside of the church building. However, the emphasis has, in recent years, shifted markedly towards the permanent or transient display of banners on walls or pillars of churches and other places of worship. A famous example of large banners on display is Liverpool R.C. Cathedral, where the banners are designed by a resident artist.

Banners are also used to communicate the testimony of Jesus Christ by evangelists and public ministers engaged in Open Air Preaching.

Trade union banners

Banners of AUT, NATFHE, Cambridge TUC and Cambridge University Students' Union.

In Britain, trade union banners have been made since the 1840s, and at May Day parades, they could be counted in the hundreds. The iconography of these banners included mines, mills, factories, but also visions of the future, showing a land where children and adults were well-fed and living in tidy brick-built houses, where the old and sick were cared for, where the burden of work was lessened by new technology, and where leisure time was increasing. The same kind of banners are also used in many other countries. Many, but not all of them, have red as a dominant colour.

For more on the design and making of these banners, see Banner-making.

Advertising banners: pre-printed banners and custom banners

2009 Michigan Wolverines football team enters Michigan Stadium under the M Club banner as the Michigan Marching Band salutes.

Banner at Wikimania 2005.

Often fabricated commercially on a plastic background, the banner industry has developed from the traditional cut-vinyl banners to banners printed within large, ultra-wide format inkjet printers on various vinyl and fabric materials using solvent inks and ultraviolet-curable inks.

Banners are used in many business ventures, marketing to their potential audience. A number of British towns and cities have whole series of banners decorating their city centres, effectively advertising the town or its special features and attractions. Pre-printed banners, albeit commonly used, are simple and accessible. Banners can be printed in enormous formats, with a full range of rich colors. They can also be used in many different physical situations whether it be hanging from an existing fixture, fixed to a wall or even free standing. A common form of free standing banners are retractable displays.

Banners can be found plastered behind a window screen, as billboards, atop skyscrapers, or towed by airplanes or blimps. As with variable of size and quantity, the number of sides and quality of ink are as much of a crucial factor. In an instance of retail stores which purchase pre-printed clearance banners, or a variety of sale banner. A banner facing underneath or against glass is absorbing exposure from the sun. A banner printed on UV outdoor ink will last several years to a decade where cheaper ink fades, requiring frequent replacement.^[1] Being behind glass, a two-sided banner can be displayed from the inside and out, often building recognition between shoppers and caretakers. Three-sided banners are oftentimes appealing as there is dimension and can be embellished differently. The more sides that exist, the more angles the banner covers, which is a possibility where a two-sided banner doesn't face the viewer from center of the room or streets.

Advertisements on the Internet which carry the shape of a banner are also commonly called "banners". See web banner for more information.

References

1. ^ http://www.sportswearforall.com/bannersignsexpress/signs1.htm

See also

• Heraldic standard
• Sashimono
• Knight Banneret
• Nobori
• The Star-Spangled Banner
• Stainless Banner
• Vinyl banners
• Web banner
• Banners in Northern Ireland
• County Clare in Ireland is known as the Banner County.
• Vexillum
• Gonfalone