Yes raise the flag. Hold on a minute doesn’t the strapline on this site say raising the standard. True but did you know that a standard is a type of flag. A standard is a flag that stands there and acts as a rallying point. There are some flags that can only be displayed at certain times and in certain places. For example the royal standard can only be displayed when the monarch is present.
The royal standard that flies over Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace is packed full of symbolism. Much of that symbolism is associated with heraldry. Heraldry being the traditional art of developing images (mainly shields and coats of arms) that are used to recognise certain people and places. T
It is on a jousting pole
It is not a flag pole but one of the poles that you see when knights are jousting. Jousting is a very old sport that was intended to help the knights prepare for war. It is also quite a spectacle as two men ride horses towards each other holding a blunt pole with the intention of knocking the other off their horse.
A jousting pole also made a very good way of displaying a flag or probably in this case a pennant or a streamer. The pole was adapted to make it easier to hold while riding. In fact when you look closely at the logo you can see a handle that was intended to make it easier to keep hold of it while jousting.
Flags are rallying points
The thing about flags is that they have been used for centuries as markers or rallying points. Military colours i.e. the flags used by different regiments in the UK are treated with great respect. They are used mainly on ceremonial occasions these days.
There was a time when a standard was raised up on a battlefield to help soldiers work out their position in relation to others on the battlefield. Often the flag was the hottest part of the battle and could be picked up and carried by more than one soldier during the battle.
Is there anything on these flags?
Yes there is but it is rather to small to see in the logo. There are two lions passant guardant. Err what does that mean. A lion is a symbol often used in heraldry. It is used in different ways and there is a specialised vocabulary used to describe them. For example the lion on the school badge I used to have was rearing up on its hind legs and is known as a lion rampant.
I looked at the really large version of the logo and realised that there were two lions facing the same direction. I looked online to see if I could find a chart that would tell me the different terms used in heraldry for the position of the lions. Apparently the image of a whole lion is described using two adjectives. One describing the position of the body and one describing the position of the head.
According to the chart I saw the lions on the flag are passant. A lot of heraldic terms are based on French. A lion passant is striding or walking as if it is patrolling its territory or protecting its interests. I liked that idea.
The other adjective used for the lion is guardant. This refers to the position of the head. Basically a lion could look behind it at where it had been or ahead of it so it could see where it was doing or at at the viewer. Those lions were looking at the viewer so their heads are in the guardant position. In other words it is looking at what could endanger its interests i.e. at the viewer.
Yes there are two lions not three. Many from the UK will know the symbolism of the three lions. It is used on the chest of the jerseys or team shirts of those representing England in a variety of sports. For a business whose headquarters is in Wales that is not really appropriate is it After all they were once separate countries that occasionally went to war against each other although they are now both part of the United Kingdom and have been for centuries.