The word vexillology, which names the discipline that studies flags, derives from the Latin term vexillum meaning flag or banner. But in turn, vexillum came from another Latin word, velum, whose meaning is sail.

This confirms the historical evidence from coins and sculptures that the vexilla (plural of vexillum) were indeed small fabric sails in the shape of flags used as banners.

Because the truth is, although the vexilla must have been plentiful, as each cohort within a legion had its own and each legion had ten cohorts, only one has survived to this day.

Recreation of the standard (vexillum) of the Ala I Thracum Victrix
Recreation of the standard (vexillum) of the Ala I Thracum Victrix. Credit: Wolfgang Sauber / Wikimedia Commons

They differed from our current flags in that they were held by a horizontal crossbar suspended from a pole, carried by the vexillarius. There were various types; some bore the cohort number and legion name, while others identified external or support units.

Like the eagles, symbols of the legion, the vexillum was staunchly defended by each cohort in battle, and in that sense, it can be equated with the flags of early modern Western regiments.

However, very little is known about their function or meaning, as only one Roman vexillum has survived to this day.

Detail of the Roman vexillum from the 3rd century A.D. and modern reconstruction
Detail of the Roman vexillum from the 3rd century A.D. and modern reconstruction. Credit: Public domain / Gareth Harney / X

It dates back to the first half of the 3rd century AD and consists of an almost square piece of thick linen depicting the image of the goddess Victoria.

The fabric measures about 47 by 50 centimeters, and its lower edge has traces of having had a fringe. It’s also known to have been attached to a cane wood rod, which has not survived. It is preserved in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

Since it bears no numbers or letters, the military unit it belonged to is unknown. Given that it was found in Egypt around 1910, researchers speculate it may correspond to one of the units that served there over the centuries, such as the Legio III Cyrenaica, the Legio XXII Deiotariana, the Legio XII Fulminata, the Legio XV Apollinaris, or the Legio II Traiana Fortis. However, its origin is also unclear, so it’s not certain it belonged to any of these.

Modern recreation of a vexilliarum or vexillifer with the vexillum
Modern recreation of a vexilliarum or vexillifer with the vexillum. Credit: Greatbeagle / Wikimedia Commons

It is also unknown whether the design of this vexillum was typical in ancient Rome or if it was a rare model. According to Livy, when speaking of the Romans’ war against the Samnites in the second half of the 4th century BC:

At first, the Romans used the large round shield called the clipeus; later, when the soldiers received their pay, the smaller oblong shield called the scutum was adopted. The phalanx formation, similar to the Macedonian in early times, was abandoned in favor of the division into companies (manipuli); the rear was divided into smaller divisions. The first line was composed of the hastati, formed in fifteen companies, arranged at a short distance from each other. They were called light-armed companies since one-third of them carried a long spear (hasta) and short iron javelins, while the rest carried shields. This first line consisted of young men in the prime of adulthood, old enough for service. Behind them stood an equal number of companies, called principes, composed of men in the full vigor of life, all carrying shields and equipped with superior weapons. This body of thirty companies was called antepilani. Behind them were the standards under which fifteen companies were placed, divided into three sections called vexillae; the first section of each was called pilus and consisted of 180 men per standard (vexillum). Following the first vexillum were the triarii, veterans of proven valor; behind them, the rorarii, or “skirmishers”, younger and less distinguished men; behind the third, the accensi, upon whom least reliance could be placed, so they were placed in the rearmost line.

Livy, From the founding of the City VIII.8
The vexillarius was in charge of carrying the standard or vexillum
The vexillarius was in charge of carrying the standard or vexillum. Credit: Amgueddfa Cymru / Flickr

Livy seems to suggest that indeed the vexillum was a standard corresponding to a section within each legion, but the word also designates the type of section, not just the standard.

The Romans formed vexillationes, sections or detachments within a legion that grouped under a vexillum. Although initially composed of only one cohort, over time, the term was applied to any unit drawn from a legion as a temporary force to be deployed elsewhere or to perform a specific task.

In that sense, the term was also used generally to refer to any object used as a standard in battle, not just what we know as flags, as it could even be an icon or a small sculpture.

The use of vexilla was preserved in the form of many religious standards, and almost all regions of Italy still maintain such standards as their official flags.

This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on April 15, 2024. Puedes leer la versión en español en Solo un vexillum, el estandarte de guerra romano, ha llegado hasta nuestros días

Sources

Etymology of Vexillological terminology (Flags of the World) | Livy, From the Founding of the City | Rostovtzeff M. Vexillum and Victory. Journal of Roman Studies. 1942;32(1-2):92-106. doi:10.2307/296463 | Wikipedia

  • Share this article:
Julius Caesar used a cipher substitution system to communicate with his family and subordinates
The Encryption System Used by Julius Caesar in his Letters to Hide their Content
villa-adriana-2323004_1280-2
The oldest surviving text of Latin prose is a manual of agriculture and recipes, including the placenta cake
Wellcome_Historical_Medical_Museum,_Wigmore_Street,_London;_Wellcome_V0031369-2
Arcagathos "the butcher" was the first physician to work in Ancient Rome, in the late 3rd century B.C.
Trajans_Bridge_Across_the_Danube,_Modern_Reconstruction-2
When Emperor Hadrian destroyed the world's longest bridge
Chariot race, painting by Jean Léon Gérôme (1876)
Trigarium, the Place where Nero Trained for Horse Racing and Drank Dung with Vinegar
Triumph_of_the_people_of_Catania_over_the_Libyans_(unknown_date),_by_Giuseppe_Sciuti-2
Quirina, the Roman Tribe to Which Vespasian Assigned All People from Hispania When Granting Citizenship

Loading...

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.