A modern re-enactor holding a vexillum with a scorpion, the sign of the Praetorians which was used to honor the Emperor Tiberius for building the Praetorian Camp in Rome. Tiberius' Astrological sign was Scorpio.
Photo: Associazione Culturale Cisalpina — Cohors III Praetoria
The vexillum (/vɛkˈsɪləm/; plural vexilla) was a flag-like object used as a military standard by units in the Ancient Roman army. The word is itself a diminutive for the Latin word, velum, sail, which confirms the historical evidence (from coins and sculpture) that vexilla were literally "little sails" i.e. flag-like standards. In the vexillum the cloth was draped from a horizontal crossbar suspended from the staff; this is unlike most modern flags in which the 'hoist' of the cloth is attached directly to the vertical staff. The bearer of a vexillum was known as a vexillarius or vexillifer.[1] Just as in the case of the regimental colors or flag of Early Modern Western regiments, the vexillum was a treasured symbol of the military unit that it represented and it was closely defended in combat. It was however regarded as less important than a legion's aquila or eagle, and may have represented a sub-division of a legion, though this is not entirely clear from surviving sources.[2]
General uses[]
Memorial Stained Glass, Yeo Hall, Chapel, Royal Military College of Canada featuring a Lamb of God carrying a Vexillum
The term "vexillum" (plural "vexilla") is used more generally for any object such as a relic or icon used as a standard in battle, & may be considered the offensive equivalent of the more defensive palladium in this context.[3] Vexillology, or the study of flags, derives its name from this word, and a vexilloid is a standard that is not of conventional flag form. Nearly all of the present-day regions of Italy preserve the use of vexilla. Many Christian processional banners are in the vexillum form; usually these banners are termed labara (Greek: λάβαρον) after the standard adopted by the first Christian Roman emperor Constantine I which replaced the imperial eagle with the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧. For example vexillum is used by the Legion of Mary as the term for its standards. A small version is used on the altar and a larger one leads processions.
See also[]
 | |
|
This article is part of the series on: Military of ancient Rome 753 BC – AD 476 | |
| Structural history | |
|---|---|
| Roman army (unit types and ranks, legions, auxiliaries, generals) | |
| Roman navy (fleets, admirals) | |
| Campaign history | |
| Lists of wars and battles | |
| Decorations and punishments | |
| Technological history | |
| Military engineering (castra, siege engines, arches) | |
| Political history | |
| Strategy and tactics | |
| Infantry tactics | |
| Frontiers and fortifications (limes, Hadrian's Wall) | |
- Vexilla Regis, early Christian hymn whose first line uses this word, referring to the Cross as a standard
In taxonomy[]
- botany, the large upper petal of a papilionaceous flower
- Vexillum (gastropod), a genus of snails in the family Costellariidae
- Inquisitor vexillum, a sea snail species
References[]
The original article can be found at Vexillum and the edit history here.