Tournament Banner , 14th Century Europe - Construction Process

This is part of the documentation for two painted silk banners from the middle to late medieval period. These banners were made with the intent to use during participation in SCA mounted Tournaments and were entered in the 2011 Ice Dragon Pentathlon. They were later re-worked and combined into a single banner. The background information is identical to the material presented in an earlier blog about Tournament Banners, so please refer to that for information regarding the use and structure of banners in the medieval period. This article deals only with the construction process of this project.

I obtained the silk cloth from a commercial source. Since the main colors of my arms are red and white, I bought silk in these colors. I decided to make a standard banner, with swallow-tail, indicating my own arms on the white silk, similar to silk banners commonly seen in the SCA.  I choose to make a second banner bearing the device of Æthelmearc, to show my pride in my Kingdom. 

 

Banner 1:

 

I started first on the white banner. Banners of this type, with a swallow-tail were very common throughout the medieval period.  Examples of such banners can be seen in the Bayeux Tapestry as well as the Maciejowski Bible.

 

Banners depicted in the Maciejowski Bible are seen on the left and examples from the Bayeux Tapestry are shown on the right.                                                              

 

After cutting out the fabric, I turned over the edges twice and stitched it down with a hem stitch. Due to the fine nature of the fabric, it tends to pucker so great care had to be taken to ensure the fabric stayed flat and the stitches did not "pull" the fabric. The edge along the hoist, I folded back to create a pocket for the staff and stitched this securely.

 

Banner hemmed,
ready for painting.

The hem stitch, is a period stitch.^[1] It is especially good for hemming as the outside appearance is quite neat, consisting of a small stitch which is visible on the outside of the fabric. Because the banner is designed to be displayed on horseback, from a lance or staff, with the hoist to the right, I sewed the fabric so this side would have the less visible stitch portion to that side. Not that any of these stitched would be seen from a distance, but upon closer examination from the correct side, the stitches would be less visible and not detract from the over-all appearance. (Note that the device is heraldically correct from this view as well, with the opposite side, as indicated above, in reverse.)

 

The last phase involved painting the displayed eagle on the fabric. This charge is a part of my registered arms, and I wanted to include it to clearly indicate the identity of the standard bearer, as was done in period. I used a fine pen to draw the eagle.  Normally I like to free-hand draw my artwork, but because of the expense of the silk and the permanency of the ink, I did not want to risk error which could not be erased. Hence, in the tradition cited by Cennini, I traced the image onto the silk from a drawing I have done of this eagle in the past for a prior embroidery project. ^[2]

 

After establishing the line, and drawing in detail, I painted the charge with a commercially available acrylic paint. I chose this type of paint because it seems to do well on fabric, with minimal smearing or running, which was critical for the fine material I was using. I did not want to use a fabric paint as it looks too modern, appears plastic and lays above the surface of the cloth. At this time I lack knowledge of period pigment and paint production, though hope to experiment with that sometime in the future. 

 

The paint does go completely through the fabric, creating a reverse image as indicated above.  Therefore, the eagle is displayed reversed on the back side. The reverse side needed to be painted as well, because the paint did not fully permeate the cloth. After painting both sides in the black, I touched up the white detail lines to create crisp clear lines.  Having done this, the banner was finished and ready to use.

Finished banner

Banner 2:

 

I initially planned to only make the one banner, but I later decided I wanted a flag in the other primary color of my own arms. I also decided to add my Kingdom's populace arms in order to incorporate my pride of Æthelmearc into this project. I figured this would be a nice banner to take with me, especially as I travel and enter Tournaments outside the Kingdom, to display at my pavilion or encampment.

 

This style of banner, which has a single long tail, is commonly seen in many examples of art from the medieval period. The work Medieval Costume, Armour and Weapons includes numerous examples of this type of banner used by the Germans, Hungarians, Czechoslovakians, and the Hussites.^[3]

For this banner, I decided to use two layers for greater substance. This silk is a heavier blend and I wanted a more substantial feel to the banner itself. I also choose to use the ties method of fastening it to the banner pole or lance. After cutting out the fabric, I sewed the seams using a very tight backstitch. This is one of the strongest period stitches and does well under pressure, which I felt was ideal to this project. Since most of the stitch is concealed within the layers of fabric, it was not necessary to use a hidden stitch like the hem stitch. I left a small section open, about 5 inches long.  After turning the fabric back "outside out," I finished stitching the seam using over-cast stitches.  Following this, I cut out and sewed the ties. I did not use the turn-inside out - stitch, and turn outside-out method, but pinned down the edges turned-in, and stitched them with an over-cast stitch. I felt this would make the ties lie flatter. I didn't want to iron this delicate fabric any more than necessary.    The ties were attached with over-cast stitches from the back side so that there was minimal stitch visible on the main side. This banner was made primarily one-sided, with the device painted only on the main side.

 

Once the banner itself was finished, I painted the Æthelmearc escarbuncle. This was the most time intensive part of the project. I started by using the design from the Kingdom website, drawing this onto the fabric. I outlined the figure in black, using an acrylic paint. I then filled in the white, which required four (4) layers in order to evenly cover the fabric. After painting the white, I did some touch-up on the black border.  The paint did not go through into the second layer of cloth, except for a few faint parts of white, which I felt was acceptable. I decided not to paint both sides, but maintain the banner as a one-sided project. 

Painting process

Finished banner

[As noted earlier, I later decided to combine these two banners into one. The red section, with my Kingdom's arms on it, was placed next to the hoist and the white end was on the fly end. This was the manner in which heraldry was displayed on banners in the medieval period.]

Summary

In the SCA, heraldry adds to the pageantry of our events. It also enhances the mood and experience of our re-creation of the Middle Ages. When people first join the SCA, it seems that heraldry is one of the first things they ask about, wanting to know, "How can I get my own set of arms?" and "What can I do with it once I register my arms?" Making and displaying banners with our heraldry proudly displayed is one of the most common and enjoyable methods of utilizing arms in the SCA. The display of arms was an essential part of Tournaments and arms were displayed on the battlefield as a method of recognizing friend from foe. As an SCA equestrian, I enjoy researching the methods heraldry was used by mounted warriors in the medieval period. I enjoy making banners such as these, for use on the Tournament field. In more recent years, it has been important for me to make these banners in an authentic and historically accurate manner, such as represented here in this project.  

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1. Website: Period stitches and extant examples, August 2009,  http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc‑carlson/cloth/stitches.htm
2. According to the Italian painter, Cennini (c. 1370 B c. 1440), artists were encouraged to copy the works of other artists, especially when working on paintings for panels. He noted that the artist should even use tracing paper to make exact copies. He explains exactly how this should be done in his work Il libro dell'arte, ( The Craftsman's Handbook). This "how to" book on Renaissance art is available online at http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Cennini/1.htm
3. Wagner, Drobna, and Durdik.  Medieval Costume, Armor and Weapons. (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc, 2000).  Part VIII, Plates 2, 4,6,7,8.