Vexillum



The vexillum (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.

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.

General uses
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.

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 (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.

In taxonomy

 * Vexillum (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