{{Short description|Military standard of the ancient Roman army}} {{For|the gastropod of Costellariidae family|Vexillum (gastropod)}} {{Italics title}} {{RomanMilitary}} [[File:Vexillum-Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.png|thumb|The only extant Roman ''vexillum'', 3rd Century AD. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Russia.|alt=]] The '''''vexillum''''' ({{IPAc-en|v|ɛ|k|ˈ|s|ɪ|l|əm}}; {{plural form}}: '''''vexilla''''') was a flag-like object used as a military standard by units in the Roman army. A common ''vexillum'' displayed imagery of the Roman ''aquila'' on a reddish backdrop.
==Use in Roman armies== {{further|Roman military standards}} thumb|left|Modern reproduction of a Roman cavalry {{lang | la | vexillum}}
The word {{lang | la | vexillum}} is a diminutive analogue of the Latin word {{lang | la | velum}}, meaning "a sail", which confirms the historical evidence (from coins and sculpture) that {{lang | la | vexilla}} were literally "little sails": flag-like standards. In the {{lang | la | vexillum}}, the cloth was draped from a horizontal crossbar suspended from a staff (unlike most modern flags, in which the "hoist" of the cloth is attached directly to a vertical staff). The bearer of a {{lang | la | vexillum}} was known as a {{lang | la | vexillarius}} or {{lang | la | vexillifer}}.<ref name="Vexillum">[http://flagspot.net/flags/xf-etym.html#vex Vexillum]. ''Flagspot.net'', retrieved March 18, 2011</ref>
Just as in the case of the regimental colors or flags of early-modern Western regiments, the {{lang | la | vexillum}} was a treasured symbol of the military unit that it represented and it was closely defended in combat. It was the main standard of some types of units, especially of cavalry; however, it was regarded as less important than a legion's {{lang | la | aquila}} (eagle), and may have represented a subdivision of a legion. However, that is not entirely clear from surviving sources (see {{lang | la | vexillatio}}).<ref name="Vexillum"/>
The only known surviving Roman military {{lang | la | vexillum}}, dated to the first half of the 3rd century AD, is housed in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. It is an almost square piece of coarse linen cloth with an image of the goddess Victoria, and measures 47×50 cm.<ref name="Rostovtzeff">{{cite journal |last =Rostovtzeff |first =Michael |author-link =Michael Rostovtzeff |title=Vexillum and Victory |journal =The Journal of Roman Studies |volume =32 |year =1942 |pages =92–106 |doi =10.2307/296463 |jstor=296463 |s2cid =162063284 }}</ref> The lower edge has the remains of a fringe.<ref name="Rostovtzeff"/> This {{lang | la | vexillum}} was once attached to a piece of reed wood.<ref name="Rostovtzeff"/> It is unknown to which military unit the {{lang | la | vexillum}} belonged; it was found in Egypt shortly before 1911, but its exact provenance remains unclear.<ref name="Rostovtzeff"/>
==Appearance==
It is sometimes reported that the vexillum of the Ancient Roman Republic was red in colour and had the letters SPQR (which means "the Senate and People of Rome") in yellow on it,{{citation-needed|date=August 2020}} however "it is difficult to find any evidence that they were ever on military flags carried by the army."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bond |first1=Sarah |title=The Misuse of an Ancient Roman Acronym by White Nationalist Groups |url=https://hyperallergic.com/457510/the-misuse-of-an-ancient-roman-acronym-by-white-nationalist-groups/ |website=Hyperallergc |date=30 August 2018 |access-date=2020-08-13}}</ref> This is simply the appearance of the only vexillum discovered so far, and it may not be consistent across other vexilla.
==General and later use== thumb|Roman ensigns, standards, trumpets etc.
The term ''vexillum'' (plural ''vexilla'') is used more generally for any object, such as a relic or icon, used as a standard in battle, and may be considered the offensive equivalent of the more defensive palladium in this context.<ref>Ryan, William Francis,''The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia'', pp. 237-239, 1999, Penn State Press, {{ISBN|0271019670}}, 9780271019673</ref>
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'' ({{langx|el|λάβαρον}}) after the standard adopted by the first Christian Roman emperor Constantine I replaced the usual spear point with the "Chi-Rho" symbol <big><big>☧</big></big>. For example, a ''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 the Middle Ages, the type of banner draped from a horizontal crossbar became known as a ''gonfalon''.
==See also== {{Portal|Ancient Rome}} * ''Vexilla Regis'' – early Christian hymn whose first line uses this word, referring to the cross as a standard * Gonfalon * Banner * Vexilloid
===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
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Vexilla|Vexillum}} * [http://www.romanhideout.com/legiov/fabrica/vexillum.php?Lang=EN Luca's Fabrica]
{{Heraldry}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Ancient Roman military standards Category:History of flags