On the banners of the Bayeux tapestry, and some of the earliest heraldic charges
An 1857 London treatise by Gilbert J. French on the banners of the Bayeux tapestry and early heraldic charges, aimed at antiquarian readers of medieval history. The plates compare tapestry standards, pennons and gonfanons with shield shapes, tinctures and charges drawn in plain line engraving and a few colour painted examples. A designer could take from them the simple, repeatable geometry of early banners: swallowtail and multi-tailed pennons, bold divided fields, and the flat, hatched textures of woven cloth.
