In early times Banners appear in use at sea, as well as on land; and the same Banners were used both on shore and afloat. The _sails_ of our early shipping, also, are constantly represented as covered with armorial blazonry, and they thus were enabled to act as Ship-Flags. Many curious and interesting representations of the strange, unwieldy, unship-shape looking craft that were the ancestors of the British Navy, are introduced with their _heraldic sails_ and their Banners into the compositions of Seals. A fine example of its order is the Seal of JOHN HOLLAND, Earl of HUNTINGDON, A.D. 1436, “Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine,” No. 414. The ship is really a noble-looking vessel, with her solitary sail blazoned with the Lord Admiral’s Arms--_England, within a bordure of France_,--the same arms that were borne by Prince JOHN OF ELTHAM, No. 24. In this example the crew are not represented: but in other Seals of early shipping figures are commonly introduced, and almost always they are drawn of ludicrously disproportionate size. This ship does not display any Banner from a banner-staff, but has a nautical Pennon of ample size flying at the mast-head: when Banners are displayed on board ships upon early Seals, they are generally narrow in proportion to their height, a form of Banner adopted on land as well as at sea, in consequence of the greater inconvenience attending the display of broad or really square Banners. At a later period, however, Ship-Flags of very large size came into favour. 3. The STANDARD, the third variety of early heraldic Flags, which first appears about the middle of the fourteenth century, and was in general use by personages of high rank in the two following centuries, appears to have been adopted for the special purpose of displaying the Badge. The Badge was worn on his livery by a servant as retainer, and consequently the Standard by which he mustered in camp was of the livery colours, and bore the Badge, with both of which the retainer was familiar. [Illustration: No. 415.--Standard of Sir Henry de Stafford, K.G.: about A.D. 1475.] This Flag is of ample proportions, and great length; but its size varies with the owner’s rank. Next to the Staff was usually to be found the _red cross on a silver field_ of ST. GEORGE. The rest of the field is generally divided per fesse into two tinctures, in most cases the livery colours of the owner, or the prevailing tinctures of his Coat of Arms, which in such cases may almost be assumed to have been his livery. With some principal figure or device occupying a prominent position, various Badges are displayed over the whole field, a Motto, which is placed bend-wise, having divided the Standard into compartments. The edges are fringed throughout, and the extremity is sometimes swallow-tailed, and sometimes rounded.