Vexillology

For the album by Deadmau5, see Vexillology (album).
The flag of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations depicts a sheet bend

Vexillology is the "scientific study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general."[1] The word is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum ("flag") and the Greek suffix -logia ("study.") The constitution of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations (known by its French acronym, FIAV) formally defines vexillology as "the creation and development of a body of knowledge about flags of all types, their forms and functions, and of scientific theories and principles based on that knowledge."[2]

History

The term was conceived in 1957 by the U.S. scholar and student of flags Whitney Smith and first appeared in print in 1959 (12). It was originally considered a sub-discipline of heraldry,[1] and is still occasionally regarded as such. A person who studies flags is a vexillologist; vexillography is the art of designing flags; one who does so is a vexillographer; an admirer of flags is a vexillophile.

Since 1965, an International Congress of Vexillology (ICV) has been organized every two years under the auspices of FIAV. The 2013 ICV was in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Smith, Whitney. Flags Through the Ages and Across the World New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print.
  2. ↑ International Federation of Vexillological Associations

Further reading

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