Knight Banneret

Knights were formerly of two kinds, knights banneret and knights bachelor. The name of banneret is most probably derived from banner, a square flag. In Latin writings, milites vexilliferi and vexillarii are used as synonymous with bannerarii, bannarii, banderisii, and banerisi. Spelman says that the jus vexilli, or privilege of the square flag, properly belongs to a baron only, and that a banneret is therefore sometimes called vexillarius minor, and occupies a middle rank between the baron and simple knight: this seems to coincide with the opinion of those who believe the name to have been first given to such as had some portion of a barony assigned them, with the same prerogative as the baron himself. In all disputed subjects, every author will maintain that view of the case to which his prejudices incline him, and thus some authors attribute the origin of bannerets to France, others to England; the name does not occur in either country till about the time of Edward I.

Some sources claim that the origin of banneret can be traced to AD 383 when Conan, the Lieutenant of Maximus, who commanded the Roman legions in Britain under Gratian, revolted. He divided England into forty cantons, and in these cantons distributed forty knights, to whom he gave a power of assembling, on occasion, under their several banners, as many of the effective men as were found in their districts.

Whatever the general qualifications for the distinction and however it arose, the established form in which it appears, on the best historical testimony, is as a military honour, which was always conferred on the field of battle in the following manner. The person to be thus rewarded presented his flag to the king or general, who received it, and having the train or skirt of it cut off, returned it to its owner square, in which form it was the badge of his new dignity. The title gave a right to bear supporters, and as a badge to distinguish them, their arms were emblazoned on a banner placed in the paws of the supporters. In England the title lasted only during the lifetime of the first owner, but in France it was hereditary. 

After the establishment of the title of baronet by James I, the distinction of knights banneret became of less importance, for there was too much resemblance in the degree of honour conferred by the two to render both necessary. The last person on whom the title of banneret was conferred in keeping with the ancient custom, was Sir John Smith, as a reward for recovering the royal standard, after the battle of Edgehill. Something like a restoration of the rank, though not on the battlefield, took place in 1773 at a naval review at Portsmouth, when George III conferred, under the royal standard, the title of knights banneret on two admirals and three captains.

The order is now extinct. See Knight