STANDARD

Description:

Azure, a St. Andrew's cross Argent in the hoist and of two tracts Azure and Or, upon which is depicted the Badge in the first compartment and five leaves of rock ivy Proper, on in the first compartment (bottom right corner) and two each in the second and third compartments along with the Mottoes “An Gordonach” and “Bydand” in letters Or upon two transverse bands Gules.

What's all that mean?

A blue (azure) field, with a St. Andrew's cross of silver or white (argent) in the part of the flag nearest the pole (hoist). It has two horizontal strips of color (tracts), the first is blue (azure) and the second is gold (or).  Two red (gules) bands run transversely.  This breaks the standard into three compartments.  The first compartment has the badge and one ivy leaf in the bottom right corner.  Two more ivy leaves are in both the second and third compartments. Each ivy leaf is in its normal color (proper). In the red bands, the Clan slogan "An Gordonach" and the Clan motto "Bydand" are written in gold (letters or).

What's a standard?

A Standard is a headquarters flag used to rally the clan in battle. On it were displayed all the special marks of the clan so that it could be recognized quickly and easily by those who could not read.  The crest, the motto and slogan appear on a background of the two principle colors of the shield. The standard uses the crest, not the badge, as the crest is more easily recognized unbelted at a distance. Since all clan badges are belted, there were not used in the standard to prevent confusion. The St. Andrew's cross appears on most Scottish Standards. 

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