- PADDED EMBLEM
- See ‘raised detail’.
Padded Emblem/Raised Detail on the Flag of San Cristóbal de la Laguna, Tenerife, Spain (Klaus-Michael Schneider)
- PADDING THE SLEEVE
- (v) A (largely US) practice, now obsolete, of reinforcing the sleeve of a
military colour (see also ‘colour 2)’,
‘raised detail’ and
‘sleeve 2)’).
- PAGEANT STANDARD
- A term, now obsolete, for the Scottish heraldic standard as carried on ceremonial
occasions; and there are indications that it was the middle of three sizes (see
also ‘battle standard’,
‘pinsel’,
‘heraldic standard 2)’, and
‘great standard’).
![[pageant standard]](../images/v/vxt-d1494.gif)
Standard of the Laird of Clan Agnew (The Flag Center)
- PALE
- The heraldic term for a vertical stripe whose centreline lies along the
vertical meridian of a shield, a banner of arms or any quartering thereof, and
which (in strict heraldic usage) should occupy about one-third the width of
that shield, banner of arms or quartering (see also
‘banner of arms’, ‘Canadian pale’,
‘in pale’,
‘per pale’,
‘paly’,
‘quartering 1)’ and
‘triband’).
![[pale]](../images/v/vxt-d977.gif)
War Flag of Peru;
Flag of Harbarnsen, Germany;
Flag of Hoogstraten, Belgium
- PALEWISE
- 1) In traditional heraldry see ‘in pale’.
2) In some heraldic usage this term relates specifically to the axis of a charge or charges, rather
than to its, or their position, on a shield, a banner of arms or a flag – but see
‘in pale’ as referenced above and the note below.
Flag of Villars-sous-Mont, Switzerland;
Flag of Duffel, Belgium; Flag of Rudolfstetten-Friedlisberg,
Switzerland
Please note with regard to 2) that charges can be orientated palewise but arranged in fess as per
the examples shown below which would be blazoned "... three saw blades palewise in fess".
Flag and Arms of Gjerstad, Norway
- PALIO
- The flag – usually a unique banner of painted silk – that is presented in Sienna, Italy as a
prize in the annual horse race of the same name (see also ‘flag tossing’).
- PALL
- 1) On flags, a Y-shaped charge of equal width throughout, generally with
two arms of the "Y" touching, or nearly touching the top and bottom corners of
the hoist, meeting on the horizontal meridian and extending to the fly as a
single band – but see note a) below.
- 2) In heraldry, a Y-shaped charge of equal width throughout, generally (but not exclusively) shown
upright and when employed in ecclesiastical arms is usually seen with its lower point fringed and couped
(see also couped 2), fringe and in pall).
Flag of Horní Jiřetín, Czechia;
Flag of the Archbishop of Canterbury, UK;
Flag of Santo António da Serra, Portugal
Notes
a)
With regard to 1) when the two arms of the "Y" are on the hoist it may be called a simple pall,
with the two arms on or towards the fly a reversed pall, with the two arms on the top edge an upright
pall and with the two arms on the bottom edge of the flag an inverted pall – see
inverted, reversed and
upright.
b) The pall design originated as the pallium, a vestment symbolic of Arch-episcopal authority in some Christian churches
(see also pallia).
- PALL FLAG
- That flag which is used to cover a coffin prior to interment, or the deceased
person when lying in state – a burial, interment or casket flag (see also
‘flag case 2)’,
‘flagfolding’,
‘funeral flag’ and
‘mourning flag’).

(adamtglass.com)
Please note, not to be confused with a pall
as defined above.
- PALL WAVY
- See
‘pall 2)’.
Arms and Flag of Kvinnherad, Norway
- PALLIA (or PALLIUM)
- Pre-heraldic banners of varying design presented by the Pope to indicate his approval and/or support for a person or cause (see also
‘Bayeux tapestry’,
‘gonfanon’, ‘pall’ and
and ‘pre-heraldic’).
One interpretation of the Pallia given to William
of Normandy in 1066 as shown in the Bayeux Tapestry, and the earliest known representation
of a gonfanon.
Notes
a) This term was derived from an item of
arch-episcopal regalia – the pallium – and was almost certainly in the majority of cases a
gonfanon.
b) "Pallia" and "pallium" are (respectively) the plural and singular in Vulgate Latin.
- PALLET(S) (or PALET(S)
- The heraldic term for a vertical stripe (or stripes) whose centreline often (but by no means
exclusively) lies along the vertical meridian of a shield, a banner of arms or any quartering thereof,
and which (in strict heraldic usage) should occupy about one-quarter the width of that shield,
banner of arms or quartering – but see
‘paly’ and
‘pale’ (also ‘banner of arms’).
Flag of Commugny, Switzerland;
Flag of Foix, France; Flag of Vila Boa de Ousilhão,
Portugal
- PALLET(S) WAVY
- See pallet.
Flag of Albergaria da Serra, Portugal
- PALM
- A term for the square or rectangular part of any flag that carries a schwenkel, or whose
fly is divided into tongues (see also ‘crutch’
‘indentation(s)’,
‘schwenkel’,
‘swallow-tail(ed)’,
‘swallow-tail and tongue’
and ‘tails’).
- PALY
- The heraldic term for the division of a shield, a banner of arms or any quartering
thereof, into four or more usually (but not invariably) equal vertical stripes in
alternating tinctures – but see ‘multistripe’
(also ‘banner of arms’, ‘barry’,
‘pale’,
‘quartering 1)’ and
‘tincture’).
Flag of Rovray, Switzerland;
Flag of Leipzig, Germany;
Flag of Arrissoules, Switzerland
- PAN-AFRICAN COLOURS (or COLORS)
- The green, yellow and red of the Ethiopian flag, adopted by a number of
newly independent countries in Africa from 1956 onwards – and sometimes called
the Rastafarian or Rasta colours – but see flag family,
Garvey colours,
Rastafarian colours and the
notes below (also core flag,
difference,
pan-Arab colours, pan-Slavic colours).
The National Flag of
Ghana; The National Flag of Senegal;
National Flag of Benin
Notes
a) Some sources include the Garvey and
Rastafarian colours (as referenced above) in this category.
b) Flags that share the same colours, but which do not have the historic or geographic connections given above (for example the flag of Bolivia illustrated below) must not be included in this category.

National Flag of Bolivia
- PAN-ARAB COLOURS (or COLORS)
- The white, black, red and green seen in the flags of a number of Arab countries based upon the
colours of the Arab Liberation or Sharifian Flag and lines by the Arab poet Safi al-Din al-H'ly
– but see flag family and the notes
below (also core flag, difference,
pan-African colours,
pan-Slavic colours).
National Flag of Jordan;
National Flag of Sudan;
National Flag of the United Arab Emirates
Notes
a) The lines mentioned in the
definition read: “White are our deeds, black the fields of battle, our
pastures are green, but our swords are red with the blood of our enemy.” and
the first flag to used these colours was the Arab Liberation Flag of 1917
(as mentioned above).
b) The red, white and black (with or without a touch of green) introduced
by Egypt in their tricolour of 1958 are included by some sources in the above
category – but see ‘Arab liberation colours’.
c) It should be further noted that flags which share the same colours, but which do not have
the historic or geographic connections given above (for example the flag of
Malawi
illustrated below) must not be included in this category.

National Flag of
Malawi 2010–2012
- PAN-SLAVIC/SLAV COLOURS (or COLORS)
- The blue, white and red originally adopted by the Slavic peoples during their struggles for
independence from the Ottoman and Habsburg empires, and derived from the national flag/civil ensign of
the then Russian Empire – but see differenced 1),
flag family and the notes
below (also core flag, pan-African colours
and pan-Arab colours).
The National Flag of
Serbia 1882–1918; National Flag of Slovakia; Flag of
Czechia
Notes
a) The red-white-blue tricolour of the Netherlands was almost certainly the model upon
which the Russian flag (adopted as a civil ensign c1700) was based, and that some sources include these
same “Dutch colours” in the above category – but see ‘Dutch colours 1)’ (also
‘driekleur’ and
‘princeflag’).
b) Flags that share the same colours, but which do not have the historic or geographic connections given above (for example the flag of France illustrated below) must not be included in this category.

National Flag of France
- PANEL
- 1) In vexillology that area of a flag that is surrounded by a border, the panel itself is generally
(but not exclusively) used to display charges or other designs (see also
’border’,
‘charge’ and ‘pierced 1)’).
2) In heraldry see ‘quarter 2)’.
Flag of Guam;
Flag of Oldenburg County, Germany
- PANICLES
- A term used when loosely branching clusters of flowers and/or foliage form a wreath,
such as the panicles of rice on the army rank flags of Taiwan (see also
‘rank flag 1)’ and
‘wreath 1)’).
![[panicles example]](../images/v/vxt-d508c.gif)
Flags of a General, Lt
General and
Major General, Taiwan
- PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM (or PMS)
- An internationally recognized proprietary system of identifying colours by
a code number, and increasingly used for the official regulation/recommendation of flag colours.
![[PMS example]](../images/v/vxt-d3850.gif)
Flag of the Lomé Convention in Green PMS 3415C, Gold PMS 131C and Process Blue C;
Flag of Santa Clara County, California US in Blue PM PMS 2925 and Gold PMS 131;
National Flag of Argentina in Blue PMS 284, Yellow PMS 1235 and Brown PMS 1685