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Why did knights carry triangular pennons on their lances?
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flag
Various shapes of flags: (from left) rectangle (Algeria), square (Switzerland), pennant (Nepal), swallowtail (Ohio, U.S.).
In the context of heraldry, knights carried triangular pennons on their lances for several practical and symbolic reasons:
- Safety: The pennon served to prevent accidents, functioning similarly to a red flag tied to a long object extending from a vehicle, by making the length of the lance more visible to others.
- Psychological Impact: The flag was intended to strike terror into the enemy during combat.
- Identification: It served to denote the knight's rank on the battlefield.1