Overthinking Games: The Banner Saga s banner represents unity rather than division

Banners, then and now, are often a curious amalgamation of plain communication and naked aggression. They re well-known as heraldic devices, displaying a coat of arms to identify one side to the other on the battlefield, usually just before they were about to attack each other. However, they re also just a means of communicating who or what a place or thing belongs to. If you re shipwrecked, the flags on the boat responding to your frantic SOS can tell you where you are and who is about to rescue you. Even today, flags are used this way. Ships still use flag signalling to send messages without the need for radios. Warships still hoist battle ensigns, huge flags to stand out in the smoke and chaos of a pitched battle, showing that a ship is ready to fight, and which side it s on.

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