The vexillum was a flag-like object used as a military standard by units in the Ancient Roman army. The word vexillum is a derivative of the Latin word, velum, meaning a sail, which confirms the historical evidence (from coins and sculpture) that vexilla were literally “little sails”: flag-like standards. In the vexillum, the cloth was draped from a horizontal crossbar suspended from a staff. That is unlike most modern flags in which the “hoist” of the cloth is attached directly to a vertical staff. The bearer of a vexillum was known as a vexillarius or vexillifer. Just as in the case of the regimental colors or flags of early modern Western regiments, the vexillum was a treasured symbol of the military unit that it represented and it was closely defended in combat. It is sometimes reported that the vexillum of the Ancient Roman Republic was red in color and had the letters SPQR (which means “the Senate and People of Rome”) in yellow on it. Full HD.