A small banner or flag; also, a knight of a certain rank in medieval England who could lead his own company of soldiers under his own banner.
From Old French 'banneret,' a diminutive of 'baniere' (banner). The '-et' suffix creates diminutives. In medieval military context, the term came to denote a specific knightly rank with distinct privileges and responsibilities.
A medieval banneret wasn't just a knight—he had to maintain and lead a personal military retinue under his family banner, making him a small-scale military commander, which is why Edward III used bannerets as core units in his armies!
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