A variant spelling of gonfalon; a flag, banner, or standard, especially one carried by a military unit or held by an official.
From Italian gonfalone, ultimately from Germanic roots: gund (battle) + fano (flag). The word entered European languages through Italian during the medieval period when Italian city-states had complex heraldic systems.
Medieval Italian cities were obsessed with their flags and banners—the gonfalon was so important that the official who carried it was called a gonfaloniere and held real political power, making a piece of fabric into a symbol of authority.
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