83a-c are from the Manasses ms., where considerable quantities of such flags are carried among each group of horsemen armed like 81 and 82. Many variants occur, all having tails of varying length at top and/or bottom, plus tufts of dyed horse-hair or ornate crescents and spikes such as those of 83a and c, which clearly betray the Bulgarians’ Asiatic origins. Flags are invariably coloured red in the original, with the exception of a few such as 83a which are white or light grey with red borders and tails.
83d comes from a map of 1320 by the Genoese cartographer Pietro Vesconte, where it is shown flying over the port of Varna, denoting Bulgarian control of that part of the Black Sea coastline. It is white, with a red ‘N’ monogram that was presumably the device of the reigning tsar, Todor Svetoslav (1298-1322).
83e is from a fresco at Great Tarnovo and depicts the use of a horsetail as a lance pennon, while 83f, again from Manasses, is a red-painted lance that is shown being carried in battle by a tsar, with a red ribbon tied round it in the form of a bow.
In addition the Manasses pictures depict a number of mounted trumpeters, who are armoured as described under 81 and 82, with or without a shield, and carry trumpets like 83g. Identical trumpets are shown held by mounted Byzantine musicians in the ‘Romance of Alexander the Great’ ms. mentioned under figure 51, where the trumpeters are depicted both fully armoured and unarmoured except for a helmet and quilted hood.
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