Note 33 — ON ORIENTAL CARPETS

‘Labarum’ was the name given before the time of Constantine, and apparently as far back as that of Hadrian, in the Roman army to the standard of the cavalry. Gradually this became the standard of the whole army, and in its later developments the banner became surmounted by the Eagle of Victory, but always with the cross beneath. Constantine replaced the eagle by the sacred monogram (the Greek letter P traversed by X); he further embroidered the Christian emblems on the purple of the banner in gold and jewels, and beneath these he placed medallions representing in portraiture himself and his children.