thumb|right|200 px|The flag of Spain, with a central stripe larger than the outer stripes.
In heraldry and vexillology, a Spanish fess is a term occasionally used to describe the central horizontal stripe of a tricolour or triband flag that is twice the width of the stripes on either side of it.
The name is based on the most well-known example of this style of flag, the flag of Spain, and in analogy to the equivalent term for vertically striped flags, the Canadian pale.
Looser definition
As with the Canadian pale, a looser definition of Spanish fess also exists, in which the central stripe is considerably larger than, but not necessarily twice the width of the two outer stripes.
Flag gallery
1:2:1 proportions
<gallery>
File:Flag of Cambodia.svg|Flag of Cambodia
File:Flag of Laos.svg|Flag of Laos
File:Flag of Lebanon.svg|Flag of Lebanon
File:Flag of Libya.svg|Flag of Libya
File:Flag of French Polynesia.svg|Flag of French Polynesia
File:Flag of Asunción.svg|Flag of Asunción, Paraguay
File:Flag of Kalmykia (1992–1993).svg|Flag of Kalmykia, Russia (1992–1993)
File:Flag of Krasnodar Krai.svg|Flag of Krasnodar Krai, Russia
File:Flag of Mari El 1992-2006.svg|Flag of Mari El, Russia (1992–2006)
File:Flag of Mordovia.svg|Flag of Mordovia, Russia
File:Flag of Penha SC.png|Flag of Penha, Santa Catarina, Brazil
File:Flag of Ryazan Oblast.svg|Flag of Ryazan Oblast, Russia
File:Long tinh flag.svg|Flag and imperial standard of Vietnam under late-Nguyễn dynasty (1941-1945)
</gallery>
Other proportions
<gallery>
File:Flag of Belize.svg|Flag of Belize
File:Flag of Free Cuba (Alpha 66 Movement).svg| Alpha 66's Proposed flag of Free Cuba
File:Proposed flag of the United Cyprus Republic.svg| Proposed flag of Cyprus
File:Flag of Lesotho.svg|Flag of Lesotho
File:Flag of Mauritania.svg|Flag of Mauritania
File:Flag of Prussia 1892-1918.svg|Flag of Prussia
File:Flag of Tajikistan.svg|Flag of Tajikistan
File:Hissflagge Eisenach.svg|Flag of Eisenach, Germany
File:Flag of Guadalajara, MX.svg|Flag of Guadalajara, Mexico
File:Flag of Ingushetia.svg|Flag of Ingushetia, Russia
File:Flag of Mari El (2006).svg|Flag of Mari El, Russia (2006–2011)
File:Flag of Crimea.svg|Flag of Crimea
File:Flag of New Orleans, Louisiana.svg|Flag of New Orleans, United States
File:Flag of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (9x7).svg|Flag of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
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See also
- The flag of Colombia, with a ratio of 2:1:1, instead of 1:2:1
- The flag of Ecuador, with a ratio of 2:1:1, instead of 1:2:1
- The bisexual pride flag, with a ratio of 2:1:2, instead of 1:2:1