[Ansteorra] Fw: award regalia pics ? take 2

[Diane Rudin]

Arthur asked:


i found a place 
> that shows many " http://scribe.ansteorra.org/insignia/index.htm  " but 
> there are several that say 
" Blazon: None Registered. "  does that mean 
> that nobody has bothered to registered a device for those awards ?
if so , 
> who would be in charge of doing so ? how would they begin ?

Because not all awards have or need a *badge*, registered through the Society College of Arms.  They all have *insignia* (what you wear if you've received/joined an award/order), approved by the Ansteorran Crown and Star Principal Herald and described in the award/order's constitution.  Sometimes the insignia of the award/order incorporates the badge of the award/order.  Often it does not.

An order is a group you join; an award is a thing you're given.  You can receive multiple instances of an award; you can only join a order once (without resigning membership in the order & being invited to return to it; I'm not including accidental doubles here that are the result of bookkeeping lags).  Orders therefore need a badge, as well as insignia, in recognition of their group identity; awards do not, by their nature, require badges.  

The definition on the page "Insignia: A badge worn to show official position" is no doubt part of the cause of your confusion.  "Badge" there is used in its common English meaning, not its Society jargon meaning.  In addition, that is not the jargon definition of insignia which we use.  Therefore it would be better described as, "Insignia: a formal token, sometimes but not always an heraldic badge, worn to indicate receipt of an award, membership in an order, or possession of an office."

In short -- unless it's a brand-new order or award, if it doesn't have a badge registered with the Society College of Arms, that would be because time has shown us it doesn't need one.

--Serena Lascelles, Blanc Gryffon Herald