[ANSTHRLD] populace badges (was: Suggestions needed)

[Coblaith Mhuimhneach]

Donnchadh asked:
> What exactly is the ensign of a group?  Is it the group arms without 
> the laurel wreath, or does it have to be a specifically registered 
> badge?

Elizabeth Blackthorne added:
> My understanding has always been that only the seneschal and landed 
> nobles of the particular branch can wear the full ensign but if you 
> remove the laurel wreath, it only denotes you as a member.  Was my 
> education wrong?  If so please tell me so that I can cease telling our 
> newbies this.

First, an ensign is a flag 
<http://sca.org/heraldry/laurel/whatis/badge.html> 
<http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/precedents/early/dtok.html>.  
Ansteorra has a registered ensign (a black Ansteorran Star on a gold 
background, with a black border around it).  An Tir has one, too--and 
their heralds have erected a handy website to describe its proper use 
at <http://www.antirheralds.org/display/populace_badge.html>.

What I think you are both asking about is what is generally called a 
"populace badge" or a "popular use badge"--a piece of armory members of 
a given branch, principality, or kingdom can display to show that they 
belong to it.  Some have one of these, some more than one, and some 
none at all.  (You'll have noticed on the above site that the kingdom 
of An Tir has two.)

The idea that a branch's device with the laurel wreath removed is it's 
"default populace badge" is widespread and quite erroneous.  (So 
widespread, in fact, that it's explicitly addressed in one of the 
questions at the end of the thirteenth of the Assorted Lessons in SCA 
Heraldry on the College of Arms' site 
<http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/lessons/lesson13.html>.)  The only 
way to establish an official populace badge is to register one with the 
College of Arms.  The procedure is the same as that for submitting a 
branch device.

If you invent and display an "unofficial" badge, whatever form it 
takes, you may very well inadvertently usurp someone's registered arms 
or accustom the members of the branch to the idea that they 
collectively "own" a badge that they, in fact, will never be able to 
register because of conflict or other problems.  All the other issues 
surrounding the use of unregistered armory will, of course, also 
attend, and it well behooves heralds to discourage the practice.

If the members of your branch would like a badge to display, I 
recommend you design one that's easy to render in a variety of media 
and easy to incorporate into a broad range of settings.  Referencing 
your arms may be a good idea, since it'll create an automatic 
association between the new armory and the branch in people's minds.  
But remember that this is the symbol members can paint, carve, 
embroider, weave, and stamp on anything and everything they own to show 
the world who they are.  The simpler doing that is, the more likely it 
is to be widely used.

Bryn Gwlad's device features a white background, a gold halberd on a 
black bend sinister, and two Ansteorran Stars nestled inside black 
laurel wreaths.  The populace badge is a black halberd's head with a 
gold version of the Ansteorran Star on it.  It's much easier to 
appliqué onto fighters' surcoats, stitch on gift bags, paint on loaner 
armor, add to standards, and generally spread around than a laurel-less 
version of the device would be.  You can also tell what it is even when 
it's small, so it's useful where a more elaborate badge would be an 
indistinct blob (like on the tags of loaner garb).


Coblaith Mhuimhneach
<mailto:Coblaith at sbcglobal.net>