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West Kingdom
College of Heralds
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The West Kingdom Populace Badge
(And the Principality Populace Badges)
What It Is and How to Use It
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Populace Badge

The West Kingdom Populace Use Badge

The Principality of the Mists Populace Use Badge
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The Principality of Cynagua Populace Use Badge
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The Principality of Oertha Populace Use Badge
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The Kingdom of the West has a registered badge that may be used by all members
of the populace to show membership in the West Kingdom. The official blazon
is: Or, a demi-sun vert. In standard English, this reads: A gold (or
yellow) background, with the top half of an heraldic sun that is green. (An
heraldic sun has alternating straight and wavy rays.) "The sun always sets in
the West." Alternatively, "The sun always rises in The West" -- it's a matter
of perspective. The West Kingdom also includes within it's borders the traditional
"Land of the Rising Sun" (the Far West), so simultaneously the West Kingdom
is the first to greet each new day, and the last to see the day out.
The Principality of the Mists has a populace badge registered, blazoned:
Argent, a sea-wolf contourny vert, a bordure engrailed azure.
The Principality of Cynagua
has a populace badge registered, blazoned: Quarterly argent and Or,
a swan naiant within a bordure sable.
The Principality of Oertha also has
a badge registered, blazoned: (Fieldless) A compass star elongated to base
quarterly azure and argent..
The text below was originally written for the Kingdom populace badge, but may be
used in general when speaking of the Principality populace badges as well. See the bottom of the page for black
and white versions of the populace badges. These were all provided by Ræv Kolfinnsson, and are
free for your use for projects of whatever sort.
Properly drawn, the demi-sun looks like:

A Demi-Sun
Even more importantly, the West Kingdom Populace Use Badge looks like this (note that the shape
of the background can be anything -- you are not limited to what you put
this on ...):

The West Kingdom Populace Use Badge
- Make little yellow triangular banners with the green demi-sun on them.
Attach these to all your pikes when you're going to an inter-Kingdom war
like Estrella., West-Caid, Pennsic, Lilies, etc. (Figures 2 and 3). Or make
a swallow-tailed banner (Figure 4).

Figure 2: A Pennon |

Figure 3: Another Pennon |

Figure 4: Swallow-tail Banner
- Make little banners (Figures 2-3) as above and attach them to the guy-ropes of your
tent or pavilion, or fly them at the corners of your camp.
- Make a banner with the Kingdom Badge right next to the pole and your personal
badge in the next panel out. Carry it into battle attached to a pike.
Poke people with it, and they'll know where you came from. After the battle,
fly this banner over your camp to let people know you're home (Figure 5).

Figure 5: A Banner
- If you're making a big, fancy standard, with badges and mottoes and all
that bit, you can put the Kingdom badge into the compartment right next to
the staff (Figure 6). This is modeled on a late period use of an English
royal badge.

Figure 6: A Standard
- For each member of your fighting unit, make a yellow tabard with the green
demi-sun on the right breast. Or do the same with tabards split vertically
(per pale) in green and gold. Do this if your unit identifies itself mostly
as a "Western unit".
- Make livery tabards for your fighting unit in your colors. Add a loose
right sleeve in gold with the green demi-sun on it. This says,
"We're the <name of unit here>, and we're from the West."
- Make a patch of the badge and sew it on the sleeve of your tabard.
- Make a pin of the badge (you can use any shape you like for the pin) and
use it as a decoration, or as a cockade pin on your hat. (If you're a
merchant, make arrangements with a jewelry-maker, and sell pins to the populace.)
- Make a bunch of shields with the badge on them and pass them out to
your shield wall.
- Buy (or make) a T-shirt with the badge on it and wear it for set-up and tear-down.
- Make a bumper-sticker and add it to the collection on the rear of your vehicle.
- Don't use it. The badge exists, is registered, and can be used by any
subject of the West. But you don't have to use it unless you want to.
- Don't put it on a canton (or quarter) on your banner, shield, tabard, or
anything else. Don't put it in the center of your shield or banner. Charged
cantons are used to indicate augmentations of arms, and charged shapes in
the center of arms are used to indicate arms of pretense. Neither usage is
appropriate for an allegiance badge.
- Both yellows and greens are tricky colors to work with. Choose your green
and gold/yellow carefully, and make sure that they look good together. If
you're buying cloth, look at the two together. If you're buying fabric paint,
see if you can find a sample before you buy a lot of it. Remember that the
immediate impression of color should be "yellow and green".
- If you're making a flag or a banner, there are two different ways that
you can orient the demi-sun. "Up" can be toward the top of an upright
flagpole when the banner is standing straight out in the wind (see
figures 1, 3, 4, 5). The other version of "up" is based on the view of
a pennocel hanging from a leveled lance. The top of the demi-sun points
at the lance (and the axis of the base parallels the lance - see Figure 2).
Both of these positions are correct usage. However, do NOT use both
positions in the same banner, pennon, etc.
- Primary uses of the badge will be at out-Kingdom events (when visiting), rather
than within the Kingdom. However, there is nothing wrong with using it at
West Kingdom events ...
- Remember that when you are using the badge, you WILL be identified as
a Westerner. Make sure that your behavior reflects well upon the Kingdom.
This is not the final word. If we have not covered the use you want to make
of the badge, please check with the heralds to make sure that your desired use is
appropriate.
Special Thanks: to Astrith of Swanvale who found and retyped
the contents of the original flier handed out at Twelfth Night, AS XXVII after
the populace use badge was registered. Also thanks to Teleri Tawel for re-doing
the artwork used from that flier ... (it looks a lot better than the original
artwork did, I should know, as I drew 'em -- Hirsch).
The images of the badges (color and black/white) are by Ræv Kolfinnsson and are
available for you to use for projects as needed, these are vector images, so should
resize well.
Black and White Versions

The West Kingdom Populace Use Badge

The Principality of the Mists Populace Use Badge
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The Principality of Cynagua Populace Use Badge
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The Principality of Oertha Populace Use Badge
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