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

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The West Kingdom Populace Use Badge

The Principality of the Mists Populace Use Badge

The Principality of Cynagua Populace Use Badge

The Principality of Oertha Populace Use Badge

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.

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

A Dozen Ways to Use the Kingdom Badge:

1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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".

6. 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."

7. Make a patch of the badge and sew it on the sleeve of your tabard.

8. 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.)

9. Make a bunch of shields with the badge on them and pass them out to your shield wall.

10. Buy (or make) a T-shirt with the badge on it and wear it for set-up and tear-down.

11. Make a bumper-sticker and add it to the collection on the rear of your vehicle.

12. 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.

A Way NOT to Use the Populace Badge(s):

1. 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.

Tips:

1. 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".

2. 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.

3. 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 ...

4. 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).

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