Solamnic Heraldry | dlsaga.com

Much of our understanding and identification of ancient families comes from The Roster of Loyalty, a companion volume to The Measure. Buy Knightly Orders of Ansalon: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/12401/Knightly-Orders-of-Ansalon-35?affiliate_id=50797

Transcript

Cold Open

With the chaos of battle and importance placed on history and tradition, heraldry became not only important but essential to kingdoms in feudal Ansalon during the Age of Might.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Solamnic Heraldry. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing both Knightly Orders of Ansalon and The History of Dragonlance – Being the Notes, Journals, and Memorabilia of Krynn sourcebooks for this information. If your family has any heraldry that you would like to share, I would like to invite you to add a link in the comments below!

Discussion

I have a love of history and heritage. I assume it comes from being an American, removed from my ancestral land, and a desire to reconnect with it in some romantic way. I am fortunate that my Scottish ancestral clan, Clan Campbell, is one of the most prominent clans in Scotland which celebrates its heritage through Scottish Associations worldwide. When researching the Heraldry of Solamnia, one thought I kept returning to was the focus of celtic iconography in Dragonlance by artists like Larry Elmore. The Dragonlance logo itself features some near celtic knotwork designed by Jim Rosloff. This connection to my ancestral culture is one that I celebrate in my life and is a small part of why this fantasy world resonates with me.

My love of Solamnic Knights must come from my childhood love of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I would watch the film Excalibur and imagine myself battling on his behalf in campaigns all across Britannia. Even my earliest Dungeons & Dragons experiences echoed those oldest of tales. Sturm Brightblade, though not a knight till his end, was more of a true Solamnic Knight in the vein of Huma Dragonbane and Vinas Solamnus before him than his contemporaries like Derek Crownguard. In this initial introduction to real knightly behavior in Dragonlance and the return to being governed by the spirit of the Oath and the Measure over the letter of both, later Solamnic Knights cemented my appreciation for their knightly order. With that in mind, let’s take a look into their heraldry and shine a light on their own celebration of heritage and culture.

In truth, heraldry is much more of a practical tool than a celebration of heritage. In large scale battles, with little deviation between armor appearances, it would be the banners and accouterments worn on the armor adorned with heraldry that would identify one force over another. Heraldry would later be used to celebrate identity and the Knights of Solamnia were not shy with their usage. It was traditionally only noble families that would use heraldic designs, with a bit of pomp in most cases. But because of widespread use, it became necessary to apply governing rules over its generation and use. The use of heraldry dates back to the Age of Might.

Heralds would create and maintain records of Heraldic usage. It was they who created the guidelines to avoid duplicate designs and confusing elements. These guidelines would evolve through time to be strict rules governing every aspect of a design. Solamnic crests would be recorded in a giant book called The Illustrated Guide of the Roster of Loyalty. This guide is seen as a companion volume to The Measure, rediscovered in the first century after the cataclysm. It now rests within the Great Library of Palanthas. Knights would take such pride in their designs that they would paint them on their shields, engrave it on their weapons and weave it into their clothing.Thus heraldry became a symbol of a noble family, associated with the noble deeds of every generation past. Ancient tradition demands that heraldic designs must come from the noble status of the upper class. This ancient tradition is no longer held, and it is even encouraged for new nights to create their own designs. Families that adopt their own symbols, upon an heir becoming a knight, may register the design with a herald, and if approved, it would become an official heraldic design.

Crests can be modified by individuals in the family in interesting and original ways. This differentiates the individual knight with his forebears. It can be done by mildly altering the field with a design element, or by adding or combining crests from multiple parents heraldry. Colors may also be altered as in the case of Knight of the Lily Uthram Atwater who altered his Solamnic father’s blue water design to represent a pool of red blood. Modifying a crest may come from ancestral connection, but it may also come from shame. If a knight’s family was disgraced and they do not wish to be associated with that shame, they may design a new Heraldry and submit it for approval.

The shape is regulated for clarity of the design. It is seen as a semblance of unity to mirror the purpose of the knighthood itself. The same flat iron field, shaped like a shield, is the base of the design. The colors are usually divided into two categories, metals and hues. The metals are inspired by the dragons of good: gold, silver, copper and brass. And the hues take inspiration from the dragons of evil: red, blue, green and black. Colors used are also based on tradition, and can be segregated along racial borders. Solamnic Knights typically use red, yellow, green, blue, black and white. The Minotaur Legionaries may use purple, orange and dark reds. Elven Windriders have been known to limit to earth tones like grass green or sky blue. When a shield is depicted in black and white, heralds and scribes replace the colors with patterns and dots. This being said not everyone appreciated bold multicolored designs. The famed Russle Sagemore, an Ergothian Cavalier’s heraldry is simply a green colored field—no design, no symbol. When asked why he didn’t have a more complex design, he replied that he wanted everyone on the battlefield to know him by his courageous deeds rather than by a fancy heraldic design.

When imagery is used, it is traditionally symbolic, and based on the environment around the knight. It may be of a creature with qualities the knight echoes or desires to have. It may also be imagery meant to show the fearsome side of the knight like skulls or severed limbs. In some cases, it’s a pictorial reference to a deed or member of the family’s past. There are also canting designs. These involve symbols that directly or indirectly reference the name of the family, making it simple for others to recognize. Knotwork is another design element that comes from the interlaced gold that wrapped sword handles in the time of Vinas Solamnus, the father of the Knighthood. It was first represented by Joshua Celtis, hence the reference of Celtic designs.

The use of divine symbols or icons is forbidden as knights are meant to honor the gods at all times, not use them. The only exception is the High Clerist, who may at his discretion use the silver triangle of Paladine or the bison’s horn of Kiri-Jolith, for whom he receives his powers. There is a superstition that states the symbols used could influence the very nature of the bearer, so it is also forbidden to use the images of evil creatures like dragons, ogres or minotaurs, that is, unless they are depicted as dead, dying or decapitated.

Since the rediscovery of the Roster of Loyalty, and the redemption of the Knights of Solamnia after the War of the Lance, we are seeing a reemergence in the use of Heraldry in the Knighthood. No longer are they hidden for personal protection or pragmatism.

Outro

But that is all the time I have to talk about Solamnic Heraldry. Have you ever traced your genealogy? Do you have family Heraldry? And finally, if you could live in a feudal state in our own world, or Ansalon, which would you prefer and why? Leave a comment below.

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This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I thank you for joining me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:

You knights have lived encased in metal so long it’s shaken your brains to mush! If you ever had any brains to begin with, which I doubt.