World Building: Taijitu Vexillological & Heraldic Catalogue

[Prydania]

A source of all things related to national symbolism for Taijitu world building.

Kingdom of Prydania

Coat of Arms


The elk is the national animal of Prydania, common in the wooded areas of Upaland and Midland, as well as the northern forests of Lowland. It's seen as symbolising majesty, power, and grace. The red lion represents the House of Angevis, the royal house of Vortgyn the Conqueror.
The escutcheon is the shield of the reigning Cedric dynasty. It couples the red lion of the House of Angevis with the serpent of the House of Cedric, representing that house's dynastic union with the House of Angevis. The Crown of Prydania sits atop the shield.
The version of the coat of arms prior to the establishment of the Cedric dynasty used just the Angevis red lion on the escutcheon. Shield was topped with a bonnet, itself topped by another Angevis lion as a crest. The crest wore the Crown of Prydania. Two elk acted as supporters.



Flag


This banner is the modern interpretation of the flag adopted by Vortgyn the Conqueror. The barbed crosses represent the branches of the tree used in the execution of the Messiah Joshua of the Catholic faith. The red background came from the red lion of the Angevis coat of arms.
This version dates to 1725, following the end of Ozian occupation. The pre-Ozian Occupation banner, the one actually flown by Vortgyn I, used a slightly different barbed cross design.



A square variation does exist, and is mostly used by the Prydanian military. This arrangement is not official, however, and many private citizens and businesses do opt to fly the square version of the flag for any number of reasons.





Royal Standard


This is a banner of arms based off of the coat of arms and the emblem of the Cerdic dynasty, which marries the Cerdic serpant with the Angevis lion.
The version used from Vortgyn I through Alexandria I featured just the red Angevis lion.



Holy Order of the Knights of St. Tobias




The emblem of the Holy Order of the Knights of St. Tobias feature the crossed branches of Joshua and a stylized cross laid atop. The flag of the Order quarters this design with the national flag, the royal standard of the Cerdic dynasty, and the old royal standard of the Angevis dynasty. The original flag quartered the Angevis lion in the first and fourth quarters.





Military Insignia


The military uses a square emblem using a simplified crossed branches design as a roundel and insignia for use on military vehicles and uniforms.

Catholic Church in Prydania


The Catholic faith came to Prydania during the first Prydanian age of exploration when Prydanian raiders and merchants arrived in Iada. The Catholics of Cilicia began to preach to the foreigners, who took the religion to their homeland. The town of Duronon became the centre of the Church in Prydania, with its Archbishop soon becoming the head of the church in that country. The Catholic faith had supplanted the indigenous Prydanian polytheistic faith by 700 CE. It remains the official faith of the Kingdom of Prydania. The monarch of the nation is styled "Defender of the Faith" and is crowned in a Catholic ceremony.
The flag of the Prydanian branch of the Church uses many of the same themes as the flag of Cilicia. The difference in styling is mostly a matter of aesthetic. The abstract crossed branches is replaced by a depiction of the early Prydandian national flag, itself based off of the crossed branches of Joshua.

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Confederate States of Sovereign Dixie

Coat of Arms


The crossed branches of Joshua reflect the CSSD's Prydanian heritage. The phoenix rising from the flames represents Dixie's independent spirit rising following the rebellion against Lakotah. The stars represent the thirteen states that make up the Confederation.
The original seal was mostly the same, with the stars replaced by the Prydanian crown. This was used during the early days of the CSSD when the Confederates hoped to offer the hypothetical "throne of Dixie" to the Prydanian monarch, Queen Alexandria I Angevis. Prydanian neutrality during the initial phase of the conflict killed that proposal, and the CSSD elected its own President to serve as head of state. This arrangement would continue even after the Kingdom of Prydania entered the war on the side of the CSSD.



Flag


Similar symbolism. The crossed branches and the red on white are reflective of the CSSD's Prydanian heritage. The blue field represents Confederate independence, and the stars the number of states in the Confederation.
The CSSD follows the Prydanian military's lead and uses a square variation of the national banner.



Presidential Standard


The presidential standard uses the square version of the national flag in the canton. The white field features the phoenix from the coat of arms.

Military Insignia


The CSSD military uses a variation of the Prydanian roundel with a star centred on the cross.

Catholic Church in Dixie


The Catholic Church in Dixie was established by Prydanian colonists. The Church does not enjoy official status in the CSSD as it does in the Kingdom of Prydania, partially due to the religious divide within Dixie. The Catholic Church in Dixie is one of two Catholic churches in the nation. The other being the Reformed Church of God in Dixie.
The flag of the Catholic Church in Dixie uses the emblem from the Prydanian Church, reflecting the Prydanian roots of the CSSD. The emblem's position in the canton, and the blue bar on the hoist, both mirror the presidential standard of the CSSD.

Reformed Church of God in Dixie


The Reformed Church of God in Dixie is a breakaway sect from the Catholic Church. It rejects the notion that the Archbishop of Cilicia should hold sway over the entire worldwide community of Catholics. It also rejects the Catholic Church's hierarchical nature. As a result they also reject the provincial authorities of Catholic Church's other Archbishops and Bishops.
The Reformed Church of God in Dixie has a more egalitarian structure, with each individual pastor recognized as the representative of each individual church. There are no bishops or archbishops. The CSSD-wide Council of Reformed Churches, made up of every ordained pastor in the church, is the closest thing the Reformed Church has to a governing body. This should allow for greater spiritual diversity within the Reformed Church, with each individual house of worship free to go their own way. The reality is much different. The Reformed Church skews to the right on social issues, having a more homogeneous social and spiritual outlook than their Catholic counterparts. As a result it is more willing to inject itself into national politics. The Catholic Church in Dixie tends to dominate in coastal states whereas the "heartland" states tend to favour the Reformed Church.
The flag is dominated by the square variation of the CSSD flag, symbolic of the Church's origins amongst Dixie colonists. The Shield of Faith emblem is retained, but stripped of the gold colour, which is seen as a Catholic colour.

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[Prydania]

Federated States of Iada

Coat of Arms

The coat of arms takes the central emblems of the Iadan people, the date palm and the lion, and places them under a blue sky representing God's majesty.

Flag


The flag of the Federated States of Iada utilizes a blue disk to represent the throne of the God of Iada, a date palm to represent fertility, and a lion to represent strength. The flag is used among Iadans living in other nations as a symbol of their faith.

Federated Defence Force


The standard of the Federated Defence Force is a modified version of the national flag made for quick identification, mainly on naval vessels.

High Shofet Standard


The High Shofet serves as the head of state of the Federation, chosen from among the shofet (councillors) of the member states. It places the coat of arms of the Federation on a black background.

Military Insignia


The lion and date palm are used on military vehicles and uniforms.

[Prydania]

Seat of Cilicia

Coat of Arms


The Shield of Faith serves as the official coat of arms of the sovereign state of the Seat of Cilicia.

Flag


The Catholic faith began as a breakaway Iadan sect, claiming that the preacher/philosopher Joshua was the son of the Iadan god. Conflict with the mainstream Iadan tribes that would later form the basis for the Federated States led to the establishment of a Catholic enclave. Cilicia, the strongest pro-Catholic city among the Iadan lands, was chosen as the centre of this new territory. The Archbishop of Cilicia is considered the spiritual head of all mainstream Catholics to this day. The Seat of Cilicia was granted formal independence in the early nineteenth century, following the establishment of the Federated States of Iada. It consists of Cilicia and a number of smaller towns surrounding it, as well as a portion of the Iadan coastline.
The flag is gold, understood by Catholics to be a divine colour. The emblem, the Shield of Faith, is the central symbol of the Catholic religion. It represents God as being both one being and three separate beings. The Father, Joshua, and Holy Ghost. The diagonal cross in the centre represents the branches of the tree used in the execution of Joshua.
The state flag of Cilicia serves as the personal standard of the Archbishop of Cilicia, as well as the flag for the Catholic faith worldwide.

Military Flags and Insignia


The standard of the small but professional Cilician Guard is a gold banner.
The Prydanian Guard is a force of Prydanian soldiers charged with the personal protection of the Archbishop of Cilicia. Their origins can be traced to the original Prydanian merchants and explorers who first discovered Iada and brought Catholicism back to their homeland. Their banner is  square Prydanian flag with the hoist and charge coloured Catholic gold and baring the Shield of Faith. The top and bottom quarters are coloured Prydanian red.





The Shield of Faith serves as an insignia for military vehicles.

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Unified Tribes of Lakotah

Seal


The symbol of the Unified Tribes of Lakotah consists of a sun with eight rays, representing the eight nations (not to be confused with tribes, of which there are many more of) of Lakotah. The sun sits atop branches of grain, surrounding the symbol of the pathway of the universe, an ancient Lakotan concept representing communal and spiritual harmony.
The continuity of the United Tribes government was briefly interrupted in 1854 when General Iyotake Hunkesni seized the office of Chief Facilitator following a coup. He dissolved the Unified Tribes government and replaced it with the centralized Grand Republic of Lakotah regime. This led to the open rebellion and secession of the ethnically Prydanian provinces of Dixie, giving birth to the CSSD. The war ended with Dixie's independence in 1857. Hunkensi's regime would collapse by 1862, leading to the re-establishment of the Unified Tribes of Lakotah. Hunkensi's regime didn't abandon the eight rayed sun seal, but incorporated it into a thunderbird, a creature from Lakotahn mythology.



Flag


The flag of the Unified Tribes consists of the sun emblem on a dark blue field. Technically speaking the blue flag is simply the Unified Tribes' civilian flag, while a dark red version is the nation's wartime flag. In practice the red flag is used exclusively by the Unified Military of Lakotah.



The flag of the Grand Republic of Lakotah (1854-1862) took the dark red military flag and coloured the bottom half black. The GRL flag is mostly used by fringe far-right nationalists in the present context.



Chief Facilitator Standard


The standard of the head of state, the Chief Facilitator, has the Seal of the Unified Tribes centred on a golden banner, trimmed in dark blue and dark red. This represents the Chief Facilitator's dual role as head of the civilian government, as well as commander-in-chief of the Unified Armed Forces.

Military Insignia


The eight pointed sun serves as the military marker for the Unified Tribes.

[Prydania]

Allied States of Bustos

Coat of Arms


The coat of arms of the Allied States of Bustos is a rampant golden lion on a dark red shield. The shield is topped with a crown, symbolic of the Bustos family's royal lineage, which dates back the Dunedain Empire.
The family crest of Bustos dates from the family's time as a royal house, maintaining the crowned lion crest. The red colouring on the lion, as well as the blue and white striping, once represented the land under the domain of the Bustos monarchy. They now only represent the Bustos family proper.



Flag


The flag of the Allied States of Bustos could be considered a banner at arms of the national coat of arms. The golden crowned lion on red is present, but it's been streamlined in design. This was done as the Bustos family shifted their powerbase from the monarchy to their corporate empire. The family emblem was stylized as the corporate entity's brand expanded.

[Prydania]

Republic of Megatridimensional Order

Coat of Arms and Flag


The emblem of the skull and crown originated during the Anarchy in Prydania that lasted from 1351-1369. The rebel forces, a coalition of rebellious peasants, merchants, and sympathetic nobles, adopted the skull as their symbol and purple and green as their colours. The rebels retained this symbolism after their banishment following their defeat. They would come to represent the state these banished rebels founded, the Republic of Megatridimensional Order.
The Syndicalist Party in Prydania would adopt the colour purple along with Syndicalist red to show solidarity with the spirit of these early rebels.

[Prydania]

Tiberian Confederacy

Coat of Arms and Flags


The coat of arms of the Tiberian Confederacy combines the black eagle, long a Tiberian symbol of sovereignty and might, with the crossed faces and sword, the emblem of the National Salvation Front. The NSF, serving as the political arm of the Confederated Military, acts as the sole political organisation (they dislike the term "party") of the Tiberian state.
The national flag consists of this emblem in a golden triangle at the fly of a red banner. Red is a traditional Tiberian colour representing stately authority. The military flag places the coat of arms on a red field, bordered by gold. This general design is used as the flag of the Consul of the Confederation, only squared off in proportion rather than rectangular.
This similarity between military and Consul flag is due to the Consul serving as Supreme Commander of the Confederated Military, a role that takes precedence over office of Consul during a time of war.







Military Insignia


The Tiberian Confederacy uses a segmented and angled gold square on a red field to mark its military vehicles.

[Prydania]

Divine People's Republic of St. Oz

Seal


The purple lotus and the central emblem represent the Ozian Gaean religion. The uncompleted taijitu represents the Ozian belief that balance in inherently unachievable.

Flag


The purple colour is considered sacred to Gaea. The cogwheel, compass, and hammer symbol is the emblem of the Ozian People's Party, the ruling party of the Divine People's Republic.

[Prydania]

All-House Union of Myroria

Coat of Arms


The escutcheon is the personal shield of Fredrika Quarrovth Tar-Ilium, the reigning Sedera (elected monarch) of the All-House union. The three banners to the right of the shield represent the Myrorian state while the three banners to the left represent the three Great Houses of Myroria. The top represents Quarrovth, the middle represents Vrotrith, and the bottom represents Moomintroth.

Flag


The flag of the All-House Union is unique, being one of the few national flags to have a greater Y ratio. The deep maroon colour has long represented the Myrorian people, while the three flowers represent the three Great Houses. Flowers have long been associated with good luck in Myrorian culture.

Sedera Standard


The monarch of Myroria, the Sedera, is an elected position. As such the personal standard of the Sedera changes with each election to the throne. The current standard is that of the reigning Sedera, Fredrika Quarrovth Tar-Ilium.

[Prydania]

Royal Confederacy of Eluvatar

Coat of Arms and Flag


The royal arms of Eluvatar uses a tree to represent the separate provinces coming together to form one Confederation, which is represented by the trunk.
 


The flag was designed as a banner of arms of the royal crest to serve as a naval jack. Over time it came to represent the nation as a whole.

[Prydania]

Golden Republic of Keras

Seal


The Eternal Flame of the Lighthouse serves as the seal of the Golden Republic. The flame is symbolic of the Great Lighthouse, one of the oldest structure in the city-state of Keras. Its long history of providing ships entering the harbour safety made it a symbol of hope. Especially to refugees seeking safe haven in Keras.

Flag


The flag of the Golden Republic consists of three bands of equal width, coloured violent, light blue, and dark red. The colours represent the Ozian, Eluvatarian, and Myrorian influences on Keras throughout history. The Eternal Flame sits in the centre.

Honored Guard


The Honoured Guard's flag consists of a golden crossbow crossed with a golden halberd on a black banner. The Honored Guard were originally the guardians of the Great Lighthouse and became famous for their crossbows and halberds, weapons they still carry when in their ceremonial uniforms.