https://youtu.be/W2LI1nqNS-Y

Much of our understanding and identification of ancient families comes from The Roster of Loyalty, a companion volume to The Measure.

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Transcript

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 ...