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IMTU Knight, Order of the Spinward Marches

An actual Canon Order was mentioned, which has three variants
1) Order of the Sword And Tower - Knight Victor
2) Order of the Sword And Tower - Knight Guardian
3) Order of the Sword And Tower -Knights Bachelor

This Order was created by Empress Marava, rewarding commanders of the assault on the Grand Palace of Martin II, in 620.
Empress Arbellatra expanded the Order to reward military personnel responsible for either capturing or defending fortified positions;
The Order is awarded in two equal degrees: that of "Knight Guardian" and "Knight Victor", both signified by the letters KTS.
The insignia of:
The Knights Victor (the original award) is "two gold swords crossed behind a ruined tower enameled in black"
The Knights Guardian have the tower in gold with the black swords crossing in front
The awards are dependent from a ribbon of the Order, which is black with a series of gold bends
A civilian degree was created in 790, to reward those who have defended ideals and ephemeral beliefs.
These Knights Bachelor wear their badges on a ribbon of black, and silver bends

Per the heraldry described, I created this:

1724653045150.png
 
An actual Canon Order was mentioned, which has three variants
1) Order of the Sword And Tower - Knight Victor
2) Order of the Sword And Tower - Knight Guardian
3) Order of the Sword And Tower -Knights Bachelor

This Order was created by Empress Marava, rewarding commanders of the assault on the Grand Palace of Martin II, in 620.
Empress Arbellatra expanded the Order to reward military personnel responsible for either capturing or defending fortified positions;
The Order is awarded in two equal degrees: that of "Knight Guardian" and "Knight Victor", both signified by the letters KTS.
The insignia of:
The Knights Victor (the original award) is "two gold swords crossed behind a ruined tower enameled in black"
The Knights Guardian have the tower in gold with the black swords crossing in front
The awards are dependent from a ribbon of the Order, which is black with a series of gold bends
A civilian degree was created in 790, to reward those who have defended ideals and ephemeral beliefs.
These Knights Bachelor wear their badges on a ribbon of black, and silver bends

Per the heraldry described, I created this:

View attachment 5176

What is the canonical reference for this Order? If it is canonical I want to make sure it is on the Noble Patents list and has a page on the Wiki.
Even if it is "deuterocanonical", it may deserve both. ;)
 
Final Rendition of the Order of the Spinward Marches: Top to Bottom form left to right: Companion (CSM); Knight Neck Badge; Knight’s Breast star (KSM); Knight Commander’s Breast Star (KCSM); Grand Commander’s Breast Star (GCSM). Next I will Create the Sector Duke’s Grandmaster (GMSM) Collar and Breast Star. Oh Click to Enlarge, I am quite happy with this one.


IMG_6730.jpeg
 
I am quite happy with this one.
The differences between the badges is REALLY SUBTLE ... to the point of being TOO SUBTLE for easy discernment by the eye.

On the 2 neck badges with ribbons, the only difference (that I can see, barely) is the ring around the central image (silver vs gold) while everything else remains the same. I'm thinking that's not enough of a differentiation to be easily discerned at distances beyond "melee range" (for casual conversation).

For the 3 at the bottom, I would adjust the coloring scheme of the center badge. Instead of doing a "gold leaking from the center in all directions" but not reaching the tips like you've shown, I would do something different. The octagonal "long feathers" in the 8 directions ought to be gold, while all of the shorter feathers ought to remain silver. That way the difference between the Companion and KSM badges is more easily discernable, because the KSM badge has a more prominent "starburst" of gold color to it. The higher rank then "fills in" the shorter feathers of the starburst with gold as shown in the bottom right.
 
Final Rendition of the Order of the Spinward Marches: Top to Bottom form left to right: Companion (CSM); Knight Neck Badge; Knight’s Breast star (KSM); Knight Commander’s Breast Star (KCSM); Grand Commander’s Breast Star (GCSM). Next I will Create the Sector Duke’s Grandmaster (GMSM) Collar and Breast Star. Oh Click to Enlarge, I am quite happy with this one.


View attachment 5218
Ops the Knights badge and companions are swapped.
 
The differences between the badges is REALLY SUBTLE ... to the point of being TOO SUBTLE for easy discernment by the eye.

On the 2 neck badges with ribbons, the only difference (that I can see, barely) is the ring around the central image (silver vs gold) while everything else remains the same. I'm thinking that's not enough of a differentiation to be easily discerned at distances beyond "melee range" (for casual conversation).

For the 3 at the bottom, I would adjust the coloring scheme of the center badge. Instead of doing a "gold leaking from the center in all directions" but not reaching the tips like you've shown, I would do something different. The octagonal "long feathers" in the 8 directions ought to be gold, while all of the shorter feathers ought to remain silver. That way the difference between the Companion and KSM badges is more easily discernable, because the KSM badge has a more prominent "starburst" of gold color to it. The higher rank then "fills in" the shorter feathers of the starburst with gold as shown in the bottom right.
The DPI are turned down so I can post it here, at 300 dpi things are quite clear. I am happy with it, thanks for your suggestions. I may take some of them onboard.

Post Script: Are these better IMG_6741.jpeg
 
Last edited:
What is the canonical reference for this Order? If it is canonical I want to make sure it is on the Noble Patents list and has a page on the Wiki.
Even if it is "deuterocanonical", it may deserve both. ;)
So,
I am trying to rebuild a file in which I had that data, but it seems to have been zotted in a recent computer issue.
Serves me right for keeping it on my desktop.

To the best, I recall it was mentioned in a Mongoose book.
I am also aware of the real world Order.

Here is the data I got from the source when I first noted the existence of the Order in Traveller:

The Order of the Tower and Sword:
This Order was created by Empress Marava, rewarding commanders of the assault on the Grand Palace of Martin II, in 620. Empress Arbellatra expanded the Order to reward military personnel responsible
for either capturing or defending fortified positions; The Order is awarded in two equal degrees: that of "Knight Guardian" and "Knight
Victor". Both are signified by the letters KTS.
The insignia of the Knights Victor (the original award) is "two gold swords crossed behind a ruined tower enamelled in black"
That of Knights Guardian has the tower in gold with the black swords crossing in front
The ribbon of the order is black with a series of gold bends
A civilian degree was created in 790, to reward those who have defended ideals and ephemeral beliefs. These Knights Bachelor wear their
badges on a ribbon of black, and silver bends
This Order has two grand officers;
The Vicar General (VTS), currently Countess Elizabeth Fang, who heads the Order of the Knights Bachelor
The Master General (MTS), currently Brigadier General Baroness Naina McMullen Colonel of the Sol Guard, who heads the Knights Guardian
and Victor.
 
Post Script: Are these better View attachment 5224
Much Better™.

However, if you will forgive my attempts at "doodling" on the original image using the Preview app on my iMac, what I was trying to convey (through text) was something like this:



Best I can do is draw crude lines on top of stuff, but even then I think you can readily distinguish the different rankings at a glance from a distance ... rather than needing to get into Jeweler's Loop Range in order to spot the changes in details. 🖌️🎨
 
So,
I am trying to rebuild a file in which I had that data, but it seems to have been zotted in a recent computer issue.
Serves me right for keeping it on my desktop.

To the best, I recall it was mentioned in a Mongoose book.
I am also aware of the real world Order.

Here is the data I got from the source when I first noted the existence of the Order in Traveller:

The Order of the Tower and Sword:
This Order was created by Empress Marava, rewarding commanders of the assault on the Grand Palace of Martin II, in 620. Empress Arbellatra expanded the Order to reward military personnel responsible
for either capturing or defending fortified positions; The Order is awarded in two equal degrees: that of "Knight Guardian" and "Knight
Victor". Both are signified by the letters KTS.
The insignia of the Knights Victor (the original award) is "two gold swords crossed behind a ruined tower enamelled in black"
That of Knights Guardian has the tower in gold with the black swords crossing in front
The ribbon of the order is black with a series of gold bends
A civilian degree was created in 790, to reward those who have defended ideals and ephemeral beliefs. These Knights Bachelor wear their
badges on a ribbon of black, and silver bends
This Order has two grand officers;
The Vicar General (VTS), currently Countess Elizabeth Fang, who heads the Order of the Knights Bachelor
The Master General (MTS), currently Brigadier General Baroness Naina McMullen Colonel of the Sol Guard, who heads the Knights Guardian
and Victor.

Thanks. That gives me a place to start looking.
 
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