Post by Rose of Pern on Feb 17, 2012 21:18:58 GMT -5
The Pernese abandoned the use of surnames centuries ago. These days, people tend to identify themselves more by the Hold, Hall or Weyr in which they live rather than to whom they are related. In a society in which literacy is not necessarily a given, identification is by means of symbols, in the form of shoulder knots and badges. Everyone wears a badge that identifies the Hold, Hall or Weyr in which they reside. This is a symbol of pride, as a sense of patriotism to their home Hold, Hall or Weyr is usually strongly inbred.
Only ranking persons, however, wear shoulder knots. Shoulder knots indicate Blood rank (Lord Holders and their families), craft rank (apprentice, journeyman or craftmaster) and dragonrider rank (gold, bronze, brown, blue, green and weyrling). The one exception to this is that all weyrfolk, including Lower Caverns personnel, also wear shoulder knots.
Shoulder knots indicate at a glance the rank of the person: the lower the rank, the fewer colors and the simpler the knotwork. In the case of the crafts, the colors of the knots will indicate the craft (blue for Harpers, for example) and the Hold at which they are presently working. The number of strands indicates rank.
For dragonriders, the knots indicate both rank (including dragon color) and the Weyr in which they live. At Cepju Weyrhold, all riders other than weyrlings have three colors in their knots: dark purple for the Weyr itself, one strand indicating the color of their dragon, and a third color indicating which Wing they belong to. The elaborateness of the knots indicates other ranks such as wingleader, wingsecond, etc. Weyrlings have only two colors: dark purple for the Weyr, and a strand for the color of their dragon. Lower Caverns personnel have knots that are dark purple only, identifying them as being with Cepju Weyrhold.
Only ranking persons, however, wear shoulder knots. Shoulder knots indicate Blood rank (Lord Holders and their families), craft rank (apprentice, journeyman or craftmaster) and dragonrider rank (gold, bronze, brown, blue, green and weyrling). The one exception to this is that all weyrfolk, including Lower Caverns personnel, also wear shoulder knots.
Shoulder knots indicate at a glance the rank of the person: the lower the rank, the fewer colors and the simpler the knotwork. In the case of the crafts, the colors of the knots will indicate the craft (blue for Harpers, for example) and the Hold at which they are presently working. The number of strands indicates rank.
For dragonriders, the knots indicate both rank (including dragon color) and the Weyr in which they live. At Cepju Weyrhold, all riders other than weyrlings have three colors in their knots: dark purple for the Weyr itself, one strand indicating the color of their dragon, and a third color indicating which Wing they belong to. The elaborateness of the knots indicates other ranks such as wingleader, wingsecond, etc. Weyrlings have only two colors: dark purple for the Weyr, and a strand for the color of their dragon. Lower Caverns personnel have knots that are dark purple only, identifying them as being with Cepju Weyrhold.