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Institute of Heraldry of Landopia

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Institute of Heraldry of Landopia
Istituto di Araldica di Landopia
Middle Arms of the Institute
AbbreviationI.H.K.L
Nicknamela Consulta, gli Araldi
Predecessorestablished title
Successorin charge
EstablishedJune 2024
FounderCarlo I of Landopia
PurposeSupervising heraldic art inside Landopia
HeadquartersCapoburgo
Area served
Landopia and other nations per request
FieldHeraldry and vexillology
Official languages
Italian
Latin
English[a]
OwnerCarlo I of Landopia
Secretary General
Brando Pernice
Key people
Brando Pernice
Award(s)MEOSC

The Institute of Heraldry of Landopia[b] (Italian: Istituto di Araldica del Regno di Landopia, Latin: Institutum Heraldicum Regni Landopiae; known colloquially as The College[c] or The Institute)[d][1], officially the Institute of Heraldry of the Kingdom of Landopia, is an official institutional entity sub-ordinated to the Kingdom of Landopia, which has the objective of regulating, creating, and maintaining heraldic pieces and nobiliary titles inside the Landopian borders, founded in June 2024 by Carlo I of Landopia in Capoburgo.[2]

The institute was officially founded in June 2024, marking a significant milestone with the appointment of Brando Pernice as president by King Carlo I. It began its operations shortly thereafter, launching on 6 August 2024.[3]

The organization is situated in Capoburgo, precisely in Piazza Istituti, which is centrally located within the city. It operates offices and maintains archives in Fellino, operating in the complex of Villa Stancu. The institution's functions include the conferral of noble titles to individuals and regions, as well as the issuance of coats of arms and their respective blazonries, while also establishing regulations for Landopian heraldry. It oversees nobiliary and civic heraldry throughout Landopia and seeks to provide heraldic designs to other micronations, particularly those within the Italian context. Its services are offered at no pecuniary cost.

The institute governs its coats of arms through "Heraldic Institutional Decrees",[e] which are not directly endorsed by the ruler of Landopia but rather by the president of the institute.[4] Nevertheless, the king retains the authority to render a decree null or to partially invalidate it. A maximum of five decrees may be issued in a single day, with each decree encompassing no more than twenty coats of arms.[5][6]

As of August 2024, this organization stands as the sole heraldic entity in Landopia.[7] It has been honored with the Most Excellent Order of Saint Cæcilia award.[8][9]

History

Before the foundation: early Landopian heraldry

The first Landopian flag.

The early development of heraldic designs in Landopia, as well as the broader fields of heraldry and vexillology within the kingdom, is relatively underexplored. From 2018 to 2021, the initial heraldic designs of Landopia primarily employed PNG and JPG formats, all of which were produced using Paint.NET by the king himself. For reference, the first flag of Landopia was created using easily accessible online resources, showcasing a color scheme that significantly diverges from those found in modern landopian heraldic and vexillological practices.[10]

A clear illustration of this distinction can be observed in the fact that the original flag employs a significantly darker shade of gold, whereas the most recent coats of arms and flags of Landopian entities feature a considerably brighter and lively shade.

Semi-modern Landopian heraldry: rise of the Sodacan style

Since 2022, the heraldry of Landopia has been significantly influenced by Sodacanism, a style linked to the aesthetics of Wikipedia and Wikimedia. This particular style is marked by complex and detailed forms, especially from well-skilled artists, a great example are the rendition of people in the sodacan style, with a very well detailed shading and strokes.[11]

Sodacan[12] is the Wikipedian username used by this Thai vector artist, who is the author of the homonymous style that reigns among heraldic, monarchical and other coats of arms. A clear example of this style is precisely the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, Belgium, the coat of arms of the City of London and countless others.

Known as the Sodacan [style] among its users and widely recognized within wiki projects and heraldic circles, this style has become the predominant SVG format utilized on Wikipedia.

Properly modern Landopain heraldry: Regulation and autonomous foundations

Former Logo of the Institute of Heraldry

Despite the presence of a recognized de facto heraldry in Landopia, complete with its own set of regulations, there was a notable absence of an independent body tasked with the administration and supervision of Heraldic art and noble titles. Consequently, in early June 2024, the king appointed a heraldist he had recently encountered, Brando Pernice. Pernice officially commenced his duties at midnight of 7 July 2024, although he had already begun his work on Landopian heraldry several hours prior.

The Institute's preliminary efforts focused on the development of its own heraldic symbols, which encompassed the lesser, middle, and greater coats of arms. Following these initial heraldic activities, the Institute undertook its subsequent, and fundamentally primary, heraldic task: the design of the coats of arms of all regions of Landopia.[13] This task was successfully finalized on 10 August, with the last coats of arms of Fosprinia, Centro and Marca Orientale being designed.[14]

Symbols

The coat of arms of the institute has been conceded with the ninth royal decree of 2024, signed by king Carlo I and Brando Pernice.[8]

The italian blazonry of the arms is:

Partito, nel primo d'azzurro, alla piuma d'argento, sottostante un cartiglio posto sulla punta di essa raffigurante la scritta "ASPIS", nel secondo d'argento, al leone di rosso, coronato d'oro, tenente uno scudetto di rosso centrato da una croce d'argento.

The middle arms consist of the Royal Crown, the Greater Arms consists of the ribbon of the MEOSC and a motto saying: "Il più bel blason ne coglie",[8] which is a reference to the Accademia della Crusca (a society based of italian language scholars) motto, "Il più bel fior ne coglie",[15][16] which in english literally means (college one) "The most beautiful coat of arms captures it".[17]

The institute does not utilize a flag, either in an official capacity or informally. While the coat of arms may occasionally be accompanied by a more streamlined logo, it is primarily the coat of arms that appears on official documents. Additionally, the coat of arms is prominently displayed at the entrance of Palazzo Baldovini, resulting in the simplified logo being utilized infrequently.[17]

Notes

  1. If interested, translation for foreigners is made on request.
  2. Alternatively called: The College of Arms of Landopia, The Landopia College of Arms or the Landopian College. Or, using the name of the building where it is based, it is usually called Palazzo Baldovini.
  3. From the british College of Arms.
  4. In italian known as the "Consulta", or more informally "gli Araldi" (literally the Heralds).
  5. English for Decreto Araldico Istituzionale, usually shortened to D.A.I. or H.I.D. in English.

References