Braid of Damocles

The Braid of Damocles, sometimes called the King's Braid, is a braided cord similar to an aiguillette or Burgundine Fourragère used in the National Army of Faneria and some Gaelic paramilitary groups. Though traditionally a simple two-cord braid worn attached to either the uniform or the uniform and dress sword, variations which combine the tradition with dress uniform aiguillettes exist in the form of a two-color option (compared to the otherwise monochrome aiguillettes used in the Fhainnin Army). The cord itself is a red or overlapped red and gold cord tightly bound with an angle of overlap of 45 degrees.

Origins

The term behind the Braid, the 'Bond of Damocles', was first coined by Latin scholar Visivius Atticus, who observed the election of an officer from the ranks of a gaelic ceitern in modern Itheachan, Faneria. Though previously recorded locally and by Coscivian writers simply as 'The Soldiers' Oath', Atticus deliberately alluded to the tale of the Sword of Damocles in his writings to better explain the practice. The ritual itself involved the soldiery, after electing an officer, brandishing their weapons over the head of the elected as he formally accepted leadership. The practice served to reinforce trust within the unit as well as to remind the officer of their duty to their men, and was a common practice well into the fourteenth century AD, with swords, spears, and later pikes and bayonets being used. Over time, the ceremony became more formal, with soldiery flanking either side of a path which the candidate would walk to receive their symbols of rank; this formalization yielded the forty-five degree angle after the angle at which weapons were held to symbolically point the officer towards his new rank and to physically prevent turning away from the call to service.

The military tradition was adopted by the Fhainnin monarchy in 1481 to replace a civil tradition in which the elected prince of a free city or a lord would tour their vassals' holdings upon the assumption of their titles or the assumption of a new vassal relationship. The dominant party would visit vassals to gague their wealth and strength and receive customary guest rights, while displaying their own strength and wealth through their entourage and forming a face-to-face relationship between the parties. This practice placed a great deal of faith in the loyalty of the vassal and the mutual respect expected in a vassal-lord relationship, but became prohibitively expensive and time-consuming early on in the history of the monarchy. Rih Alexandr I instead elected to embrace the martial tradition which the early Kingdom exemplified, requiring his vassals to attend his coronation and perform a Bond of Damocles as a proof of loyalty and a stand-in for the ceremonial meaning of a liege lord tour. Afterwards, the Bond of Damocles was performed for every monarch until the First Princes' War, which was initiated by the murder of Rih Caerls I by several Protestant lords during his Bond ceremony in protest to his stated intentions to codify Catholicism as a state religion. Though still usually observed afterwards, the ceremony was adapted to a weaponless or blunted-edge ceremony, with some variation.

After the reorganization of the Royal Army by Rih Donan II in 1746, officers' regalia included the first Braids of Damocles, which were at the time tied to the pommel and/or hilt of the officer's sword. The practice was mandatory for conscripted personnel to perform for their officers, and the Braid itself was the final confirmation of an officer's commission.

Modern Tradition

Since the foundation of the National Army, the Braid has formally been called an Officers' Oath Braid, although the term 'Braid of Damocles' is used in spite of official discouragement. The actual practice of passing beneath brandished weaponry is no longer observed, but subordinates are permitted to collectively present their commanding officer with a Braid, typically the day after a military holiday. A Braid is not a required uniform piece for officers, and requiring subordinates to issue one is a violation of military law. Due to the nature of the Braid as a collective award, color regulations limit the issuance of mixed gold-red Braid to a unanimous vote from the chain of command beneath an officer; red is permitted on a unit vote of greater than seventy percent under supervision of the next highest ranking officers. As a result, red and gold braid in particular is exceedingly rare in upper echelons of the military and marks an officer as a career soldier of particular renown.

Of the officers employed in the National Army in 2025, 56% reported having been issued a full red Braid, while only 12% were issued a red-gold overlap Braid. Of the latter, the overwhelming majority (99%+) were issued their red-gold Braid while below the rank of Captain. Only two men since 1909 have attained both the red-gold Braid and a rank higher than Ceannbriogaidir (Brigade General).