Question about colours and insignia

[ilonaotus.livejournal.com]

I have a faint memory of reading something about Attolian soldiers wearing red and for some reason I've always associated green with Eddis and Eddisians (and blue somewhat with Sounisians), but now I can't seem to find any proper mention of these in the books!

So, are there specific colours for the different countries or their armies, nobles etc. mentioned in the books or is my memory false? And if they don't have a specific colour to themselves, do you associate certain colours to the different countries?

How about insignia? I don't have a copy of CoK around but there's the lion ring, right? Are there any others? Any specific symbols of Attolia or Eddis?

There's a bit in The Thief when magus and Pol and Sophos and Ambiades climb the cliff on their journey back and Gen stays at the foot of the cliff: "They weren't the garrison from Kahlia; like the soldiers we'd met earlier, they were dressed in the colors of the Queen's Guard." (EOS PB p.216) But what ARE the colours of the Queen's Guard?! There's also this bit after Attolia and Gen have climbed up the stairs on the cliff in KoA: "Most of them were in the uniform tunics of Eddis's soldiers" (EOS PB p.253) This indicates that there are certain colour or colour combinations for the armies or certain parts of the armies, but are any of the colours actually told?

I have a bit of a fan art project in mind and these details would bring a nice addition to it, though any discussion about the possible meanings of colours regarding the countries should prove to be interesting since it's you fellow sounisians I'm asking. :D

Comments

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

I believe blue and yellow are the colors of Attolia (I'm not sure if that includes the Queen's Guard... they might have special uniforms). I also associate yellow with Sounis. I may be thinking of the golden lion of Sounis. And it says somewhere that the Eddisian uniforms are quilted. I'm not sure what that means, exactly... leather? Unless they're actually wearing wool quilts. All those sheep, you know.

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

Quilted would simply mean several layers of fabric stitched together for warmth and protection. Something like this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aketon), perhaps.

(Sorry, costume history nerd.)

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

Lilies for Attolia and according to this comment (http://elvenjaneite.livejournal.com/329465.html?thread=1169913#t1169913), griffins for Eddis.

I guess I tend to think of red for Sounis, especially with the cover of CofK.

[kaeyko.livejournal.com]

To reinforce the griffin association, Eddis also mentions paying a silver griffin to every person who brings news about the Thief after he's captured by Attolia at the beginning of The Queen of Attolia.

[ilonaotus.livejournal.com]

Ooh, great, thank you both! I think I can work with those. Or maybe I could make a few different versions, since I'm guessing there are several symbols that could be associated with each country: mountains for Eddis, olive tree or olive tree branch for Attolia etc. :)

[thelasteddis.livejournal.com]

I tend to go with the colors of the throne rooms: white, gold, and blue for Attolia, red, black and gold for Eddis.

Plus that makes sense with their cultures. Blue like the sea and red like blood, that sort of thing. I do think Eddis wears green a lot, though, so that might be where that's coming from.

[ilonaotus.livejournal.com]

I've always thought about Attolia as red and black as I think those colours represent strenght and a certain ruthlesness, which would suite Attolia. And I've thought green and gold as Eddis: a benevolent yet strong leadership. Then blue and gold for Sounis (darker blue for the previous Sounis, lighter for Sophos) for royalty.

But yes, I think my colour association comes mostly from what Attolia and Eddis are wearing: Attolia's red and Eddis's green outfits. And I associate Sophos with a light sky blue on the Thief for some reason.

Maybe I should have a re-read (once again) and see where all of these associations are coming from!

Not that I'd need an excuse for reading the books again... It's just that when I start I read them all in a continuous flow and never get anything else done meanwhile. xD