Imperial Laurel
The Imperial Laurel is a Space Marine Honour Badge that appears as a wreath of interlocking leaves, usually fashioned of platinum or gold, worn as a crown above the helmet or sculpted into a Battle-Brother's helmet and shaped from ceramite. It can also be displayed on the crest of the shoulder pad or the knee pad as a skull-and-wreath motif.[1]
The Imperial Laurel is a mark of skill, loyalty, and heroism and may only be awarded to Space Marine who has completed a great act of valour and performed some great deed that leads to a victory for the Imperium. The awarding of an Imperial Laurel is a ceremony rich with tradition and honour, although it varies from Chapter to Chapter. The Codex Astartes demands that Company Standards must be borne into battle by warriors who have proven their worth, and there are few surer marks of such distinction than the Imperial Laurel.[1]
A Space Marine who wears the Laurel is, to his peers, a proven warrior of his Chapter. The word of a Battle-Brother who wears the Imperial Laurel will carry more weight that it would otherwise, sometimes influencing the nature of his missions or gaining the use of rare assets, weapons or allies and the right to carry the Company Standard into battle.[1]
Known Recipients
- Cato Sicarius - Captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company, received in the wake of the Crusat Minor planetstrike in 733.M41.[2]
Related Articles
Sources
- 1: Deathwatch: Rites of Battle, pgs. 206-211
- 2: Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 22
