Pearl staff

The pearl staff (珠丈) is a wooden staff carried by guards of high dignitaries of Themiclesia. It is called a "pearl staff" because it is shaped as several conjoined spheres and reminiscent of a string of pearls or spheroidal gemstones.

Origins

The name "pearl staff" is a monicker that dates to the 11th century, but weapons similar to it are thought to have been conceived after Emperor Pei was assassianted in 801. In 791, Themiclesia organized a massive expedition to Columbia, and a treaty was forced upon the aboriginal nations in 792, but a revolt began soon after. The Themiclesian court invited all 51 nations it recognized to negotiate possible emendations to the treaty, but one of the delegates reportedly killed the emperor with his victim's own sword. Officials came to the conclusion that there was no way to prevent such incidents unless all lethal weapons were barred from the royal presence, and that year all gentlemen retainers were commanded to remove their swords and the tips of their spears, using only the shaft of the spear in the royal presence.

Over time, such staffs appears to have been extensively decorated at their holders' expense, and the eponymous shape was only one of several forms that were common. The historian A. Gro says,

It seems the staff was designed to be an effective but non-lethal weapon to keep order around the monarch. Many surviving examples exhibit elaborate openwork that would have further weakened the staff as a weapon, but that was the intention: it needs to be sturdy enough to keep a person under control temporarily but not enough to kill him easily. We think openwork or the pearl necklace designs were developed to ensure the staff would break if used to strike repeatedly.

The number of such staffs carried by a dignitary's entourage, though initially a matter of convenience, was later regulated to reflected rank. The emperor, princes palatine, and patriarchs were titled to 20 staffs; ordinary barons were limited to 8, titular barons 6, and counsels 4. In very much the same ways such staffs are employed in royal contexts, other individuals entitled to them did likewise in their own households.

Current use

The pearl staff is used as a symbol of office around not only the emperor but important state organs and senior members of the aristocracy.

• It is carried by gentlemen-at-arms, the emperor's retainers, during state ceremonies in the palace. As these staff members serve as royal heralds, they are often seen entering a place slightly before the emperor. The Gentlemen-Marshal, the principal counsel overseeing royal retainers, carries a staff with embedded precious stones. This arrangement is generally repeated by the empress, the crown prince, and empresses-dowager.
• Senior officials of the two houses of parliament are required ex officio to own such a staff, but parliamentary etiquette provides that, with exception for doorkeepers, only during state ceremonies are staffs actually carried. Doorkeepers are required to hold a staff when discharging their office. Officials of the House of Commons use the staff to rap the floor gently to remind members that the Speaker is about to enter the chamber, when it is customary to stand for his entrance. In the House of Lords, three raps signify the sovereign's approach, while two raps indicate the Lord Speaker's entry.
• When there are two or more individuals whose presence are indicated by rapping of the staff, protocol requires only the more senior person to be announced this way. If the individuals are peers, both are announced. During the state opening of Parliament, for example, the Emepror, the Lord Speaker, and the Speaker of the House of Commons are each announced, with three, two, and one raps; they are not personally of the same rank, but as representatives of the three elements of Parliament they are considered peers to each other in this context. Individual aristocrats are not announced, as they are considered inferior to the assembled legislature.
• Where the pearl staff is visible, it is generally thought that a weapon-free zone is imposed around it. An ancient statute provides that carrying weapons "with blades" around the pearl staff is an offence punishable by enslavement, but the statute is typically thought to have elapsed by reason of unenforceability since penal slavery was abolished over 300 years ago.

See also

• Themiclesia