Actual skulls and bones were long used to mark the entrances to Spanish cemeteries (campo santo). The practice, dating back many centuries, led to the symbol eventually becoming associated with the concept of death
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Cemetery_Entrance.jpg/800px-Cemetery_Entrance.jpg)
From the Middle Ages in the West, skulls acted as memento mori, reminders that time passes rapidly, life is not endless, and earthly things are transient. They appeared on funerary monuments, in still-life paintings, and were held in representations of saints.
Victory of death over life: commonly the skull is a symbol of death, (or some romantic notion of immortality - as the befief that a spiritual part of a person survives death).
The death-resurrection cycle
The skull and crossbone symbol is also used in initiation rituals as a symbol of rebirth. it may also symbolize the ‘sephirah daath’ on the kabbalistic tree of life, the gateway to the higher realms of understanding only achievable through spiritual death and rebirth. a skull did not inspire horror, on the contrary, it symbolised the promise of a new life.
ies i've do a little search...only for have some ideas...
i've reported the parts that i found interesting, focus on the sibology of "death's head" commonly we see only the concept of death and decay but i think that followers of morr ideally had a different point of wiew...
this is a first schetch, the skull is naturally (not a bad skull) and the black rose of morr is the centre of the banner represent the triumph of morr on the horror of death...
i also include a "chess" texture that is the scheme of my own army and in this banner has the stylized form of an hourglass...
(http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6749/shead023lg2.jpg)
see you soon!
Malv
EDIT anyway if you want i think that we can start with "only" a regiment realising banners, models and rules, before we can start to realise the project of an entire army!
@van der walt great analisis! if you have any banner please submit them!
@stolzehu i like the idea that it's members are replaced and it still exists...maybe a knightly order...or best a outrider unit...armed only with crossbows and great wepons....
it's only brain storming...
WIP will add more tomorrow :smile2:
History
Ostermark has suffered many disasters in its time. In 1999 the capital Mordheim was obliterated by a comet – the Elector, Count Steinhardt, was killed, and the province all but ceased to exist. Ten years later Vlad von Carstein devastated what remained when he began his war against The Empire. Ostermark has never fully recovered from these calamities, and even today the south of the province is severely under populated. As a result, Morr, god of the Dead, is venerated here more than in any other province.
Troops
Deaths Head Halberdiers
(http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh482/David_Body/Empire/Horses/DH_Drawing-200x200.jpg)
The Death’s Head Regiment, formed during formed during the reign of Vlad von Carstein. Subjugating Sylvania was not enough for the Vampire Count as he spread his realm, preparing to launch what history calls the Vampire Wars. Those who dared to defy this draconian rule disappeared. Informers were Everywhere. In the town of Essen those willing to fight left behind the purple and yellow of old regiments and formed a new unit garbed in sombre black and red. Masks were worn to keep their identities secret. After freeing Essen the unit gained notoriety on many battlefields, taking the fight into Sylvania after the great victory of Hel Fenn.
Originating from the town of Essen,the Death's Heads now recruit from all over Ostermark
Uniforms and Heraldry of the Empire Page 70
Knights
The Osterknact
These knights are the premier knightly order of the Ostermark. They are something like the Reiksguard is to the Reik, only for the Ostermark. They are dressed in the same colors (Maroon and Yellow) as the Provincial troops. They were headquartered in the capital of that province during the time of the three emperors. But the capital at that time was Mordheim, which was later destroyed by a comet. It is unknown if The Osterknact survived the disaster because as they have not been refered to in any context in modern times. This may be a lost order. If they do still exist, they most likely reside in Bechafen.
(more can be learned in The Claws of Chaos, A Black Library novel which I have not read.)
Warhammer Quiz Book, Black Library publishing pg 95, 144
The Claws of Chaos, The Black Library.
The Templars of the Everlasting Light
(A.K.A Knights of the Everlasting Light)
“The warrior code of this Order is founded squarely on the principles of justice and fairness. Naturally, as nobles, the Templars’ opinion of justice contrasts markedly with that of the common folk, but it cannot be argued that the Templars often willingly fight for those who have no others to defend them. Templars of the Everlasting Light defended the plague-struck village of Hafbad when no other would, and members of their Order gave their lives to defeat the mighty Shaggoth Brakorth in the Worlds Edge Mountains. Despite such deeds, the Order has passed into history for another, less glorious reason: the Templars of the Everlasting Light are cursed.
The secret of how they became thus afflicted is locked within the Order’s records, but speculation has it that they offended some deity while on crusade in Araby. Whatever the cause, they find themselves thrown from their horses at inopportune moments; swords break as a deathblow is delivered; and seemingly stable earth turns to marsh or quicksand once the hooves of their steeds touch it. Only a member of this Order (Kurt von Tzalza) could be struck in the eye by a ricochet that was fired behind him. Only a Grand Master of the Everlasting Light (Sigismund Drak) could be dumped unceremoniously into a cart-load of manure during a victory parade in Altdorf, the only such cart for many miles around. Only one Chapterhouse, in the entire history of the Empire, has vanished into a yawning chasm as the result of a freak earth tremor. There are many more varied accounts of this ill-fortune in the histories of the Empire. Nevertheless, the Templars of the Everlasting Light never want for recruits. To a certain class of nobility, it is better to belong to a famous Order, however unlucky it may be, than to one whose name is unknown beyond the walls of their Chapterhouse”.
Famous members: captain-marshal Drehenborg who was killed by Deathmaster Snitch. Grand Master Kessler, who left Wolfram Hertwig, a young and stubborn Elector Count of the Ostermark, to fight a battle alone since he refused to relinquish control of the army to the Grand master. Many soldiers died due to the boys inexperience. The battle was won but became known as Hertwig’s Folly.
The Knight polish their armour to a highly reflective shine, the current chapterhouse is based in the city of Essen in Ostermark.
Empire knightly orders article, WD 310
6th edition Empire army book, pg 12. WHFB Empire army book 7th edition, Hertwig’s Folly, pg 41
The Knights of Morr
(Possibly the same Order as the Knights of Morr and the Black Guard of Morr)
“Encased within black armour and deathly silent when on the battlefield, the Knights of Morr are the dark guardians of the Empire. When parents wish to get their children to sleep at night, they tell them that the Knights of Morr will come for them unless they rest.
The Knights of Morr are widely feared for their devotion to the god of the dead, and dark tales abound regarding their initiation rites. Even so, their martial prowess is more than welcome to those they fight alongside, for their silent efficiency is among the best in the Empire”. Seen less frequently on the open battlefield then knights of other orders, the sinister Black Guard are more often encountered traveling alone or in small groups, seeking out corrupt sorcerers who would interfere with the realm of the dead and take resting souls form their place at Morr’s side. In this capacity they frequently work alongside the Witch Hunters of Sigmar, combining arms to deal with an undead threat.
Empire knightly orders article, WD 310
.................. To be continued...........