The Secret Origins of Badges

While the origins of badges are, sadly, still mostly secret, one thing's for certain: a badge hasn't always been a small, rectangular piece of plastic with your picture on one side and a magnetic strip on the other, or even a tin star pinned on a vest. In its loosest sense, the term "badge" means any visible symbol of status, rank, or affiliation, from a cloth sash to a bit of metal or a special tattoo.

The identity of whoever came up with the concept of badges is lost to history (ironically enough), but the use of badges dates from the earliest recorded times. While they may have begun very simply -- say, as Ugg's hunk of rock tied to a string -- over the centuries badges have evolved to fit every possible stylistic and authoritarian niche. They've been used not only as nameplates, but also to show who's in charge, to mark achievement, to show where you fit into society -- and even to show whose property you are.

Badges Through the Ages

The first badges were items easily worn: specialized clothing or accessories. When we speak of a person taking on the "mantle of authority," we're referring to the old custom of donning a cloak as a symbol of power -- that is, as a badge of sorts. Many badges of office are still little more than special clothing or headdresses. Consider, for example, a king's formal robes, crown, and scepter. For a Catholic priest, whose authority is religious rather than secular, badges of office might include an alb (a kind of sleeved linen robe), a miter, or the white collar that's instantly recognizable to most people in the Western world.

But badges have acquired other uses as well. What are military insignia but specialized badges -- and how about uniforms? Both exemplify the extension of badges into a third branch of authority, the military. Badges have also found heraldic uses, serving to identify one as a member of a particular group or extended family. Scottish clan badges are an excellent example of the latter, and Boy Scout badges are an example of the former. Boy Scout badges, which are earned through merit, are also similar to military insignia in that they symbolize not just a brotherhood in a larger group, but a reward for hard work within that group.

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