As of August AS49, Lochac had 121 companions of the Order of the Laurel. The names and corresponding specialities of Lochac’s Laurels can be found on Lochac’s Order of the Laurel website. Companions of this Order often wear a medallion depicting a laurel wreath and, in Lochac, those Laurels in fealty to the Crown may also wear a chain of fealty.
Lochac has Laurels made for many diverse fields of speciality, including (but not exclusive to):
- armouring;
- bee keeping;
- brewing;
- calligraphy and illumination;
- costuming;
- cooking;
- dancing;
- embroidering;
- engineering;
- entertainment and theatre;
- gardening;
- glasswork;
- heraldry;
- Italian Renaissance swordplay;
- leatherwork;
- lifestyle;
- medicine;
- metalwork and jewellery;
- music and singing;
- painting, pottery and ceramics;
- reproduction of period printed materials;
- researching; and
- textiles and woodwork.
In Lochac, during the Laurel ceremony candidates are gifted a Laurel medallion and a fealty chain by other Peers in the Order, and often these items will have a notable lineage.
Each Laurel made in Lochac is clothed in a cloak of the Order. The original was made by Mistress Rowan Perigrynne many decades ago, however, at Midwinter Crown and Coronation in July AS 49 the Worshipful Company of Broiderers (WCOB) presented a new silk Laurel cloak with extensive goldwork embroidery.
The new Laurel cloak is in the process of being passed around all of the Laurels of Lochac to be worn briefly, so that all members of the Order have symbolically worn the cloak. The new cloak also has a patch from the original laurel cloak appliquéd to the lining.
This design is based on the Sternenmantel (Star Mantle) of Heinrich II, the last Saxon king of Germany and later, the Holy Roman Emperor. More detailed information about the background and execution of this project is available on the WCoB’s website.
There is also a Laurel cloak in the Barony of Aneala that was made and is used in the peerage ceremony for each of the Anealan Laurels.
Laurels in Lochac may take on an apprentice, which is a Laurel’s student who normally receives extra attention from their Master or Mistress. Apprentices in Lochac may wear a green belt or baldric to denote their role as student of a Laurel, however, this coloured belt is not restricted under Lochac’s sumptuary laws.
It is a tradition in Lochac for the newest-made Laurel to bring a supply of chocolate to the peerage meeting.
There is also a tradition in Lochac called the Laurel Freedom Bus whereby any group in the Kingdom can request for a group of Laurels to visit said group and do a weekend of classes in their specialities.
Every year during the Kingdom’s largest event – Rowany Festival – the Order of the Laurel hosts something known as the Laurel Prize.