Who issues purity seals?

[beat_ronin]

I've just been putting together some Skitarii vanguard and I noticed lots of them have purity seals on their legs/arms/whatever. It got me thinking, where do these come from? I always just kind of assumed that the Inquisition or the Ministorum issued them. And they were to show that the bearer or their equipment had been declared free of taint after an encounter with the Ruinous Powers.

 

 But it can't be the Ministorum, since they're on Space Marines and Ad Mech too. Ditto the Inquisition. And they can't be issued by the Ad Mech because sometimes they're on guardsmen and other low-tech individuals. Does every Imperial organization issue their own, e.g. there are AdMech purity seals, Inquisition ones, Astartes ones etc.? Because EVERYONE has them. It's really kinda bugging me...

[Shinespider]

There is no centralized source. IG seals come from the Ministorum. SM seals come from the chapter's chaplains. Skitarii seals come from any certain tech-priests charged with code-purity. 

[The Yncarne]

I always figured there was a remnant of an Imperial health bureaucracy cranking them out for food stuff labels but they got mistaken for personal purity identifiers sometime in the 34th millennium.

[Stoic Raptor]

The Imperial equivalent of the FDA? :D

Or is it the USP?

[Leonaides]

Probably tech priests for skittari.

[N1SB]

 

Does every Imperial organization issue their own, e.g. there are AdMech purity seals, Inquisition ones, Astartes ones etc.? Because EVERYONE has them. It's really kinda bugging me...

 

Good question and good observation.  We've had similar discussions in the Age of Darkness/Horus Heresy/30k boards and there's a perfectly canonical explanation:

 

Those purity seals may not be purity seals in the 40k Space Marine sense.

 

The idea is that, while purity seals are deeply spiritual items and medals of honour among Astartes, it is ultimately just a piece of paper attached to a blob of wax.  For all intents and purposes it could be, and was, the equivalent of a sticky memo pad.  It's like a reminder note.

 

And the best evidence of that is among the Astartes, back in the Horus Heresy/30k era.  Back then, those same things were not purity seals, they were known as Oaths of Moment.  Whereas in 40k they represented purity from great deeds already done, in 30k they were a pledge to achieve certain mission objectives in the near future.

 

The best surviving example of that ancient usage is among the Black Templars, who maintain practices from the 30k era of Legions (like they were still usually using Land Raiders as Transports even for their Marines, large squad sizes, etc.)  Their equivalent of Oaths of Moment were in how their Emperor's Champion would take a vow before a battle like specifically slaying an enemy warlord (and in game terms would get a buff for that).

 

It's also important to mention the Codex Astartes doesn't describe purity seals.  It's a cultural practice that just became the norm rather than actual policy, like how as kids we got gold star stickers for doing well in class even though the education system doesn't include stickers in their curriculum.

 

So we see over time the meaning of Oaths of Moment evolve into the purity seals, and it's quite understandable how it started as a list of great deeds to come became a badge of great deeds already done.  But we can clearly see it kinda evolved on its own and became its own thing, even among just the Marines, so outside the Adeptus Astartes the meaning/practice/issuer is different among the various organisations in the Imperium.

 

At that point, it's up to the context.  A Ministorum may issue a prayer that looks like a purity seal to a lowly Imperial Guardsman, but rather than being a list of great deeds done like a Space Marine, it might just be for good luck like a talisman; it just happens they both are meant to improve morale.  For the Adeptus Mechanicus, a Tech Priest might affix a parchment with information using wax in the same way we got those car insurance/road tax stickers on our windshields; it's just for maintenance reasons.

 

In short, it is up to interpretation, but less in the "it's your army do what you want" and more in the sense that, even canonically, the practice of sticking parchment to stuff was something that people did long before they became purity seals, so it's really reasonable to consider they have different meanings across the Imperium.

[Stoic Raptor]

That's an incredible insight - I hadn't looked at it that way but it makes a lot of sense!  So the AdMech stuff might literally be "remove before flight"  tags?

:D

[N1SB]

That's an incredible insight - I hadn't looked at it that way but it makes a lot of sense!  So the AdMech stuff might literally be "remove before flight"  tags?

 

That's EXACTLY the type of thing it could be IMHO, and that's a hilarious example.

 

Your post got me thinking about another point: even the same "purity seal" could mean different things to different people seeing them, even in the same context.

 

Here's an example.  An Admech Techpriest fixes up a Leman Russ tank, leaves a "purity seal" on it just as maintenance notes, like "I tuned up the engine".  An Imperial Guardsman, not understanding the technical details, sees it and thinks "oh wow...this must be a blessing from the Machine God, tank's gonna drive real good now".

 

Neither's view contradicts each other's.  It's just another example of how the Imperium keeps going despite, or because of, the total misunderstandings between people.

[graysparrow]

I don't think I can like your posts enough, Not 1 Step Backwards!

 

Also, the thought of a 'remove before use' tag  written in some lost dialect of Techna-Lingua being mistaken for a 'this item blessed by the machine-god' purity seal by everyone in the Imperium being the cause of all the plasma gun overheats is both absolutely hilarious and completely fluffy. 

 

Forget the promise of progress and understanding, Indeed! 

Edited October 9, 2017 by graysparrow

[Jacinda]

 

For the Adeptus Mechanicus, a Tech Priest might affix a parchment with information using wax in the same way we got those car insurance/road tax stickers on our windshields; it's just for maintenance reasons.

 

 

As long as the wax stays on the weapon has not overheated.

[Calyptra]

I always figured there was a remnant of an Imperial health bureaucracy cranking them out for food stuff labels but they got mistaken for personal purity identifiers sometime in the 34th millennium.

I came here specifically to make a joke about Marines being checked for freshness and given an expiration date, and you, noble internet person, have beaten me to it. Well done.

 

Also, remember that Marines should be refrigerated after opening.

[Tyberos the Red Wake]

I always figured there was a remnant of an Imperial health bureaucracy cranking them out for food stuff labels but they got mistaken for personal purity identifiers sometime in the 34th millennium.

 

For his valorous actions and courage under fire, Brother Fallon was awarded the inscription of "Best Before 483.036.M32".

Edited October 9, 2017 by Tyberos the Red Wake