Brotherhood of Steel iconography

The iconography of the Brotherhood of Steel is built around its emblem, featuring gears, a sword and wings. This iconography is widely used to decorate their facilities, tag armor and equipment, and as part of markers identifying their territory. The gears represent their engineering knowledge, the sword is their will to defend themselves, the wings represent the uplifting hope that the acquisition of lost technology represents for mankind's salvation following the devastation of the Great War, and the circle represents the fraternal unity that makes the organization a true brotherhood.Fallout scenery description: "{18400}{}{Emblem}""{18401}{}{The symbol of the Brotherhood. The gears represent their engineering knowledge, the sword is their will to defend themselves and the wings are the uplifting hope.}"(PRO SCEN.MSG (Fallout))
Another interpretation is that the Brotherhood's symbol represents each of the organization's different orders. The sword represents the Paladins, the wings represent the Elders (the "wings" control the movement of the sword), the large gear represents the Knights, and the two smaller gears represent the Scribes and the Initiates, whose services keep the Knights supplied with the information and the manpower required to get their jobs done.Fallout Bible 6:"The Brotherhood of Steel: The Brotherhood of Steel (BOS) is a techno-religious organization, with roots in the US military and government-sponsored scientific community from before the war. [...]"
==Insignias==
The Brotherhood insignia has evolved throughout the years and while it has retained its general appearance, the number of cogs on the gears, their facing, and basic color scheme have varied between iterations. The standard is nine cogs on each wheel, at times facing interchangeably, as both left- and right-sided have been in use at the same time, specifically within the Appalachian chapter between approximately 2082 and 2095, later with the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force in 2103, as well as the Mojave chapter in 2281.
Insignia	First known use 	Used by 	Notes 	Appearances
 	c. 2082-2095As per the sources outlined on History of the Brotherhood of Steel, the Brotherhood's foundation was not instantaneous and the order as we know it was formally proclaimed ~5 years after Maxson's desertion.	Brotherhood of Steel (Appalachia) 	Stenciled on equipment, walls, and banners 	Fallout 76 (2018)
 	2103 	Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force	Adorned on equipment. 	Steel Dawn (2020)
 	2161 	Brotherhood of Steel (Lost Hills) 	Used as wall decoration in the West 	Fallout (1997)
Fallout 2 (1998)
 	2161 	Brotherhood of Steel (Lost Hills) 	Used on bunker entrances and elevator doors 	Fallout (1997)
Fallout 2 (1998)
 	2161 	Brotherhood of Steel (Lost Hills) 	A mono-colored version used on Brotherhood supply crates 	Fallout (1997)
Fallout 2 (1998)
 	2161 	Brotherhood of Steel (Lost Hills) 	Another version used at Lost Hills, featuring twelve cogs on the main gear and six on the smaller ones. Only seen in pre-rendered backgrounds.	Fallout (1997)
 	2281 	Brotherhood of Steel (Mojave chapter)	Used on banners 	Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
 	2287 	Brotherhood of Steel (East Coast) 	Commonly used on banners and as insignia 	Fallout 4 (2015)
==Flags==
The Brotherhood has also used a variety of flags. Most simply feature the Brotherhood insignia over a flat-color field. One, featuring a white Brotherhood insignia over a set of 13 red and white stripes, was flown by the Lyons' Brotherhood of Steel in 2277.
Insignia	First known use	Used by 	Notes 	Appearances
 	c. 2082-2095 	Brotherhood of Steel (Appalachia)	The first known flag of the Brotherhood of Steel, dating back to the original Brotherhood of Steel under Elder Roger Maxson and its Appalachian satellite chapter Paladin Elizabeth Taggerdy.	Fallout 4 (2015)
Fallout 76 (2018)
 	2277 	Brotherhood of Steel (East Coast)	Brotherhood flag flown over the Citadel by Lyons' Brotherhood of Steel in 2277. See also this section for merchandise use. 	Fallout 3 (2008)
==Decals==
These stenciled Brotherhood decals are seen in the "Brotherhood of Steel, Institute, Railroad, Minutemen Weapon Paint Job" and "Brotherhood of Steel, Institute, Railroad, Minutemen Armor Paint Job" bundles on Fallout 4 's Creation Club storefront, created for Bethesda by the modder Skibadaa. The orientation of the cogs on these symbols alternates between uses. Some of the skins included in these bundles were later repurposed as Overseer rank rewards in Fallout 76's Nuclear Winter game mode.
Insignia	First known use 	Used by 	Notes 	Appearances
 	UnknownThe exact timeframe that the Nuclear Winter game mode takes place in, and its relationship to the larger story of Fallout 76, is ambiguous and unclear.	Brotherhood of Steel (Appalachia)Brotherhood of Steel minigun paint awarded at Overseer rank 33Brotherhood of Steel (East Coast)	This decal is used on Miniguns, Assault Rifles, and infantry armor painted in Brotherhood colors. 	Creation Club (2017) Nuclear Winter (2019)
 	2287 	Brotherhood of Steel (East Coast) 	This decal is used on various weapons painted in Brotherhood colors, including Laser weapons and 10mm Pistols. 	Creation Club (2017)
 	2287 	Brotherhood of Steel (East Coast) 	This decal is used on various weapons painted in Brotherhood colors, including Gatling Lasers, Missile Launchers, Sniper Rifles, and captured Institute weapons.	Creation Club (2017)
 	2287 	Brotherhood of Steel (East Coast) 	This decal is used on Combat Rifles and Combat Shotguns painted in Brotherhood colors. 	Creation Club (2017)
==Merchandise==
Bethesda uses a variety of Brotherhood symbols in merchandise for the Fallout series; some of these designs do not appear in the games themselves.
Insignia	First known use	Used by 	Notes 	Appearances
 	c. 2082 	Brotherhood of Steel (Lost Hills)	Variant of the Lyons' Brotherhood flag. Speculated to have been raised over the Lost Hills Bunker at the founding of the Brotherhood of Steel by Roger Maxson himself.Bethesda Store Faction Flag (2020): "Vexillologist speculate that this very flag raised over the Lost Hills Bunker at the founding of the Brotherhood of Steel; handled by Captain Maxson himself. A rare relic indeed for any Wasteland collector."	Raising the Flag (2014)Brotherhood of Steel Faction Flag (2020)
==Non-canon==
These are variants of the Brotherhood's symbols used exclusively in materials deemed non-canon by Bethesda.
Insignia	First known use	Used by 	Notes	Appearances
 	2195 	Brotherhood of Steel (Midwest)	 	Fallout Tactics (2001)
 	2208 	Texas Expedition 	 	Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004)
==Notes==
==Behind the scenes==
* Shortly after the release of Fallout 3, an upscaled "clean" fan recreation of the flag flown at the Citadel was uploaded to Nukapedia. This recreation possessed numerous differences from the original texture: in addition to a more saturated color palette, the sigil was oversized (terminating on the last, rather than penultimate stripe) and placed in a circular field of the same color as the stripes. The original texture, seen to the right, used a thick, rounded outline (the result of a stroke blend effect being used when applying the sigil) in a darker shade of red. The original texture also possessed a compositional error not reflected in the recreation, where the sigil and its stroke blend were applied on top of the burlap filter used to "weather" the texture. While the altered design was eventually replaced by a more direct recreation of the texture, the original recreation was referenced by Bethesda for various pieces of merchandise.
* Two alternative insignias for the Brotherhood can be seen in concept art for Fallout 4. Both used a skull, sword, and gear surrounded by wings. One version of this was intended to appear as a pre-War tattoo but was cut from the game.
==Gallery==
FO76 Forward Station Alpha.png|Appalachian Brotherhood flag (circa 2102)
BOS weapons cache.png|Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force variant (circa 2103)
Fo1 Brotherhood Interior.jpg|Twelve cog variant (circa 2161)
Fo1 Lost Hills Level 2.png|Wall decoration variant (circa 2161)
Fo1 Losthills Entrance.png|Elevator decoration variant (circa 2161)
Fallout Lost Hills Level 1.png|Mono-colored variant (circa 2161)
CBailey7.jpg|Lyons Brotherhood flag (circa 2277)
Mojave BOS banner.png|Mojave variant (circa 2281)
Fo4-Bos-flag.png|Arthur Maxson Brotherhood flag (circa 2287)
===Early Fallout 4 insignias===
Fo4KnightConcepts.png|The Art of Fallout 4, version 1
BoSInsigniaConcept.png| Version 2
PrydwenConceptsComparison.png|On various Prydwen concepts, compared to the bottom in-game version
Pilot Concept.jpg|On the shoulder and top of helmet
Taboo Tattoos Issue 08 Wing American Flag.png|Cut Taboo Tattoos issue
==References==
 
Nuclear Winter
Non-game
Merchandise
Category:Brotherhood of Steel