Details of Barrayar I have forgotten

[beatrice_otter]

Do we know what Padma's Da's name was?  We can presume his father's name was Ivan, as Ivan would have been named after him.  Do we know what Aral's older brother's name was, or Aral's middle name?

What are the Vorbarra colors?  Are they red-and blue like the colors of the imperium, so that Barrayaran soldiers in parade dress are in fact wearing Vorbarra livery?  Would there then be a difference between livery and a military uniform?  I'm pretty sure we only see Gregor wearing nice suits and military uniforms, we don't see him ever wear his House uniform.  Of course military uniform usually trumps House uniform, but it doesn't always seem to.

Comments

[beatrice_otter]

Aha! Black and silver. Hm. And the Vorkosigans (one of the more powerful families, historically) are brown and silver. One wonders about the politics of how the various families got the various colors. And whether there is any symbolism in how ... close the two color schemes are.

Thank you!

[elf]

I think they were chosen from what was available when the house was founded, so older houses have "nicer" colors. The oldest houses might have color combinations that match traditional European heraldry, before they ran out. A passage from A Civil Campaign, chapter 7:

"Yes, I feel sorry for those Counts who ended up having to pick their House colors last," Mark agreed. "I think the Vorkosigans must have fallen somewhere in the middle. I mean, brown and silver isn't bad, but I can't help feeling that the fellows with the blue and gold--or the black and silver--do have a sartorial edge."

He could fancy himself in black and silver, with Kareen all blond and tall on his arm.

"It could be worse," Kareen put in cheerfully. "How do you think you'd look in a House cadet's uniform of chartreuse and scarlet, like poor Vorharopulos, Mark?"

[beatrice_otter]

Wait. Wait. Mark is picturing himself in Vorbarra colors?!?

Well. I suppose, not having grown up there, the political implications of such a thing are less seared in his soul than Miles and Aral.

[lannamichaels]

Wait. Wait. Mark is picturing himself in Vorbarra colors?!?

Yeah, that part always throws me, too.