Black Rod 1350 by royal letters patent, though the current title dates from 1522. The position was adopted by other members of the Commonwealth when they adopted the British Westminster system. The title is derived from the staff of office, an ebony staff topped with a golden lion, which is the main symbol of the office's authority. A ceremonial rod or staff is a common type of symbol indicating the authority of the office-holder. Depictions of ancient authority figures in many cultures include such a rod (alternatively called a sceptre). Another early example was the fasces (literally a bound bundle of rods)
Symbols of leadership of Heaven. Court ceremonial highlights symbolic distance between a royal/imperial leader and follower, in a hierarchical system which cultivates a social system and power network at whose centre is the monarch. Bowing and curtseying remain as examples of the self-abasement of hand-sucking, bowing and scraping, prostration, kowtowing and "proskynesis" formerly demanded. Sometimes colour plays a special role in advertising monarchical status: thus the once very rare pink/maroon dye color became a symbol reserved for imperial clothing - see purple. Archaic touches often symbolically recall a glorious historical past: thus horse-drawn carriages replace everyday motor-vehicles for royal state occasions, and courtiers