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)
Ceremonial mace until 1916. When the Parliament Buildings were gutted by fire during that year, the Mace could not be saved from Centre Block. All that remained was a tiny ball of silver and gold conglomerate. Being a symbol of the power and authority of a legislative assembly, a precedent was set in 2002 as to the severity of acts of disrespect toward the mace in Canada and, by proxy, the monarch. After Keith Martin, federal Member of Parliament for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, seized the ceremonial mace of the House of Commons from the clerk's table on April 17, 2002, the speaker