How did the Blood Angels and Dark Angels get their names?

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**Quarterdime**

There are a lot of legions with really great names. Like the Thousand Sons (once you find out why they're called that) or the Emperor's Children (both pre and post heresy) and even the Ultramarines have a pretty great name that makes sense in context, but one thing that always never really made sense to me is the Dark Angels and the Blood Angels. My first guess for the Blood Angels would be that it references the red rage and their fallen primarch, and my first guess for the Dark Angels would be about the fallen and the chapter's quest to find them.

But both of those things happened after they got those names, right? So that can't be it. Any help here would be appreciated.

**Deadshot**

Quarterdime wrote:
There are a lot of legions with really great names. Like the Thousand Sons (once you find out why they're called that) or the Emperor's Children (both pre and post heresy) and even the Ultramarines have a pretty great name that makes sense in context, but one thing that always never really made sense to me is the Dark Angels and the Blood Angels. My first guess for the Blood Angels would be that it references the red rage and their fallen primarch, and my first guess for the Dark Angels would be about the fallen and the chapter's quest to find them.

But both of those things happened after they got those names, right? So that can't be it. Any help here would be appreciated.

Could be a temporal loop; they are called those things because those things happen in the future.

For the Dark Angels, I'm not sure, but the BA probably because they were Red to start with and Sanguinius is seraph-like in appearance.

**Dakka Wolf**

Blood Angels got Blood Angels because "Sanguine" is the name of the colour "Blood Red".
He was named by nomads called the "Blood Folk".
He also happened to have wings.

**Frazzled**

Dark Angel, 40K's troll on prepubescent boys.

THE DARK ANGEL.

DARK Angel, with thine aching lust
To rid the world of penitence:
Malicious Angel, who still dost
My soul such subtle violence!

Because of thee, no thought, no thing,
Abides for me undesecrate:
Dark Angel, ever on the wing,
Who never reachest me too late!

When music sounds, then changest thou
Its silvery to a sultry fire:
Nor will thine envious heart allow
Delight untortured by desire.

Through thee, the gracious Muses turn
To Furies, O mine Enemy!
And all the things of beauty burn
With flames of evil ecstasy.

Because of thee, the land of dreams
Becomes a gathering place of fears:
Until tormented slumber seems
One vehemence of useless tears.

80
When sunlight glows upon the flowers,
Or ripples down the dancing sea:
Thou, with thy troop of passionate powers,
Beleagurest, bewilderest, me.

Within the breath of autumn woods,
Within the winter silences:
Thy venomous spirit stirs and broods,
O Master of impieties!

The ardour of red flame is thine,
And thine the steely soul of ice:
Thou poisonest the fair design
Of nature, with unfair device.

Apples of ashes, golden bright;
Waters of bitterness, how sweet!
O banquet of a foul delight,
Prepared by thee, dark Paraclete!

Thou art the whisper in the gloom,
The hinting tone, the haunting laugh:
Thou art the adorner of my tomb,
The minstrel of mine epitaph.

I fight thee, in the Holy Name!
Yet, what thou dost, is what God saith:
Tempter! should I escape thy flame,
Thou wilt have helped my soul from Death:

81
The second Death, that never dies,
That cannot die, when time is dead:
Live Death, wherein the lost soul cries,
Eternally uncomforted.

Dark Angel, with thine aching lust!
Of two defeats, of two despairs:
Less dread, a change to drifting dust,
Than thine eternity of cares.

Do what thou wilt, thou shalt not so,
Dark Angel! triumph over me:
Lonely, unto the Lone I go;
Divine, to the Divinity.

-Lionel Johnson, 1904.

**Dakka Wolf**

Frazzled wrote:
Dark Angel, 40K's troll on prepubescent boys.

THE DARK ANGEL.

DARK Angel, with thine aching lust
To rid the world of penitence:
Malicious Angel, who still dost
My soul such subtle violence!

Because of thee, no thought, no thing,
Abides for me undesecrate:
Dark Angel, ever on the wing,
Who never reachest me too late!

When music sounds, then changest thou
Its silvery to a sultry fire:
Nor will thine envious heart allow
Delight untortured by desire.

Through thee, the gracious Muses turn
To Furies, O mine Enemy!
And all the things of beauty burn
With flames of evil ecstasy.

Because of thee, the land of dreams
Becomes a gathering place of fears:
Until tormented slumber seems
One vehemence of useless tears.

80
When sunlight glows upon the flowers,
Or ripples down the dancing sea:
Thou, with thy troop of passionate powers,
Beleagurest, bewilderest, me.

Within the breath of autumn woods,
Within the winter silences:
Thy venomous spirit stirs and broods,
O Master of impieties!

The ardour of red flame is thine,
And thine the steely soul of ice:
Thou poisonest the fair design
Of nature, with unfair device.

Apples of ashes, golden bright;
Waters of bitterness, how sweet!
O banquet of a foul delight,
Prepared by thee, dark Paraclete!

Thou art the whisper in the gloom,
The hinting tone, the haunting laugh:
Thou art the adorner of my tomb,
The minstrel of mine epitaph.

I fight thee, in the Holy Name!
Yet, what thou dost, is what God saith:
Tempter! should I escape thy flame,
Thou wilt have helped my soul from Death:

81
The second Death, that never dies,
That cannot die, when time is dead:
Live Death, wherein the lost soul cries,
Eternally uncomforted.

Dark Angel, with thine aching lust!
Of two defeats, of two despairs:
Less dread, a change to drifting dust,
Than thine eternity of cares.

Do what thou wilt, thou shalt not so,
Dark Angel! triumph over me:
Lonely, unto the Lone I go;
Divine, to the Divinity.

-Lionel Johnson, 1904.

That is epic.

**Galef**

That poem is also how GW name the DA's Primarch Lion El'Johnson.

Although my favorite Primarch name is Ferrus Manus, which is Latin for Iron Hands. So his name was "Iron Hands" even before he got hands of iron.
That's what I call a 'self fulfilling prophecy'

-

**Flinty**

The most famous chapters were named long before any back stor was assigned, I. E. In Rogue Trader. Therefore all the background has basically been added to fit the name. I quite like the dark angel link though

**Galef**

Can anyone confirm that BAs and DAs were originally introduced together in the original "Angels of Death" book?

**Frazzled**

Galef wrote:
Can anyone confirm that BAs and DAs were originally introduced together in the original "Angels of Death" book?

Yes. Man it was an awesome book.

**Quarterdime**

As awesome as that backstory is, that can't be the in-canon explanation for the Dark Angels.

Dakka Wolf cleared up Blood Angels for me though, so thanks for that.

**Lord Damocles**

Frazzled wrote:
Galef wrote:
Can anyone confirm that BAs and DAs were originally introduced together in the original "Angels of Death" book?

Yes. Man it was an awesome book.

Both the Blood Angels and the Dark Angels date back to the Rogue Trader rulebook (pgs.168-9).

**Dakka Wolf**

Wiki searched the Dark Angels because I don't know either, wiki says El Jonson named the Dark angels after an "old legend", I'm guessing here but you never know "Dark Angel" might have survived or survived as an expanded story to become that legend.

Whoever wrote the original 30k stuff liked leaving loose ends for their readers to jump to conclusions and argue over and imagine.
In a lot of ways the new 30k stuff is fun to read and I love he models but I really liked the history being mostly lost over 10k years of constant war. I know the characters of 40k aren't learning this as I do but it still kind of feels like they are.

**Quarterdime**

Oh, no. If the Lion said that it was based on an "old legend" then you know what that means?

It means that that the irl answer IS the in-canon answer. It means the Lion wrote that poem in-canon, named his legion after it, and then pretended that it was just a legend, not just so that no one in-canon would know, but so that we, the fans, wouldn't have to deal with it, either.

I've heard enough.

**Dakka Wolf**

Fair enough.

**Blackhair Duckshape**

I've always assumed they were called Dark Angels because Astartes are often referred to as "angels of death" and because they wear black.

It's a pretty bland explanation but, hey, they're a pretty bland legion.

**MechaEmperor7000**

Quarterdime wrote:
Oh, no. If the Lion said that it was based on an "old legend" then you know what that means?

It means that that the irl answer IS the in-canon answer. It means the Lion wrote that poem in-canon, named his legion after it, and then pretended that it was just a legend, not just so that no one in-canon would know, but so that we, the fans, wouldn't have to deal with it, either.

I've heard enough.

That or the people on that planet found the poem, named him after the writer, and he was taught that his name came from an epic scripture from Humanity's past and hence he named his legion after the Dark Angels of his namesake.

And no one ever told him the templars that raised him never learned how to read english and just copied the funny scribbles. And the Emperor was too embarrassed to enlighten him on the actual source of his name.

**Quarterdime**

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:
That or the people on that planet found the poem, named him after the writer, and he was taught that his name came from an epic scripture from Humanity's past and hence he named his legion after the Dark Angels of his namesake.

You just saved it.

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:
And no one ever told him the templars that raised him never learned how to read english and just copied the funny scribbles. And the Emperor was too embarrassed to enlighten him on the actual source of his name.

And now I'm confused. What, so someone else told him about it? I don't get how the Emperor would even learn about it, didn't you say in the first sentence that he was taught that his name came from the poem? Your first sentence ties everything in a bow but your second sentence confuses me.