Search Results for: Torch

Torch; Firebrand

Torch (Period)

Firebrand bendwise (Period)

A torch (also called a “flambeau”) is a source of light, consisting of a twist of hemp soaked in oil, and set in a holder; the holder was originally of wood, but by the end of period we find torches with long cylindrical metal holders used in processionals. The torch is a period charge, found in the canting arms (German Fackel) of Fackelstein, c.1340 [Zurich 447], upon which the illustration is based. The torch is always “enflamed”, or lit, even when not explicitly blazoned so.

A similar charge is the “firebrand”, which is simply a bit of burning wood. It’s depicted as a ragged staff with the top end enflamed; sometimes the ragged bits on the sides are enflamed as well. If blazoned “proper”, the brand is brown, the color of wood, with the flames gules and Or. The firebrand is found in the canting arms of von Brandis as early as c.1370 [Gelre 97]; the illustration shows a firebrand bendwise.

Cresset (Period)

Rushlight in its stand (Accepted)

There is also the “cresset” or “fire-basket”, a metal framework containing flame, as shown at the top of a beacon; it was a badge of John Holland, Duke of Exeter, d.1446 [HB 100], and of Henry V [Bedingfeld 129]. Finally, of Society-unique charges, we have the “rushlight”, a reed whose pith is soaked in oil, and whose upper end is lit. (The illustration shows a lit rushlight mounted in a stand.)

For related charges, see brazier, candle, lamp, lantern.

Alan Stevenson bears: Per pale argent and azure, three torches counterchanged.

Nikolaus Hildebrand bears: Argent, a firebrand bendwise proper enflamed and an orle of fleurs-de-lys gules.

Richard Fenwick bears: Argent, a rushlight bendwise proper, the dexter chief tip enflamed Or, supported by a three-legged iron stand sable.

Odette de Saint Remy bears as a badge: A cresset gules enflamed Or and argent.

Staff

Bourdon, or pilgrim’s staff (Period)

Ragged staff (Period)

A staff is a wooden pole, which might be used as a support or a weapon. The unmodified term is rendered in Society armory as a simple, smooth pole, also known as a “rod”; but two other forms of staff are more prevalent in period armory.

The “bourdon” or “walking staff” is drawn with a handhold on its tip. It was frequently drawn with a hook as well, for carrying a bag of belongings, and might then be blazoned a “pilgrim’s staff” or “palmer’s staff”; the terms are essentially synonyms. The bourdon is found in the canting arms of Burdon, c.1285 [ANA2 221].

The “ragged staff” is a thick staff with raguly sides, like a tree trunk with the side-limbs lopped off. This form dates from c.1360, in the arms of von Lipe or Leipa [Gelre 33v], but is most famous as an element in the badge of the Earls of Warwick, 15^th C. [HB 155].

Club (Period); crutch (Period)

Ambassador’s staff (Accepted); belaying pin (Accepted)

Other types of staff in period armory include the “club” (also called a “shillelagh” in the Society), a length of wood with a burl at the top, used as a cudgel; it’s found in the arms of von Keul, 1605 [Siebmacher 72]. There’s the “crutch” or “crutchstaff” (also, poetically, called a “potent”), found in the arms of di Scanci, mid-15^th C. [Triv 331]; it comes in varying forms depending on era, with the illustration being typical.

Of the staves unique to Society armory, there are the “herald’s staff” or “ambassadorial staff”, a short staff with ribbons; the “belaying pin”, used on sailing ships to secure lines and quell mutinies; the “jester’s bauble”, a short stick with a miniature jester’s cap on its end; and the “wand”, a term implying a more naturalistic drawing, perhaps with a leaf or two.

Jester’s bauble (Accepted); wand (Accepted)

All staves are palewise by default. Their “proper” coloration is brown, the color of wood. (The exception is the jester’s bauble: when blazoned “proper”, it’s shown with a Caucasian face and a brown wooden handle; the colors of the cap must be explicitly blazoned.) For related charges, see bend (baton), caduceus, crozier, distaff, juggler’s clubs, mace, scepter, slip (branch), thyrsus, torch (firebrand). See also golf club, pole-arm, spear.

The Ambassador of Atenveldt bears: Per pale azure and argent, in canton a sun in his splendour Or, in sinister base two ambassadorial staves in saltire azure.

Ivan Dragonstone bears: Purpure, on a chief erminois a rod fesswise argent.

Addison the Wanderer bears: Potent, two palmer’s staves in saltire Or.

Bertrade Deslapins bears: Or, two ragged staves in saltire sable.

Georgis Ker bears: Or, a wooden club bendwise proper.

Catriona the Lame bears: Argent, a crutch sable within a bordure azure.

Dianna Wyndalan of Kidwelly bears: Barry wavy sable and gules, in saltire a belaying pin and a sword argent.

Quin of the Eastern Harhar bears: Argent, a jester’s bauble gules and in chief four golpes in arc.

Press

Screw press (Accepted)

Printing press (Accepted)

A press is an implement used to squeeze, crush or otherwise apply great pressure over a wide area. Several types of press were used as artifacts throughout period; all are acceptable in Society armory.

To date, the only form of press found in period armory is the “wine press”, with a long lever arm for crushing large quantities of grapes. The wine press (torchio in Italian) is found in the canting arms of de Torcis, mid-15^th C. [Triv 347].

In Society armory, the most common form of press is the type used to crush smaller amounts of fruit or seeds; it has been variously blazoned in Society heraldry as a “screw press” or a “cider press”, but the basic form remains unchanged.

Society armory also has the “printing press”, made famous by Gutenberg c.1450 for copying words and figures onto paper. All these forms of press are upright by default.

The Royal Press Corps of the West bears: Purpure, a screw press Or.

Rhys Afalwin bears: Argent, a cider press sable between three apples gules, slipped and leaved proper.

Luciano di Challant bears: Ermine, a printing press gules.

Lantern

Lantern (Accepted)

A lantern is an enclosed source of light. The mundane heraldic lantern (which does not date to period) is a ship’s lantern, spherical and with swivels to keep the inner lamp upright [Bromley & Child 241]. The Society’s default lantern might be more fully termed a “hanging lantern”: an enclosed cylinder or box, often with a handle, containing a candle, which it protects from the elements. If the candle is visible, it’s usually shown lit, whether blazoned so or not.

In early Society heraldry, the lantern was drawn in the form used at the camping events of that time: with large glass panes mounted in a thin frame. This modern form of lantern is no longer registerable, pending period documentation. The more period lantern used panes of horn or oiled parchment; the illustration is taken from a mural painting of the Chapel Notre-Dame des Fontaine, La Brigue, late 15th C. The lantern’s panes may sometimes be explicitly tinctured in the blazon, though no difference is granted for it.

For related charges, see lamp. See also torch.

Arthur of Lockhaven bears: Azure, a lantern Or.

Thomas Ouswood bears: Vert, a lantern argent enflamed Or.

Saher Faux bears: Or, a staff bendwise, dependent from its dexter end a lantern, all within a bordure indented sable.

Lamp

Lamp, lit (Period)

A lamp is a source of light, consisting of a container of oil with an emerging wick. The earliest form, dating from at least Roman times, was simply a shallow bowl bearing a wick; the most usual medieval form had a conical base, which could be held in the hand or mounted on a fixture. This is the default heraldic form of lamp, found in period armory in the arms of Wetewang, c.1410 [TJ 1555; see also Bedingfeld 90].

Arabian lamp, lit (Accepted)

However, the most commonly found lamp in Society armory is the “Arabian lamp”, with a handle at one end and the wick in a spout at the other; it’s also been blazoned a “Greek lamp”, though the shape is unchanged. It’s frequently drawn as the “Aladdin’s lamp” of modern imagery; we’ve no period examples of lamps in that form, neither as a charge nor as an artifact. However, a basic boat-shaped form of lamp was used in period, as terra cotta artifacts: the illustration is based on an 11^th C. terra cotta lamp found in Sicily. Based on that example, the Arabian lamp is still permitted for Society use as of this writing. The Arabian lamp has its handle to sinister by default.

Hanging oil lamp, lit (Accepted)

Society armory also has the “hanging oil lamp”, with a shallow flat bowl of oil fastened to a vertical handle: the handle can be hung from a hook over a drawing table. Like the Arabian lamp, it isn’t found in period armory; however, the hanging oil lamp is a period artifact, as seen in the Opera of Bartoloneo Scappi, 1570, on which the illustration is based [Peter Thornton, The Italian Renaissance Interior, 1400-1600, plate 347; cf. also plates 23, 294]. Unlike the Arabian lamp, the hanging oil lamp doesn’t have a default orientation; it is left as an unblazoned detail. (There’s also one instance in Society armory blazoned simply an “oil lamp”, with no handles; it’s the exception.)

Any form of lamp, if blazoned “flammant” or “enflamed”, is shown with the wick lit. “Lit”, of course, works as well. The lamps in the illustrations are all lit.

For related charges, see candle, lantern, torch. See also pitcher.

The Royal University of Ithra bears: Gules, on a sun Or eclipsed gules, an Arabian lamp flammant Or.

The Order of the Golden Beacon, of the Barony of Ynys Fawr, bears: Per bend sinister azure and Or, a lamp argent enflamed Or.

Tiffanie du Claire bears: Purpure, a [square] oil lamp enflamed between three stars of David one and two Or.

Arthur Lemner of Wesley bears: Azure, in pale a drawing compass and a two-spouted oil lamp argent, enflamed Or.

Brigid Duncan bears: Per bend vert and gules, a bend between a hanging oil lamp argent lit Or and a boar sejant Or.

Humanoid monsters

This category of monster consists of those whose forms are basically human, but with additions or mutations. There does not seem to be a default posture common to all of them. When blazoned “proper”, period practice would assume the human parts to be Caucasian (pink or white) unless otherwise specified; Society blazon had once followed this, but is now more inclusive. The human portions of these monsters now follow the same Society blazon conventions as human figures (q.v.).

Angel (Period)

Standing seraph (Accepted)

The “angel” is a human with a pair of wings on its back; it’s a period charge, found in the canting arms of von Engelhoffer c.1450 [Ingeram 140; also Siebmacher 97]. Its default posture is statant affronty, wings displayed (frequently displayed inverted) [Parker 10]. A specific variant of this is the Archangel Michael, so named in blazon: winged and haloed, but armed and armor-clad (and frequently depicted vanquishing a dragon underfoot).

A Society variant of the angel is the “standing seraph”, with six wings: two with tips up, two with tips down, and two covering the body. Like the angel, it’s statant affronty by default. (These are not to be confused with the “cherub” and the “seraph”, which are winged heads; these may be found under (human) head.)

Fury statant affronty, wings displayed (Accepted)

Satyr maintaining a panpipe (Period)

The “fury” is a creature from Greek myth, a winged woman with serpents for hair. It appears to be unique to Society heraldry.

The “satyr” or “pan” is also from Greek myth; it combines the torso of a human with the hindquarters of a goat. It is horned, and may be shown playing a panpipe. The satyr is found as an heraldic charge in the arms of Arcos, c.1540 [Nobreza xl]; though cantingly armed with a bow, and blazoned as a “sagittary”, the creature has two feet, not four, and they are cloven.

Troll (Period)

Demon (Disallowed)

The “troll” is a charge from Scandinavian heraldry, found in the canting arms of Trolle, c.1440 [Raneke 412-413]. (It is sometimes, erroneously, blazoned a “devil” outside Scandinavia.) The heraldic troll is distinguished by having no head: its face is embedded in its torso. It has clawed hands and feet, and a tail; by default, it is shown passant, with the head in full view, and one hand holding the tail.

Finally, there is the “demon” or “gargoyle”, like the satyr in having a beast’s hindquarters, but with the addition of bat-wings, a barbed tail, and sometimes talons. Unfortunately, its best-known heraldic use, in the arms of the City of Brussels, dates only to the early 19^th Century. Demons depicted in period books of hours vary too widely in appearance to be reproducible; therefore, pending evidence of their use in period armory, demons are no longer permitted in Society armory.

For specific entries of other monsters with human parts, see: centaur, harpy, lamia, man-serpent, manticore, man-tyger, mermaid, silkie, sphinx, tarasque.

The Baron of the Angels bears: Gules, a standing seraph affronty proper, winged Or, haloed of a laurel wreath proper.

The Canton of Trollhaven bears: Argent, a troll within a laurel wreath vert and on a chief azure a three-arched bridge Or.

Francesca d’Angelo le Noir bears: Argent, a brunette angel proper, winged and vested sable.

Rhys Gethin bears: Vert semy-de-lys Or, the Archangel Michael argent haloed Or.

Jason the Blue bears: Or, a four-armed demon azure, winged gules.

Marta as-tu Mika-Mysliwy bears: Per chevron vert and Or, in base a satyr dancing and piping proper.

Megara di Alessandra bears: Sable, a Fury rampant affronty, sinister hand lowered, proper vested argent, winged Or, maintaining in the dexter hand a torch bendwise sinister enflamed proper.

Flame

Flame (Period)

A flame is the area of combustion which gives off heat and light in a fire. It may also, more fully, be termed “flames of fire”. A single flame is drawn rather as a gout or ball, with several tongues to chief. Flames are found in the canting arms of de la Fiama, mid-15^th C. [Triv 194], and in the arms of Wells, c.1525 [DBA2 338].

Flame “proper” is red and gold; its exact depiction in Society armory has changed over the years. At first, a “flame proper” was drawn as a “flame gules voided Or” on a light-tinctured field, and as a “flame Or voided gules” on a dark-tinctured field. Currently, flame proper is drawn with alternating tongues of red and gold, which is more in keeping with period depictions of the charge.

Anvil enflamed (Accepted)

The Society’s depiction of a “[charge] enflamed” has also changed over the years. Originally, a “[charge] enflamed” was equivalent to “on a flame a [charge]” – with the exception of candles, lamps, torches, and the like, where “enflamed” simply means “lit”. Currently, a “[charge] enflamed” is drawn as it would be in medieval armory: with spurts of flame issuant from and surrounding the charge. The illustration shows an anvil enflamed.

Charges have also been constructed of flame in the Society: e.g., the “bordure of flame”, “cross of flame”, “sword bladed of flame”, &c. This usage is no longer permissible, not only for lack of period examples, but because such charges’ identifiability is greatly reduced.

For specific charges which involve flame, see: altar, beacon, brazier, fireball, fireplace, phoenix, salamander, torch.

The Baron of Starkhafn bears: Per bend sable and checky argent and azure, in sinister chief a flame of fire proper within a laurel wreath argent.

William of Sark bears: Sable, a flame proper.

Jumana al-Zarqa’ bears: Argent, three flames sable.

Candle

Lit candle (Period)

A candle is a stick of wax or tallow with a wick down its center; it’s used as a light source. In period armory, candles are frequently found mounted in candlesticks, as in the arms of Emerlle, c.1520 [DBA2 222]. Occasionally, though, they’re found standing alone, as in the allusive arms (Italian cera, “wax”) of de Cerolis, mid-15^th C. [Triv 99]; and this is their most common depiction in Society armory. (The candle and candlestick should not be confused: the latter is the mount or holder for the former.)

A lit candle can be so blazoned, or may also be blazoned “enflamed” or “flammant”. The usual heraldic candle is a taper – the illustration shows such a candle, lit – but the less-slender “pillar candle” is also found in Society armory. All candles are palewise by default. For related charges, see torch. See also lamp, lantern.

The College of San Ambrogio bears: Sable, three candles in fess argent enflamed proper, within a laurel wreath Or.

The Ljusorden, of Nordmark, bears: A pillar candle per pale sable and azure, enflamed Or.

Lara Sukhadrev bears: Argent, a candle gules lit Or.

Brazier

Brazier (Accepted)

A brazier is a container for burning coals or charcoal; it’s used as a heat source for cooking, metalwork, or warming a room. In modern heraldry, it’s also called a “fire-chest”, and is shown as an iron box containing flames [Franklyn 50; Parker 257]; but no heraldic examples of this charge have been yet cited from period armory. As an artifact, the brazier was commonly depicted as a bowl filled with flames; and this is how the brazier is drawn in Society heraldry. (It’s often blazoned “flammant” or “enflamed”, even though it wouldn’t be a brazier without the flames.) The illustration is taken from Jost Amman’s Book of Trades, 1568 [31]. For related charges, see lamp, torch (cresset). See also beacon.

Ari ben Eleazer bears: Tierced per pall argent, purpure and Or, on an open parchment scroll fesswise proper a brazier sable enflamed proper, in chief two swords in saltire sable.

Seamus Gillemore bears: Sable, a brazier argent flaming Or.

Máel Brigte ingen Aimirgen bears: Argent, a brazier gules.

Beacon

Beacon (Period)

A beacon is a signal tower, consisting of a pole with a fire-basket at the top, and a ladder on one side for those who feed the fire. It is always drawn flammant, but the fact is often explicitly blazoned. The beacon is found in the arms of Daunt, c.1510 [DBA1 106], but it’s better known as one of the badges of Henry V, d.1422 [HB 110]. See also brazier, lighthouse, torch (cresset).

The Riding of Beaconsgate bears: Azure, a beacon within a laurel wreath Or.

Valdemar Wendel Bayard bears: Per pale sable and gules, a beacon enflamed Or.

Wenyeva atte grene bears: Per chevron argent and vert, three beacons enflamed counterchanged.

Mistholme

heraldry, illumination, and random jottings