Search Results for: gore

Gore; Gusset

Gore (Period)

Gusset (Period)

A gore is considered an heraldic sub-ordinary by some texts, and a rebatement of honor by others; it seems to be an invention of heraldic writers. Certainly, no instance of its actual use in period armory has yet been documented – but as it was described in period tracts (e.g., Legh’s Accidence of Armory, 1562 [72v]), the gore has been accepted for use in Society heraldry.

The gore may issue from either the dexter or the sinister side of the shield; the default gore issues from dexter. Society armory has examples where both gores are used; this has been deemed a step from period practice.

The “gusset” is an artistic variant of the gore, which is drawn with straight lines instead of curved lines. Actual instances of its use have been documented in Scots heraldry, in the arms of Cunningham, 1610 [Guillim1 35]; however, unlike the gore, gussets were found in pairs.

Charged gores and gussets are now allowed in Society armory, though their use is deemed a step from period practice. The use of other charges on the field alongside a gore or gusset is likewise a step from period practice. See also ordinary.

Regulus of Vinhold bears: Or, two gores sable.

Thora Arnketilsdottír bears: Sable, a gore sinister vair.

Sarah of the Crystal Water bears: Argent, two gussets nebuly inverted azure, each charged with a gout argent.

Zulfikar

Zulfikar (probable SFPP)

The zulfikar is a charge from Islamic heraldry, representing the sword given to Ali by Mohammed (on whom be peace). It’s depicted as a sword, whose blade is strongly forked for about half its length; the blade might be either straight or curved. The zulfikar shown here was used on the standard of Selim I, Ottoman Sultan 1470-1520 [from the Topkapi Museum, Istanbul].

The Society’s default for the zulfikar is that of the sword: palewise, hilt to base.

Gürcü İskender bears: Azure crescenty argent, a zulfikar inverted Or and a gore sinister argent.

Jethro Stille bears as a badge: Gules, between the blades of a zulfikar inverted a mullet of six points Or.

Thyrsus

Thyrsus (Accepted)

A thyrsus is a staff entwined with leafy vines, and topped with a pine cone; in classical Greek art, it was the token of the god Dionysos. No examples of its use have been found in period armory. In Society armory, the thyrsus is palewise by default; its “proper” tincture is brown, with green vines. See also caduceus.

Kathern Thomas Gyelle Spence bears: Sable, a unicorn’s head erased and on a gore argent a thyrsus bendwise proper.

Daria Fuentes bears: Ermine, a thyrsus proper.

Malyna Perceval bears: Vert, a thyrsus Or between flaunches argent.

Spoon; Ladle

Spoon (Period)

Ladle (Period)

A spoon is an eating utensil, with a small shallow bowl attached to a handle. It is found in the canting arms of Sponeley, 15^th C. [Neubecker 136], as well as the arms of von Korkwitz, 1605 [Siebmacher 72]. The spoon is affronty by default, with the bowl to chief.

A similar charge is the “ladle”, with a deeper bowl and a long hooked handle, used for serving soup or other liquids. It too is a period charge, found in the canting arms (from dial. Italian cazùu, “ladle”) of de Cazullis de Crema, mid-15^th C. [Triv 98], and of de Cazaviis, c.1550 [BSB Cod.Icon 270:283]. The ladle is palewise, handle to chief, by Society default.

Unique to the Society is the “spurtle”, of which we have a single registration. The blazon is misleading: a spurtle is a Scots cooking tool for turning oatcakes, dated in the OED to the 16^th Century, which is not the charge used in the Society. That charge is drawn as a notched spoon, resembling the utensil modernly called a “spork”. Given the discrepancy of the terminology, and the modern nature of the artifact, it is unlikely to be currently registerable without documentation.

Ordinaries

Ordinaries are among the oldest and most common heraldic charges, being simple geometric shapes bounded by straight lines (or semi-circular curves, for some). Their shapes may have been derived from the reinforcing bands of a shield. There is disagreement in heraldry texts over the distinction (if any) between an ordinary and a sub-ordinary, and which charges fall into which categories. The general Society usage refers to the central ordinaries, which cross the center of the field – the bend, chevron, chief-pale, cross, fess, pale, pall, pile, and saltire – and the peripheral ordinaries, which lie on the field’s edge – the base, bordure, canton, chief, flaunches, gore, orle, and tierce.

In general, ordinaries are drawn so as to take up one-fourth to one-third the width of the shield; the bordure and the orle are typically somewhat narrower. These are rules of thumb only, not precise divisions; the exact proportions will vary, depending on the composition of the armory. If the ordinary is surrounded by secondary charges, it will be drawn somewhat narrower; if the ordinary is itself charged, or if it has a complex line of division, it will be somewhat wider.

When more than one of a given ordinary is used in armory, they must necessarily be drawn narrower; these are called the “diminutives” of that ordinary. Special terms may be used in those cases: the diminutive of the fess is the “bar”, the diminutive of the bend is the “bendlet”, &c. The diminutive term should not be applied to single ordinaries, but only when there are two or more of them (or, rarely, when the visual importance of the ordinary is in some way reduced: a “bendlet enhanced”, for instance).

More than a single type of ordinary may be used in one armory, though there are limitations. In general, the use of two or more peripheral ordinaries is considered poor style. A central ordinary may usually be used with a peripheral ordinary (a fess and a bordure, for instance). Continental armory had some special names for certain combinations of ordinaries, treating them as charges in their own right: e.g., the chief-pale, combining a pale and a chief.

Ordinaries are subject to the complex lines of division: indented, wavy, &c. Only the double-sided ordinaries, however, may be dancetty, voided, fimbriated, or cotised; and except for the fess, ordinaries nowed are considered a step from period practice. Peripheral ordinaries flory (e.g., a “bordure flory”, with demi-fleurs issuant into the field but not into the bordure) are likewise deemed a step from period practice. For more information, see the entries for the individual ordinaries. See also cotising, gemel.

Alia fitz Garanhir bears: Argent, a fess conjoined in chief with a demi-pale between three mullets of six points gules.

Daria Tayt bears: Gules, a pale and a chief Or.

Manticore

Manticore statant guardant (Accepted)

The manticore is a monster, consisting of a lion’s body with a human face (sometimes head), a scorpion’s tail, and sometimes horns. It was described in medieval bestiaries as also having three rows of teeth, but that detail seldom appears in Society armory. The manticore is very similar to the man-tyger, and may possibly be an artistic variant; but no period heraldic examples of the monster have been found (though one 1613 grant misused the term to describe the lamia) [Gwynn-Jones 106; cf. Dennys 115].

The manticore doesn’t seem to have a default posture, so this must be explicitly blazoned; the illustration shows a manticore statant guardant.

Chèr du Bonvin de Bellevue bears: Argent, a manticore rampant to sinister gules and a gore sinister azure.

Antonin Malyi Barsukov bears: Per pale sable and azure, a manticore rampant within an orle Or.

Letters

Gothic capital letter “M” (Period)

A letter is a single written glyph, symbolizing a phoneme of speech. By default, letters are taken from the Roman alphabet, with the case and script sometimes specified in the blazon; letters from other alphabets, such as Greek and Hebrew, are also permitted. The use of single letters as decorations on shields dates early, but as charges in actual armory, they came into use much later: e.g., the three letters “M” in the arms of Le Marchant, 1362 [DBA2 384], or the two letters “S” in the arms of Mendoça, c.1540 [Nobreza xii]. The illustration shows a Gothic letter “M”.

Full words are also found in period heraldry: the word “souvereyne” in the badge of Henry of Lancaster, 1385 [Hope2 167], and the word “lieb” as a charge in the arms of von Startzhausen, 1605 [Siebmacher 84]. Iberian heraldry, in particular, has examples of whole phrases used as charges: e.g., the arms of Velaz de Medrano, mid-16^th C., with a bordure charged with the opening words of the Ave Maria [Armeria 70].

In Society heraldry, the category of letters includes such other symbols as astronomical signs, Arabic script, Norse runes, and Japanese kanji. The use of these symbols is restricted in one way: since any person may use a common word – and certainly may use their own initials – no Society armory may consist solely of letters, words, or their equivalents. The armory must include some other charge as well.

Punctuation marks, being unattested in medieval armory, are not permitted in Society armory. See also chi-rho, cypher charges, musical note, nefr, rogacina.

Franchesca MacBeth bears: Vert, a Gothic capital letter “M” Or and a base embattled argent masoned sable.

Ottavio Corsi bears as a badge: Argent, on a fess cotised between the Arabic script “al-mulk” and “lillah” sable, the Arabic script “abd-al-Malik Husam ibn Khalid” argent.

Dulcinea Margarita Teresa Velàzquez di Ribera bears: Argent, three piles in point gules, overall an estoile, all within a bordure sable charged with the words “Dignidad, Vertud, Honestad” Or.

Julien Lapointe bears: Gules, three lowercase Greek letters pi within a bordure embattled Or.

Cadell ap Hubert bears: Argent, the astronomical sign of Sagittarius and a gore sinister azure.

Cup; Beaker

Cup (Period)

A cup is a drinking vessel, consisting of a bowl atop a stem and base. It may also be termed a “chalice” or “goblet”, especially if ornamented or jewelled; such details are considered artistic license. The cup is an ancient charge, found in the arms of de Argentine c.1244 [Asp2 216].

Covered cup (British) (Period)

Covered cup (Continental) (Period)

In Society armory, the cup is usually shown with open mouth; this matches examples from period Italian heraldry, such as the arms of de Bonfilliis, mid-15^th C. [Triv 64]. In most other period armory, the cup is normally covered: with a domed lid in English armory, with stiffened cloth in Iberian and German armory. Such covers seem to have counted for little if any heraldic difference; they are nonetheless blazoned in Society armory. The mouth of the cup is to chief by default.

Beaker (Period)

Prunted beaker (Period)

Related to the cup is the “beaker”, a basically cylindrical shape (slightly tapering) without stem or base. It too is a period charge, found in the canting arms (Italian bicchiere) of di Bizeriis, mid-15^th C. [Triv 65]. A slightly modified form was found in the canting arms of Escher vom Glas, 1605 [Siebmacher 199]; this form shows a beaker “prunted” in the typical German mode.

Mazer (Accepted)

Other drinking vessels found in Society armory include the “mazer”, a festive drinking bowl traditionally made from maple wood. It is usually shown footed and decorated.

For related charges, see bowl, pitcher, saltcellar, tankard. See also cupping-glass, mortar and pestle.

The Baron of Rising Waters bears: Gyronny arrondi gules and argent, a goblet Or within a laurel wreath vert.

Snorri Styrr Bolli bears: Gules, a chalice argent.

Armand de Mortain bears: Per pale azure and sable, three cups Or.

Kolfinna Thorgrimsdottir bears: Argent, a covered cup and a gore purpure.

Elen Greenhand bears: Or, a mazer sable grasped by a pair of hands fesswise vert, within an orle of acorns proper.

Brangwain nic Stiubhard bears as a badge: On a beaker azure a dolphin hauriant Or.

Mistholme

heraldry, illumination, and random jottings