Search Results for: moon

Moon

Moon in her plenitude (Period)

Moon in her plenitude (Period)

Increscent moon (Period)

Increscent moon (Period)

The moon is a heavenly body, Earth’s natural satellite, and may be emblazoned in several ways.  A “moon in her complement” or “in her plenitude” is essentially a roundel with a human face; this form is found in the arms of de Fontibus, c.1225 [Parker 414], and the arms of Stein, c.1340 [Zurich 400].  An “increscent (or decrescent) moon” is a crescent with a human face in profile; this seems to be a later form, as in the arms of Weber, 1605 [Siebmacher 39].  (The illustration shows an increscent moon.)

According to Parker, a “moon proper” is argent, and a “moon eclipsed” is sable; but Society armory doesn’t recognize these definitions, permitting the moon to be in any tincture.

The Shire of Malagentia bears:  Purpure, a moon in her complement within a laurel wreath argent.

Doniphan non Sequitur bears:  Barry argent and sable, a moon in her plenitude azure.

Lourana Moonwind bears:  Gules, a decrescent moon within an orle of mullets Or.

This entry was posted on May 22, 2014, in .

Werewolf

Werewolf passant reguardant (Period)

Werewolf passant reguardant (Period)

The werewolf is a bloodthirsty monster from folklore, said to be a human who changes into a wolf during the full moon.  Its heraldic depiction, as found in the crest of Kaylewaye, late-16th C., is that of a wolf with human hands instead of feet, and human ears [Bedingfeld 92].

The werewolf has no default posture; the illustration shows a werewolf passant reguardant.

Jeanne Marie Lacroix bears as a badge:  A werewolf passant reguardant vert.

Oddr Þiálfason bears as a badge:  A werewolf passant sustaining over its shoulder a pole with a gonfanon dependent therefrom Or.

This entry was posted on June 8, 2014, in .

Tierce

Tierce (Accepted)

Tierce (Accepted)

The tierce is an heraldic ordinary, a vertical band issuant from the dexter side of the shield.  As the name implies, it is usually drawn one-third the width of the shield; this proportion may vary, depending on the presence of other charges, or on complex lines of division.  The tierce may also be called a “side”; it has no diminutives in Society heraldry.

The tierce may also issue from the sinister, which case is always specified.  (Indeed, the dexter tierce is often explicitly blazoned, as well.)  The tierce is subject to the normal treatments – embattled, wavy, &c – but like the chief and other single-sided ordinaries, the tierce may not be cotised, voided, dancetty or fimbriated.

Because charging a plain tierce can result in the appearance of impaled armory, plain tierces may not be charged in Society heraldry.  Tierces with complex lines may be charged, though the usage is deemed a step from period practice.  Tierces, both plain and complex, may be used with other charges on the field with no penalty.

The King of Ansteorra bears as his battle flag:  Or, a sinister tierce embattled gules, in canton a mullet of five greater and five lesser points sable.

Charles the Grey of Mooneschadowe bears:  Or, a tierce gules.

Diarmait mac Domnaill bears:  Bendy sinister azure and argent, a tierce azure.

This entry was posted on June 5, 2014, in .

Roundel

Roundel (Period)

Roundel (Period)

A roundel is an ancient heraldic charge, consisting of a simple circular shape.  Its use dates from the earliest heraldic records:  bezants are found in the canting arms of Biset, c.1244 [Asp2 222].

Roundels of different tinctures have special names in blazon:  A roundel Or may be termed a “bezant”; a roundel argent, a “plate”; gules, a “torteau”; vert, a “pomme”; sable, a “gunstone”, “pellet”, or “ogress”; azure, a “hurt”; purpure, a “golpe”.  The use of these special names is discretionary.  Note that only “bezant”, “plate”, “torteau” and “pellet” have been found in period blazons.

Also included in the roundel family is the “fountain“, a roundel barry wavy azure and argent.  A Society-specific variant is the “t’ai-ch’i”, a roundel per fess embowed-counterembowed argent and sable, charged with two counterchanged roundels.  As a non-European artistic motif, the t’ai-ch’i is not currently registerable; those already registered are deemed a step from period practice.

T'ai-ch'i (Disallowed)

T’ai-ch’i (Disallowed)

Roundel echancré (Disallowed)

Roundel echancré (Disallowed)

Roundels with complex edges (e.g., the “roundel echancré”, with three semi-circular notches; the “roundel embattled”; &c) have been registered in the past; but their use has been disallowed, pending evidence of period use.

The roundel is considered a shape upon which arms may be borne; thus, like the lozenge and escutcheon, when used as a fieldless badge it must not itself be charged.  See also astrolabe, bowl (dish), egg, labyrinth, moon, shield, sphere, yarn.

The Exchequer bears:  Azure, a pale checky gules and argent between six bezants in pale three and three.

Alewijn van Zeebrouck bears:  Sable, three roundels argent.

Nigel the Byzantine bears:  Purpure bezanty and a bordure Or.

Duncan of Blackrock bears:  Per fess and per bend sinister argent and vert, two pellets in bend.

Marius del Raut bears:  Per chevron ermine and sable, three roundels counterchanged.

Ynir Cadwallen bears:  Azure, a roundel echancré and in base a bar Or.

Morgan ap Llewellan Peregrine bears:  Sable, a t’ai-ch’i, the line of division forming a hawk’s head erect, voided, orbed argent.

This entry was posted on June 2, 2014, in .

Pine cone

Pine cone slipped and leaved, stem to base (Period)

Pine cone slipped and leaved, stem to base (Period)

New World pineapple (SFPP)

New World pineapple (SFPP)

A pine cone is the fruit of the pine tree.  It is a period charge, found in the canting arms of Pin c.1285 [ANA2 252]; but it seems to have no default orientation, being shown sometimes with the stem up, other times with the stem down.  Because of the ambiguity, the pine cone should be explicitly blazoned; the illustration shows a pine cone slipped and leaved, stem to base.

Mundane heralds frequently blazon the pine cone as a “pineapple”.  In modern parlance, this is the term for the bromeliadic fruit from South America (or, more recently, from Hawai’i).  To avoid confusion, the Society does not use the unmodified term:  instead, this fruit is blazoned as a “New World pineapple” in Society heraldry.  This fruit has its leaves to chief by default; as New World flora, its use is considered a step from period practice.

Cedar cone potted (Period)

Cedar cone potted (Period)

A specific stylization of the pine cone is found in the arms of Augsburg as early as c.1450 [Ingeram 52].  This form, said to date from Roman times, is invariably potted (or mounted on a pedestal; sources differ as to which it is) with its stem to base.  German sources variously blazon this form as a “Pinienzapfen“, “Zirbelnuß“, or “Stadtpyr” [Leonhard 252]; in the Society, it’s blazoned as a “cedar cone”, to distinguish it from a pine cone.  See also hops.

The Shire of Emerald Glen bears:  Or, a dragon dormant, tail sufflexed sable within a laurel wreath vert, in chief three cedar cones vert, potted sable.

Morgillian of Greenbough bears:  Or, a pine cone, stem to chief vert.

Marsaili inghean Domhnaill bears:  Or, a New World pineapple vert, on a chief sable a sun in its splendor Or and a moon in its plenitude argent.

This entry was posted on May 23, 2014, in .

Knife

Dagger (Period)

Dagger (Period)

A knife is a bladed tool or weapon, used for cutting or stabbing.  The knife’s blade is proportionally shorter than that of a sword; no heraldic difference is normally counted between the two.  Like the sword, the knife is palewise, point to chief, by default.  Its “proper” coloration is with argent blade and Or quillons and handle; occasionally the handle may be light brown.

 

The most common form of knife, in both medieval and Society armory, is the “dagger”, called in French a poignard.  It’s a period charge, found in the attributed arms of la Montagne c.1340 [Zurich 7; also Conz.Const. xciii, 1413].

 

Kitchen knife (Period)

Kitchen knife (Period)

Leatherworker's head knife (Period)

Trenket (Period)

In period armory, we also find the “kitchen knife” as in the arms of von Jaxtheim, 1605 [Siebmacher 113]; the “trenket”, a cordwainer’s or leatherworker’s knife, with a spiked moon-shaped blade, as in the arms of Benvenuti, c.1550 [BSB Cod.Icon 278:409]; knives with serrated blades, in the arms of Lepuzáin, mid-16th C. [Armeria 359]; and a broad knife with a curved blade (cortell, coltello), found in the canting arms of Cortona, mid-15th C. [Triv 122].

 

 

 

Calligrapher's knife (Accepted)

Calligrapher’s knife (Accepted)

Cinquedea (Accepted)

Cinquedea (Accepted)

Examples of knives found in Society heraldry include such divers items as the “calligrapher’s knife” (the illustration is taken from an illumination of Eadwine of Canterbury c.1140; Donald Jackson, The Story of Writing, p.71); and the “cinquedea”, a 15th C. Italian weapon whose blade is five fingers in width [Stone 181].

 

 

 

 

Half-moon knife (Accepted)

Half-moon knife (Accepted)

Kris (SFPP)

Kris (SFPP)

Other Society examples include the “half-moon knife”, a slicing tool with a crescent blade [Singer 166]; and the “kris”, a wavy bladed Malay dagger [Stone 382].  The use of the kris, as an artifact from outside Europe, is a step from period practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kindjal (Disallowed)

Kindjal (Disallowed)

Skene (sgian dubh, modern) (Disallowed)

Skene (sgian dubh, modern) (Disallowed)

Two other knives have been registered but since disallowed, pending evidence of their existence in period.  One is the “kindjal”, an Indian dagger with a round hilt; no further evidence has been found as of this writing.  The other is the “skene” or “skean”, a short dirk favored by Scotsmen.  While the modern form of skene (sgian dubh) has not been documented to period, and is therefore disallowed, a period form may be seen in the canting arms of James Skene of That Ilk, b.1544 (Lord Crawford’s Armorial, late-16th C., fo.140v).  It appears indistinguishable from a dagger, and seems to be used solely for the cant.

 

Skene (Period)

Skene (Period)

For related charges, see cleaver, drawknife, fer-a-loup, shave, sickle.

The Ansteorran Scribes and Illuminators Guild bears:  Vert, a calligraphic knife and a reed pen in saltire argent, tied with a ribbon Or.

Giles William Trout bears:  Per bend sinister azure and argent, two pairs of daggers in saltire counterchanged.

Gwenere of Ben Murry bears:  Purpure, in bend two krisses inverted argent.

Shuaib Hassan bears:  Argent chapé sable, a cinquedea gules, ornamented Or.

Umbar in Harchiral Dandachi bears:  Argent, chaussé ployé cotised and in chief a kindjal dagger palewise inverted sable surmounted by a madu shield fesswise gules.

William filius Willelmi de Wyke bears:  Gules, a trenket argent.

Morgan the Tanner bears:  Or, on a hide sable a half-moon knife argent, hilted Or.

Cathbarr MacQuarrie bears:  Argent, a sea-lion vert, on a chief invected purpure a skean reversed Or.

This entry was posted on February 17, 2014, in .

Heavenly bodies

This category of charges includes all phenomena seen in the sky, both astronomical and meteorological.  A large variety are found in both medieval and Society heraldry.  These are always stylized; representational depictions should be discouraged.  For specific examples of heavenly bodies, see: cloud, comet, crescent, estoile, moon, mullet, rainbow, sun, sunburst.

This entry was posted on February 10, 2014, in .

Crescent

Decrescent (Period); increscent (Period)

Decrescent (Period); increscent (Period)

Crescent (Period); crescent pendant (Period)

Crescent (Period); crescent pendant (Period)

The crescent is an ancient charge, shaped like the quarter-moon just after new.  It’s thought to have been intended originally as a horse-brass; but it quickly gained its present lunar interpretation.  It’s found as early as c.1244, in the canting arms of de Cressy [Asp2 215].

The crescent has its horns to chief by default.  If the horns point to base, it is blazoned a “crescent pendant (or pendu)” or “crescent inverted”; this form is seen in the arms of Pope Benedict XIII, 1394 [Conz.Const. lxxv].  If the horns point to sinister, it’s blazoned a “decrescent”; if to dexter, an “increscent”.

In Society heraldry, the use of a red descrescent on a white background, by itself or in combination with other motifs, has been restricted due to its use as the symbol of the International Red Crescent, which is protected by mundane international law.

In the English system of cadency, the crescent is the mark of the second son.  In medieval times, it was sometimes used to represent the Turks or the Moslems.  For related charges, see moon.  See also heavenly bodies.

The King of Caid bears:  Azure, a crown within a laurel wreath Or, between three crescents within a bordure embattled argent.

Saher de Wahull bears:  Or, three crescents gules.

Sean Macarailt of Sandyhume bears:  Sable, an increscent argent.

Arqai Ne’ürin bears:  Gyronny sable and argent, a decrescent vert.

Fiona Ann the Fair bears:  Ermine, three crescents inverted sable.

This entry was posted on January 4, 2014, in .