Search Results for: tooth

Tooth

Molar, or fanged tooth (Period)

A tooth is a bone-like structure set in the jaws of most vertebrates, used for biting and crushing food, displaying threats, and smiling. In mundane heraldry, the tooth is normally depicted as a human molar, with the roots extending to base; it is also blazoned (somewhat confusingly) as a “fanged tooth” [Franklyn 130]. It’s found in the canting arms (Dutch kies, “molar”) of Kies or Kees, as seen in a stained glass window dated c.1594, in the Sint-Janskirk (Church of St. John Baptist) in Gouda, Netherlands.

Fang (Disallowed)

Elephant’s tusk (Disallowed)

A tooth that comes to a point may also be called a “fang”; such fangs have their points to base by Society default. The fang is visually equivalent to a drinking horn; it has been disallowed for Society heraldry, due to its lack of ready identifiability.

A similar charge, which seems to be unique to the Society, is the “tusk”: an elephant’s tooth, couped and with point to chief by default. The tusk is no longer permitted to be registered.

Wolves’ teeth issuant from sinister (Period)

“Wolves’ teeth” are a highly stylized German charge, consisting of three or four curved points issuant from the edge of the shield. They usually issue from the flanks, as in the arms of Keudel, 1605; we’ve an example of them issuant from base, in the arms of Schinsky, 1605 [Siebmacher 135, 28]. Having wolves’ teeth issue from other points, such as from chief, is treated as a step from period practice, as is inverting them. The point at which the teeth enter the shield, as well as the number of teeth, are always blazoned; the teeth should be drawn touching, or nearly so, at their bases. The illustration shows three wolves’ teeth issuant from sinister.

Margery Kent of York bears: Purpure, three teeth argent. [Drawn as molars]

Octa Bluetooth bears: Gyronny gules and argent, a bear’s tooth azure.

Cahan Kyle bears: Azure, two tusks, tips crossed in saltire Or.

Duncan Bruce of Logan bears: Or, three wolves’ teeth issuant from sinister sable.

Whale

Whale (Period)

Narwhal haurient (Accepted)

The whale is a large sea-creature, known today as a cetacean mammal, but regarded in period as a fish; it was hunted from ships for its meat, oil and baleen. It is found in period heraldic tracts (e.g., de Bara’s Blason des Armoiries, 1581 [88]), but Your Author has not found an unarguable example from period armory.

The medieval depiction of the whale was somewhat fanciful; the illustration is taken from Gesner’s De Avibus et Piscibus, 1560. If a naturalistic depiction is desired, it must be specified as a “natural whale”, or more explicitly, e.g., a “sperm whale”. The whale is naiant by default.

In Society armory, there is also the “narwhal” or “narwhale”, a cetacean with a long unicorn-like “horn” (actually its tooth). It’s generally depicted as found in nature. The illustration shows a narwhal haurient. For related charges, see dolphin.

The Baron of Smoking Rocks bears: Argent, a whale haurient embowed sable within a laurel wreath vert.

André of Stormhold bears: Argent, a whale naiant azure.

Arinbjorn Talverri bears: Or, a narwhal haurient bendwise purpure.

Tablet, weaver’s

Square weaver’s tablet (Accepted)

A weaver’s tablet is a small card with holes, used to separate warp threads in a hand loom. The Society’s default form is more fully blazoned a “square weaver’s tablet”, with four holes arranged two and two. The artifact is ancient, with archaeological finds dating from at least the 9^th Century [Peter Collingwood, The Techniques of Tablet Weaving, 1982, pp.14-16]; but it doesn’t appear to have been used in period armory. For related charges, see delf, die.

Thora Sharptooth bears: Gules, three square weaver’s tablets in bend Or.

Ciorstan MacAmhlaidh bears: Quarterly sable and argent, a square weaver’s tablet lozengewise counterchanged.

Astrid Olafsdotter bears: Vert, in cross four square weaver’s tablets bendwise argent.

Saw

Frame saw (Period)

Goldsmith’s framesaw (Period)

A saw is a carpenter’s tool, used mostly for cutting wood; it has a large thin blade with a toothed edge. The most common form of heraldic saw is more fully termed a “frame saw” or a “bow saw”. The artifact dates from at least the 12^th Century [Singer 392], but the earliest heraldic example dates from c.1550, in the canting arms (Italian sega) of Seghi [BSB Cod.Icon 278:333]. The frame saw is fesswise, cutting edge to base, by default [Parker 520].

Other saws found in Society armory were first taken from period artifacts; in many cases, they’ve since been documented as charges. For example, the saw blazoned in the Society as a “goldsmith’s framesaw” has the shape of a modern coping saw; however, much the same form is found in period armory, in the arms of Malkas or Malckab, c.1450 [Ingeram 172]. It doesn’t seem to have a default orientation, but when fesswise, the handle is to sinister; when palewise, the handle is to base. The illustration shows a goldsmith’s framesaw fesswise.

Two-man cross-cut saw (Period)

Handsaw (Accepted)

Likewise, the “two-man cross-cut saw”, a much larger tool used for large timbers, was originally documented from Jost Amman’s Book of Trades, 1568 [95]. It was then discovered in period armory as well, in the arms of Mistelbeckten, c.1560 [BSB Cod.Icon 390:749]. This form of saw is fesswise by default.

We also have the “handsaw”, simply a serrated blade with a handgrip. This form, though not yet found in period armory, is found in the Bedford Book of Hours, early-15^th C. [Singer plate 30]; it has been accepted for Society use. It has the same default, or lack thereof, as the goldsmith’s framesaw; the illustration shows a handsaw palewise.

Stephen Treebane bears: Argent, a frame saw palewise azure.

Giles of Gamph bears: Per chevron azure and Or, an oak tree eradicated between two bearded axes and a frame saw fesswise, all counterchanged.

Konrad Lockner of Idelberg bears: Counter-ermine, a scarpe gules, overall a wyvern displayed argent maintaining in the dexter claw a bow saw and in the sinister claw a mallet proper.

Tancred of Tangewood bears: Argent, in pale a two-man cross-cut saw and two hammers in saltire sable all within a bordure sable semy of maple leaves argent.

Pearce Redsmythe bears: Purpure semy of rivets Or, a goldsmith’s framesaw bendwise argent, on a chief Or three Bowen crosses sable.

Tomas y Saer bears: Per pale gules and sable, in saltire a Lochaber axe and a handsaw both argent hafted Or, within an orle Or.

Pile

Pile (Period)

Three piles in point (Period)

The pile is an heraldic ordinary consisting of a triangle issuant from the chief of the shield to the base point, or almost reaching it. It seems to have derived from attempts to fit a pale onto a heater-shaped shield, with the bottom pinched together rather than cut off.

The medieval pile is about one-third the shield’s width at top, and is throughout to the base point; the Tudor pile is wider and squatter, and does not reach all the way throughout. Either form is found in Society heraldry, though the medieval form is encouraged; no heraldic difference is counted between the two, or between throughout vs. not.

Multiple piles are common in mundane and Society heraldry; no diminutives of the pile are recognized. Multiple piles with their points conjoined may be blazoned “piles in point”; this was the medieval default for multiple piles, due to their derivation from pinched pallets. If multiple piles are palewise, instead of in point, this should be explicitly blazoned.

Pile ployé (Accepted)

Piles sometimes issue from other points besides the chief: there are examples in late-period armory of piles “inverted” or issuant from base, piles issuant from dexter, and “bendwise” (issuant from dexter chief). In Society heraldry there have even been piles “in saltire”.

The pile is subject to the normal lines of division, including cotising and voiding; the “pile ployé”, with concave arched lines, is unique to Society heraldry. For related charges, see chapé, chaussé, gyron, tooth (wolves’).

The King of Artemisia bears: Sable, on a pile between two griffins combattant, each maintaining an arrow inverted Or, an ancient crown within a laurel wreath sable.

The Baron of Ruantallan bears: Azure, a pile argent, overall a laurel wreath counterchanged.

Adelindis filia Gotefridi bears: Gules, a pile Or.

Muirenn ingen Nath-í bears: Sable, three piles in point Or.

Masae Lorane bears: Or, five piles inverted in point throughout azure.

Eleanor Valentina Beota bears: Azure, on a pile ployé argent, a hummingbird hovering vert.

Jewelry

Hexagonal gemstone (Period); step-cut gemstone (Accepted)

Jewelry are items of personal adornment, usually made from precious metals or stones. While they are often shown worn on a human form, they are also used as charges in their own right. Examples from Society armory include cameo busts, wristlets and arm-rings, and necklaces.

Individual gemstones are also sometimes found as charges, as in the civic arms of Beihlstein, 1605 [Siebmacher 226]. Gemstones should be cut in a period style: for instance, the gem in the arms of Beihlstein is hexagonal. In Society armory the step-cut (or emerald-cut), as seen in Holbein’s portraits, is the most common. By default, gemstones are drawn as seen from above – gemstones in profile are considered a step from period practice – and should be solidly tinctured, not chased. Post-period gem cuts, such as the brilliant cut, may not be registered.

The illustration shows an hexagonal gemstone, as in the arms of Beihlstein, and a step-cut gemstone as frequently seen in Society armory. For specific entries, see: brooch, crown, paternoster, ring, torque.

The Order of the Gemme d’Or, of Gyldenholt, bears: Azure, a hexagonal gemstone Or.

Gerold Bright Angel bears: Gules, a double cameo bust within two wings conjoined Or.

Branwen of Cherry Bay bears: Gules, a boar’s-tooth necklace in orle throughout argent.

Lucia Greenstone bears: Argent, a step-cut emerald palewise vert.

Horn, animal’s

An animal’s horn is a hard, pointed projection that grows from certain animals’ heads. The type of animal must be specified in the blazon. The most common forms in medieval armory are deer’s horns, ram’s and goat’s horns, and bull’s horns, each discussed below.

Deer’s attire (Period)

Deer’s massacre (Period)

Deer’s horns, or antlers, have special terms to describe them. A single deer’s antler is termed its “attire”, and is found in German heraldry as early as c.1275, in the arms of the Counts of Württemberg [ANA2 476]. Its default orientation is fesswise, with the stump to dexter, but there are numerous period examples of a deer’s attire in other orientations, or even bent in a circle. The deer’s full rack of antlers may be termed a “deer’s attires”, or a “massacre”; if joined to a scrap of flesh, these may also be called a “deer’s scalp”. The set of attires is shown as found on a deer guardant: spread symmetrically with points to chief. The exact number of points is not blazoned, but left to the artist.

Ram’s horn (Period)

Pair of ram’s horns (Period)

Ram’s horns are found in German armory as early as c.1340, in the arms of Frowenvelt or Frauenfeld [Zurich 136]. They could be depicted singly, or in pairs; when in pairs, they tended to be shown curving away from one another. A single ram’s horn could be oriented in one of several ways; the illustration is taken from the arms of von Widerspach, 1605 [Siebmacher 82]. Goat’s horns were drawn very similar to ram’s horns, but tended to have less curl, as in the arms of Kotwitz von Aulenbach [Siebmacher 107].

Pair of buffalo’s horns (Period)

Unicorn’s horn (Accepted)

Bull’s horns, or buffalo’s horns, are found in German crests as early as the 14^th Century [Gelre], and as charges in the arms of von Pfiltz, 1605 [Siebmacher 51]. They are drawn in a highly stylized manner; indeed, the German stylization sometimes caused the charge to be blazoned by French and English heralds as “elephant’s trunks”! Horns that are intended to be drawn more naturalistically would be better blazoned “cow horns”, the English practice. Society armory also has an example of a “bison’s massacre”, two short horns issuant from a scalp, as seen in the arms of von Sachsennhein, 1415 [Conz.Const. clxxx].

Of horns unique to the Society, the most common is the “unicorn’s horn” or “alicorn” (also sometimes blazoned a “narwhal’s horn” or “narwhal’s tooth”). No period examples have been found of it as a separate, independent charge. The unicorn’s horn is palewise, point to chief, by Society default.

Andreas Lucernensis bears: Per pale argent and sable, in pale three stag’s attires reversed gules.

Guinevere Whitehorn bears: Per bend azure and sable, a stag’s attires argent.

Hafr-Tóki bears: Sable, a stag’s antler in annulo conjoined to itself Or.

Ellen of Two Lines bears: Vert, a ram’s horn Or.

Angelica de Boullanger bears: Vert, a unicorn’s horn couped bendwise argent.

Otmar von Erhingen bears: Quarterly argent and sable, a pair of bull’s horns counterchanged.

Horn

Hunting horn (Period)

A horn is an artifact, made from an animal’s horn, from which it gets its name. The default horn is a musical instrument, more fully blazoned a “hunting horn” or “bugle horn”; it is found in the canting arms of Hornes c.1275 [ANA2 476]. It’s usually shown hung on cords, and may be garnished in bands of another tincture; these are considered artistic details. In mundane armory, the hunting horn’s default orientation has changed over time; the Society default is fesswise, embowed to base, with bell to dexter.

Drinking horn (Period)

Another use of the horn is as a drinking vessel; this is blazoned a “drinking horn”. Unlike the hunting horn, it has no mouthpiece, and is not corded; it was usually shown unadorned, but in at least one instance was depicted with feet (so it could be set on a table without spilling), in the arms of Müris, c.1340 [Zurich 94]. In medieval heraldry, it seems to have had the same default orientation as the hunting horn; in Society armory, its default orientation is palewise, embowed to dexter, with bell to chief.

Pairs of drinking horns are common in Saracenic heraldry, where they are referred to as “trousers of nobility” [Mayer 19]; but the motif is blazoned in most European contexts as “a pair of drinking horns”. By Society convention, a pair of drinking horns is “addorsed” (i.e., with the convex sides facing each other) by default; a pair of drinking horns “respectant” will have their convex sides outward. A “pair of drinking horns” is thus distinguished from “two drinking horns”, each in its default orientation.

Shofar (Accepted)

Spiral hunting horn (Accepted)

Of the horns with special names, the best known is the “shofar”, the ram’s horn blown on Jewish high holidays. Depictions of the shofar date back at least to the 4^th Century, as seen on a Roman bowl now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Though not found as a period heraldic charge, as a period artifact, the shofar is registerable in the Society.

There’s also the “spiral horn”, more fully blazoned a “spiral hunting horn”. This isn’t made from animal horn at all, but from metal: essentially a flat spiral trumpet, the ancestor of the modern French horn. The illustration is based on an artifact dated 1570 [Montagu 107]; as a period artifact, the spiral hunting horn is registerable in the Society, though no heraldic examples have been found.

As with the hunting horn, the shofar and the spiral horn have their bells to dexter by Society default. For related charges, see cornetto, sackbut. See also inkbottle, tooth.

The Shire of Darton bears: Sable, a hunting horn within a laurel wreath Or.

Magnus Birchleg bears: Gules, a drinking horn bendwise sinister argent.

Rivka bat Schmuel Alfasi bears: Per fess indented azure and gules, in pale a shofar, bell to sinister, and an estoile of eight rays Or.

Nikolaj Zrogowacialy bears: Barry argent and azure, a spiral horn of three spirals reversed Or.

Hempbreak

Hempbreak (Period)

A hempbreak, or hemp-bray, is a tool for crushing hemp or flax stalks, thus loosening the fibers for removal. It consists of a flat, legged base, with a hinged blade or toothed lid atop it. The hempbreak is a period charge: the form with the blade is found in the arms of von Habel, 1605 [Siebmacher 138], while the form with the toothed lid is the canting badge of Bray, early 16^th C. [Siddons 37; also Walden 199].

The hempbreak is found in period armorial art both open and closed, with the hinge both to dexter and sinister; its exact orientation is thus not blazoned, and is not worth difference. The illustration shows the English (toothed) form of the charge. See also table.

Jahn Van Breeman bears: Vert, a hempbreak argent.

Ormr Grimolfsson bears: Per bend sinister sable and azure, a hempbreak Or.

Burnisher

Burnisher (Accepted)

A burnisher is an artist’s tool, used for rubbing and polishing gold leaf on vellum. It consists of a head or rubbing surface, made of polished ivory or hematite, mounted on a wooden handle. It is a period artifact: its construction, in this form, is described in Cennini’s Libro dell’Arte, 1437. However, it doesn’t appear to have been used in armory. The burnishing head is to chief by Society default.

The Order of Gilder, of the East, bears: A burnisher Or.

Gabriella Maddelena Pisano bears: Argent, on a pile purpure between two common blue irises slipped and leaved proper, a houndstooth burnisher argent.

Mistholme

heraldry, illumination, and random jottings