Wall

Wall (Period)

Wall issuant from base, with door (Period)

A wall is a stone barrier or fence. It may be found attached to an edifice, such as a tower or castle; the arms of Vinay, c.1370, show a tower with a wall extending to sinister [Gelre 50]. However, the wall was frequently used as an independent charge in its own right.

Two forms of wall are found in period armory. The default form is embattled and throughout, negligibly different from a fess embattled; this form is found in the arms of Wineck, c.1460 [GATD 20v]. The other form of wall issues from base, which must be explicitly blazoned; this form is found in the arms of Kettenberg or Calterberg, also c.1460 [GATD 20v]. The latter form of wall may be fortified with watch towers, or have a port or gate; such details are always blazoned. The illustration shows a wall issuant from base with a gate.

As walls are assumed to be of stone, they are frequently drawn masoned, even when not explicitly blazoned. For related charges, see bridge, fence.

Joella of Blue Lion’s Keep bears: Per fess argent and azure, a lion passant and a tower, conjoined to sinister to a wall, all within a bordure counterchanged.

Ziegfried Gunter von Wieselburg bears: Or, a wall issuant from base gules, the gate closed proper, and issuant from the battlements a demi-weasel rampant sable.

Griffith Jenner bears: Sable, a wall issuant from base argent masoned and portalled sable and in chief three A-frame plumb lines Or.

Wagon

Wagon (Period)

Covered wagon (Accepted)

A wagon is a four-wheeled cart for carrying goods, usually made to be drawn by a horse or ox; it’s also known simply as a “cart”. Its “proper” coloration is brown, the color of wood; it faces dexter by default. The examples from period armory, as in the arms of de Brambilla, mid-15^th C. [Triv 69], show open grates for the wagon’s sides; most wagons in Society armory have solid sides.

A two-wheeled variant, the “oxcart” (Italian baroccio), is found in the canting arms of di Barozi, mid-15^th C. [Triv 76].

Pageant wagon (Accepted)

War-wagon (Accepted)

Society variants of the wagon include the “covered wagon”, with a cloth covering stretched over circular hoops; the illustration is taken from the Douce psalter, c.1320. Similar is the “pageant wagon”, a wheeled performance stage, with curtains and ornamentation, used in 15^th Century England. Finally, there’s the “war-wagon”, with an embattled top and arrow slits. None of these variants have yet been attested in period armory; moreover, the pageant wagon carries a step from period practice. For related charges, see wheelbarrow.

The Baron of Nottinghill Coill bears as a badge: Or, a pageant wagon gules, its pennon staves and pennons azure, and its frontal curtain azure charged with a cross Or.

Æsa the Fierce bears: Vert, a wagon within an annulet argent.

Gunnora Aldyne bears: Azure, on a pale between two carts argent, a mouse rampant azure.

Alail Horsefriend bears as a badge: Per fess azure and argent, a war-wagon counterchanged and enflamed to sinister chief proper.

Vulture

Vulture (Period)

The vulture is a carrion-eating bird, whose medieval reputation was for greediness and gluttony. It’s characterized by the lack of feathers on its face. The vulture was also called a “gripe” in period blazon [Bossewell II.118]. It’s a period charge, found in the canting arms (German Geier) of Geyer von Osterberg, 1605 [Siebmacher 34]. The vulture is close by default.

The vulture should be drawn as the European form of the bird, and not as the buzzard of the New World. The latter is deemed a step from period practice. For related charges, see eagle.

Serlo of Litchfield bears: Gyronny gules and Or, a vulture close sable.

Edvard Gayer bears: Argent, two vultures rising respectant, wings inverted and addorsed, a chief engrailed sable.

Viol

Viol (Period)

Rebec (Accepted)

A viol is a stringed musical instrument, a medieval cousin of the violin. It had a flat back, a fretted neck, and six strings; it was played with a curved bow. Its “proper” tincture is brown, the color of wood. When blazoned a “violin”, the Renaissance (i.e., modern) form is intended.

The terms “vielle” and “fiddle” are sometimes used to denote this family of instruments; these terms have the advantage of leaving the exact details and period to the artist. By whatever name, the charge can be dated to c.1340, in the arms of Wilfendingen or Wieladingen [Zurich 347].

Similar to the viol is the “rebec”, more pear-shaped, with a rounded back like a lute, and three or four strings. Heraldically, it is indistinguishable from the lute.

Both the viol and the rebec have strings to the viewer by default. The Society default is with neck to chief, contrary to the period default.

Samuel Piper bears: Quarterly vert and Or, four viols counterchanged.

Cedric Fithelere bears: Per fess azure and argent, on a pale engrailed between in chief two violins palewise, in base a violin palewise, all counterchanged.

Rebecca de Ravenstein bears: Vert, a rebec in bend sinister, pegheads in chief, crossed by a bow fesswise argent.

Vine

Two grape vines entwined, fesswise and throughout (Period)

A vine is a long, slender slip characterized by its twisty shape; in nature, vines are too weak to stand upright, and so must entwine themselves around a support. In heraldry, the vine is shown wavy or undy, usually leaved or fructed according to its kind. Period armory has examples of “ivy vine” in the arms of Barbalonga, c.1540 [Nobreza xxviº], and “grape vines” in the arms of di Cadamosti, mid-15^th C. [Triv 111].

Vines do not seem to have a default orientation – though if on an ordinary, they follow its line – so must in general be specified as palewise, &c. Unlike other slips, however, vines are often placed as ordinaries: thus, in the above examples, the arms of Barbalonga have an orle of ivy vine, while the arms of di Cadamosti have two grape vines entwined, fesswise and throughout, as in the illustration.

The Baron of Vinhold bears: Per fess wavy argent and sable, two wreaths of grape vine vert fructed proper and a laurel wreath Or.

Esobella Rowena Erwyn Ross bears: Bendy sinister argent and vert, a vine bendwise throughout wavy sable, flowered with a rose gules.

Eliška z Jihlavy bears: Argent, an ivy vine palewise between flaunches vert.

Elyna Delynor bears: Vert, a bend of two ivy vines entwined argent.

Vêtu

Vêtu (Period)

Vêtu ployé (Accepted)

Vêtu (French for “vested”) is a Continental partition of the field, formed by two lines from center chief and two lines from the base point, connecting at the sides of the shield. The partition thus strongly resembles a lozenge throughout; and it will conflict with a lozenge, all other things being the same. But the vêtu field differs from a lozenge in one respect: In normal usage, only the central part of the field is charged; the vested portions of the field remain uncharged. (Despite this, there are still a number of vêtu fields in Society heraldry with charges in the corner portions.)

The standard vêtu field uses straight lines; there is also a variant, “vêtu ployé”, with arched lines. For related entries, see chapé, chaussé.

Cealmhain Realt Dubh bears as a badge: Argent vêtu ployé sable.

Damon Kirby bears: Argent vêtu gules, four lozenges in cross gules.

Kareina Talventytär bears: Azure vêtu, a long-haired domestic cat dormant argent.

Vessels

Vessels are hollow containers for holding easily spilled contents. They come in a wide variety of shapes, depending on their intended purpose; they may be made of metal, wood, horn, ceramic or glass. If glass is intended, the charge should not be drawn as though transparent, through the use of voiding or chasing, but should be solidly tinctured.

For specific entries, see: amphora, apothecary jar, barrel, bottell, bottle, churn, cup, flask, horn (drinking), ink bottle, pitcher, pot, saltcellar, tankard, tub, urinal, vase. For related charges, see bowl, bucket, caldera gringolada, cupping-glass, frying pan, hourglass, mortar and pestle, water-bouget.

Vegetable lamb

Vegetable lamb (Accepted)

The vegetable lamb is considered a monster in Society heraldry, a mythical plant bearing young sheep as its fruit. It was first mentioned in the Travels of Sir John Mandeville, c.1371, but does not appear in mundane armory.

Society blazon uses the phrase “fructed” to refer to the full blossom, including the sheep (e.g., when of another tincture than the rest of the plant). If only the sheep’s tincture differs, the phrase “fructed of sheep” is used: that is, a “vegetable lamb vert fructed sable” has black blossoms and sheep, bujt a “vegetable lamb vert fructed of sheep sable” has green blossoms and black sheep.

Lysander Keisalovitch bears: Argent, a vegetable lamb vert.

Solange Sarrazin bears: Or, a vegetable lamb vert, flowered gules and fructed of sheep argent, a chief indented azure.

Áine Táilliúir bears as a badge: A vegetable lamb Or fructed of sheep sable.

Vase

Vase (Period)

A vase is a decorative vessel, generally taller than it is wide, and frequently double-handled; holding flowers was just one of its uses. It’s a period charge, found in the arms of Sodré, c.1540 [Nobreza xxxvº], and of von Könder, 1605 [Siebmacher 161]; a vase without handles (and bearing flowers) is found in the arms of Fogler or Vogler, c.1560 [BSB Cod.Icon 390:715].

Society armory also has the “urn”, more used for storage than display: similar in shape to the vase but somewhat broader in proportion, and usually without handles. For related charges, see amphora.

Thomas Tarn Travis bears: Per pale embattled Or and vert, in fess a tree and a vase counterchanged.

Richard of Havn bears: Vert, upon a plate two urns azure, a base indented Or.

Valknut

Valknut (SFPP)

A valknut is a Norse artistic motif, consisting of three triangles voided and interlaced. It was associated with scenes of Odin and the Valkyries (valknut, “corpse knot”), and may have represented the slain warrior’s soul. As an heraldic charge, it’s unique to the Society; its use is considered a step from period practice. The valknut has its point is to chief by Society default; valknuts inverted are no longer permitted.

There were several depictions of the valknut in Norse art; the illustration is the one accepted for Society use. It’s based on the image on the Stora Hammars I stone, in Gotland. See also knot, polygon.

Styrbjorg Ulfethnar bears: Argent, a demi-wolf salient proper charged on the shoulder with an elf-bolt argent, issuant from a valknut gules.

Hallgrímr Úlfsson bears: Gules, a valknut and a bordure argent.

Justin Stephen Cradoc bears: Quarterly azure and argent, four valknuts counterchanged.

Mistholme

heraldry, illumination, and random jottings

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