Grapes are small round fruitthat grow on vines, and which are famously the basis for making wine. Grapes grow, and therefore in heraldry are always depicted, in “bunches” or “clusters”. Grapes are period charges, found in the arms of Zoller, 1605 [Siebmacher 199]. By default, a bunch of grapes has its slip to chief. A “bunch of grapes proper” has purpure grapes, slipped and/or leaved vert [Parker 602].
Robert of Canterbury bears: Gules, three bunches of grapes slipped and leaved Or.
Andrew of the Vine bears: Or, three bunches of grapes sable, stemmed and leaved vert.
Inga Agnadottir bears: Purpure, a bunch of grapes Or slipped and leaved argent.
Grain is cereal grass that has been cultivated for food. In period armory, grain is normally depicted as a single ear, with a bit of stalk couped; this is blazoned simply as an “ear of [grain]”, with the type of grain specified. Many types of grain are found in period heraldry: ears of wheat are found in the canting arms (Portuguese trigo) of Triguieros, c.1540 [Nobreza xxxviº], ears of barley in the canting arms (French orge) of Orgemont, c.1460 [GATD 54v], and ears of rye in the canting arms of Riddell of That Ilk, mid-16th C. [Lord Crawford’s Armorial, fo.141v]. Ears of grain are palewise by default; the illustration shows an ear of wheat.
We also have rare examples of “stalks of [grain]”, showing the full stalk and leaves topped by the ear. Thus, while the arms of Triguieros use ears of wheat, the crest shows stalks of wheat. Like the ears, stalks are palewise by default.
A gout, or goutte, is a drop of fluid. The illustration shows a medieval depiction, with wavy sides, and a more modern depiction, which tends to be smooth and fat. The former is the preferred form. Other depictions, which show the gout fatter than it is tall, or comma-shaped, are not allowed.
A field or charge semy of gouts may be blazoned “goutty” or “goutté”. (The need for the distinguishing accent makes the French spelling inadvisable.) Originally, gouts were always found semy; examples both of goutty fields and of goutty charges date to 1282, such as the arms of Bulmer [ANA2 69]. It was only later in period that gouts began to be used as distinct, single charges, as in the canting arms of Drop, c.1460 [RH].
Post-period heraldry evolved special names for gouts of each tincture; these may be used in Society blazons, at the user’s discretion:
A “gout d’Or” (drop of gold) is Or. A “gout de sang” (drop of blood) is gules. A “gout d’eau” (drop of water) is argent. A “gout de larmes” (drop of tears) is azure. A “gout de poix” (drop of pitch) is sable. A “gout d’huile” (drop of olive oil) is vert. A “gout de vin” (drop of wine) is purpure.
The Chirurgeonate bears: Gules, on a goutte argent a fleam gules.
Gwendolyn Silvermist bears: Per pale wavy azure goutty d’eau and argent goutty de larmes.
Wilfried Rudiger Quellenmann bears: Barry wavy vert and argent, three gouttes de sang.
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.
The goose is a water bird, noted for its foolishness and credulity; oddly, it was also a symbol of vigilance, due to the legend of the Capitoline geese saving Rome. It’s a period charge, found in the canting coats of Barnak (“barnacle geese”) c.1410 [TJ 1312] and of von Ganse (German Gans), 1605 [Siebmacher 182].
The goose is close by default, as in the illustration. When blazoned “enraged”, its wings are elevated and addorsed, its head is extended for a hiss: functionally equivalent to rising.
The “duck”, a smaller relative of the goose, is also found in period armory: the canting arms (Italian anatra) of di Anedre, mid-15th C. [Triv 50]. It shares the same defaults as the goose. For related charges, see swan.
The Baron of An Dubhaigeainn bears: Azure, a duck naiant to sinister argent, billed, within a laurel wreath Or.
Mathilde Meyer bears: Per pale azure and argent, two geese respectant enraged counterchanged.
Emma of Wolvercote bears: Argent, three geese naiant azure.
A golf club is a tool used in the game of golf, promoted by the Scots as their revenge on the rest of the world. The club consists of a staff with a flat striking head, used to hit a small, defenseless ball. It’s a period artifact, depicted in a Flemish book of hours (the so-called “Golf Book” by Simon Bening) c.1540; but unsurprisingly, it’s not found in period heraldry.
The golf club has its handle to chief by Society default.
Torquil MacTaggart the Steadfast bears: Vert, two golf clubs crossed in saltire, on a chief rayonny argent three pellets.
Murdoc MacKinnon bears: Vert, on a bend embattled counter-embattled between two golf clubs inverted in saltire and an Irish harp Or, a greatsword sable.
The goat is a horned, hooved beastfamed for its lasciviousness (and, strangely enough, its eyesight). The most common depiction is long-horned and bearded, with longer hair at the throat. It’s a common charge, found as early as c.1320, in the arms of Obaerloh or Obaerlon [Zurich 366].
Special terms applied to goats include “clymant”, meaning rampant. The goat doesn’t seem to have any default posture; the illustration shows a goat clymant. For related charges, see ibex (natural), musimon, sheep.
Kozima la Pellegrina bears: Sable, a goat clymant to sinister Or.
Eoghan MacCionna BaileArd bears: Or, a brown goat erect playing a bagpipe proper, bagged gules.
Ottokar von Ehrenfels bears: Argent, a goat clymant azure.
A goad is a sharp pointed stick, used for driving large beasts such as elephants or oxen. There are two types of goad found in Society heraldry; the better documented form, the elephant goad (the dexter charge in the illustration), is an Indian artifact, being a traditional attribute of the god Ganesha. The Society default for both types of goad is palewise, point to chief.
Katherine Goodwyn bears: Argent, a goad fesswise sable entwined of a grapevine fructed proper, between two bars vert between in pale two Catherine wheels sable.
Hastini Chandra bears as a badge: An elephant goad.
A glove-puppet is a doll attached to a simplified glove, worn over the hand and used in amusements. It is a period charge, found in German heraldry c.1400 [Neubecker 122]. For related charges, see gauntlet,human figure.
Linnet Kestrel bears: Or, a glove-puppet displayed affronty erased of a man vested of chain, helm and surcoat azure, atop the dexter arm a hen linnet close to sinister and atop the sinister arm a cock kestrel close proper.
Ismay of Giggleswick bears as a badge: A glove-puppet vested vair, faced argent, collared and wearing a jester’s cap gules.
A gittern is a stringed musical instrument, found from the end of the 13th Century until supplanted by the Renaissance guitar. There has been a great deal of confusion about the gittern: the name has been wrongly used to describe other instruments (e.g., the citole), and the gittern itself has been called other names (e.g., a mandora). Such agreement as we can find among modern musicologists makes the gittern a smaller version of the round-backed lute, with the entire instrument, body and neck, carved from a single piece of wood. The gittern had four strings (or courses of strings), and was played with a plectrum. The illustration is taken from the figure in Amiens Cathedral, 1375 [Grove 9:907].
Very similar to the gittern, and adding to the confusion, was the 16th Century “cittern”: a descendant of the citole, it had a flat back (unlike the gittern’s rounded back) and a somewhat longer, fretted neck. Like the gittern, it had four courses of strings, and was played with a plectrum [Grove 5:877].
Both the gittern and the cittern have the same default orientation in Society heraldry: affronty, with strings facing the viewer, and with neck to chief. See also viol.
Thomas of St. John bears as a badge: Argent, a gittern bendwise sinister sable.
Margaret Katheryn Cameron bears: Ermine, in saltire a short sword and a cittern proper, overall a rosebud Or, stalked and leaved vert.
