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Cross: Santiago

Cross of Santiago (Period)

The “cross of Santiago”, or “cross of St. James”, is the insignia of the Knights of Santiago, an Iberian order founded in 1170 [Spada’s Onori e Glorie: Sovrano Militare Ordine, p.61]. It is also blazoned a cruz espada (“sword-cross”) in Iberian armory; it’s considered a highly ornamental form of the cross flory fitchy. The Portuguese and Spanish had slightly different forms; the illustration shows a 16^th C. Spanish form.

Ximena Yannez de Talavera bears: Per chevron azure and vert, three crosses of Santiago Or.

Cristóbal Vázquez de Narriahondo bears: Per pale azure and argent, a cross of Santiago counterchanged.

Cross: Pointed

Cross pointed (Accepted)

The “cross pointed” is a translation of the French croix aiguisée [Woodward 162]; it’s found in the arms of Dokenfield or Dukenfeld, c.1510 [DBA3 152]. It’s sometimes misblazoned a “cross fitched at all points”, but this is a solecism; see the discussion under crosses fitchy.

Bryan Adyngton bears: Per chevron throughout sable and argent, three Latin crosses pointed counterchanged argent and vert.

Cross: Patonce

Cross patonce (Period)

The “cross patonce” was sometimes called a “cross griffee-de-loup” (wolf-clawed) in medieval blazons; Victorian heraldic writers sometimes misblazoned it a “cross formy fitchy at all points” (cf. the discussion of the cross fitchy). As with the cross formy, the arms of the cross patonce may converge to a point, at the artist’s discretion. It is one of the oldest cross variants, found in the arms of the Counts of Aumale c.1244 [Asp2 216]. The cross patonce is negligibly different from the cross flory.

Arval Benicoeur bears: Per saltire Or and sable, a cross patonce counterchanged.

Elwyn Tenways bears: Per pale Or and gules, three crosses patonce counterchanged.

John de Rokyngham bears: Party of six argent and gules, three crosses patonce gules.

Cross

Cross (Period)

The cross is an heraldic ordinary, a vertical lath conjoined to a horizontal lath. As an ordinary, it is throughout by default, and subject to all the usual treatments – e.g., embattled, wavy, voided, cotised – but as the symbol of Christianity, it was elaborated and varied by the medievals more often than any other charge. Medieval heralds were familiar with roughly twenty types of cross, according to Brault [Coat of Arms, I(90), Summer 74, pp.54-64]; more than three hundred types may be found in Victorian heraldry books.

Of these latter, some were distinctions made only after period, which medievally were considered simple artistic variants (e.g., cross crosslet vs. cross bottony). Others were constructed of other charges, conjoined in the shape of a cross (e.g., cross of ermine spots); this was a period method of construction. Most of the crosses in Victorian texts, however, were never actually used in armory, but were the invention of heraldic writers.

The term “crusilly” refers to a field or charge semy of crosses crosslet. If another type of semy cross is desired, it must be specified, e.g., “crusilly couped” or “crusilly Maltese”.

The crosses illustrated in the following entries are all found in Society heraldry. Some were used medievally; some were constructed from four or five other charges; some were taken from Victorian texts, before those were deemed untrustworthy; some are taken from other contexts, such as jewelry; and some are Society inventions. Though the cross is normally throughout as an ordinary, most of its “discrete” forms are not throughout unless specifically blazoned so. Some variations can be combined in simple cases: e.g., a “cross flory nowy pierced” would combine those three treatments into a single cross.

Crosses that were found in period include:

cross of annulets braced, cross annulety, cross avellane, cross bottony, cross of Calatrava, cross of Calvary, cross clechy, cross couped, cross crescenty, cross crosslet, cross doubly pommeled, cross of ermine spots, cross fitchy, cross flory, cross formy, cross fouchetty, cross fourchy, cross of fusils, cross glandular, cross gringoly, cross of Jerusalem, key cross, Latin cross, Maltese cross, cross moline, cross parted and fretted, cross patonce, cross patriarchal, cross pomelly, cross portate, cross potent, cross quarter-pierced, cross rayonnant, cross of Santiago, cross swallowtailed, tau cross, cross of Toulouse, cross tripartite and fretted.

Crosses that are accepted in the Society, as of this writing:

Bowen cross, cross of Canterbury, Celtic cross, cross of Coldharbour, Coptic cross, cross estoile, cross humetty, cross of lozenges, cross of mascles, Norse sun cross, cross of pheons, cross pointed, cross quadrate, Russian Orthodox cross, cross of Samildanach, crux stellata.

Crosses which carry a step from period practice:

ankh, cross arrondi, cross nowy, cross of Saint Brigid.

Crosses which have been disallowed:

cross alisee, cross barby, cross of Cerdana, fillet cross, cross of flames, fylfot, cross gurgity, Non cross, Papal cross, star cross, Ukrainian sun cross.

For related charges, see chi-rho, crucifix, saltire. See also cypher charges, knot.

The King of Lochac bears: Quarterly azure and argent, on a cross gules a crown between four mullets of six points, in canton a laurel wreath argent.

Rulff Sørensøn bears: Gyronny azure and Or, a cross vert.

Elizabeth Feythe bears: Azure, a cross engrailed erminois.

Giovanni di Milano bears: Ermine, a cross cotised purpure.

Crane

Crane in its vigilance (Period)

The crane is a long-legged aquatic bird with a long neck and bill. It was often depicted “in its vigilance”, standing on one foot and grasping a stone in the other. The medieval bestiaries held that the crane would stand this way; should it fall asleep, it would drop the stone and awaken. As an heraldic charge, the crane dates from c.1270, in the canting arms (French grue) of the Counts de Gruyere [ANA2 191].

Heron (Period)

Similar to the crane are the “heron”, the “stork”, the “egret”, and the “ibis”. The heron is distinguished by the long tuft on its head; it’s found in the canting arms of Heron, c.1255 [ANA2 192]. The stork is often depicted with a serpent or eel in its bill, even when this is not specifically blazoned; it is found in the arms of Egglescliffe, Bishop of Llandaff, 1323 [DBA2 151]. The ibis and egret appear to be Society innovations, and are generally drawn as found in nature. All of these birds are close by default; though frequently drawn with one leg raised, this is considered an artistic detail, usually left unblazoned.

Japanese crane displayed (SFPP)

A particular depiction of the crane is the “Japanese crane” (tsuru): legless, with its wings displayed in annulo, the whole forming almost a crescent. It was used in the Mon of Mori Nagayoshi, d.1585 [Hawley 48]. The Japanese crane is permitted in Society armory, but as a non-European charge, it carries a step from period practice.

Grimbold of Settmour bears: Ermine, a crane in its vigilance azure.

Brennan O Loughran bears: Azure, two herons addorsed argent.

Karl von Süssen bears: Vert, a stork passant, wings elevated and addorsed argent, grasping in its beak a fish Or, all within a bordure argent.

Sybilla Keisalovitch bears: Argent, an ibis close to sinister reguardant, dexter leg upraised gules, within a bordure compony gules and argent.

Kamiizumi Hirotarō bears: Argent, a Japanese crane displayed purpure.

Claw, crab’s or lobster’s

Crab’s claw bendwise (Period)

A crab’s claw, or a lobster’s claw, is the pincer at the end of those creatures’ front limbs, which they use for defense. It’s a period charge, found in the arms of Nielsen, c.1490 [Raneke 395]. They’re frequently found in pairs, as in the arms of Stainhauser or Steinhauser, mid-16^th C. [NW 32], and of Tregarthicke, 1610 [Guillim1 171].

The crab’s claw has its severed end to base by default; the illustration shows a crab’s claw bendwise. See also leg.

The Order of the Crab Claw, of the Barony of Lochmere, bears: A pair of crab claws azure maintaining between them a sword gules.

Bridge

Bridge throughout of three spans (Period)

Twin-towered bridge of a single arch (Accepted)

A bridge is an edifice, built to carry traffic over a river, gorge, or the like. The most common depiction in medieval armory showed a stonework bridge, drawn throughout, with three or more arches or spans; it was usually drawn with water flowing beneath it as well. The illustration is taken from the canting arms of Trowbridge, mid-16^th C. [Bedingfeld 58].

In Society armory, the default bridge is not throughout, but terminates with a tower at either end (and frequently with towers between arches); moreover, the number of arches must be explicitly blazoned. A common Society form has but a single arch, as in the illustration; this depiction is considered negligibly different from a castle. Difference is granted between a castle and a bridge drawn in the period style (i.e., throughout, with multiple arches).

Wooden boardwalk (Period)

Footbridge (Period)

Period armory also has some examples of smaller bridges, intended to be footbridges: e.g., the wooden boardwalk, drawn throughout and supported by scaffolding, in the canting arms (German Steg) of Steger zu Ladendorff, 1605 [Siebmacher 39]; or the stepped stone footbridge, complete with handrails, in the canting arms (Italian ponte) of Ponte, c.1550 [BSB Cod.Icon 273:165].

Bowl

Bowl (Period)

A bowl is a rounded container or dish, shown in side-view or three-quarter view. In its simplest form, with a flat bottom (a form which may also be blazoned a “basin” or “bason”), it’s found in the arms of St. Albon, mid-16^th C. [Bedingfeld 58]. The illustration shows a slightly more ornate, footed form, as found in the canting arms (German Schüssel) of Raumschüssl, mid-16^th C. [NW 64].

The “Bowl of Hygeia” is a bowl or cup with a serpent entwined about it, or issuant from it; it is the modern symbol of pharmacists. At one point, it was only permitted to those with the proper medical credentials; but at this writing, its Society use is unrestricted.

A related charge is the “standing dish” or “platter”, found in the canting arms of Standysch, c.1460 [RH; see also Gwynn-Jones 95]. This was depicted essentially as a roundel with internal detailing, and even period heralds did not always distinguish between the two charges.

For related charges, see brazier, cup, lamp.

The Order of the Dragon’s Bowle, of Drachenwald, bears: A dragon passant coward sable charged with a bowl per pale Or and gules.

Elene Kirchenknopf bears: Per bend urdy argent and azure, a bowl and a sinister hand counterchanged.

Ambros Celidonis bears: Vert, in bend sinister a double-sail-backed salamander statant bendwise embowed argent, and a bowl fesswise Or flammant proper.

Mistholme

heraldry, illumination, and random jottings