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Griffin; Keythong

Griffin (Period)

Keythong rampant (Period)

The griffin, or gryphon, is a classical monster, with the head, wings and forefeet of an eagle, the hindquarters of a lion, and mammalian ears; period emblazons sometimes show it bearded as well. Its default posture is rampant, which when applied to griffins may be termed “segreant”. The griffin is one of the earliest heraldic monsters, dating from c.1280 in the arms of Montagu [ANA2 492].

The griffin has several variant forms, as might be expected for a monster of such antiquity. The form found in ancient Assyria, for example, has a lion’s forelegs instead of an eagle’s forelegs; no heraldic difference is granted for this artistic variation.

There is also what later texts call the “male griffin”: this differs from the standard griffin by a lack of wings, and by sharp spikes radiating from its body. (The term “male griffin” is a misnomer: both forms were shown with male members in period art.) This same creature was termed a “keythong” in a roll of badges, 1475 [Dennys CoA]; it was certainly considered a separate monster in period. Some authors have suggested that it developed from the German form of the heraldic panther, with the spikes meant as the panther’s flames. “Male griffin” is the more common term for this monster, but “keythong” is coming into use as well. The illustration shows a keythong rampant.

For related charges, see dragon, hippogriff, opinicus.

The King of Avacal bears: Quarterly argent and Or, a griffin rampant, on a point pointed gules a crown within a laurel wreath Or.

Alfonso de Castile bears: Or, a griffin segreant sable.

John ap Griffin bears: Vert, a griffin segreant contourny Or.

Maureen ha-Ivriah bears: Azure, an Assyrian griffin couchant, gazing to chief, wings displayed argent.

Gruffydd ap Idwallon bears: Ermine, a keythong rampant contourny reguardant vert.

Foil

Quatrefoil (Period); cinquefoil (Period)

While the term “foil” means literally “leaf, lobe”, the term is used here to denote a class of generic flowers. They are not of any natural species, but are highly stylized heraldic charges: the petals are usually drawn rounded, with points at the ends.

The term “foil” is used as a root, with a prefix indicating the number of petals. Thus we have the “trefoil”, with three petals, the “quatrefoil” with four petals, the “cinquefoil” with five, &c. More than six petals (“sixfoil” or “sexfoil”) are uncommon; more than eight petals (“octofoil” or “double quatrefoil”) are not found.

In period armory, cinquefoils were the most common foil-type flower, found as early as c.1244 in the arms of de Umfraville [Asp2 219]. Early heralds made no distinction between cinquefoils and roses, considering both the blazons and emblazons interchangeable (as in the various cadet arms of the Darcy family through the 14^th Century). The cinquefoil is sometimes blazoned a “fraise”, or strawberry flower, especially for canting purposes.

Next in popularity were sixfoils, dating to 1255, and quatrefoils, dating to 1244. Trefoils, the most popular form in Society heraldry, first appear c.1254 in the arms of de Perie [Brault 280 and Brault2 28], but in period were not as common at first as the other foil-flowers.

Trefoil (Period); shamrock (Accepted)

The trefoil is the only foil-flower that is shown slipped by default; the others have no slips unless specifically blazoned. (Even the trefoil has the slip blazoned occasionally, though it’s the Society’s default. It’s also sometimes found double-slipped, which does have to be blazoned.) The trefoil is also the only foil-flower with a definite default orientation, with a petal to chief; period examples of cinquefoils, by comparison, may be drawn with a petal to chief, or a petal to base. Most foil-flowers follow the convention of the trefoil, and are drawn as in the illustrations, with a petal to chief.

A variant on the trefoil is the “shamrock”, the symbol of Ireland; its petals are heart-shaped and have no points. The distinction is purely artistic: no heraldic difference is granted between trefoils and shamrocks. A crowned shamrock, as the Royal badge of Ireland, is not registerable in the Society.

Similarly, the “four-leaved clover” is a Society variant on the quatrefoil, with heart-shaped petals; it is almost always shown with the petals in saltire, even when not so blazoned.

In the English system of cadency, the octofoil is the brisure of the ninth son. For related charges, see rose. See also leaf.

Bevin Fraser of Sterling bears: Vert, three fraises Or pierced vert, on a chief Or a rose gules, barbed and seeded proper.

Olwen of Buckland bears: Azure, a trefoil stalked argent.

Myles of the Shamrock bears: Argent, a shamrock vert.

Elspeth de Stervlen bears: Purpure, six cinquefoils Or.

Johanna le Walkere bears: Quarterly azure and sable, four quatrefoils argent.

Carol of Bellatrix bears: Per bend argent and vert, six octofoils in bend three and three counterchanged, all pierced Or.

Ærne Clover bears: Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.

Fireball

Fireball (Period)

Grenade (Period)

A fireball is a metallic sphere, spewing flame; it was thrown at the enemy as an incendiary device. It is a period charge, found in the arms of Dancaster, 1556 [Parker 257]. When “proper”, the sphere is sable, and the flames gules and Or.

Society heraldry distinguishes between the fireball, which spews four flames in cross, and the “grenade” or “(fire)bomb”, which spews a single flame to chief. See also weapons.

The Prince of the Sun bears: Argent, a fireball proper within a laurel wreath, in chief an ancient crown azure.

Ian of Loch Naver bears: Argent chapé sable, a fireball gules enflamed proper.

Willoc of Evensong Forest bears: Sable, a grenade argent flamed Or.

Fess

Fess (Period)

Dance (Period)

The fess is an heraldic ordinary, a horizontal stripe across the center of the shield. Its diminutive is the “bar”, or in extreme cases the “barrulet”; Society blazonry does not recognize any other terms for the fess’s diminutives.

The “dance” is another name for the fess dancetty; some texts hold that it was an independent charge in medieval times. The term is authorized for use in Society blazonry, in the hope it will reinforce the medieval definition of “dancetty”.

Bar gemel (Period)

Humet (Period)

The “bar gemel” (literally “twinned bar”) is visually equivalent to a fess voided; medieval heralds also blazoned it simply a “gemel” or “gemelle”. Unlike the fess voided, it is considered an independent charge, and no other charges come between its two halves. (The spacing for “two bars gemel” will be uneven, unlike the spacing for “four bars”.)

In like manner, the “humet” is a medieval name for a fess humetty; the term is not much used today, since other ordinaries may also be humetty.

Fess nowy (Period)

Fess enarched (Accepted)

The “fess nowy” (literally “knotted”) doesn’t refer to a peculiar knotting or fretting, but is used in the sense of a knot of wood: a circular node or lump at the fess’s center. Examples have been found in 15^th C. heraldic texts; the treatment is permitted for Society use.

The “fess embattled” is embattled only on its upper edge, unless specifically blazoned “(embattled) counter-embattled” or “bretessed”. The “fess enarched” curves to chief unless otherwise specified; it was originally meant to depict the convexity of the shield, and consequently carries no heraldic difference from the plain fess. The “fess doubly-arched” is not permitted. See also wall.

The King of Atlantia bears: Per pale argent and azure, on a fess wavy cotised counterchanged a crown vallary Or, overall a laurel wreath vert.

Brunechilde de Ravenel bears: Azure, a fess Or cotised argent.

Robert Conyers bears: Per pale argent and azure, a fess counterchanged.

Gwen Hir bears: Azure, a fess fusilly argent.

Marcus Tullius Calvus Cambrensis bears: Or, a dance sable.

Cadan Sacart bears: Vert, two bars engrailed Or.

Duban O’Guinn Silverwolf bears: Vert, three bars gemelles argent within a bordure ermine.

Ruaidhrí Mac Diarmada bears: Argent, a fess nowy azure charged with a plate.

Dragon

Dragon (Period)

Wyvern (Period)

The dragon is a great reptilian monster with spikes, barbs, bat-wings, and taloned feet. It is sometimes blazoned a “wyrm”, especially for the sake of a cant. A dragon “segreant” is rampant, wings addorsed; this is its default posture.

The dragon’s depiction differed over the centuries, or between countries. The earliest heraldic dragons, for instance, had feathered wings. The dragon’s tail was blunt throughout our period; the barbs at the end were not added until the 18^th Century. (This is considered artistic license, and many Society dragons have barbed tails.)

More important is the number of legs. The Society, following current British usage, defines a “dragon” as having four legs. The four-legged dragon had been a badge of North Wales c.1400; with the ascension of the Tudors, the four-legged dragon became one of England’s supporters [Dennys 191]. However, the older form of dragon had only two legs; it dates back at least to 1300, in the arms of Fulbourne [ANA2 493]. British heraldry now blazons the two-legged form a “wyvern” (Continental heralds still call it a “dragon”), and treats it as a variant of type. The wyvern’s default posture is variously blazoned “statant” or “sejant”: for wyverns, the two postures are deemed equivalent. At one point, the Society granted no difference between the four-legged dragon and the two-legged wyvern; the current policy now grants difference for type between these two.

East Asian dragon passant (SFPP)

Dûn dragon (Disallowed)

There are other variations of the dragon. The “hydra” is a multi-headed dragon; classically described with nine heads, the 16^th Century heraldic form has as few as three [de Bara 85, 143]. (The number of heads should be blazoned.) The “East Asian dragon” is wingless, and drawn in a Chinese or Japanese stylization (and sometimes specifically blazoned as “Chinese” or “Japanese”); it’s permitted in Society armory, with its use deemed a step from period practice. Finally, the “Dûn dragon” is a Society invention, with no wings, two horns, long spindly limbs, and a dopy grin; it is defined in the arms of the Shire of Anlieplic Dûn. This form is no longer used save for the Shire’s armory.

Wyverns displayed are considered a step from period practice; dragons displayed are no longer permitted. For related charges, see amphisbaena, cockatrice, griffin, lion-dragon, naga, Norse beasts, orm, pithon.

The King of the Middle bears: Argent, a pale gules, overall a dragon passant vert, in chief an ancient crown Or within a laurel wreath proper.

The Baron of Wyvernwoode bears: Vert, a wyvern passant argent, winged and bellied within a laurel wreath Or.

The Shire of Anlieplic Dûn bears: Per pale sable and argent, a laurel wreath between two Dûn dragons combattant counterchanged.

Éowyn Amberdrake bears: Azure, in pale three dragons passant Or.

Katrina Pietroff bears: Azure, a seven-headed hydra statant argent.

Joseph the Good bears as a badge: Gules, a Japanese dragon passant Or.

Deer

Stag at gaze (Period)

The deer is a hooved, antlered beast famed for its speed; it was medievally considered the embodiment of purity and nobility among the beasts. The term “deer” is the generic term; more specific terms may be used in blazons, the exact term often chosen for canting purposes. These include “stag”, “hart”, and “buck” for the male; “doe” or “hind” for the female; and “fawn” or “yearling” for the young. The male is characterized by his antlers (called his “attires”): the buck is held to have broader, more palmate attires than the stag [Bromley & Child 12], but this subtle distinction was not consistently followed in period. The female and young are antlerless. Both genders are found in period armory: the stag c.1310, in the arms of Leghville, and the hind c.1275, in the arms of the Counts von Tierstein [ANA2 57].

Reindeer trippant (Period)

Other beasts of the deer category include the “reindeer”, the “roe” or “roebuck”, and the “elk”. These variants are distinguished by the shape of their attires: the elk and roe are shown more or less as in nature, while the reindeer has an heraldic stylization of two horns up, two down, as seen in the arms of Bowet, Archbishop of York, c.1460 [RH]. The roe seems to be chosen mostly for the cant, as in the arms of Rogers, c.1480 [DBA2 294]. The elk of Europe is the same beast as the “moose” of modern North America; the latter term had been used in Society blazons at one point, but is no longer registered, in favor of the period term. The elk is a period charge, found as a supporter of the Worshipful Company of Curriers, 1583 [Bromley & Child 62].

A “deer proper” is understood to be brown. There are some special terms used to blazon deer: A deer “at gaze” is statant guardant; a deer “lodged” is couchant; a deer “trippant” is passant. The illustrations show a stag at gaze, and a reindeer trippant. For related charges, see antelope (natural).

The King of the Outlands bears: Vert, a stag argent, attired and unguled, salient from between the boughs of a laurel wreath, in chief a Saxon crown, all within a bordure embattled Or.

The Shire of Buckland Cross bears: Argent, two bucks counter-salient in saltire proper within a laurel wreath vert, a bordure embattled sable.

Elisabeth Goodchilde bears: Pean, a stag trippant erminois.

Margaret Palmer bears: Vert, three stags lodged Or.

Sigmundr Ulvr bears: Or, in pale three harts springing within a bordure sable.

Arianwen de Lynn bears: Quarterly azure and gules, a hind courant to sinister within an orle argent.

Greta Rahikainen bears: Azure, three reindeer trippant argent.

Suibhne an Einigh bears: Per pale argent and vert, an elk rampant proper.

Cushion

Cushion (Period)

Cushion lozengewise (Period)

A cushion is a pillow or stuffed pad. The standard heraldic cushion is square or rectangular, with a tassel on each corner; if rectangular, as in the illustration, it is fesswise by Society default. Square cushions were also found lozengewise (i.e., bendwise) in period armory – more frequently, in fact, than fesswise. The cushion is found as a charge as early as c.1255, in the arms of Redman [ANA2 350]. For related charges, see bag of madder, wool-pack.

The Chamberlain of the East Kingdom bears: A cushion purpure.

La Rana bears: Vert, on a cushion Or a frog sejant affronty vert, crowned Or.

Pillow of Oertha bears: Azure, in saltire five pillows Or.

Cross: Calatrava

Cross of Calatrava (Period)

The “cross of Calatrava” is also called the “cross of Aviz”; it was the insignia of the Knights of Calatrava, an Iberian order founded in 1158 [Spada’s Onori e Glorie: Sovrano Militare Ordine, p.59]. It was originally a highly ornamental form of the cross flory.

The King of Calontir bears: Purpure, a cross of Calatrava, in chief a crown within in bordure a laurel wreath Or.

Costança Daguiar bears: Argent, a cross of Calatrava and a double tressure azure.

Aethelwine Aethelredson bears: Paly of four sable and Or, a cross of Calatrava counterchanged.

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.

Crescent

Decrescent (Period); increscent (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.

Mistholme

heraldry, illumination, and random jottings