Gyron (Period)
A gyron is a single segment of a gyronny field. It is described in period heraldic tracts [e.g., Legh 68], but does not appear to have been used (at least with that blazon) in period armory. Hence, only the gyron found in the tracts – issuant from dexter chief as in the illustration – may be used in Society armory. For related charges, see pile.
Iohann se pipere bears: Sable, a gyron argent.
Martin de Montriere sur Mer bears: Azure, on a gyron argent a heart sable.
Gurges (ancient) (Period)
Gurges (Tudor) (Period)
A gurges is the heraldic representation of a whirlpool, by which name it is sometimes blazoned. It is found in the canting arms of Gorges, c.1255 [Asp2 152]. In its original form, the gurges was drawn as a series of concentric annulets, typically around four in number; with the outer rings often intersecting the edges of the shield. At the end of our period, possibly as a result of misdrawing, it began to be drawn as a spiraling line from the center to the edge of the shield; this is the form found in most modern heraldry texts. (The illustrations both show a dark gurges on a white field.) The forms are considered interchangeable, and both are permitted in Society armory.
Despite some early Society misblazons, the gurges is a charge. Barring period examples, surmounting a gurges with an overall charge is considered a step from period practice. For related charges, see schnecke.
Damian d’Outremer bears: Sable, a gurges Or.
Gregory of Glencairn bears: Vert, a cross engrailed argent, overall a gurges Or.
Geoffrey de Rennes bears as a badge: Or, a whirlpool rayonny vert.
Grillage (Period)
Grillage consists of a set of pallets interlaced with a set of barrulets; it is essentially a fretty field set crosswise. Strangways’ Book, c.1450, blazons it as “square fretty” and assigns it to the arms of Sir John Mandeville [H. Stanford London, Some Medieval Treatises on English Heraldry, 1953, p.178].
Like fretty, while grillage has some of the characteristics of a field treatment, it acts as a charge: charges overlying grillage must have good contrast with the underlying field.
The Canton of Forestgate bears: Vert, a bear rampant sustaining a key within a laurel wreath Or and a chief Or grillage sable.
Avisa of Dun Carraig bears: Azure grillage Or, on a bend sinister argent two forget-me-not sprigs stems to center azure slipped and leaved vert.
Cristoffel Muller bears: Azure grillage Or, on a chief argent two castles gules.
Two gouts (Period and less so)
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.
Garb (Period)
A garb is a bundle of grain, bound about the middle; the grain is wheat, unless specified otherwise. Garbs are ancient charges, dating from 1244 in the arms of the Earls of Chester [Asp2 219].
In period blazon, the term “sheaf” is considered synonymous with “garb”; in particular, the term “oatsheaf” was used to refer to a garb of oats. However, for charges other than grain, the term “sheaf” refers to a specific arrangement of charges (see sheaf); some Society armories have an explicit number of grain stalks (e.g., five) in this arrangement, and blazoned as a “sheaf”, despite the chance of confusion.
Teresa la Marchant bears: Per pale sable and Or, a garb counterchanged.
Njall of Fur bears: Argent, three garbs azure.
Medb ingen Muiredaich bears: Vert, three garbs argent.
Otuell Gowe bears as a badge: In pale an oatsheaf issuing from an open well Or.
Fretty (Period)
Fretty is a set of bendlets, interlaced with as many bendlets sinister. It is considered a charge (or group of charges) in Society heraldry, though in some ways it acts as though it were a field treatment. Fretty fields are found from the earliest days of heraldry, in the arms of Maltravers c.1240 [Asp2 219]; fretty charges soon followed, as in the arms of Verney, 1304 [ANA2 384].
The medieval form of fretty field has three skinny laths along each diagonal; there should be roughly four lath-widths between laths. More laths would be used on a fretty charge, or if the field were itself charged. There are instances in period armory, such as the arms of Verdon, c.1310, of fretty fields “nailed”, i.e., with small roundels at the intersections of the laths [ANA2 456]; the distinction is blazonable but worth no heraldic difference. For related entries, see fret, grillage. See also net.
Iago ab Adam bears: Ermine fretty gules.
Giles of Nablus bears: Sable fretty engrailed Or.
Cecilia Blythe bears: Or fretty, a chief azure.
Timotheos Vlastaris bears: Azure fretty and crusilly clechy Or.
Fret (Period)
A fret is an ancient heraldic charge, consisting of a bend and a bend sinister, interlaced with a mascle. It is sometimes blazoned a “Harrington knot”, in the medieval arms of that family (and., when couped, as their badge as well). The fret evolved from the fretty field, when the edges of the field were misdrawn, around 1312; it was soon considered a charge in its own right, though still sometimes interchanged with fretty. For that reason, fretty and the fret are negligibly different in Society heraldry: “Sable, a fret Or” and “Sable fretty Or” are treated as the same design. For related charges, see knot.
The Baron of Altavia bears: Argent, a fret sable and on a chief vert a laurel wreath argent.
Brianna of Kilkenny bears: Gyronny argent and sable, a fret vert.
Martin Ragnarsson bears: Quarterly sable and argent, a fret counterchanged.
Fountain (Period)
Natural fountain (Period)
A fountain is a spring of water. The term may refer to a stylized heraldic charge, or to a naturalistic structure. The unmodified term refers to an heraldic charge, found in the arms of Stourton, 1411 [DBA2 391], and defined as a “roundel barry wavy argent and azure”. When used in a blazon, it’s unnecessary to specify the fountain’s tinctures; as with bezants, the tinctures are part of the definition. If tinctures other than azure and argent are used, the whole must be explicitly blazoned: i.e., one does not blazon a “fountain vert and Or”, but rather a “roundel barry wavy vert and Or.”
When specified as “natural” or “of three tiers”, the term refers to a stonework edifice spouting water. It too is a period charge, found in the arms of de Fontana, mid-15th C. [Triv 146], and of Newpruner, 1605 [Siebmacher 218]. The natural fountain doesn’t have defined tinctures, as the heraldic fountain does: they must be explicitly blazoned. For related charges, see roundel, well.
The Baron of Fontaine dans Sable bears: Argent, in pale a three-tiered fountain sable spouting azure and a laurel wreath vert.
Yseulte Trevelyn bears: Gules, three fountains.
Um Rashid Kathira bears: Or chapé ployé counter-ermine, a fountain.
Fleur-de-lys (Period)
The fleur-de-lys is one of the most ancient of charges, dating from 1244 in the arms of the Kings of France [Asp2 218]. It has been said to represent a lance-head, or a symbol of the Trinity, but is usually described as a stylized form of iris or lily flower. The fleur-de-lys has been used throughout England and the Continent, but is most strongly associated with France. In England, it was also used as the brisure of the sixth son.
A semy field of fleurs-de-lys is termed “semy-de-lys”; the terms “floretty” or “fleury” are sometimes used for this, but these should be reserved for charges (e.g., the cross) decorated with fleurs-de-lys.
The arms of France were anciently “Azure semy-de-lys Or,” and changed c.1365 to “Azure, three fleurs-de-lys Or.” So strong is the association of French royalty (or augmentations therefrom) with gold fleurs-de-lys on a blue background, that the use of France Ancient or France Modern – effectively, three or more gold fleurs-de-lys on a blue background – is disallowed in Society heraldry: either on any part of the field, or on a charge.
There were many styles of fleur-de-lys used in period; the illustration shows a representative medieval form, from the arms of France c.1460 [GATD 47v, also Friar 100]. See also lily.
The Order of the Calon Lily bears: Per pale purpure and Or, a fleur-de-lys within a bordure counterchanged.
Stefan de Lorraine bears: Argent, a fleur-de-lys gules.
Nikolas de Mont Nord bears: Sable, a fleur-de-lys ermine.
Christopher Calhoune bears: Or, three fleurs-de-lys gules.
A field treatment is a regular pattern, done in a contrasting tincture on a field, and considered part of the tincture. Unlike diapering, which is an artistic flourish, a field treatment adds heraldic difference. Treatments may also be applied to the tincture of a charge.
At one time, Society heraldry recognized several field treatments; many of these, as a result of later research, are no longer permitted. For specific entries, see honeycombed, maily, masoning, papellony, scaly. For related items, see fretty, grillage, plumetty, semy.