Key

Key (Period)

A key is a metal implement for opening a lock by moving its bolt; it’s found as early as c.1275, in the allusive arms of Chamberlain [ANA2 477]. As the attribute of St. Peter, keys are frequently found in episcopal and papal armory.

The key is palewise, wards to chief, by mundane and Society default. (For many years, the Society had no default for palewise keys, so the orientation was explicitly blazoned.) When the key is fesswise, its wards are to dexter, again by both mundane and Society default.

A pair of keys, bows linked (Period)

Ring of three keys (Period)

The handle of the key may be termed its “bow” [Parker 343]. A “pair of keys” has two keys palewise, their wards outward (the pair is sometimes explicitly blazoned “addorsed” for this reason); the bows are drawn touching, either linked or conjoined (as in the arms of Siganer, 1605 [Siebmacher 34]). A “ring of keys” is a set of keys (usually three) joined by a large ring or annulet. In this case, the keys’ wards are certainly to base by Society default, although period examples (e.g., the arms of Beheim, 1605 [Siebmacher 66]) can also have the keys in pall.

The Seneschalate bears: Gules, a key fesswise Or.

The Chastellany bears: Vert, a key palewise wards to sinister base Or.

Avelina Keyes bears: Per pale Or and sable, in pale three keys fesswise counterchanged.

Hélène de Lyon bears: Gules, a pair of keys addorsed with wards to chief and bows interlaced Or.

Ysabeau Boucher bears: Azure, a ring of four keys in saltire argent.

Ink bottle

Inkbottle (Period)

Ink pot (Accepted)

An ink bottle is a short, squat vessel for holding a writer’s ink; it’s also called an “ink flask”, “ink horn”, or “ink well”, though the shape remains unchanged. It’s normally found as half of a penner and inkhorn, but we have at least one period example of its use as a separate charge: the arms of Abbot, d.1487 [DBA2 314].

There is also the “ink pot”, more ornate and less portable than a standard ink bottle; though a period artifact, its use as a charge seems unique to Society heraldry. See also bottle, flask.

The West Kingdom College of Scribes bears: Sable, an ink flask Or.

The College of Boethius bears as a badge: Or, on an open book azure, an ink pot Or.

Ingrid the Fair bears: Or, three inkwells gules, on a chief azure a drakkar without sail argent.

Hourglass

Hourglass (Period)

An hourglass is a wasp-waisted glass container, partially filled with sand; it was used for measuring time, by letting the sand trickle from the top half to the bottom. The first known illustration of an hourglass is a fresco in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, c.1339 [Eric Bruton, The History of Clocks and Watches, p.27]; it’s found in the arms of White, 1534 [Parker 335] and of von Kerstlingerode, 1605 [Siebmacher 179]. The hourglass is palewise by default.

The hourglass should not be drawn as transparent glass, through the use of chasing or voiding; it should be solidly tinctured.

Galleron de Cressy bears: Azure, three hourglasses Or.

Gareth de Grey bears: Sable, an hourglass argent.

Caoimhín o Fiodhabhra bears: Per chevron azure and Or, three hourglasses counterchanged.

Horseshoe

Horseshoe (Period)

A horseshoe is a U-shaped metal plate, nailed to a horse’s hoof for its protection. It’s an ancient heraldic charge, dating from c.1280, in the canting arms of Ferrers [ANA2 216]. The horseshoe has its opening to base by default; it is conventionally drawn with seven nail-holes. See also axle bracket.

Caitilín Mhór bears: Per pale azure and Or, a horseshoe inverted counterchanged.

Joanna of the Plains bears: Sable, four horseshoes openings to dexter two and two Or.

Selfran the Singer bears: Azure, in cross five horseshoes inverted Or.

Horn

Hunting horn (Period)

A horn is an artifact, made from an animal’s horn, from which it gets its name. The default horn is a musical instrument, more fully blazoned a “hunting horn” or “bugle horn”; it is found in the canting arms of Hornes c.1275 [ANA2 476]. It’s usually shown hung on cords, and may be garnished in bands of another tincture; these are considered artistic details. In mundane armory, the hunting horn’s default orientation has changed over time; the Society default is fesswise, embowed to base, with bell to dexter.

Drinking horn (Period)

Another use of the horn is as a drinking vessel; this is blazoned a “drinking horn”. Unlike the hunting horn, it has no mouthpiece, and is not corded; it was usually shown unadorned, but in at least one instance was depicted with feet (so it could be set on a table without spilling), in the arms of Müris, c.1340 [Zurich 94]. In medieval heraldry, it seems to have had the same default orientation as the hunting horn; in Society armory, its default orientation is palewise, embowed to dexter, with bell to chief.

Pairs of drinking horns are common in Saracenic heraldry, where they are referred to as “trousers of nobility” [Mayer 19]; but the motif is blazoned in most European contexts as “a pair of drinking horns”. By Society convention, a pair of drinking horns is “addorsed” (i.e., with the convex sides facing each other) by default; a pair of drinking horns “respectant” will have their convex sides outward. A “pair of drinking horns” is thus distinguished from “two drinking horns”, each in its default orientation.

Shofar (Accepted)

Spiral hunting horn (Accepted)

Of the horns with special names, the best known is the “shofar”, the ram’s horn blown on Jewish high holidays. Depictions of the shofar date back at least to the 4^th Century, as seen on a Roman bowl now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Though not found as a period heraldic charge, as a period artifact, the shofar is registerable in the Society.

There’s also the “spiral horn”, more fully blazoned a “spiral hunting horn”. This isn’t made from animal horn at all, but from metal: essentially a flat spiral trumpet, the ancestor of the modern French horn. The illustration is based on an artifact dated 1570 [Montagu 107]; as a period artifact, the spiral hunting horn is registerable in the Society, though no heraldic examples have been found.

As with the hunting horn, the shofar and the spiral horn have their bells to dexter by Society default. For related charges, see cornetto, sackbut. See also inkbottle, tooth.

The Shire of Darton bears: Sable, a hunting horn within a laurel wreath Or.

Magnus Birchleg bears: Gules, a drinking horn bendwise sinister argent.

Rivka bat Schmuel Alfasi bears: Per fess indented azure and gules, in pale a shofar, bell to sinister, and an estoile of eight rays Or.

Nikolaj Zrogowacialy bears: Barry argent and azure, a spiral horn of three spirals reversed Or.

Hook

A hook is a curved or barbed implement, usually of metal, used for holding onto something, and thus to catch, pull, or suspend it. There are several specific types of hook in period heraldry, of which the fishhook is probably the most common. Other types of hook are named according to their use.

Tenterhook (Period)

Havette (Period)

The “tenterhook” is used to fasten cloth to a frame (called a “tenter”) for stretching or drying. It’s a period charge, found in the arms of Clerk or Clerkes, c.1480 [DBA4 172]; the form shown here is taken from Parker [331]. Period armory also has examples of the “havette” or “habick”, which performed the same function as the tenterhook; it’s found in the arms of Worshipful Company of Shearmen, 1510 (later incorporated into the Clothworkers, 1530) [Bromley & Child 48].

Hay hook (Period)

Flesh hook (Accepted)

We also have period examples of the “hayhook”, for handling hay bales, in the canting arms (German Heu, “hay”) of von Hödorff or von Heudorff, c.1450 [Ingeram 120, Scheibler 82]; its handle is to base by default. there is also the “meat hook”, for hanging meat, in the arms of da Peroxa, mid-15^th C. [Triv 282].

Society armory gives us the “flesh hook”, a cooking tool used to take large portions of meat from the pot. It’s a period artifact, as seen in the Luttrell Psalter c.1340, but as of this writing we have no confirmed examples of its use in period armory. The flesh hook has its handle to base by Society default.

For related charges, see anchor, grappling iron. See also crampon, fork, staple.

Joleicia of Litchfield bears: Or, a bend raguly vert between two tenterhooks sable.

Milda de Hay bears: Quarterly azure and vert, two hayhooks in saltire Or.

Huon Damebrigge bears as a badge: In saltire a flesh hook and a strainer sable.

Hempbreak

Hempbreak (Period)

A hempbreak, or hemp-bray, is a tool for crushing hemp or flax stalks, thus loosening the fibers for removal. It consists of a flat, legged base, with a hinged blade or toothed lid atop it. The hempbreak is a period charge: the form with the blade is found in the arms of von Habel, 1605 [Siebmacher 138], while the form with the toothed lid is the canting badge of Bray, early 16^th C. [Siddons 37; also Walden 199].

The hempbreak is found in period armorial art both open and closed, with the hinge both to dexter and sinister; its exact orientation is thus not blazoned, and is not worth difference. The illustration shows the English (toothed) form of the charge. See also table.

Jahn Van Breeman bears: Vert, a hempbreak argent.

Ormr Grimolfsson bears: Per bend sinister sable and azure, a hempbreak Or.

Ham

Ham (Accepted)

A ham is a severed thigh of pork, usually cured to prevent spoilage. It’s a period foodstuff – the illustration is taken from a book of hours from Poitiers, c.1475, now in the Pierpont Morgan Library – but no period examples of its use in heraldry have been found. The Society’s default for the ham is fesswise, with the narrow end (the “handle”) to sinister. See also leg.

Morgan of Osprey bears as a badge: A ham reversed sable boned argent enflamed on the upper edge proper.

Grindstone

Grindstone (Period)

A grindstone is a stone disc mounted on an axle, with a crank for turning; it’s used for sharpening knives and other blades. The grindstone is a period charge, found in the canting arms (Italian mola) of da Molla, mid-15^th C. [Triv 227].

The term “grinding wheel” is a Society blazon for a grindstone mounted in a wooden frame for use, as seen in an image in the Romance of Alexander, c.1340. As a charge, it appears to be unique to the Society. For related charges, see mill. See also rock (millstone), wheel.

Wolfric Hammerfestning bears: Azure, a grinding wheel between three axes reversed argent.

Gridiron

Gridiron (Period)

A gridiron is a metal lattice for broiling or grilling food (or, in the case of St. Lawrence, saints). It’s a period charge, found in the canting arms of the Worshipful Company of Girdlers, 1454 [Bromley & Child 109]. The gridiron is palewise, handle to base, by default.

There is also the “spiral iron”, likewise used for grilling food. Though a period artifact, dating from the Iron Age in Scandinavia, it’s not been found in period armory. The spiral iron is palewise, handle to base, by default. See also frying pan, portcullis, strike.

Maren Lauritsdatter bears: Per pale azure and vert, three gridirons argent.

Domenico Barbiere da Mantova bears as a badge: A gridiron sable.

Brian fitz Gerald bears as a badge: Argent, a spiral iron sable, a bordure gules.

Mistholme

heraldry, illumination, and random jottings

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