Re: heraldry ?

[Lance Harrop <lharrop@mrj.com>]

m'lady Andrea, you ask:

> How do I go about designing my arms?

And then state that you have NO idea what you want.

Well, I can assure you that you will get lots and lots of advice, but as 
I seem to have gotten here first, I'll also reply to the Merry Rose.

First, resist anything but the simplist device you can get.  Having 
emblazoned over a hundred of other peoples and groups arms, I can assure 
you that the simplier your arms are, the more appreciative people will be.
Simple arms are still possible, consider what my daughter and I came up 
with for my wife, Caellean McArdle bears Vert, on a pile indented argent 
a sword inverted gules.

Second, consider canting arms, which make a pun of your persona's name.  
This is an entirely period practice and gives you an excuse for whatever 
device you choose.  For instance: Sir Edwyn Beerslayer bears Per bend 
Vert and Or a sword bendwise sinistre inverted overlayed by a beer stein 
reversed counterchanged.  In other words, a sword piercing a beer ;-).

Third, if you can't find a cant, consider some of the more obscure 
Ordinaries, such as pales and piles and gores.  For instance: Baroness 
Thjora Arkittlesdottir bears Sable, a gore from sinistre vair.  This 
looks like a black curtin being drawn back to reveal a blue and white 
pattern.  You can obtain very simple arms by using some of the obscure 
ordinaries.

Fourth, consider using charges which were invocative, in period, of some 
virtue or quality you admire.  Lions for courage or nobility, unicorns 
for purity or chastity, wolves for cunning, and so on.  Look at the 
period representations of these animals, and remember that medieval 
artists often did not know what an antelope or panther or elephant really 
looked like.  For instance:  Sir Amalrick bears Argent gotty gules a 
heraldic antelope rampent a chief Sable.  So he has a black medieval 
notion of an antelope frolically on a white field strewn with drops of 
blood, all underneath the top third of his shield in black.

Remember, furs may look nice, but they are a pain to emblazon (speaketh 
he who has emblazoned many).  So are seme of XXXXXX.

Try to stick to one metal (white or yellow) and at most two colors (red, 
blue, black, green, or purple).

Don't let anyone push you into anything you don't like, you have to wear 
it, and most likely you will have to make it. 

Hopefully in service:

Leifr Johansson, who bears Argent, an eagle displayed azure and on a 
base rayonny gules a sun Or.

P.S., I apologize for any errors in people's names or blazons, but please 
don't bother me about it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe to the Kingdom of Atlantia mailing list, send a message
to majordomo@csc.ncsu.edu with no subject and the body consisting of:
unsubscribe atlantia