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Re: Heraldic Side Note




Poster: edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com

> Branwynn dixit:
>
> > [...] my own [blazon],
> > which can go "Azure, an estoile of eight rays Argent, in chief,
> > three gouttes Azure."
[...]
> > According to the herald who helped write the verbiage, the stating
> > of the tincture of the chief is redundant since it is the same as
> > main charge just mentioned. Just another funny Herald-Thang.

Craig respondit:
> Nope. You've neglected to state that there's a chief up there.
> Being a herald myself, I can see the error of your blazoner. What
> he or she intended was:
>
> Azure, an estoile of eight rays Argent, and on a chief of the
> second, three gouttes Azure. That's the English CoA's style of
> blazonry, and not the one we prefer.

I think in English CoH style you'd say "...three gouttes of the first"
or "...three gouttes of the field".

BTW, English heralds also hate to repeat numbers, so they say thangs
like "Argent, two lions combattant Sable and in chief as many hearts Gules"
were a SCA herald would say "...two hearts..."

> If you don't tell people that there's a chief up there, you've
> messed up your blazon. Chief, of course, is not only an
> appellation for a charge, but also a direction on the shield-the
> top. "In chief" and "on a chief" are two different things.
[...]
> > However, since it *IS* a funny herald-thang, and many people aren't
> > aware of the convention, I _sometimes_ blazon mine "Azure, an estoile of
> > eight rays Argent, and on a chief Argent, three gouttes Azure" to
> > make certain that I am understood.
>
> That is the proper blazon.

I think that it is correct SCA-CoA style to leave out redundant
tinctures, if you leave out the _first_ occurrence instead of the second:

    Azure, an estoile of eight rays, and on a chief Argent,
   three gouttes Azure.

Consider Craig's example from the DC license plate.  He gave it as

    Argent, two bars and in chief three mullets fesswise Gules

not

    Argent, two bars Gules and in chief three mullets fesswise Gules.

I think you could safely leave out the "fesswise" in this case; I challenge
one and all to put three mullets in chief any otherwise.

> Clarity in blazon is the whole goal of the language. Otherwise,
> it wouldn't have evolved.

I think clarity is half the goal; the other half is obscurity.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have evolved the way it did.

-- Alfredo
 
Alfredo el Bufon
Elvegast, Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia
edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com
______________________________________

You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.
   -- Henry Ford

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