Re: coat of arms necessary vs required (fwd)

[clevin@rci.ripco.com (Craig Levin)]

Poster: clevin@rci.ripco.com (Craig Levin)

Signiora Giuseppina:

> Vivats, Pedro.
>    I can verify what you say is true.  Mundanely I am a Capece, and my
> family has had it's device for centuries.  What many forget is that not all
> parts of Italy were fragmented, specifically the south (the Kingdom of thr
> Two Sicilies) and many noble  families emigrated from other cultures, most
> notably the Normans and the Anjevins.

Let's not forget the peninsula's not-so-neighborly neighbor to
the North, the Holy Roman Empire. All those double headed eagles
on the town arms came from _somewhere_, after all.

>     It should also be reminded that although many different cultures had
> different rules for heraldry, IN THIS SOCIETY we only use the English(and I
> believe the French)
> rules.  And it is through this society that we are asking to have our arms
> passed.  My persona is also Italian, and I would like my device to have an
> Italian look.  But I will use the heraldic laws of this society.  And
> hopefully I will come to a happy medium.

Actually, things have opened up quite a bit. We'll use designs
and design elements that are Continental in origin (for example,
we can design Hungarian-style arms, which often don't obey the
"no color on color" rule that's adhered to more often than not in
Western Europe). We use the English blazon, rather than the
French or Spanish or Latin blazons, because most people in the
SCA speak English as their native tongue. I doubt that you'd have
a problem designing arms that have a decidedly Italian flavor to
them. 

What I do know of Italian arms is rather scant. As far as I know,
Italians more or less adhered to the "no color on color" rule as
much as the French or Germans-which means that you might find a
few "violations" here and there, but most of it's going to be
rather canonical in appearance. Bends seem to have been popular
in armory (but my examination of Italian arms have been in an
Arthurian context-variations on the Tavola Ritonda and
Rusticien's Arthurian works), as well as azure/argent combos, and
chevrons uncommon, as opposed to the Anglo-French norm. Eagles
and lions are pretty popular as charges as well, but that's not
saying much. Everyone likes lions and eagles. Ask Evan da
Collaureo about Italian heraldry-he's the bigwig on the subject.

Pedro de Alcazar, AoA
Barony of Storvik, Atlantia
Pursuivant Extraordinary and Junior Minion
Or, six Castles Vert within a Bordure Gules semy of Roundels Or
-- 
http://pages.ripco.com:8080/~clevin/index.html 
clevin@ripco.com
Craig Levin
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