[MR] RE: heraldry

[Towey, Brian]

> Every month there are some submissions that are of dubious color.

This puzzles me.   (Of course, much of what heralds do puzzles me.)

When we mere mortals submit a device, we are asking for letters patent on
the blazon text, not a particular emblazon or graphical rendering.

Suppose your primary charge is a sable lion (as mine is).  Once your device
is approved, you are free to use any lion silhouette that strikes your fancy
- fat or thin, shaggy or sleek.  You don't always have to draw it just like
your submission form.  And, unless the color of the tongue is specified, you
are free to paint the tongue red, or black, or any color you choose.  

Or, suppose your field is gules.  Once your device is approved, you are free
to paint your shield ruby red, garnet red, cinnamon red, or any other red
paint you can find.

So, here's what I don't understand.  If all we are registering is the blazon
text, then any artwork we submit is only there to make sure that we blazoned
it correctly.  The artwork is not up for approval.  Only the blazon is.
Why, then, is there such an emphasis on the precise hue of the artwork?
Gules is gules.  Any reasonable facsimile of gules should serve to confirm
that the blazon is correct.  Even if the illustration fades to pink or
purple, red is what we are asking for, and red is what we will get.

It's tempting to argue that the rule is unneeded, since printers are
continually improving (does the phrase "near letter quality" ring a bell?).
Almost as soon as the rule can be adopted and enforced, it will be moot.  

Or, one could question whether crayons really are better.  When I filed my
device for the first time, the only green crayon I could find was yellower
than I liked.  It suggested vert, but was far from the saturated green paint
I planned to use.  If a little shading with a crayon or colored pencil is
good enough, almost anything should be.  At least printers are good about
staying in the lines!

But, I think the more important question is, "What does it matter in the
first place?"

-Charles Fleming
mka Brian Towey
"Miror Otium Negotium Multum Requirare"