[MR] RE: heraldry

[Nelson Beth]

MiLord,

This question has been much debated on the Atlantian
Hearld's list.  The key is that you DON'T really
register your emblazon, you register the picture. 
Whether you pick a skinny lion or a fat lion your are
still picking a lion not a wolf.  Whether you use
crimson or ruby you are still picking red.  

Then to, the blazon may be changed slightly by the
hearlds to reflect a more elegant way of saying the
same thing.  When I submitted my arms my blazon was
altered in this way.  When I recently got my AOA I
talked to a scribe about finishing the scroll she
suggested that I give whoever finished the scroll a
picture of my arms as well as the blazon since not
everyone knows all of the terms used by the hearlds.

More to the point, the inks seem to fade in such a way
that certain colors do not become merely a different
shade but a different color, red becomes brown etc. 
The hearld's keep these records for YEARS.  My
understanding is that the Laurel Queen at Arms has
many file cabinets full of submissions and when
conflicts are called into question the heralds go for
the picture not the blazon.  If the color has shifted
then the question of which is intended comes into
play.  Modern technology has not yet come up with a
set of inks that does not degrade over the time we
want/need to keep the documents.  I'm just happy that
the black is stable enough that we don't have to hand
draw the outlines/charges.  

Lady Orlaith of Storvik

Message: 11
From: "Towey, Brian" <cbt4489 at GlaxoWellcome.com>
To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
Subject: [MR] RE: heraldry
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 09:23:49 -0400

> 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.

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


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