[MR] Question on Banners

[Dave Montuori]

Scripsit Margaret Sayher:
> When putting a motto on a banner, are capitals used as they are today, 
> just at the beginning and did they use punctuation, etc?

I'm not sure for *banners* per se.

In the uncommon cases of mottos appearing on the actual armory (it happens 
occasionally in Iberian armory), in the Roman alphabet, all the cases I've 
seen use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. In late period I've seen some "full 
achievements" with mottos written on a ribbon below the shield; some are 
in ALL CAPS, and some are initial-capital. In general I consider it safer 
to go with all capital letters.

As for punctuation, it occurs rarely if at all in mottos, and I've *never* 
seen it used on a motto appearing in the actual armory. Punctuation has 
changed quite a bit since the Middle Ages (he says, glancing at a copy of 
"Eats Shoots and Leaves" nearby on the desk) so I'd say that if one must 
use punctuation in a motto on a banner, make sure one gets it right *for 
the targetted time and place*. But simply leaving the punctuation out 
appears to be preferable for this practice. JMO.

Evan