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MEETINGS
HERALDRY
[A talk by Micheil Armstrong of Mungbyhurst]
20 October 2007.
Micheil preceded his talk by his introduction of Heraldry by producing a Springbok hat placed upon his head (this later proved a prophetic move as the Springboks won the World Cup a little later). His point in doing this was to illustrate the purpose of heraldry as a recognition symbol used in ancient combat by our forefathers.
In times of battles, skirmishes or brutal land seizures historically the combatants could neither read nor write. In order to identify each other the King, Barron, Lord, Knight would carry a shield, banner or pennant which would be easily recognisable by friend and foe alike.
Modern Heraldry has proceeded from this point and developed into an art form used by Families, Corporate Identities, Towns, Cities, Schools in fact any one who wishes to have themselves known.
Heraldic devices were painted on their shields, horse trappings, banners, tents and any item belonging to the bearer in order to be identified. These items later became known as a ‘Coat of Arms’.
The shield is the principal vehicle for the display of armorial insignia and the only essential part in an ‘Achievement of Arms’. The size and shape of the shield may be presented in a variety of shapes and sizes depending upon ancient usages, fashions and times. This was the foremost method of defence by a fighting man and being reasonable large was the most easily recognised.
The Helmet, in the days of hand to hand fighting the helmet gave protection to the head, these like the shield developed from a simple pot like shape later to provide protection to cheekbones, a visor for eye protection etc. On top of the helmet the fighting man would have his symbol made of wood or leather. During battles to the East or warmer climates (during the Crusades) the helmet became very hot so the fighting men placed a cap or small cape for heat protection this is now shown as mantelling.
The Achiements of Peers of commonly display crowns of various designs to denote the various ranks as do men of the cloth who display a hat with or without tassels of a bishop’s mitre.
We may also see on the Achiements of Arms chains, medals, crosses or Orders of Chivalry.
Supporters – On many Achiements of Arms the shield and helm (helmet) sometimes appear as if being held by persons, animals or other supporters. The practice of using supporters probally became popular with the rise of tournaments at which knights employed pages to parade around the arena, dressed in fantastic clothing bearing the shields of their masters.
The Rules Concerning the Use of Colour.
There are not many rules, the most important being the use of colour. Some rules to be observed.
Never place a metal on metal – e.g. a gold lion on a silver shield
Never place a colour on colour – e.g. a red lion on a blue shield
Always place a metal on a colour or a colour on a metal e.g. a gold lion on a red or black shield.
A fur can take the place of a metal or a colour.
The colours used are:
Colour Heraldic term
Gold Or
Silver Argent
Red Gules
Blue Azure
Black Sable
Green Vert or Sinople
Purple Purpure
Orange Temmé
Blood Sanguine
Mulberry Murrey
Sky Blue Bleu céleste
In order to distinguish father from son, when both were wearing the same arms, systems were developed of adding small distinguishing charges to the shield that could be removed or altered as circumstances in the family changed. Scottish Heraldry however had a system of adding differently tinted bordures for each member of the family.
It is common to find more than one Coat of Arms displayed on a shield. This is achieved by “Impalement” coats of Arms placed side by side on a shield. This can happen by marriage with husband’s arms appear on the dexter (left hand side facing the shield) the wife’s on the sinister side (right hand side).
Quartering means dividing the shield into sections, at least four and sometimes as many as twenty four. In each section a Coat of Arms is placed that has become errantly joined to the original Coat, usually by marriage to an heiress. From a Heraldic point of view, an heiress is the daughter of an armiger (a person entitled to bear heraldic arms) who has no sons.
When an armiger marries an Heraldic heiress he places her arms, after her father’s death, on a small escutcheon in the middle of the shield. When he dies his sons can display their father’s Coat of Arms, quartered with their mothers.
The Scottish system for differing arms for junior branches of the family calls.
Top – Father with clan colour
Middle – First born son – subsequent sons
Bottom – third generation changes
Note all keep Clan colour as a background.
Entitlement of Arms
Anyone may apply for a new grant of Arms, but a person is entitled to existing arms only if he can prove that he is descended in the male line from someone to whom a grant of arms had previously been made.
Application as follows;
The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of , is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country
The Earl Marshal of England is a hereditary Royal officeholder under the King or Queen of the United Kingdom
In South Africa the Bureau of heraldry is established as a bureau of heraldry.
The misuse of arms is a criminal offence in Scotland and England and treated as tax evasion.
The same applies in South Africa.
FLAGS & BANNERS
This is the personal flag of an armiger which shows the arms, as depicted on the shield, and nothing else. Conventionally, the design is placed on the flag as if the flagstaff were to the left of a drawing of the shield. Thus, a rampant animal is said to 'respect' the staff, an eagle displayed looks towards the staff and so on. The design should go through the fabric so that on the reverse side all the devices will be turned about but will still respect the staff. It is quite wrong to use a banner of a plain colour with the owners arms on a shield in the middle. This implies that the arms are of that colour with a small in escutcheon in the centre. It is equally wrong to show the helmet, crest, motto and supporters on a banner.The purpose of a banner is to locate and identify its owner and it is the visual equivalent of his name. Flown over his house, it identifies his property, elsewhere, it indicates his presence. The size of a house banner will depend on the height of the building and the pole. It should be large enough to be identified from a reasonable distance. The best shape for a heraldic house flag is square, regardless of its size. A smaller banner or Parade banner is designed to be carried in processions, either by its owner or by his appointed banner bearer. Such a banner is usually made in fine fabric and may be fringed. Its proportions should be those of an upright rectangle about five wide by six deep.
The standard is a long, narrow, tapering flag, granted by the Lord Lyon only to those who have a following, such as clan chiefs or chieftain. As a 'headquarters' flag, its principal use is to mark the gathering point or headquarters of the clan, family or following and does not necessarily denote the presence of the standard's owner as his personal banner does. The standards of peers and barons have their ends split and rounded; for others the end is unsplit and rounded. At the hoist, the standard usually shows the owner's arms, though some are still granted with the former practice of having the national saltire in the hoist. The remainder of the flag is horizontally divided into two tracts of the livery colours for chiefs of clans or families, three tracts for very major branch chieftains and four for others. Upon this background are usually displayed the owner's crest and heraldic badges, separated by transverse bands bearing the owner's motto or slogan. The whole flag is fringed with alternating pieces of the livery colours. The length of the standard varies according to the rank of its owner, as follows: The Sovereign 8 yards, Dukes 7 yards, Marquesses 6.5 yards, Earls 6 yards, Viscounts 5.5 yards, Lords 5 yards, Baronets 4.5 yards and lastly Knights and Scottish barons 4 yards. (One wonders if these ensigns are likely to come under European weights and measures legislation soon!)
There are many interesting web sites awaiting your further reading or for more knowledge.