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Blazoned
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual depiction of a coat of arms or flag has traditionally had considerable latitude in design, but a verbal blazon specifies the essentially distinctive elements. A coat of arms or flag is therefore primarily defined not by a picture but rather by the wording of its blazon (though in modern usage flags are often additionally and more precisely defined using geometrical specifications). ''Blazon'' is also the specialized language in which a blazon is written, and, as a verb, the act of writing such a description. ''Blazonry'' is the art, craft or practice of creating a blazon. The language employed in ''blazonry'' has its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax, which becomes essential for comprehension when blazoning a complex coat of arms. Ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch of heraldry, concerns the design and transmission of the heraldic achievement. The achievement, or armorial bearings usually includes a coat of arms on a shield, helmet and crest, together with any accompanying devices, such as supporters, badges, heraldic banners and mottoes. Although the use of various devices to signify individuals and groups goes back to antiquity, both the form and use of such devices varied widely, as the concept of regular, hereditary designs, constituting the distinguishing feature of heraldry, did not develop until the High Middle Ages. It is often claimed that the use of helmets with face guards during this period made it difficult to recognize one's commanders in the field when large armies gathered together ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escutcheon (heraldry)
In heraldry, an escutcheon () is a shield that forms the main or focal element in an Achievement (heraldry), achievement of arms. The word can be used in two related senses. In the first sense, an escutcheon is the shield upon which a coat of arms is displayed. In the second sense, an escutcheon can itself be a charge (heraldry), charge within a coat of arms. Escutcheon shapes are derived from actual shields that were used by knights in combat, and thus are varied and developed by region and by era. Since shields have been regarded as military equipment appropriate for men only, British ladies customarily bear their arms upon a Lozenge (heraldry), lozenge, or diamond-shape, while clergymen and ladies in continental Europe bear their arms upon a Cartouche (design), cartouche, or oval. Other shapes are also in use, such as the roundel (heraldry), roundel commonly used for arms granted to Aboriginal Canadians by the Canadian Heraldic Authority, or the Nguni shield used in Coats of ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sable (heraldry)
In heraldry, sable () is the tincture black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ..., and belongs to the class of dark tinctures, called "colours". In engravings and line drawings, it is sometimes depicted as a region of crossed horizontal and vertical lines, or else marked with ''sa.'' as an abbreviation. The name derives from the black fur of the sable, a species of marten. Poetic meanings Centuries ago, arms were often described poetically and the tinctures were connected to different gemstones, flowers and heavenly bodies. Sable usually represented the following: * Of jewels, the diamond * Of heavenly bodies, Saturn * Of flowers, the herb nightshade, in these circumstances also called dwal Gallery File:Arms of Dalzell, Earl of Carnwath.svg, Arms of Dalziel family o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gules
In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depicted by hatching of vertical lines. In tricking—abbreviations written in areas to indicate their tinctures—it is marked with gu.. Etymology The term ''gules'' derives from the Old French word , literally "throats" (related to the English ''gullet''; modern French ), but also used to refer to a fur neckpiece, usually made of red fur. A.C. Fox-Davies states that the term originates from the Persian word , "rose", but according to Brault, there is no evidence to support this derivation. Examples Gules is the most widely used heraldic tincture. Through the sixteenth century, nearly half of all noble coats of arms in Poland had a field gules with one or more argent charges on them. Examples of coats of arms consisting of purely a red s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argent
In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to be tinctured ''argent'' are either left blank, or indicated with the abbreviation ''ar''. The name derives from Latin ''argentum'', translated as "silver" or "white metal". The word ''argent'' had the same meaning in Old French ''blazon'', whence it passed into the English language. In some historical depictions of coats of arms, a kind of silver leaf was applied to those parts of the device that were argent. Over time, the silver content of these depictions has tarnished and darkened. As a result, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish regions that were intended as "argent" from those that were " sable". This leaves a false impression that the rule of tincture has been violated in cases where, when applied next to a dark colour, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Or (heraldry)
In heraldry, or (/ɔːʁ/; French for "gold") is the tincture of gold and, together with argent (silver), belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals", or light colours. In engravings and line drawings, it is hatched using a field of evenly spaced dots. It is very frequently depicted as yellow, though gold leaf was used in many illuminated manuscripts and more extravagant rolls of arms. The word "gold" is occasionally used in place of "or" in blazon, sometimes to prevent repetition of the word "or" in a blazon, or because this substitution was in fashion when the blazon was first written down, or when it is preferred by the officer of arms. The use of "gold" for "or" (and "silver" for "argent") was a short-lived fashion amongst certain heraldic writers in the mid-20th century who attempted to "demystify" and popularise the subject of heraldry. "Or" is sometimes spelled with a capital letter (e.g. "Gules, a fess Or") so as not to confuse it with the conjunction "or". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quartering (heraldry)
Quartering is a method of joining several different coats of arms together in one shield by dividing the shield into equal parts and placing different coats of arms in each division. Typically, a quartering consists of a division into four equal parts, two above and two below (''party per cross''). Occasionally the division is instead along both diagonals ( party per saltire'') again creating four parts but now at top, bottom, left, and right. An example of ''party per cross'' is the Sovereign Arms of the United Kingdom, as used outside Scotland, which consists of four quarters, displaying the Arms of England, Scotland and Ireland, with the coat for England repeated at the end. (In the royal arms as used in Scotland, the Scottish coat appears in the first and fourth quarters and the English one second.). An example of ''party per saltire'' is the arms of the medieval Kingdom of Sicily which also consists of four sections, with top and bottom displaying the coat of the Crow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dexter And Sinister
''Dexter'' and ''sinister'' are terms used in heraldry to refer to specific locations in an escutcheon bearing a coat of arms, and to the other elements of an achievement. ''Dexter'' (Latin for 'right') indicates the right-hand side of the shield, as regarded by the bearer, i.e. the bearer's proper right, and to the left as seen by the viewer. ''Sinister'' (Latin for 'left') indicates the left-hand side as regarded by the bearer – the bearer's proper left, and to the right as seen by the viewer. In vexillology, the equivalent terms are '' hoist'' and ''fly''. Significance The dexter side is considered the side of greater honour, for example when impaling two arms. Thus, by tradition, a husband's arms occupy the dexter half of his shield, his wife's paternal arms the sinister half. The shield of a bishop shows the arms of his see in the dexter half, his personal arms in the sinister half. King Richard II adopted arms showing the attributed arms of Edward the Confessor in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Division Of The Field
In heraldry, the field (background) of a shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name (e.g. a shield divided in the shape of a chevron is said to be parted "per chevron"). Shields may be divided this way for ''differencing'' (to avoid conflict with otherwise similar coats of arms) or for purposes of '' marshalling'' (combining two or more coats of arms into one), or simply for style. The lines that divide a shield may not always be straight, and there is a system of terminology for describing patterned lines, which is also shared with the heraldic ordinaries. French heraldry takes a different approach in many cases from the one described in this article. Common divisions of the field Common partitions of the field are: * ''parted'' (or ''party'') ''per fess'' (halved horizontally) * ''party per pale'' (halved vertically) * ''party per bend'' (diagonally fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variation Of The Field
In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (or a charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field. Blazoning of French adjectives Variations of the field present a particular problem concerning consistent spelling of adjectival endings in English blazons. Because heraldry developed at a time when English clerks wrote in Anglo-Norman French, many terms in English heraldry are of French origin, as is the practice of placing most adjectives after nouns rather than before. A problem arises as to acceptable spellings of French words used in English blazons, especially in the case of adjectival endings, determined in normal French usage by gender and number. It is considered by some heraldic authorities as pedantry to adopt strictly correct linguistic usage for English blazons: :"To describe two hands as ''appaumées'', because the word ''main'' is feminine in French, savours somewhat of pedantry. A p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azure (heraldry)
In heraldry, azure ( , ) is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else is marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation. The term azure shares origin with the Spanish word "azul", which refers to the same color, deriving from hispanic Arabic ''lazawárd'' the name of the deep blue stone now called lapis lazuli. The word was adopted into Old French by the 12th century, after which the word passed into use in the blazon of coats of arms. As an heraldic colour, the word ''azure'' means "blue", and reflects the name for the colour in the language of the French-speaking Anglo-Norman nobles following the Norman Conquest of England. A wide range of colour values is used in the depiction of azure in armory and flags, and in common usage it is often referred to simply as 'blue'. In addition to the standard blue tincture called azure, there is a lighter blue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tincture (heraldry)
Tincture is the limited palette of colours and patterns used in heraldry. The need to define, depict, and correctly blazon the various tinctures is one of the most important aspects of heraldic art and design. Development and history The use of tinctures dates back to the formative period of European heraldry in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The range of tinctures and the manner of depicting and describing them has evolved over time, as new variations and practices have developed. The basic scheme and rules of applying the heraldic tinctures dates back to the 12th century. The earliest surviving coloured heraldic illustrations, from the mid-thirteenth century, show the standardized usage of two metals, five colours, and two furs. Since that time, the great majority of heraldic art has employed these nine tinctures. Over time, variations on these basic tinctures were developed, particularly with respect to the furs. Authorities differ as to whether these variations shou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
