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=== Basic Heraldry === | === Basic Heraldry === | ||
“HERALDRY - [definition from The Random House Dictionary of the English language, Unabridged Edition (1973)] n., pl. –ries . 1. the science of armorial bearings. 2. the art of blazoning armorial bearings, of setting the rights of person to bear arms or to use certain bearings, of tracing and recording genealogies, of recording honors, and of deciding questions of precedence. 3. the office or duty of a herald. 4. A coat of arms; armorial bearings. 5. a heraldic device, or a collection of such devices. 6. heraldic symbolism. 7. heraldic pomp and ceremony . . . . (HERALD+-RY)” | “HERALDRY - [definition from The Random House Dictionary of the English language, Unabridged Edition (1973)] n., pl. –ries . 1. the science of armorial bearings. 2. the art of blazoning armorial bearings, of setting the rights of person to bear arms or to use certain bearings, of tracing and recording genealogies, of recording honors, and of deciding questions of precedence. 3. the office or duty of a herald. 4. A coat of arms; armorial bearings. 5. a heraldic device, or a collection of such devices. 6. heraldic symbolism. 7. heraldic pomp and ceremony . . . . (HERALD+-RY)” | ||
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One form of heraldic bearing is called Ordinaries - these are various lines and geometric shapes used as charges (crosses, piles, etc.). | One form of heraldic bearing is called Ordinaries - these are various lines and geometric shapes used as charges (crosses, piles, etc.). | ||
Actual charges for coats of arms fall into several categories: natural objects, animate charges, inanimate things, canting charges or “rebuses” (which form a pun on the name of the bearer) and a more recent addition, cartoon characters. <br>Natural objects would be things like rocks, celestial objects – sun, moon, stars, constellations, comets, planets, etc. – and so on.<br>Animate charges include but are not limited to the following: trees and parts of trees (leaves, limbs, chunks of wood, logs of various sizes, etc.), flowers (pedals, blossoms, leaves, etc.), plants, divine beings, human beings and parts of the human body, animals, birds, fish, insects, reptiles, monsters, ‘other creatures,’ etc. [Lions, dragons, tigers, bears, camels, goats, sheep, whales, narwhales, dolphins, butter-flies, spiders, scorpions, snakes, bats, eagles, swallows, hawks, flying fish, deer, elk, moose, fawn, unicorn, cyclopes, monitor, dinosaurs, and much more.] <br>Inanimate things are generally viewed as conventional ancient charges: anchors, arrows, bows, bridges, castles, crowns, gloves, swords, ships, towers, wheels, machines, etc. There have also been several modern things used as charges; e.g., the DNA double-helix was used as the charge on the arms of the scientist who ‘discovered’ it; airplanes have been used as charges, in scenes on shields, and as supporters for arms, as have rockets. ‘Spaceships’ have only been used in the cartoon character category.<br>Canting arms or “rebuses” would be: a) a man with the surname of Lucy, Geddy, or Pike using the fish known in heraldic terms as Luce or Lucy or Ged, which is the variety of fish known more commonly as a pike, for a charge on his shield; or<br>b) John Shakespeare having a single large jousting lance on his shield.<br>Cartoon characters are generally used in the military branch of heraldry and are the caricatures of animals, people or objects. | Actual charges for coats of arms fall into several categories: natural objects, animate charges, inanimate things, canting charges or “rebuses” (which form a pun on the name of the bearer) and a more recent addition, cartoon characters. <br>Natural objects would be things like rocks, celestial objects – sun, moon, stars, constellations, comets, planets, etc. – and so on. | ||
<br>Animate charges include but are not limited to the following: trees and parts of trees (leaves, limbs, chunks of wood, logs of various sizes, etc.), flowers (pedals, blossoms, leaves, etc.), plants, divine beings, human beings and parts of the human body, animals, birds, fish, insects, reptiles, monsters, ‘other creatures,’ etc. [Lions, dragons, tigers, bears, camels, goats, sheep, whales, narwhales, dolphins, butter-flies, spiders, scorpions, snakes, bats, eagles, swallows, hawks, flying fish, deer, elk, moose, fawn, unicorn, cyclopes, monitor, dinosaurs, and much more.] | |||
<br>Inanimate things are generally viewed as conventional ancient charges: anchors, arrows, bows, bridges, castles, crowns, gloves, swords, ships, towers, wheels, machines, etc. There have also been several modern things used as charges; e.g., the DNA double-helix was used as the charge on the arms of the scientist who ‘discovered’ it; airplanes have been used as charges, in scenes on shields, and as supporters for arms, as have rockets. ‘Spaceships’ have only been used in the cartoon character category. | |||
<br>Canting arms or “rebuses” would be: a) a man with the surname of Lucy, Geddy, or Pike using the fish known in heraldic terms as Luce or Lucy or Ged, which is the variety of fish known more commonly as a pike, for a charge on his shield; or<br>b) John Shakespeare having a single large jousting lance on his shield.<br>Cartoon characters are generally used in the military branch of heraldry and are the caricatures of animals, people or objects. | |||
Heraldry can be used to identify individuals, their family members (this is called cadency), their property, and holdings as well as ‘houses,’ cities, corporations, societies, churches, states, nations, military units, businesses, agencies or about any other type of organizations. But the ‘family of coat of arms,’ with only a surname to identify it, are usually bogus. | Heraldry can be used to identify individuals, their family members (this is called cadency), their property, and holdings as well as ‘houses,’ cities, corporations, societies, churches, states, nations, military units, businesses, agencies or about any other type of organizations. But the ‘family of coat of arms,’ with only a surname to identify it, are usually bogus. | ||
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