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<blockquote data-quote="Rhineglade" data-source="post: 6751710" data-attributes="member: 6801931"><p><strong>Heraldry and Coat of Arms</strong></p><p></p><p>If you are anything like me, you are interested in the use of heraldry in fantasy role play. I think that traditional coat of arms gives a unique character to the playing environment and therefore I like to use it when I can. However, if you are also like me, you might be confused as heck when it comes to some of the descriptive terms. Therefore, I thought I would post this little blurb to define some of the terms and make things more clear.</p><p></p><p>'Heraldry' is the profession, study or art of creating, granting and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol. Traditionally, the use of heraldry was essential on the battlefield. With knights on horseback wearing faceguards on their helmets, it was impossible to tell one from another during the heat of combat. The use of a coat of arms on the shield or standard allowed a viewer to more easily identify the combatants.</p><p></p><p>The practice of heraldry in the Dragonwick Campaign is well over 900 years old. Similar to version in our world, heraldry has its own vocabulary, word order and rules governing description in order to provide a uniform code. On Hyperion, the descriptive language comes from old Pelinorean (similar to French in our world). </p><p></p><p>A coat of arms is composed of multiple parts. The central part is the 'escutcheon' or 'shield.' Generally, the shape of the shield was not important because the size and shape very by region to region and evolve over time and according to tradition. The shield however is common in all coats of arms.</p><p></p><p>Coat of arms may vary in the use of additional embellishments such as a motto, supporters, crests and mantling. Certainly not all coats of arms will have these elements and in fact most do not. The motto is a phrase or collection of words often with a personal significance to the bearer of the arms. Supporters are human, animal, mythic or inanimate objects placed on either side of the coat of arms. In some nations, only aristocrats could use supporters. A helmet and crest were often also used almost exclusively by aristocrats. The crest generally rested on top of the helmet which in turn sat atop the shield. Traditionally, a helmet and crest would also be accompanied by 'mantling' which appears as a strip of cloth or a banner wrapping the device.</p><p></p><p>The coat of arms is individualized through the use of tinctures, colors, metals and furs. The most common forms of tinctures include Or (gold), argent (silver), azure (blue), gules (red), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Certain patterns known as furs can also be applied to the coat of arms with ermine and vair being the most common. The first rule of heraldic design is the Rule of Tincture. Metal should never be put on metal or a color on top of a color. For example, argent (silver) would not be put on top of Or (gold) as both of these are metals.</p><p></p><p>The shield itself can sometimes be decorated with a pattern of colors known as a variation. Horizontal stripes are called a barry. Vertical stripes are a paly. Diagonal stipes could be called a bendy or bend sinister depending on the direction. Other variations include the chevron, gyron and chequey. Wavy stripes are known as undy.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rhineglade, post: 6751710, member: 6801931"] [B]Heraldry and Coat of Arms[/B] If you are anything like me, you are interested in the use of heraldry in fantasy role play. I think that traditional coat of arms gives a unique character to the playing environment and therefore I like to use it when I can. However, if you are also like me, you might be confused as heck when it comes to some of the descriptive terms. Therefore, I thought I would post this little blurb to define some of the terms and make things more clear. 'Heraldry' is the profession, study or art of creating, granting and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol. Traditionally, the use of heraldry was essential on the battlefield. With knights on horseback wearing faceguards on their helmets, it was impossible to tell one from another during the heat of combat. The use of a coat of arms on the shield or standard allowed a viewer to more easily identify the combatants. The practice of heraldry in the Dragonwick Campaign is well over 900 years old. Similar to version in our world, heraldry has its own vocabulary, word order and rules governing description in order to provide a uniform code. On Hyperion, the descriptive language comes from old Pelinorean (similar to French in our world). A coat of arms is composed of multiple parts. The central part is the 'escutcheon' or 'shield.' Generally, the shape of the shield was not important because the size and shape very by region to region and evolve over time and according to tradition. The shield however is common in all coats of arms. Coat of arms may vary in the use of additional embellishments such as a motto, supporters, crests and mantling. Certainly not all coats of arms will have these elements and in fact most do not. The motto is a phrase or collection of words often with a personal significance to the bearer of the arms. Supporters are human, animal, mythic or inanimate objects placed on either side of the coat of arms. In some nations, only aristocrats could use supporters. A helmet and crest were often also used almost exclusively by aristocrats. The crest generally rested on top of the helmet which in turn sat atop the shield. Traditionally, a helmet and crest would also be accompanied by 'mantling' which appears as a strip of cloth or a banner wrapping the device. The coat of arms is individualized through the use of tinctures, colors, metals and furs. The most common forms of tinctures include Or (gold), argent (silver), azure (blue), gules (red), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Certain patterns known as furs can also be applied to the coat of arms with ermine and vair being the most common. The first rule of heraldic design is the Rule of Tincture. Metal should never be put on metal or a color on top of a color. For example, argent (silver) would not be put on top of Or (gold) as both of these are metals. The shield itself can sometimes be decorated with a pattern of colors known as a variation. Horizontal stripes are called a barry. Vertical stripes are a paly. Diagonal stipes could be called a bendy or bend sinister depending on the direction. Other variations include the chevron, gyron and chequey. Wavy stripes are known as undy. [/QUOTE]
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