The Shrine of Hamaskis.
Heraldry and Armory
The Shrine of Hamaskis.Heraldry and Armory | |
The following article was kindly supplied to the Shrine by Eoghea Lhass, the Falcon Queen of Arms of Ruddlestone and hence that nation's leading authority upon matters heraldic and armorial. The author hopes that it will prove interesting and useful to those who would gain a basic knowledge of the history and current practice in this area. The high priest, however, believes it pertinent to point out that despite the good lady's righteous disparagement of the misuse of armory, she herself uses the traditional but completely non-standard crest coronet of goose feathers to denote her position as the Falcon Queen of Arms.
Social Scale:
10: Emperor, Empress, High King, High Queen, King, Queen
9: High Prince, High Princess, Prince, Princess, Archduke, Archduchess, Grand Duke, Grand Duchess
8: Duke, Duchess, Count, Countess, Marquis, Marchioness, Earl, Thane
7: Baron, Baroness, Baronet, Dame, Viscount, Viscountess, Lord, Lady, Knight.
Whilst many societies have some means of determining social status from symbols or signs, such as the Elven clan markings for example, only in some human nations do we see this taken to the extent of creating detailed rules for Armory. The practice of a lord receiving fealty or service from others and allowing them to use a particular device as their symbol in return seems to have originated in the kingdom of Granat, from whence the custom spread through Irritaria along with the other great invention of that land, the Order of Knighthood. During the Rise of Chaos, Armoury and Knighthood were imported to Atlantis and thence to the Eastern lands which would later become Hachiman and the Isles of the Dawn.
It is often mistakenly believed that possession of a coat of arms is synonymous with knighthood. This has never been the case, although it is true that all true knights bear a coat of arms and that today, most of those who have the right to bear arms are indeed knights. In fact, possession of a coat of arms, also referred to as the right to bear arms, signifies only that a person has formally pledged or sworn to defend their country or nation in the event that such action should become necessary. Often this is formalized as a requirement to serve a certain number of days each year in the armed forces, be they a village militia or a trained regiment. In terms of Armory, a ruler or ruling body of a land or people is assumed to be devoting the majority of their time to safeguarding their demesne, whatever the truth of the matter, and so rulers, from the most powerful emperor to the meanest petty town-chief, have a tendency to grant themselves the most expansive and ostentatious coat of arms they can without inciting the ridicule of their neighbours. Within a nation's boundary, the ruler is responsible for all grants of arms and anyone using a coat of arms to which they are not entitled is usually dealt with under the procedure for treason. Some individuals, however, are permitted to bear arms in an honorary capacity as it were, when strictly they should not be entitled at all. For example, if several generations of a family had won the right to bear arms, but the next head of household were physically unfit, they might be given an honorary grant, and similarly for a physically crippled member of the nobility. In some nations, hard though it is to believe, women are culturally restrained from bearing arms except in the most dire emergency, and therefore are only ever granted honorary arms.
In many parts of the world today, including much of Allansia, there is no effective government above the level of the individual, or at best the family. These people would therefore be quite within their rights to devise an escutcheon for themselves and their family, although they probably have little time to spare for such frivolities where every day is a struggle to survive. At the other extreme, however, there are many nations so extensive that it is impossible or at least impractical for all citizens to swear fealty to the ruler in person. Therefore, the ruler will extract fealty from a class of senior nobility, who will in turn extract it from a lesser class, and they in turn from the common citizens. Thus the ruler grants the arms to the senior nobility, but it is they who grant arms to the next echelon in the name of the sovereign, and so on. In some cases, the rulers themselves swear fealty to a still greater overlord, as may be the case in the Old World in a few years, if the Crown of Kings continues to cement Femphrey's pre-eminence on that continent.
In addition to offering military service in the defence of one's homeland, there are two other ways to obtain or augment a coat of arms. At one time, these went hand in glove with the right to bear arms as outlined above, as all Armoury was initially controlled by Granat. Now, however, they are almost completely independent in many cases. Knightly Orders have their own armorial bearings which may be granted to members of the order. Although in theory anyone could set up a knightly order simply to grant themselves an honour to which they would not otherwise be entitled, the devices of real orders of knighthood are well known and such an action should bring more condemnation than congratulation. Priesthoods may also grant arms, and here, of course, the only limit to whom arms may be granted is the goodwill of the patron deity. It is often wondered why magicians are not granted their own forms of arms. There are two reasons. Firstly, when, in the mists of time, the rules of Armory were being laid down, the secrets of high magic had not yet been imparted to Zergoul Whitelightning by the elves, and so there was no need for sorcerous arms. Secondly, there is no governing body of mages to control the granting of arms. However, certain groups (most notably the Conclave of Grand Wizards in the Old World and the Council of Elders in Khul) have taken to granting their members and associates coats of arms, usually in the manner of priests and often with a wizard's staff replacing the crook or crosier of the priest. The Mage Order in Khul and the Templar Sorcerers in the Old World have avoided this deplorable practice by the simple expedient of making their members honorary members of friendly priestly or knightly orders (the Wazarri and Templar Knights respectively).
There follows a description of the individual elements of a coat of arms and their significance.
The most basic grant of arms consists of the Escutcheon. Any citizen who obtains the right to bear arms from their liege will be granted a specified device (unique in that nation) to be placed upon the escutcheon. Although the right to bear arms is not (at least in theory) hereditary, it is usual for members of a family to be granted a similar device with only minor changes, usually referred to as Marks of Difference. If a powerful family has less illustrious branches then these are called Cadet Branches and the marks of difference Marks of Cadency. If a vassal is a member of two distinguished families, then both arms may be incorporated upon the one escutcheon. This is referred to as Quartering and there are several methods employed, depending upon artistic preference and custom. An honorary grant of arms will display the device upon a lozenge instead of a shield, as is usual. When actually at war, the bearer will usually have their escutcheon painted upon their shield if they carry one and/or upon their cloak, tabard or tunic.
If an individual swears fealty to more than one liege (a situation best avoided in any case) then they will be granted more than one escutcheon. The award of multiple escutcheons is thankfully even less common than that of multiple crests (see below), but causes even greater problems. In particular, deciding which liege has the right to augment a torse when one is awarded by a knightly order or priesthood must be handled carefully. There are two methods to resolve the problem; either the escutcheons may be quartered as described below, which is a simple and neat solution, but deplorable in that the resulting device has not in fact been awarded to the bearer by any lord, or several escutcheons may be displayed side by side. In this case, however, it is difficult to resolve which escutcheon should bear the crest and/or collar of knighthood should one be granted, so it can be seen that there is no entirely satisfactory solution. One might display the escutcheons very close together with a single helmet or mitre above them, or place one above each escutcheon, with the torse of the appropriate colours and the augmentations awarded by that lord. If the same individual is entitled to more than one crest as well, then the situation quickly becomes ridiculously tangled.
As remarked above, there are several different methods by which the devices from several escutcheons may be combined to be displayed as a single image. It is important to note, however, that each award of arms is a grant in itself, and so the method used will be specified in the terms of the grant and may not be changed by the recipient. Possibly the simplest method is Dimidation, where a new escutcheon is made up from several others by dividing the field into the required number of sections and placing within each the corresponding section of one of the original devices. This can, however, produce some very strange escutcheons, and is now mostly discarded. Impalement is similar in that the field is divided into sections, but here, the whole of a device is placed within each section. The disadvantage of this is that it can produce a very overcrowded escutcheon.
The name quartering comes from one of the earliest ways of arranging the sections alluded to above, in which the field is divided into four by means of one vertical and one horizontal line, meeting at the centre of the escutcheon. If two devices were to be represented, one would be placed in the first and fourth quarters and the other in the second and third. Three devices would be displayed: first and fourth; second; third, and four devices in the obvious way. During the height of Armorial expansion, there were increasingly found occasions when more than four devices needed to be combined. At first, the accepted method was to divide the field into four as before, and then further subdivide some or all of these sections similarly. However, this quickly produced escutcheons with such tiny sections that it became unworkable. Therefore, the a procedure was created whereby the field is divided into rows of images, where each row except the bottom has the same number of images (the bottom could have fewer) and there are as many rows as possible, up to a maximum of the number of images in the top rows. Thus the arrangement is as close to a square as possible. For example:
2 Images ............. Field divided vertically into two down the centre.
3 Images ............. Field divided into rows of 2, 1 images.
4 Images ............. Field divided into rows of 2, 2 images.
5 Images ............. Field divided into rows of 3, 2 images.
6 Images ............. Field divided into rows of 3, 3 images.
7 Images ............. Field divided into rows of 3, 3, 1 images.
8 Images ............. Field divided into rows of 3, 3, 2 images.
9 Images ............. Field divided into rows of 3, 3, 3 images.
10 Images ........... Field divided into rows of 4, 4, 2 images.
11 Images ........... Field divided into rows of 4, 4, 3 images.
12 Images ........... Field divided into rows of 4, 4, 4 images.
13 Images ........... Field divided into rows of 4, 4, 4, 1 images.
Now, the more archaic practice has been more or less completely replaced by the simpler, although possibly less aesthetically pleasing version.
In the case of lands where commoners swear fealty to a local overlord, rather than to the ruler in person, the said overlord may be granted the right by their liege to place their Badge upon their vassals, and he or she is referred to as a Peer of the Realm. This symbol would then be used upon the battle standard of the regiment raised by the overlord, and may be stamped upon all the equipment they supply. To signify their increased importance to the defence of the realm, they may also use the badge upon their coat of arms as a Supporter; i.e. a figure placed to the side of the escutcheon and appearing to "support" it. If a peer manages to raise more than one regiment, they may be permitted to use two supporters (one on each side of the escutcheon), or theoretically even more.
Whether or not they supply extra warriors to defend their homeland, an overlord will be granted a symbol of their power to govern their lands and people, called a Coronet of Rank, which is placed upon the top of the escutcheon, around the base of any helmet or mitre if one is present (see the Armorial bearings of a Knight or Priest). Note that the coronet of rank does not necessarily represent any real crown worn by the noble, although some do have their diadem made in the form of their coronet of rank. Also, such a coronet should not be confused with a crest coronet, although the two often go hand in hand. The coronet of rank represents de facto governance of a region or people, whilst a crest coronet represents hereditary or divinely approved (through the priesthood) authority.
Coronets of Rank as displayed on a Coat of Arms:
CP - Crosse Patte
FdL - Fleur de Lys
SL - Strawberry Leaf
RSB - Silver Ball raised upon a spike.
SB - Silver Ball placed upon the rim of the coronet.
A coronet of rank consists of five charges, unless all charges are in the form of silver balls, in which case there will be seven. These are arranged symmetrically, with the more senior charges towards the centre, although charges may alternate for artistic purposes. The charges are listed in order of distinction, and are always used consecutively, so one would never see Fleurs de lys and raised Silver Balls without also Strawberry Leaves, for example. Historically, it may be interesting to note that Silver Balls are a relatively recent addition to Armory, their introduction caused by the increase in population of the nations with an Armorial tradition resulting in a need for an increased number of ranks for the nobility.
CP CP CP CP CP - Emperor or Empress.
CP FdL CP FdL CP - High King or Queen.
FdL FdL CP FdL FdL - King or Queen related to an Emperor or Empress.
SL FdL CP FdL SL - Prince or Princess related to an Emperor or Empress.
FdL FdL FdL FdL FdL - King or Queen with no Imperial relations.
FdL SL FdL SL FdL - High Prince or Princess.
SL SL FdL SL SL - Prince or Princess related to a King or Queen, but with no Imperial relations.
RSB SL FdL SL RSB - Archduke or Archduchess.
SL SL SL SL SL - Prince or Princess with no Imperial or Royal relations.
SL RSB SL RSB SL - Grand Duke or Duchess.
RSB RSB SL RSB RSB - Duke or Duchess.
SB RSB SL RSB SB - Count or Countess.
RSB RSB RSB RSB RSB RSB RSB - Marquis or Marchioness.
SB RSB RSB RSB RSB RSB SB - Earl or Thane.
SB RSB SB RSB SB RSB SB - Baron or Baroness.
SB SB RSB SB RSB SB SB - Baronet or Dame.
SB SB SB RSB SB SB SB - Viscount or Viscountess.
SB SB SB SB SB SB SB - Lord or Lady.
There are two other elements of an achievement which it is perhaps best to mention here: the Compartment is the name given to any part of a representation of a coat of arms which is entirely artistic and has no Armorial significance, for example a base upon which supporters may seem to "stand". In the case of individuals with an achievement less grand than their conceit leads them to believe is appropriate, the compartment is frequently allowed to overshadow the remainder of the achievement, although this serves only to draw attention to the bearer's lack of honour, rather than disguise it. Finally, the motto, whilst not officially part of any grant of arms, is usually included in the compartment, or sometimes as a charge in the escutcheon, or even the crest (see below).
A knight will be entitled to the same rights of arms as any citizen as detailed above. In addition, the Order of Knighthood of which he or she is a member will grant them the right to display a Crest issuing from a Torse upon a Helmet and Lambrequin. The Order of Knighthood is denoted by a Collar of the Order, placed around the escutcheon, and the helmet surmounts the whole, slightly overlapping the top of the escutcheon. When the rules of Armory were laid down, it was never foreseen that the case might arise where a person might be accepted into a knightly order without first being granted the right to bear arms by their liege. However, as Knightly Orders have become separated from the state, this situation has, alas, become quite common, and in this instance, it has become customary to display the crest issuing from a collar of the order (rather than a torse) upon the usual helmet, and with no escutcheon beneath. The rules for displaying multiple crests are outlined in the section entitled "the Crest and Torse".
For most members of an order, the helmet used will be of the form of an open helm. Officers of the order (i.e. the senior members) may use a visored helmet to signify this rank. The Grand Master of the Order, if such a post exists, and possibly certain other officers as specified in the constitution of the order, are entitled to use a grilled helm. At one time the position of monarch and the rank of Grand Master were almost synonymous, and some knightly orders continue to respect this custom, allowing their members who are of royal or imperial blood to use either a visored or grilled helmet to which they would not otherwise be entitled. Whether they do this out of a sense of history or in return for the goodwill of the governors of the territory in which they operate must remain a matter for speculation.
The lambrequin, like the helmet, is entirely within the gift of the knightly order. For most knights, it will be of the main colour of the escutcheon, doubled the main colour of the crest. Additional honour may be conferred by replacing the principal colour of crest, or of both crest and escutcheon, with the principal metal or fur, as a reward for great bravery or strength of arms, for example. Note that the colour of the escutcheon is never replaced with a metal or fur unless that of the crest has already been replaced, so whilst it is possible to have a lambrequin of a colour doubled metal, the reverse is not true. A champion of the order may display their lambrequin seme, over whatever combination of colour and metal or fur he or she otherwise uses. It will be seen that these rules will not be feasible in the case of a knight who does not have the prior right to bear arms and hence has no escutcheon to provide the primary tincture. Thus, an alternative set of rules has been defined. Such a knight will bear a lambrequin of the main colour in their crest, doubled the same. As before, acts of bravery will be rewarded by doubling the lambrequin with the main metal or fur, and still greater acts by making the lambrequin itself of metal or fur. As before, a champion may display their lambrequin seme.
A priest will be entitled to the same rights of arms as any citizen as detailed above. In addition, the priesthood of which he or she is a member will grant them the right to display a Crest issuing from a Torse upon a Mitre. If the priest has no prior right to bear arms (as is often the case), then they may use the symbol of their priesthood upon an escutcheon. If they already own an escutcheon, then the priesthood is denoted by placing an inescutcheon (called an Escutcheon of Pretence) bearing the symbol of the priesthood, in the centre of the shield or lozenge bearing the original escutcheon. The mitre is then placed above the priest's escutcheon, slightly overlapping as with a knight's helmet, unless the priest is also a knight, in which case it is usually placed between the lambrequin and the torse. In most cases, a priest-knight will belong to a knightly order which is allied to their priesthood, and both organizations will take care to award the same crest, so placing the mitre between lambrequin and torse will pose no problem. A priest or priest-knight bearing more than one crest will display them as outlined below. Since a priest-knight always has an escutcheon, it will be encircled by the knightly collar. Senior priests are denoted by placing one or more objects such as crooks or crosiers behind the achievement, as determined by the priesthood concerned.
The Crest is a device granted by a knightly order or a priesthood as the member's symbol in the same way that the escutcheon is a person's symbol granted by their liege lord. It is depicted issuing from a Torse upon a helmet and lambrequin (in the case of a knight) or a mitre (in the case of a priest), or both, if the individual has been granted the same crest by both a knightly order and a priesthood. Some knights even go so far as to model a representation of their crest upon their battle-helm, to aid in identification, although unlike escutcheons, there is no need for crests to be unique. Despite this, there is no custom of giving members of the same family similar crests, again unlike in the case of escutcheons.
The torse is depicted as two skeins of cloth interwound. It usually consists of the main colour of the escutcheon and that of the crest. Traditionally three "twists" of each tincture are shown starting on the dexter with that taken from the escutcheon. It might be assumed that the torse is the gift of the knightly order or priesthood, since it is only ever used in conjunction with the crest, but in fact the torse and augmentations thereof lie in the bequest of the liege. The same is not true of a collar of knighthood when used in place of a torse for a knight with no right to bear arms, of course. A liege may reward their vassal by allowing them to substitute one or both of the colours in their torse for the corresponding metal or fur (i.e. the main such tincture in the crest or escutcheon). If only one substitution is allowed, then it will be that of the escutcheon. Alternatively, or in addition, one of the following crest coronets may be granted to be placed between the torse and the crest:
Chapeau - King's Councillor.
Eastern Coronet - Ambassador.
Mural Crown - General.
Naval Crown - Admiral.
Coronet Vallary - Castellan.
Coronet Palisudo - Garrison Commander.
Occult Crown - Explorer.
Antique Crown - Mentor or trainer of Knights.
Ducal Crest Coronet of 3 Leaves - Baron, Baroness, Baronet, Dame, Viscount, Viscountess, Lord or Lady.
Ducal Crest Coronet of 5 Leaves - Duke, Duchess, Count, Countess, Marquis, Marchioness, Thane or Earl.
Regal Crest Coronet with Strawberry Leaves - Prince or Princess, Archduke, Archduchess, Grand Duke or Duchess (SL FdL SL).
Regal Crest Coronet with Fleur de Lys - King or Queen (FdL FdL FdL).
Regal Crest Coronet with Crosse Patte - High King or Queen (FdL CP FdL).
Imperial Crest Coronet - Emperor or Empress (CP CP CP)
At one time, there was no possibility of a knight failing to have an escutcheon or of an individual being a member of more than one priesthood, for example. However, the spread and diversification of knightly orders and priesthoods means that a person may occasionally be granted different crests by different bodies. In the (fortunately rare) event that an individual has more than one crest, they will each be displayed on a separate helmet or mitre, issuing from a torse of the appropriate tinctures (or from a collar). The lambrequins from each helmet will usually be merged to resemble a tapestry consisting of several fabrics sewn together. Augmentations to helmet, torse or lambrequin are applied individually and are associated with the crest, not the achievement as a whole. Other elements of the coat of arms should be applied as seems appropriate. For example, the collars of knighthood could be placed concentrically around the single escutcheon, or the escutcheon could be repeated several times over, each surmounted by one helmet or mitre. This is in particular the best way to deal with multiple priesthoods, with the corresponding need for multiple escutcheons of pretence.
Allansia
Goldoran - Thai/indonesian?
Chang Mai - Thai
Kaypong - once Thai, now eclectic mix?
Frostholm - Scandinavian
Shabak
Arantis - New Kingdom Egypt.
Vatos - Hellenized Egypt?
Vymorna - Troy? Some Spanish influence?
Karnek
Kallamehr - Arabian Knights
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Klarash - Germanic
Gorak
Kazan - Mongolia
Zamarra
Kabesh - Mongol
Arion
Tak - Classical Eastern Meterranean
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Hachiman - Japan
The Isles of the Dawn - China (with a little Japanese influence)
Kelios
Marpas
Gallentaria - Dutch?
Femphrey - African empire.
Lendleland - Hunnic Mongolia
Analand
Brice
Ruddlestone
Mortvania - Transylvanian peasantry, germanic rulership
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