[antir-heralds] Various field divisions (was: photo/style check please\\)

[Britt]

On 11/6/07, chrisact at qwickconnect.net <chrisact at qwickconnect.net> wrote:
> Britt wrote:
>
> {much snippage}
>
> > <snippage of excellent analysis of why this depiction is not gyronny>
> >
> >> The only way around this I can think of is gyronny of 3 tinctures, and
> >> I'm not sure if the SCA allows that---other than the four items that are
> >> gyronny of three
> >> (http://oanda.sca.org/cgi-bin/oanda_bp.cgi?p=gyronny+of+three), I can
> >> find no examples of gyronny in three tinctures.
> >>
> >
> > RfS VIII.iv. Elements evenly divided into multiple parts of two
> > different tinctures must have good contrast between their parts.
> >
> > Pretty clear.  Multiple parts = two tinctures.
> >
>
> Hmm.... I'm not sure that applies. "A implies B" does not necessarily
> mean "B implies A." IOW, the fact that two tinctures must have good
> contrast does not mean you can't have three tinctures. Gyronny of 6, for
> example, could be gules, azure, and argent.
>
> Of course, that's assuming "evenly divided" means (as per usual usage)
> divided more-or-less equally. If it is held to mean "divided into an
> even (divisible by two) number of pieces" then you would be correct. :-)

Well, then of course you'd have to document that particular use of
gyronny to period use, of course.

We have been unable to find any period precedent for such a multiply
tinctured chequy [of three tinctures]. If such could be found, we
would entertain an appeal; otherwise, we feel that this is an
innovation that we would rather not make in Society heraldry. (LoAR 28
Feb 87, p. 17)

Tec note: You can find it in Siebmacher and I think it's called
wogenfeh, but it's not been registered in the SCA yet that I can find.

But that does indicate that if you're going to go that far afield, you
need to document it.

> I stand corrected.

You type standing up?  How uncomfortable!  :)


> BTW, am I alone in thinking those look like (more-or-less) Arabic-style
> swords? /Eaters of the Dead/, anyone?

They're a bit more curved than the depiction of the shamshir in the
Pictorial Dictionary, but not so much that they can't be blazoned as
shamshirs.  I'd hate to try to do anything useful with one, though.


> BTW, Arquai, "pily" is not the same thing as "piles in point"; for
> examples of pily, you can go to:
> http://badger.cx/heraldry/roll/search.php?data=pily&type=blazon

Speculation I've heard from students of period real world armory is
that pily started life as really, really intense versions of field
divisions indented. Speculation has also been put forth (but untested
thus far) that a field pily bendy and a field per bend sinister
indented might not get difference.  At this point in time Laurel has
had no need to rule on that possibility.  Pily fields are found in the
Ordinary (http://oanda.sca.org/ordinary/index.html) under Field
division - Other.

- Teceangl