[antir-heralds] Conflict Question

[Judy Harcus]

Dafydd Caerfyrddin wrote:

>Is a maintained or sustained charge considered a primary or secondary charge?  Is there a point of difference for a different maintained or sustained charge?
>  
>
 From Precedents of Francois:
" Since the July 1992 LoAR, the term maintaining has been used for 
grasped or held items which are too small to be worth difference. 
Sustaining and supporting have been used for a grasped or held item 
which is of comparable visual weight to the item holding it, and thus 
worth difference. In cases where other blazon words are used for the act 
of holding an item, the blazon is ambiguous about whether the held item 
is significant or not. It is true that the term maintaining literally 
derives from a Latin phrase for holding in a hand, and thus is not ideal 
for blazoning an item which is held in the mouth, or by the tail, of an 
animal. However, it seems preferable to remove the blazon ambiguity and 
use the word maintaining in these cases."
and
"Note that the LoAR of July 1992 gives both supporting and sustaining as 
equivalent terms used to identify co-primary charges: "Either sustaining 
or supporting will be used when a "held" charge is of comparable size to 
the beast holding it; maintaining will continue to be used when the held 
charge is of negligible heraldic difference."

So a sustained charge is considered a co-primary charge (in other words, 
a charge in its own right.)

>My client wants the following badge:  Azure a bear sejant erect contourny argent maintaining an oak branch proper.
>
>Does this conflict with:  
>a.. Curteis Svartsælingr 
>  a.. The following badge associated with this name was registered in June of 1997 (via Trimaris):
>  Sable, a bear sejant erect contourny sustaining a double-bitted axe Or.
>I know there's a CD for changing the tincture from sable to azure, but not sure if there is another for changing the axe to an oak branch.
>  
>
I believe the second CD would be for removing the second charge (the 
axe) under RfS X.4.b.  However there is also another CD for changing the 
tincture of the bear as your client's is argent and Curteis' is Or so 
it's clear regardless.

Alicia