| |
| |
|
Humanities Information |
|
|
|
LifeHealthInsurance.ca Heraldry in the Crafts--Why Not Specialize?
I have a small website where I try to sell custom-made lapel buttons. In addition to these made-to-order buttons I also offer several specialty lines of off-the-shelf items and at this time of year I'm usually concerned with one of those lines in particular: Irish heraldic buttons. St. Patrick's Day approaches. I'm in no sense an expert on heraldry. Still, although there are many button sites like mine I'm not aware of any other with a line of products like that one and I don't know why that should be true. It struck me the other day that heraldry might offer a wide range of opportunities for specialization--and to craftspersons in almost any field from pottery to needlepoint to weaving, rugmaking, and even quilting. It's true that we no longer live in the age of chivalry and that not all Americans are caught up in the study of their ancestry and ethnic heritage, but surprisingly many of us are. For example, Overture reports that in November of 2004 the exact phrase "Irish heraldry" was searched for on the web 140 times. Note that this doesn't include possible searches for related terms like Gaelic, Celtic, shields, crests, coats of arms, etc. And it says nothing at all about searches for heraldic information from any other part of the world or for heraldry in general. As a matter of fact, during the month of November the word "heraldry" was used in 11,869 searches, so it seems that a market may well exist. On the other hand, heraldry may be considered a rather nerdy topic in the modern world. I've noticed that many people today fall below the snuff-line when it comes to their basic knowledge of heraldry. There's no reason why they should know anything about it if their objective is merely to copy an occasional coat of arms onto some products that they've made, like, for instance, some dinner plates or a sampler. Yet a few paragraphs of information about coats of arms may be interesting to any who can see the possibilities in the use of heraldic themes as a quasi-specialty in their work. A discussion of heraldry must begin, first and foremost, with the idea of the shield. The shield, I would guess, is probably the oldest piece of weaponry other than the club. The earliest shields were made of tough skins stretched over wooden frames. Their shape was probably roundish, and the round shield served very well at least through the days of the Roman Legions. As body armor grew more cumbersome, it became more and more difficult in the heat of hand-to-hand combat to determine who was who. An early step towards solving this problem came when warriors began painting identifying symbols on their shields. By the time of the Middle Ages these symbols were becoming strictly codified and proprietary. The persons charged with keeping track of them were high government officials called heralds and a technical language, something that looks to us today like a strange mixture of English and French, was growing up around them to describe them. In all probability this language was really not strange at all, but very similar to the ordinary speech of the times, that is, the period after the Norman conquest of England. Yet people who discuss heraldry seriously still use these terms today, and that is no doubt one more reason why the study is no longer cool. It should of course not be obligatory to use "or" for gold or "vert" for green when writing in modern English, but that's how they insist on doing it. To satisfy a herald, a full "coat of arms" had to include many things besides the basic shield. By the time that the practice of heraldry had spread throughout Europe a coat of arms included at least the shield, the motto, the helm, the wreath, the crest, the mantling, and possibly several other things as well. Surprisingly, the shape of the shield didn't seem to matter much. Books on heraldry often show ten or fifteen different common shapes. And not every heraldic shield was even intended to resemble an actual shield from the field of battle. The right to a coat of arms, for example, was often granted to females, and the shield in such cases was typically drawn as a lozenge or diamond-shaped object. Many shields such as the so-called "jousting" shields are sometimes drawn as crazy, free-form, asymmetric shapes. Very often a shield's area was divided, maybe to signify the merging of two powerful families. In such cases, all the charges (pictures, or "bearings") shown on both original shields would usually be retained, each group confined to its own partition of the merged shield. There were, naturally, technical terms for any number of different ways to divide the area of a shield: per pale, per fess, per chevron, per saltire, etc. There were even different stylized lines used to separate the segments. A simple straight line might do the trick, but it could also be "engrailed," "embattled," "indented," "wavy," "dovetailed," etc. As for the charges, they merit a separate treatment. They include not only lions and eagles in various poses, but a wide variety of birds, mammals, fish, and mythological beings. Parts of the human body. The sun, the stars, and many forms of vegetation. Structures and ships, books and bells. And each of them has its own specialized meaning. For instance, a dragon stood for vigilance, a snake for wisdom, a boar for a fierce fighter, a swallow for someone who had been dispossessed of land. A cross might indicate that the bearer or one of his ancestors had fought in the crusades, and the arms of a sailor would often show a ship. As is obvious from those few examples, the meaning of some charges still make at least some sense to us, while in other cases their meaning is baffling. Different kinds of crowns can indicate different ranks of nobility; that's logical enough. But a finger ring, for instance, might symbolize a fifth son, and a tower might stand for wealth. Heraldry is a colorful topic in every sense. One continually runs into larger-than-life characters. Here's one, chosen more or less at random: Sir Francis Drake was definitely a sailor, and his arms definitely showed a ship. And what a ship! Most ships that I've seen in heraldic designs seem to have one mast but this one has three. There's a dragon or griffin seated in the stern with wings outspread. The ship rests atop a large globe of the world showing us the Atlantic Ocean, and above the ship a hand emerges from a cloud pointing at the ship something that looks very much like a microphone plugged into the bow. (I don't know what it is.) All of that constitutes merely the crest and, as is to be expected, the crest is resting on a wreath and the wreath is above the helm. Below the helmet we finally reach the shield, an amazingly simple shield, given the complexity of its surroundings: on a black background, a silver wavy fess (horizontal area) represents the sea between two wavy stars representing the pole stars. The whole thing commemorated Drake's circumnavigation of the earth in 1577. These arms were granted to Francis Drake by Elizabeth I, but he seems to have been a fairly headstrong individual and kept adding bits and pieces to which he had no real right. This tendency got him into a long feud with an unrelated Drake family from whom he swiped elements for his own arms. (In fact, he did that twice. After the other family had successfully defended its claims against him and he had removed the offending bearings from his arms, he later decided to put them back where they didn't belong.) All of the major online bookstores have, or can locate, many pages full of books on heraldry, from modern works to out-of-print classics and intended for experts or beginners. Jim Donnelly is based in Fresno, CA. He offers to produce pin-back lapel buttons of any description at all, with any photo or drawing and any wording that will fit and that doesn't include treason. You can sign up for his free newsletter on the home page of his website, http://www.badgecrafters.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Institute for Arts and Humanities to honor Toni Morrison on April 7 - Media Newswire (press release)
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Was there Always Bias in Journalism? Ask George Washington. Hell tell you There is bias in the elite media! How often do you hear that on cable talk shows? Yes,George Bush gets criticized by the press. Clinton before him took it on the chin and every president before him felt the sting of slings and arrows. Babel vs. the PC Imagine a time when mankind was young. Migration led many to the land of Shinar. A Short Biography on Some of Europes Most Loved and Hated Monarchs - Pt2 (Mad) King George III King George III who suffered from porphyria, a maddening disease, was born in 1738 to Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta. In 1761 George married Charlotte of Mecklinburg-Strelitz and together produced fifteen children: nine sons and six daughters. Flows of Civilization; Views from a Think Tank Over the past few years we have been discussing many topics. Most of what is discussed here has to do with observations of the world we live in. Top 10 Questions about Body Piercing Body piercing has grown so much in popularity in recent years that it has become almost mainstream, with more and more people sporting navel rings and multiple ear rings. Facial piercings, surface piercings and lots of others to choose from can make things confusing. The Origin of Americas Corporate Elite (BC) Ephesus had a shrine to the Anatolian mother-goddess and the Cretan Lady of Wild Things that was later incorporated into the Greek worship of Artemis. (33) This magnificent statue has many 'cosmic eggs' on it that are extremely relevant to the Berber painting of ostrich eggs that are found in the Saharan finds mentioned in Carthage as well as connected to the Druid's eggs. Peruvian Artist Shares Why Preservation of Culture and Rituals Sacred To His Art My artistic endeavor have led me towards a personal sense of mission, because the visual arts are more than a passive representation of the life style and culture of the Incas, Aztecs, Mayas and Chinese of the Asian-pacific.Through my work, I seek to preserve and stimulate an alternative vision to the modern industrialized twenty-first Century. Propaganda and American Journalism, Born Joined at Birth Passion was the main stuff of journalism long before the Civil War, the birthplace of modern American journalism. The Press of the American Revolution during the War and before it, was borne of it. Last Chance to See: Grove Mill, Mitcham Grove Mill, Mitcham; where in 1934 many of the iron wheels from Surrey Iron Railway waggons were still visible in the tail-race, is being given the Ravensbury treatment. All but the central building is being cleared for housing. Precious Stones The Big Five-Part 5 The Pearl Since pearls are so rare and possess such a high degree of natural beauty, they have been considered to be among the most splendid of gems for many centuries.The people of India and Persia (Iraq) were among the earliest to collect pearls, because of the rich fisheries of Ceylon and the Persian Gulf, the Indian and Persian princes in the last century, acquired huge collections of pearls that have never been equaled, these collections would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars today. In Seach Of Heroes - Matrimonial Heroes (Part One) Just as our arrival at destination is tied to the supply of fuel, even if we are travelling by a perfectly functioning vehicle, so are our destinies tied to the Heroes in our midst, even though we seem to be doing well on the average.Their absence from our midst is the reason for the reign of 'lack-lustre' mediocres on the throne of our private lives. The Original Nobility: Patricians and Knights By "nobility" I refer to that class in society which once had hereditary political, financial and social privileges guaranteed by law. By "original nobility" I follow the German (and now internationally accepted) definition and refer to those families who were ennobled (or generally recognised as nobles) before the year 1400. The Daily Show is a Must See on Comedy Central Doesn't it seem that today there is nothing but bleak reports to hear on the news? Watching the news can give you a feeling that the world is coming to an end. Hope can be found on Comedy Central by means of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. A Defense of Cultural Intelligence When humans set off to address fundamental issues about what and how life is to be, two important questions exercise the conscience though a middle-ground question could arise from these two. One question is: 'how do we make humans the measure of all things for now and for things that are to come?' The other question is: 'how do we make nature the measure of all things for now and for things that are to come?'The first question submits the direction of nature to the boundless will and self-determination of humans. How To Get Rich and Die Quick! It is funny how web site promotion can suddently plunge you into literary exploits.. Sir Francis Drake FRANCIS DRAKE: - It is my perspective that history has had secrets which Royal Families like the Stuart Bees needed to keep close to their vest; and that these secrets are still kept by our supposed 'experts' in history, to this day. The English claim to ownership in the Americas has been made on the basis of John Cabot who may never have reached the area of Canada and that Venetian half witted mariner was laughing-stock among his contemporaries. ML - CHI - Zadok and the Making of Gold ATOMIC HIGH-SPIN TECHNOLOGY: - In 1950 B.C. Conceptual Art: Who Appreciates It? Art is sometimes overwhelming. Life as a whole can become overwhelming, and at times I do find myself caught up in its whirlwind of drama. What is Y Ddraig Goch - the Welsh Red Dragon? The red Dragon was introduced to Britain during Roman times. It is possible that the Romans learned of the dragon from the Persians. Bits of Heritage, Whose Heritage Change is the only inevitably constant aspect of life in this world we all live in. Our cultures have been dynamic.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
