Hey everybody! I was thinking about mottoes and I decided on one which I find good, tell me what you think:
Epèe de la Foi (meaning Sword of Faith). That is by the way the literal translation of my middle name Hossam el Din from Arabic. What do you all think of that?
What would it be in Latin? Also, in what ways are mottos displayed heraldically besides the usual scroll? I think I saw quite a few bookplates in which the motto was inscribed around the border or something to that effect. I also had an idea for a seal/device which would be an oval belt/garter/ribbon with either my name or motto inscribed along it, enclosing either my arms or my initials. What do you all think of that? I was also thinking of using a traditional style Arab or Turkish beltbuckle to make it seem more exotic and not so much like the order of the garter. I posed a bookplate in another thread that has a design similar to what I am describing.
Cheers,
I think it’s great that you could tie it in to your name like that.
As for the Latin, no freakin idea. But what about phrasing it in Arabic?
I like it, too.
What would it look like in Arabic? I think Arabic Script is so beautiful, plus it would complement your arms really well, in my opinion.
JRB
That’s a very interesting idea, the only problem is that in arabic it is Hossam el Din, which is simply a masculine name. Translating it into French/English/Latin is what makes it a motto, IMHO.
On a side note, I don’t think writing your family name on the scroll in such a way as for it to be viewed as a motto is in good tase, right? I mostly see this in bucket shop heraldry.
Cheers,
How about sayf ud-din? That also means "the sword of the faith," but is not your name.
The problem is, that is also a masculine name, mine or not. To someone seeing my motto on my arms in Egypt, it would be like someone here randomly writing "Robert" under their arms.
Thanks for the suggestion though. Do you have any idea what it might be in Latin? Faith is Fait or Fat or something to that effect? As to sword, I have no idea! Is it cruxum or something with those consonant sounds or is that only meaning cross? My Latin is very bad and only based on root sounds/word bases! :shock:
Should be gladius fidei, I believe. One of our clerical friends will know for sure.
But I have to say, that expression or any other reference to the sword of the faith in French or especially in Latin will have a definite Christian connotation, because Latin has been (and, for Catholics still is) the historical liturgical language of Western Christianity.
Crux means "cross."
Whether the name on the scroll is bad taste or not depends on the country. It seems quite common in Germany, where mottoes have not traditionally been the norm.
Can you write the motto in Egyptian hieroglyphs? It might be the best choice for a language.