Perhaps I’m just feeling awfully pedantic this afternoon, but I have noticed an increasing use of the term "rendition" to describe what I have always called "emblazonments." I’m wondering if I missed something along the way, or if we should be encouraging our fledgling herald painters to use the proper term to describe their work.

i dunno hugh. i use both from time to time. sometimes rendition, as it is my rendition of the blazon. sometimes emblazonment, as it is my emblazonment of the blazon.

of course i am notoriously lazy when it comes to typing. so, i usually choose the quickest way to get the point across. sometimes at the expense of proper grammar and spelling and even sometimes abbreviating words. so for me, anyway, i am not surprised to be told i would be using both. rendition is quicker to type. but, again, on the pc i am lazy…if i could get away with it id post in all IM language, but i know that bothers people here – two of whom are friends! lol. so i try to keep it to a minimum.

if my use of rendition bothers people i will try to focus on typing in emblazonment instead. but i can’t guarantee i will hit that mark every time…especially when i am at work and my free time on the pc is limited at best.

Well I think "rendition" is pretty well entrenched in the artists vernacular. While emblazonment is the proper term, I think rendition can be substituted in less traditional conversation, kind of like how we sometimes say blue, and red instead of the traditional "Azure"and "Gulles"

I see the words to render (verb infinitive) and rendition (noun) to be very different in meaning from the words to blazon (verb infinitive) or blazon (noun). A blazon is the fixed written description of a coat-of-arms which follows accepted heraldic language and methodology. A rendition or more exactly emblazonment is the artist’s visual interpretation of the blazon. In the end however, it is the blazon that constitutes the legal coat-of-arms rather than visual drawing, much like real property, the land map being subservient to the surveyor’s written description.

There is also a difference between the words rendition and emblazonment while a rendition may be an artist interpretation of a blazon, it can also be an artist interpretation of anything. An emblazonment however is always an artist’s interpretation of a blazon, resulting in the illustration of a coat-of-arms.

Hmm….personally, I see it like this. Say five artists have drawn my arms and they are used on various things. I think I would then say, oh, the emblazonement on the china dinner service is Denny’s rendition. The emblazonement on my signet ring is Chapulin’s rendition.

Simplified: The emblazonement is a "picture" of the arms, a rendition is a version of this "picture" by a certain artist.

*Sorry for any unlicensed use of real artists’ names, hehe. :yarr:*

Cheers,

I think it may also be that we use the word rendition more in common vocabulary than the word emblazonment. It is something for us to be mindful of.

I do know that I have received a few wierd looks when I have used the word emblazonment with non-heraldry interested folks. The first time I simply changed the word…the other times I viewed it as an educational opportunity. I explained what a blazon was…then explained that the visual representation of that was called an emblazonment.  It takes more time and may not work in every circumstance, but if it allows for a bit of education, I believe it is worth it.

Dave Shorey

The trouble with teaching points is that they often are, by nature, pedantic.  It’s one thing to educate, quite another to, intentionally or not, widen the gap between the colorful, specialized knowledge of the heraldista and the sometimes mundane, drab language of everyday speech.  (Or, viewed from the other side of the gap, the commonsense language of real people vs. the specialized jargon of the fanatic… )

Heraldista, hehe, I like that one. Sounds better than Heraldry Afficinado, anyways. :D

Cheers,

I’ve always referred to it as Heraldese, but heraldista could work, too.

Stephen R. Hickman;47219 wrote:

I’ve always referred to it as Heraldese, but heraldista could work, too.

Almost right.  A heraldista speaks Heraldese.  :D

—Guy

the more i think on this the more i am finding that hugh is prob right.

here at the ahs mb i should strive to use a more proper word for what i do. if im in a lazy mood, or am hurried at work, i can always abbreviate that word.

outside of here i think i will still use rendition, as that is a word most people know and can associate with art. while i agree with dave s that they are teaching moments i must be careful of when i decide to take advantage of those moments, for sometimes the situation is not suited to it.

so, for my part i will try to remember where i am and whom i am speaking with and use the proper words. but, i am sure i will miss the mark from time to time and so i apologize in advance. old habits, including laziness on the pc, are very hard to break.

I say tomaaato you say tomahto

Tomaaato tomahto Lets call the whole thing off.

I am the fledgling heraldic artist of whom you speak.  I used "rendition" and "image" as well as other descriptive terms because I was unsure of the proper use of the term "emblazonment".  While I thought I understood the definition of the term, I was unsure about the proper use of the term.  I have found that this crew can be a little rough on a guy that uses a term incorrectly, so I avoided that pitfall altogether.

After reading several references, I came to some conclusions about how to properly use the term "emblazonment".  Still, lacking confidence, I asked Joe McMillan if my conclusions were correct.  He affirmed my understanding, and now I am more likely to use "emblazonment" yet I do still use "rendition" or "image".

Just like learning anything else, a person simply needs time to become accustomed to the jargon of the field.  I don’t think you need to "encourage" the use of the term emblazonment.  Simply give a guy some time to learn.  When he makes a mistake concerning terminology, correct him, but don’t be so critical.

Hall/Perdue;47574 wrote:

I am the fledgling heraldic artist of whom you speak.

Sorry, no, you’re not.

i’ve said it. chap has said it. louis has said it. etc.

Quote:

I am the fledgling heraldic artist of whom you speak.

Quote:

Sorry, no, you’re not.

My choice of words was poor.  I ment to use myself as an example of the fledgling artist still learning the terminology of the field.  I did not think that Mr. Brady was writing specifically about me.