I must disagree with the motto With gods help I can!

^Heh, :D

Vert on a bend Or a bend Sable charged with six crosses fleury palewise Argent

Vert a bendlet or a bend sable charged with six crosses fleury palewise argent a bendlet or.

Which of these two blazons most acurately represents my design? I really want to preserve those wide bands of gold.

The first is more accurate.

In the second, you would not be able to see the bendlet because it would be covered by the bend.  Check with Joe or Phil to see if I have that right.

As wide as you have the gold now, I think it would be Vert on a bend Or a bendlet Sable charged with six crosses fleury palewise Argent.

Joseph McMillan wrote:

As wide as you have the gold now, I think it would be Vert on a bend Or a bendlet Sable charged with six crosses fleury palewise Argent.

Thanks, Joe. My concern with that is, per Parker and his heraldic terms, that my bend Or is in fact a bit larger than "1/3" the field, and the same goes for the bendlet being larger as well. I think I have them as being much bigger than they should be. But I absolutely have to preserve those wide bands of Or.

Johnathan,

I’m a fan of those wide bans.

I just found this interesting blazon of a pale that is similar to the idea you are going for with your bend.  It reads, "Pale surmounted of another."  Basically it’s a pale on top of a pale.  I’m not sure if that will give you the band width you need.  I guess you would have to do the math to figure that out.

Thanks, Trent. Was there an image by the way that showed the pile upon a pile? I looked up fimbriated, and that term would definately be used for my original design. These wide bends do need some sort of denotation.

If a bend surmounted of another is different then a bend surmounted a bendlet and a bend fimbriated, which one is the wording that I want? A bend Sable fimbriated Or should use smaller bands of gold than a bend Or surmounted a bendlet Sable, and if that’s true than how wide would the bands of gold be when blazoned as a bend Or surmounted a bend Sable? Or would that simply serve to enlarge the area where the charges lay, leaving the outer band widiths about the same?

loaba wrote:

Thanks, Joe. My concern with that is, per Parker and his heraldic terms, that my bend Or is in fact a bit larger than "1/3" the field, and the same goes for the bendlet being larger as well. I think I have them as being much bigger than they should be. But I absolutely have to preserve those wide bands of Or.

Johnathan, don’t worry so much about this stuff. A bend is "about" one-third of the surface of the shield, but I don’t know of anybody who measures this stuff and then says, "Hey, this is too big to be a bend!".

Johanathan,

I don’t know how to answer to your questions.  I just got into this a few months ago; I don’t know that much about heraldry.  I was just trying to pass on the little I do know.  But I am looking forward to seeing one the experts here find an answer.  I like these kinds of technical questions.  They are instructive for everyone.

Trent wrote:

But I am looking forward to seeing one the experts here find an answer.  I like these kinds of technical questions.  They are instructive for everyone.

Yes, and Joe McMillan has already given the most expert opinion.

—Guy

Hey guys, been awhile, but I’ve been working in that time. I have my shield finalized, so now I’m moving on to other elements, specifically helms and crests.

I’ve looked at a myriad of helm images and there are many styles that appeal to me, but I wonder if it is acceptable to skip a helm altogether? I had in mind to go directly to a crest, is that kosher?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y249/loaba/JonathanCrest_Shieldpainting.png

Regardless of position (meaning with or without a helm), I like the bulls head quite a bit, seems to me that it gives the whole thing a very Texas/Mexican aire. I had thought about a white longhorn, but that might tend to infer that I had gone to the University of Texas.

Quote:

I wonder if it is acceptable to skip a helm altogether? I had in mind to go directly to a crest, is that kosher?

Yes, that is fine.

Thanks for the response

The helm is usually a product of the artist anyway (granted, at the moment that is you… but it will probably be different on future renderings)...

I like the crest, clean, simple… have you thought of doing something with the horns (i.e., colors, patterns, something hanging from or between them perhaps) just to add some distinctiveness.  It is fine the way it is, but you might think about it….

Also, form an artistic standpoint, when using sable animal charges you might consider changing the outlines to a medium-warm gray, it makes they stand out more…

Thanks, Everett.

In the case of a bulls head crest, where could/should the mantling originate from? I had thought to perhaps have it draped over the right horn.