The Grammar of Blazonry

 
Trent
 
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Trent
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19 December 2006 12:13
 

I understand that there are at least two grammars of blazonry.  One is called the Victorian.  I guess it is opposed to the medieval.

I’m not a big fan of the Victorian with its preoccupation with avoiding the repetition of tinctures (and charges?) by using phrases like, "...of the last," "...of the chief," etc.

 

How many grammars of blazonry are there?

Which grammar has the most clarity?

Where can I find some examples of the original grammar of blazonry?

Is there a modern grammar or international standard?

 
davidappleton
 
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davidappleton
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19 December 2006 12:27
 

Trent wrote:

How many grammars of blazonry are there?

Which grammar has the most clarity?

Where can I find some examples of the original grammar of blazonry?

Is there a modern grammar or international standard?


Each language seems to have developed its own heraldic vocabulary and therefore heraldic grammar.  It tends to be a bit more arcane in English because English blazon originated in Norman-French.

 

The best source I have found for early blazon is a book by Gerard Brault entitled "Early Blazon".  Another source for early English blazon is the 1489 treatise the "Boke of St. Albans", which has a section on blazoning arms in Latin, French, and English.

 

I know of no international standard for blazonry; again, each language tends to have its own vocabulary and grammar.  There are, however, a few heraldic dictionaries which list heraldic terms in several languages.  The most popular one is Stalins’ "Vocabulaire-Atlas"; its terms and illustrations can be found on the heraldic dictionary portion of the website heraldica.org

 

I hope that this information is helpful to you.

 

David

 
Trent
 
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Trent
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19 December 2006 12:43
 

That is very helpful.  I’ll look it up.

I want to avoid the Victorian style.  What other options do I have in English?

 

Out of curiosity, is there an English grammar that puts the tinctures before the nouns they modify and that uses the terms like blue, red, and green instead of azure, gules, and vert?

 
Joseph McMillan
 
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Joseph McMillan
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19 December 2006 15:32
 

Trent wrote:

That is very helpful. I’ll look it up.

I want to avoid the Victorian style. What other options do I have in English?


By the "Victorian style," I take it you mean the scrupulous avoidance of mentioning the same color twice combined with blazons of such excruciating detail that they leave out all scope for artistic originality.

 

The Anglo-Norman vocabulary is still the standard in English language blazonry, but with liberty to repeat tinctures and an effort to make the blazon as concise as possible.


Quote:

Out of curiosity, is there an English grammar that puts the tinctures before the nouns they modify and that uses the terms like blue, red, and green instead of azure, gules, and vert?


Some of us (me, actually) have occasionally and not completely seriously suggested the adoption of plain language blazon, recognizing that some terms have to be retained, such as names of ordinaries, partition lines, and postures of beasts and birds. From the reaction you’d have thought I’d suggested legalizing child pornography.

 

I see no particular reason why my arms should not be blazoned as "Gold, a black lion passant between three blue stars voided silver in chief and a blue wavy bar charged with a silver wavy barrulet in base," other than that it’s not traditional.

 

My German blazon shows how differently this matter is approached from one language to the next: Gold, über einem erniedrigten Wellenbalken zweimal geteilt Blau auf Silber, ein schreitender Löwe Schwarz, die Rechte erhoben, überhöht von drei Sternen Blau silbern gefüllt. (Approximately: Gold, above an abased, twice-divided wavy bar, blue on silver [yes, really], a walking black lion, the right paw raised, and above that three blue stars filled with silver.)