ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1182
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1182
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27 Aug 1998
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked our opinion of your design for your arms, a left fist with a red
and white rose crossed behind it, on a blue, green, or red background.
Here is what we have found.

We're not exactly sure what design you have in mind: You may be envisioning
the fist raised, as in the 1960s power sign, or perhaps you want it to be
horizontal, as if grasping a vertical rose.  You may be thinking of a
single red-and-white rose held in the fist or passing behind the fist, or
of a pair of roses, one white and one red, crossed X-wise behind the fist.
We're going to make some general comments and suggestions; if we've missed
the mark and our comments don't answer your questions, please write us
again. 

A rose is a very common charge in medieval armory, but only the
highly-stylized heraldic rose, an example of which you can see on the web
at 

   http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5743/rose.gif

The heraldic rose is occasionally found with a stem [1], though the blossom
is found on its own most often.  A rose is normally a single heraldic
tincture (color), though the seeds (the central circular portion) and barbs
(the thorns, the points between the petals, black in the picture) are
sometimes painted a different color.  A rose divided half red and half
white, or with alternating red and white petals, is called a "Tudor Rose".
It was a badge invented by the Tudor kings of England, combining the red
rose badge of the Lancasters with the white rose badge of York.  This
insignia is unique to the Tudor royal house of England, and should
therefore not be used in the Society.

It is not particularly unusual for period arms to contain a hand (usually
connected to an arm or forearm) grasping some object.  The object is often
a weapon, but we think that a hand grasping a stemmed heraldic rose is a
reasonable possibility.  It is very unusual, however, for one charge to
overlap another: If you are thinking of a fist placed on top of the rose,
we strongly recommend that you reconsider.  That motif is quite modern in
appearance and unlikely to have been used in period arms.

Almost all period arms follow the so-called "Rule of Tinctures".  The
colorations in heraldry are called "tinctures", and they are divided into
two primary classes: "colors", which are dark tinctures (red, blue, black,
green, and purple), and "metals", which are light tinctures (white/silver
and yellow/gold).  The Rule of Tinctures says that a color charge should
only be placed on a metal background, and metal charge only on a color
background.  Thus, a red rose would be placed on silver background but not
on blue.  The basic effect is to ensure strong contrast to enhance the
identifiability of the charge.  Some charges or backgrounds mix color and
metal equally.  In these cases, it is necessary to choose the other
tincture so that there is still good contrast between the field and the
charges.  

In your design, you wanted to place a red and white rose on a dark
background.  That is possible only if the rose is colored with equal parts
of red and white, and the background is some color other than red.  A
red-and-white striped rose, for example, could be placed on a blue field.
However, the red-and-white rose should not be used in Society armory
because of its historical royal association.

With these guidelines in mind, we can suggest a few designs for you to
consider.  We believe that these designs are appropriate for your persona.

   Azure, a sinister hand argent grasping the stem of a rose Or.
      (A silver left fist holding a vertical gold heraldic rose, all on a
       blue field.  With a gold fist and a silver rose, it is too similar
       to the arms of the Shire of Loch an Fhraoich.) 

   Gules, a sinister cubit arm maintaining a rose slipped argent.
      (On a red field, a white forearm, set horizontally, the hand grasping
       the vertical stem of a white heraldic rose.) 

   Vert, a sinister arm bowed argent vested Or, maintaining a rose slipped
   argent.
      (On a green field, a left arm, the hand white and holding a rose as
       before, the arm dressed in a yellow sleeve.)


I hope this letter has been useful.  Please write us again if any part of
it has been unclear or if you have other questions.  I was assisted in
researching and writing this letter by Walraven van Nijmegen, Tangwystyl
verch Morgant Glasvryn, Talan Gwynek, Barak Raz, Rouland Carre, and
Aryanhwy Prytydes.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  21 Aug 1998


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References

[1] We found some German examples of stemmed heraldic roses in the
Zu:richer Wappenrolle: Buocheg (#62), Guitingen (#55).  We also found a
couple other examples of flowers growing on stems or branches: Buiron
(#314), Goldast (#441).  Michel Popoff, Le Ro^le d'Armes de Zurich,
Documents d'He/raldique Me/die/vale 9 (Paris: E/ditions du Le/opard d'Or,
1986).

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