ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1182 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1182 ************************************ 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 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -