Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 123

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 123

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/123

This is one of the Academy's earliest reports. We are not confident that these early reports are accurate. Please use it with caution.

Greetings,

Here's information on your proposed badge, "A feather bendwise sinister inverted invected purpure."

"Invected" is a "line of partition", i.e., a complex pattern applied to the edges of the simple geometric shapes which are most common in heraldic design. Lines of partition are commonly applied to divisions of the field (e.g. "per fess dancetty") and to the edges of ordinaries (e.g. "a cross embattled"). In period heraldic art, lines of partition are drawn very boldly; they are not used to indicate subtle effects. If your intent is to have a subtle ripple along the edge of the feather, that does not need to be blazoned and should not be blazoned: It is an artistic detail, not a fundamental part of the heraldic identity of the badge.

If, on the other hand, you intend the edge of the feather to be truly invected, then we strongly recommend that you reconsider. We found no example in period armory of a complex line of partition applied to any charge more complex than a simple geometric figure. It is our opinion that "a feather invected" is not consistent with medieval heraldic style and that it would not be accepted for registration by the SCA College of Arms.

This is the only thing that absolutely needs to be changed, but we wanted to point out some other issues.

We don't have any examples of badges which refer to the orientation of the charge in their blazon. You can think of a badge as a brooch which would be pinned to clothing (although this was not the only use for a badge). It is likely that the badge would not always be oriented in the same direction.

Finally, "purpure" is very rare in medieval heraldry. This does not prevent you from using it, but it is an uncommon color.

We hope this has been helpful. If you need any further assistance, please let us know.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel