ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1522 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1522 ************************************ 16 Mar 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our opinion of your design for your badge, "A lion's head jessant-de-lys en soleil Or". Here is what we have found. The "leopard's head jessant-de-lys" is found in period English armory from the late 13th century [1, 2, 3, 5]. It wasn't a common charge, but it wasn't especially rare. We don't know of any examples of a charge blazoned "a lion's head jessant-de-lys", but this is not surprising: The distinction between a lion and leopard in period heraldry was one of usage. The lion was usually drawn with its head in profile, while the leopard was usually drawn with its head turned to face the viewer. Since the head jessant-de-lys faces the viewer, it was considered to be the head of a leopard rather than a lion [4, 6, 7]. Charges "en soleil", on the other hand, are extremely rare. The "rose en soleil" was the only example we found, and it was a royal badge [4]. We don't think that applying this treatment to another charge -- especially a charge that is already complicated and unusual -- is good re-creation. If you drop the "en soleil" treatment, the remaining design, "A leopard's face jessant-de-lys Or", would be a fine choice. As far as we can tell, you could register it as your badge. If you do choose to use the "en soleil" treatment, we recommend that the central charge be very simple and a different color from the rays that emanate from it. We 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 Talan Gwynek, Rouland Carre, Zenobia Naphtali, Walraven van Nijmegen, and Blaise de Cormeilles. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 16 Mar 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Brault, Gerald J., _The Rolls of Arms of Edward I_, Aspilogia III, 2 vols. (London: Boydell Press, 1997). [2] Foster, Joseph. A Dictionary of Heraldry. Arch Cape Press, New York, 1989. [3] Alison MacDermot, _Public Heraldry: An ordinary of the Civic and Corporate Heraldry of England, Scotland, and Wales_ (Privately published). [4] Parker, James, _A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry_ (Charles E. Tuttle, 1982), s.vv. badges, lion. [5] Wagner, Anthony Richard, ed. Aspilogia II: Rolls of Arms: Henry III (London: The Society of Antiquaries, 1967), pp.119-120. [6] Brault, Gerard J., _Early Blazon: Heraldic Terminology in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries with Special Reference to Arthurian Heraldry_, 2nd ed. (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1997), s.v. liepart. [7] Pastoureau, Michel, _Traite/ d'He/raldique_, 2nd ed. (Paris: grands manuels Picard, 1993).