ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1702 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1702 ************************************ 1 Jun 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked how would have been pronounced in early 15th century Flanders. You also asked whether embattled chiefs were used in heraldry anywhere in Europe in your period. Here is what we have found. is pronounced \YAWN fawn GHENT\. The vowel in \YAWN\ and \fawn\ has a shorter duration than the one in the modern English words and . rhymes with and starts with a sound that doesn't exist in English. It is the voiced velar fricative, which is the voiced version of the raspy sound in the Scottish word or the German . In further research, we found one example of an embattled chief in the Low Countries: The family Putten, from Gelderland, bore "Gules, a chief embattled Or" in the late 14th century [1]. This isn't a strong basis for using this motif in your arms, especially with the added complexity of charges on the chief; but it does show that the basic idea wasn't unknown in the Low Countries in the 15th century. If embattlement particularly appeals to you, you might consider a design with "two bars embattled and counter-embattled" as the primary charges. This motif was not uncommon in the Low Countries [2]. For example, you might consider "Ermine, two bars embattled sable and in chief three fleurs-de-lys gules". 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 Walraven van Nijmegen, Talan Gywnek, Zenobia Naphtali, and Rhodri ap Hywel. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 1 June 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Jequier, Leon, ed., "Armorial Bellenville", _Cahiers d'Heraldique V_ (Paris: Le Le/opard d'Or, 1983), f. 49r16. [2] Bibliothe\que royale Albert Ier, _Gelre_ (Leuven: Jan van Helmont, 1992, ISBN 90-74318-03-7). There are examples in the sections for Holland and Brabant.