ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1838 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1838 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 22 Nov 1999 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if the was an authentic medieval charge for a coat of arms, and what it looked like. Here is the information we have found. The adze, also known as an , is noted as having a blade set transversely to a flattened handle, and is sometimes called the "carpenter's axe." [1] In one picture that we saw, the hafts are vertical with the blades to chief. The blades extend to the right from the hafts. [2] We found three families that have adzes on their arms, Addice, Wright, and Penfold; however, we do not know if they were medieval coats of arms or not. [1] We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Teceangl Bach, and Roland Carre. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael November 22, 1999 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Parker, James, _A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry_ (Charles E. Tuttle, 1982). s.v. Axe [2] Franklyn J. & J. Tanner. An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Heraldry (New York: Pergamon Press, 1970).