ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1918 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1918 ************************************ 7 Feb 2000 From: Alan Terlep Greetings, Here are our comments on your arms, "Per fess wavy sable and barry wavy argent and azure, in chief a sun argent eclipsed sable," which you wanted to use as arms in the style of Scottish heraldry. Scottish and English heraldic style during your period are quite similar, and so we've used both Scottish and English examples as references for our suggestions. This new design bears a much greater resemblance to the heraldic style of medieval Scotland and England than your original design. However, we do recommend some modifications. The most important issue is that the "sun eclipsed" as you've drawn it--that is, a sun with a black circle in the center--is an invention of the SCA. In real-world heraldry, "sun eclipsed" is just a term for a sun sable. (1) In addition, we've never seen a field in British heraldry divided in the way you've divided your field. Fields that are divided between a single color and a pattern were not uncommon in some other parts of Europe, but were almost unknown in the British Isles. As an alternative, we suggest the design "Sable, a sun Or and a ford." A "ford" is a special term for a base wavy barry-wavy argent and azure. This design is visually very similar to your current design; it simply moves the barry-wavy portion toward the bottom of your shield and moves the sun (without the eclipsing) to the center. Or, if you'd like to use a sun sable--which is often called a sun eclipsed--you could use the design "Or, a sun sable and a ford." We found no armory protected by the SCA College of Arms that's similar enough to either design to prevent you from registering it. In this design, the top line of the ford would normally be argent. Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Blaise de Cormeilles, Adeliza de Saviniaco, Juliana de Luna, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Elsbeth Anne Roth contributed to this letter. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Your servant, Alan Fairfax Academy of S. Gabriel February 6, 2000 (1) Parker, James, _A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry_ (Charles E. Tuttle, 1982), s.v. Sun