ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2220
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2220
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13 Feb 2001
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked our help choosing heraldic arms appropriate for Ireland or the
Scottish Highlands in our period.  In particular, you asked our opinion of
the design "Per pale sable and argent, two wolves passant respectant and on
a chief two crescents counterchanged".  Here is what we have found.

As you know, heraldry wasn't invented until the mid-12th century in
northwestern France.  The Normans brought heraldry with them to the British
Isles, but the Gaels of Scotland and Ireland did not begin to adopt the
custom until until at least a couple centuries later, and then only among
the highest ranks until much later.  It simply isn't possible to design
heraldic arms appropriate for your persona.  The closest you can come is
heraldry that might have been used by an Anglo-Norman settler in Scotland
or Ireland in the 12th or 13th century.

Both wolves and crescents were used in early Norman heraldry, and
black-and-white was a reasonably common color combination.  Unfortunately,
other elements of your design are less appropriate for that period.  A pair
of beasts passant were rarely placed side-by-side.  Charged chiefs were not
uncommon, but they were rarely combined with other charges on the field.
Counterchanged chiefs were extremely rare if they were used at all [1, 2].

Early Norman heraldry tended to be quite simple.  Here are a few designs
that use elements of your idea and that are more typical of that style of
heraldry. 

  Argent semy of crescents, two wolves passant in pale sable.
 
  Sable, a wolf passant and in chief three crescents argent.

  Sable semy of crescents, on a chief argent a wolf passant sable.

As far as we can tell, you could register any of these with the SCA College
of Arms.


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 Dietmar von Straubing, Walraven van
Nijmegen, Blaise de Cormeilles, Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan Gwynek, 
Elsbeth Anne Roth, Zenobia Naphtali, and Rouland Carre.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  13 Feb 2001


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References

[1] 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). 

[2] Humphrey-Smith, Cecil R., _Anglo-Norman Armory Two_ (Canterbury:
Institute for Heraldic and Geneaological Studies, 1984).