[Ansteorra] deletions in armorials (was: paper selection)

[Coblaith Muimnech]

I wrote:
> It's to be an armorial, primarily inspired by the one at <http:// 
> daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/ausgaben/thumbnailseite.html? 
> id=00001647&seite=7>. . .

ld. Charles Ó Floinn commented:
> . . . what intrigues me is the two armorials that are crossed out  
> on the first plate and the last plate.

Quick note:  The book is an armorial (i.e., a listing of arms by  
their owners; a sort of specialized dictionary).  Each escutcheon  
(shield-shape) and the related things around it (helm, mantling,  
supporters, crest, etc.) constitute an achievement.

> Does this show that these were unacceptable to the Herald or to his  
> supervisor?  Or do they show that this notebook was paged thru  
> regularly to keep it updated by its owner?

". . .[A] man may be degraded for divers crimes, particularly high  
treason. . .in such cases. . .the entry of his arms in the official  
registers [was] deleted, to denote a total extinction and suppression  
of the honour and dignity of the person to whom it belonged." (_The  
Manual of Heraldry_, Francis J. Grant, pp 26-27 <http:// 
books.google.com/books?id=Cf15k9iKzm4C&pg=PA26>)  Owners of private  
armorials would often delete such entries in their records, as well.   
Some went so far as to physically cut the emblazons of the deleted  
arms from the pages of their books, utterly eliminating any trace of  
them, but it was more common to mark them out in some way.

The achievement at the lower right of the first page presented in the  
above-mentioned index (folio 2r of the manuscript) belongs to Anne  
Bolleyn (as you can see by the fact that her name is written above  
it).  The arms are those of the King of England (to dexter) impaled  
with another marshaled coat (to sinister).  The sinister coat (which  
would typically be that of her father, though I'm not sure whether it  
is in this specific case) has been crossed out, presumably as a  
reflection of the fact that she was convicted of and executed for  
treason.  The king's arms are, naturally, not defaced.

The achievement at the right of the middle row on the fifth page  
(folio 4r) belongs to the Duc de Somerset.  Edward Seymour, 1st Duke  
of Somerset, was executed for treason in 1552 <http:// 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Seymour,_1st_Duke_of_Somerset>.  I'd  
guess the achievement was crossed out as a result.


That's not the last plate in the armorial, by the way.  It goes on  
for another 60 pages, more or less.  You can page through it five  
pages at a time by clicking the little "5>>" under the first image.


Coblaith Muimnech
<mailto:Coblaith at sbcglobal.net>
<http://coblaith.net>