ANSTHRLD - Branch device change-how to's?

[tmcd at jump.net]

On Sun, 30 Apr 2000, Amy and Bill Morris <awmorris at flash.net> wrote
about phoenices proper.  I'm so sorry to put you to all that work!
I dropped a "[proper?]" in the middle of my proposed blazon to refer
to the *flames*, and forgot that it would apply to previous charges!

No, I don't expect phoenices to have a proper tincture.  Offhand, I
can't think of *any* monster with a defined "proper".  I recall
hearing that the English College of Arms once had a client request a
griffin proper; someone suggested that the proper tincture for a
mythical beast was "invisible", but that the client ought to be
charged the full fee by the herald painter for "painting" it.

The phoenix simply has to be blazoned as being of some specific
tincture or tinctures.

It has also been clarified that the flame was not supposed to be
proper, but rather counterchanged as well.

> To save the per pale idea

Not sure what needs saving, unless it be due to the "excessive
counterchanging" possibility.  All other colors show up well against
gules and metal, so if the group wanted azure or sable charges, it
would show up pretty well.  (I'm not sure you could do consistent
metal or color for all three annulets: one of the annulets would
therefore end up metal-on-metal or color-on-color.)  I would not
recommend purpure or vert (purple or green).  They were very much
rarer than the other colors (purpure a little more common in Iberia),
and usually only done in simple designs.

> Or the laurel wreath in bordure

Cause for return.  Wreathes are circular.  (I meant it!)

In past times, there has been registered what we'd call "a wreath in
bordure", or "two sprigs of laurel, tips crossed in saltire", or other
mutations.  We've gotten stricter since.

    The laurel wreath is emblazoned as lying as on a bordure', which
    has been disallowed for some time now. Please let them know that
    laurel wreaths are nearly circular in shape, and cannot follow the
    line of a bordure or orle.  (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR December 1998,
    p. 14)

> I don't have a ordinary and armorial handy, which versions of the
> phoenix have already been used in branch arms?

What do you mean, "which version"?  If you mean "what tinctures":
    argent
    argent, flames proper
    azure
    azure, flames argent and sable
    azure, flames azure and or
    azure, flames gules
    azure, flames proper
    azure, flames vert and or
    gules
    gules, flames proper
    or
    or, flames argent
    or, flames proper
    per bend sinister argent and sable
    per bend sinister or and sable
    per fess or and gules
    per fess sable and or
    per pale or and gules (alone on the field)
    purpure, flames sable (sort of: Bryan de Albengi)
    sable, flames gules

I'm only up to names starting with D and I'm getting bored.  The only
new ones added in the Cs were pretty much some weird flaming for azure
ones.  Or phoenices are by far the most popular.

The only "phoenix proper" ever registered was in 1979, but was
reblazoned in 1982 to "a phoenix of flames ... proper".  The latter
motif has been registered a few times since.  It is no longer
registerable; see the precedent I quoted in an earlier message
forbidding charges of flame.  OK, Yrjö Kirjawiisas reg. in 1980 an
"Egyptian phoenix proper", but it is listed as "[Ardea purpurea]
...BIRD:1:bird passant to sinister:eagle:proper:spna" and not monster,
so that appears to be the common name for a real bird.

Daniel de Lincolia
-- 
Tim McDaniel (home); Reply-To: tmcd at jump.net; 
if that fail, my work address is tmcd at us.ibm.com.
 "To join the Clueless Club, send a followup to this message quoting every-
 thing up to and including this sig!" -- Jukka.Korpela at hut.fi (Jukka Korpela)

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