ANSTHRLD - Galen's Augmentation

[tmcd at jump.net]

On Fri, 21 Jan 2000, Darius and Monica <dmmerlick at earthlink.net> wrote:
> if Galen say decided to move the star to the middle of the bend
> (between the axes) it would then be 'As an augmentation on the bend
> in fess a mullet of five greater five lesser points sable' yes? no?

No.  "In chief" is a location on the field, relative to the whole
shield, as is "in base", "in dexter", "in sinister".

"In fess" talks about the relative placement of two or more charges on
the same level -- all on the field, or all on another charge.  For "in
fess", there'd have to be two or more mullets, and to fit in there
that'd have to be one BIG FAT bend or two *teeny tiny* stars.  Same
for "in pale", "in bend", "in bend sinister", "in saltire", "in
cross", ...

There's a way in real-world heraldry to say "in the middle of the
shield" -- "in fess point", I think -- but the SCA doesn't use such
terms except in extreme cases.

Fortunately, there's no need to give a position in this case.  If
there's only one charge on a bend or other ordinary, the default is
that it's in the center.  "... as an augmentation on the bend a mullet
of five greater and five lesser points sable".

> Thought i would make sure before I make Galen's desired change.

Um, would someone be willing to talk to him about this?  Now, I
certainly can't say that mullet-in-chief is period and
mullet-in-fess-point is not.  For example, _Anglo-Norman Armory II_
has (p. 176, Ornesby)

    Gules crusilly argent, on a bend cecky Or and azure a mullet sable
    in dexter chief.

but also (p. 178, Mounteney variants):

    Azure, on a bend between six martlets Or a mullet [vert|gules].

Usually, charges on a bend filled the space in early armory: three of
them, or sometimes two, and a couple of cases of a stretched lion.
However, simply by flipping thru various categories in the book, I see
cases where single things float up to chief, usually dexter chief: a
martley, a conquefoil, a cross, ...  There's also the example of the
Battle of Flodden augmentation for the Howards:

Howard, Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal of England|9412L|a|Gules, a bend
between six crosses crosslet fitchy argent, for augmentation, on the
bend in chief an escutcheon Or charged with a demi-lion its mouth
pierced by an arrow within a double tressure flory counter-flory
gules.

And also I'm now on an asymmetry kick.  So anyone wanna consult with
him, and point out that he can have either, and confirm which one he
prefers?

Daniel de Lincolia
-- 
Tim McDaniel (home); Reply-To: tmcd at jump.net; 
if that fail, my work address is tmcd at us.ibm.com.

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