[ANSTHRLD] Quickie Question

[Tim McDaniel]

     Vert, a rapier argent within a bordure embattled Or.

Possible conflict with

    John of Gravesend, 5/83, Vert, a sword palewise proper, surmounted
    at the tip by a helm affronty argent.

1 Clear Difference (CD) for the bordure.  No CD for changing the
tincture of just the hilt (sword proper == argent hilted Or).

Technicality fu here: A "maintained charge" gets no CD for any changes
to it; a "sustained charge" does.  Bruce established the precedent:

    The blazonry term sustaining is used when an animate charge
    (e.g. a lion) is holding another charge of comparable size.  The
    term supporting could be used as well, but sustaining has this
    virtue: it's a known period term ...

      Either sustaining or supporting will be used when a ``held''
    charge is of comparable size to the beast holding it; maintaining
    will continue to be used when the held charge is of negligible
    heraldic difference.  (Brayden Avenel Durrant, July, 1992, pg. 6)

On John's form, the helm is a little longer than the hilt.  If you
separated the helm and the sword and put them side-by-side, I'd say
"draw the helm larger": if you put them in pale separately, I'd say
the sword was clearly the primary charge and the helm was clearly
secondary.  On those grounds, I suspect that the helm would be
considered "maintained" and so no CD would be granted for it.

Hence 1 CD total, conflict.

I didn't look further, however, to see if there's any clear conflict.

Daniel de Lincolia
--
Tim McDaniel (home); Reply-To: tmcd at panix.com; work is tmcd at us.ibm.com.