[ANSTHRLD] width of orle OK?

[tmcd at panix.com]

On Mon, 1 May 2006, Jennifer Smith <jds at randomgang.com> wrote:
> It's a good width. You could actually draw it in from the edges a
> bit more than that, to help fill out the space some more. (For
> reference, see the orle on Ansteorra's device...)

I'll disagree with that on two grounds:

- The masthead on <http://ansteorra.org/> doesn't show that narrow an
  orle.  I think it's a decent depiction, while most other depictions
  I've noticed are inferior to dreadful (e.g.,
  <http://www.inlandregion.org/heraldry/kingdoms/07-ansteorra.html>)

- There's so much cra^W stuff on the Ansteorran arms, the orle has to
  shift out of the way and shrink some just to make room.

  Another principle is that, generally / often, when charges are
  added, other things shift position.

  For example, a heraldic treatise might say that a pale should be 1/4
  to 1/3 the width of the shield.  But if you put another charge on
  the pale only, the pale should expand a bit to provide room,
  especially if the other charge has a complex outline so it could use
  extra space to help identifiability.

  If instead you put other charges on the field only, the pale should
  similarly shrink a bit.

In this case, with just a bear's head and nothing else on the field,
the orle can afford to be Big, Bold, and Butch while still leaving
plenty of room for the single head to be as Big, Bold, and Butch as it
would like to be.  (If it weren't a picture of a big, dead,
decapitated head.)

Danyll de Lincoln
-- 
Tim McDaniel; Reply-To: tmcd at panix.com