[ANSTHRLD] humans as charges (was: Statant Erect Affronty)

[Coblaith Mhuimhneach]

radei at moscowmail.com wrote:
> Could you direct me to some examples of humans being used as a device. 
>  I am curious as to how this is done, I would not have thought it 
> acceptable.  But then What I do know of heraldry is mundane, and the 
> rules seem different for SCA, So I have to unlearn what I thought I 
> knew and learn the society rules.

I'm not seeing an immediate difference between S.C.A. and mundane 
heraldry on this point.

Parker's "Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry" has an extensive entry on 
humans used as charges in mundane heraldry 
<http://www.heraldsnet.org/saitou/parker/Jpglossm.htm#Man>.  In 
addition, in just a few seconds, I tracked down two period examples:  
Folio 8r of the Manesse Codex (painted in the early 14th century, in 
Zurich) shows a shield on which a monk appears 
<http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cpg848/0011>, and three 
achievements in Lorenz Fries' chronicle 
<http://b-b-fam.home.texas.net/Coblaith/Fries-Chronik/> include a 
walking man with flowers in his hand.  If peruse the resources listed 
in the Medieval Heraldry Archive <http://www.s-gabriel.org/heraldry/>, 
I'm sure you'll see more.

On the S.C.A. side of things:  There are 106 items in the online 
ordinary into which human figures are incorporated 
<http://oanda.sca.org/cgi-bin/oanda_desc.cgi?p=HUMAN%20FIGURE>.  Some 
of those are registered S.C.A. badges and devices, others important 
extra-Societal arms that are protected.


Coblaith Mhuimhneach
<mailto:Coblaith at sbcglobal.net>