[ANSTHRLD] shire devices

[Darin Herndon]

Garreth,

You asked "how" to track this down.

Start with the blazon.  Look up the blazon on the registered item in one of the online Ordinaries and Armorials (like http://oanda.sca.org/).  I looked it up and it says:
Adlersruhe, Shire of
This branch-name was registered in September of 1988 (via Ansteorra).
The following device associated with this name was registered in September of 1988 (via Ansteorra):
Vert, an eagle displayed, wings inverted, within a laurel wreath and a base, all argent.

When looking at the entry, words like "displayed" are hyperlinks to descriptions or definitions.  Displayed leads to the following definition:
adj. (of a creature) with its belly toward the viewer and its limbs splayed outward like a mounted butterfly (an eagle displayed).

That explained the term but did not actually answer your specific question.  So, at that point I would go to a heraldry resource like Fox-Davies' "Complete Guide to Heraldry".  (Mine is the hardback edition revised by JP Brooke-Little.)  I go to chapter 14 on Birds.  The second paragraph immediately starts talking about eagles displayed (being one of the most common bird displays in period armory) and there are pictures on the next page (pages 176-177).  The eagle's head is turned to the dexter side (the viewer's left).

Start with the blazon to see what was registered, in case it included something specific.  Then track down what the defined posture means.  Then look for examples if the definition is not explicitly answering your question.

Obviously, you can also ask the list but if you want to search yourself then you are looking at a procedure like the one above.

For your specific question, you can also go get a U.S. quarter from before the state quarters started.  The eagle on the quarter is displayed.

Etienne

-----Original Message-----
From: heralds-bounces+darin.herndon=chk.com at lists.ansteorra.org [mailto:heralds-bounces+darin.herndon=chk.com at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Childers, Jeff
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 1:32 PM
To: Heralds List, Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc.
Subject: [ANSTHRLD] shire devices

There is a question about which direction the eagle SHOULD be facing for
our shire device here in adlershue. How do I go about finding this out?

Thanks
Garreth
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