[ANSTHRLD] Device for conflict and blazon cluck

Tim McDaniel tmcd at panix.com
Sun Aug 15 09:01:11 PDT 2010


On Sun, 15 Aug 2010, doug bell <magnus77840 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Dietrich / gadgetech3142 at yahoo.com wrote:
>> http://flic.kr/p/8sjJyv
>>
>> My preliminary attempt at a blazon is: "Per bend argent and gules,
>> a rooster contourney counterchanged."
>
> No conflicts found.  The rooster is contourny.

Oddly enough, I can't find a default posture for a dunghill cock
explicitly specified in the CoA Glossary of Terms (cockatrice yes,
cock no), in the Pic Dic, or in precedents.

The attachment to the November 2003 LoAR (for the Great Bird
Precedent) says that cocks are found in the Dictionary of British Arms
(DBA) as close or displayed.

Parker s.v. Cock doesn't even define a default, but he shows them as
close in the arms of Cockayne.

On the other hand:

I assumed it was "close" until I thought about it.

Da'ud brought a homeopathic dose of sanity to the CoA in his ruling
that lions, eagles, and griffins have default postures and can even
use them (12/95 LoAR Cover Letter), but unpostured roosters are found
even before that, such as (5/90 LoAR)

     Aileen Bardon. Badge for House of the Mad Woman. A bull statant to
     sinister argent, spotted sable, statant to sinister upon its back
     a cock gules.

, and have been found in lots and lots of cases since.

And in practice the default (at least in one ruling) appears to be
"close" (11/03 LOAR):

     Alienor of Iron Mountain. Device. Azure, a dunghill cock Or.

         Conflict with Sabine de Provence (registered in July 2003),
         Quarterly azure and ermine, a hen close Or. There is one CD
         for changing the field, but no difference between a dunghill
         cock and a hen. [discussion of the minor differences in
         outlines between rooster and hens] ...

implying no CD for posture.

So might as well blazon it as "close", and if it gets onto an LoI, it
would be as well to ask Wreath to explicitly define that the dunghill
cock is close by default.

As for one leg being advanced, see the 2/02 LoAR:

     Branwen of Werchesvorde. Device change. Per pale azure and gules,
     a raven within an annulet argent.

          The raven was originally blazoned with its dexter talon
          raised. This detail has been ruled unblazonable in the past:
          "A bird passant, that is to say, with one leg raised, is
          considered an unblazoned variant of close" (LoAR February
          1996, p. 1). Quite a few period birds close are drawn with
          one leg raised to some degree, especially massive birds such
          as cocks, hens and swans. Perhaps this is because the bird
          better fills the space at the bottom of the shield when drawn
          with one leg raised. ...

Danielis de Lindo
-- 
Tim McDaniel, tmcd at panix.com



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