[ANSTHRLD] Conflict Check: Gules, a seal sejant argent charged with a fleur-de-lys sable

John Atkinson johnmatkinson at gmail.com
Wed Oct 5 16:49:50 PDT 2011


I don't know, but that's the term used by more or less every
registration of a seal.  If you have a better idea, let's hear it.

As for seal vs. sea lion. . . I'm not a zoologist.  If what you are
saying is the depiction of seals we are most familiar with, with the
upper body more or less erect and the lower body trailing behind, is
something seals don't do, but (New World) sea lions do do, then in
what position would a seal most commonly be used in period armory?
Naiant?

Or if they simply weren't used in period heraldry, then in the first
place I'll be suprised, in the second place, I'll point my submitter
to that fact.

Ioannes

On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 5:58 PM, Lisa Theriot
<lisatheriot at ravenboymusic.com> wrote:
> How do you "sit" a seal?  A (natural) sea lion, I can see, but a seal?
> I see a bunch of them in the A&O, though nothing newer than 2000, so I'm
> wondering if sejant is really the right word?  Wouldn't we prefer fish
> position terms for a seal?  It's really lacking the required parts to
> sit!
>
> I guess I need to mention on OSCAR that it's time we stop using the term
> "seal" for sea lions (we really should stop registering natural sea
> lions as they were unknown to period Europeans, but there you are).
> Anyone who has worked with both knows they are incredibly dissimilar.
> If we can manage to not confuse ourselves when talking about heraldic
> dolphins and natural dolphins, I think we can manage the same regarding
> sea-lions.
>
> (Go on, be brave, submit it as a natural sea lion, I dare ya!)
>
>
> Adelaide
>
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-- 
"Thousands of Sarmatians, Thousands of Franks, we've slain them again
and again.  We're looking for thousands of Persians."
--Vita Aureliani



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