Heraldic language (heraldic description, blazoning) is a descriptive code developed in Western European culture for recording and describing images on emblems and flags . The heraldic language, in the absence of photography and the high cost of color drawings, made it possible to describe the text on the coat of arms or flag using different methods in a textual or verbal way, which made it possible to subsequently reproduce it with sufficient accuracy.
Heraldic descriptions are also known as “blazonation” (from the old German “blasen” - “blow to the horn”) and originate from the era of medieval knightly tournaments , when the herald , accompanied by fanfare, was obliged to shout out names, titles, describe the coats of arms, talking about famous ancestors and the origin of the contestants.
Heraldic language in different countries
The terms of the heraldic language used by the English-speaking heralds to explain the coat of arms come from the Norman French times of William the Conqueror and the Crusades , when the rules of European heraldry were formed. At this time, in the North French dialect, she spoke to know England and France .
In other countries, for example in Germany , whose language was not subjected to such a strong influence of the conquerors, the heraldic language is closer to modern colloquial.
Although the heraldic language prevailing in Western European culture is extremely short, Russian descriptions of emblems sometimes require a few words to present a complex drawing, since the culture of describing emblems in the Russian language begins only in 1672 , with the Tsar's Titular .
Introduction to Heraldic Language
Coat of arms description
Blazonation is a loud description at the tournament of the coat of arms of a knight-participant. The modern meaning of this technical term, which needs to be replaced with the Russian equivalent, is the scientific description of the coat of arms in heraldic terms.
When blazoning, first they call the color, then the figure on the coat of arms. The stamp shield is said to be divided up - striated (stripes run vertically), crossed (stripes horizontally), beveled to the right or left (when the field is cut diagonally) or other, more complex sections.
This is followed by an indication of the images placed on the coat of arms: first, their location (in the center, in the upper right corner, in the lower left corner, etc.) is called, then what they represent (emblem, symbolic sign, figure) , and their description according to the rules for blazoning emblems.
Shield Division
The left (from the viewer) side is called the right, and the right is called the left. This is easy to remember: the sides are counted from the knight carrying the shield, and not from the viewer. There are many ways to divide a shield. For example, a double shield is divided horizontally (crossed), vertically (dissected), diagonally from left to right (beveled right) or from right to left (beveled left). There are more complex divisions of the shield.
Division lines
This is a straight, smoothly curved or broken line dividing the plain field of a simple shield into differently colored parts of the field or (division pattern) of a complex shield. Regardless of their type, dividing lines — both straight and curly — can only have horizontal ( intersection ), vertical ( dissection ), and diagonal ( bevel ) directions.
Tincture (color)
Enamels (enamel): scarlet (red), light blue (blue, blue), greens (green), purple (burgundy, violet), black (black). Sometimes orange, brown and some other enamels are also used, but in Russian heraldry, with rare exceptions, they are not used.
Metals: gold (yellow) and silver (white, sometimes gray).
Furs: ermine and squirrel .
Honorable Heraldic Figures
These figures occupied a special place in heraldry, hence the term "honorary" . An honorary heraldic figure, as a rule, occupies a third of the shield area. In the description of the coat of arms, this figure is proclaimed first, immediately after the mention of the shield.
Just as all the initial divisions are identified with the knight’s weapons and shield, so for each of the minor, more complex heraldic figures they look for the base in the same source, namely: the pillar represents the knight’s spear, the band represents his band, his belt is a scarf, his cross is his sword, the tip is boots, and the rim and shield are chain mail and armor.
Simple Emblems
They can be present on the coat of arms both independently and in groups. Most of them go back to the metal reinforcements of the medieval shield.
- Border - bordering around the edge of the shield. In Spanish and Portuguese heraldry includes reduced shields of close relatives. Also see bisures .
- Narrow inner border - a narrow strip that separates the border from the main composition of the shield, can carry small symbolic decorations.
- The free part is the square or rectangle in the upper right corner of the shield, smaller than a quarter. It is used in the arms of cities where the emblem of the province or region is placed.
- A wedge is a triangle, usually used in groups, and the field is described as "divided wedge-shaped into ... parts"
- Heart small shield (or “ shield of claims ” ) - is located in the center of the shield (if one), several emblems can be found in the arms of the nobility.
- Inner border is an abstract border.
- Diamond-shaped figure - is located in the center of the shield or touches the corners of the walls, has several options: “through rhombus” (bordering), “drilled rhombus” (with a round hole), “spindle” (elongated rhombus). The shield field, completely tiled with rhomboid figures, is called "divided rhomboid", tiled with squares - "divided staggered".
- Shingle is a central rectangular figure standing upright. A shield with a frequent arrangement of shingles is called "covered with shingles."
- Arc-shaped sides - two arched arcs on each side of the shield, begin in the upper corners of the shield, slightly reach the base of the shield.
- The lattice plexus is in the form of a diamond-shaped border, into which two ribbons are woven diagonally the width of the border. It can be used as an independent figure, but more often it tilts the entire field of the shield, which receives a description: “covered with a grid”.
Heraldic figures
Non-heraldic figures are divided into natural, fantastic and artificial.
If the figure looks to the right (to the left of the viewer), this is not observed during blazonation. For a figure that is looking to the left (to the right of the viewer), the word “reversed” is added. For a figure that is looking at the viewer, the word "really" is added. If the figure moves to the side and looks at the viewer, “looking straight ahead” is added.
Each of the figure poses has its own description. For example, a lion directed to the side can be reared, walking, standing, sitting, etc.
See also
- Glossary of heraldic terms
Literature
- Arseniev Yu.V. Heraldry. Lectures given at the Moscow Archaeological Institute in 1907-1908. - M .: TERRA - Book Club, 2001 .-- 384 p. ISBN 5-275-00257-2
- Slater S. Heraldry. Illustrated Encyclopedia / Per. from English I. Zhilinsky. - 2nd ed. - M .: EKSMO, 2005 .-- 264 p. ISBN 5-699-13484-0
- Fryer S., Ferguson D. Heraldry. Coats of arms - Symbols - Figures / per. from English M. B. Borisova. M .: AST: Astrel, - 2009 .-- 208 p. ISBN 978-5-17-061418-9
Links
- Winkler P.P. Coat of arms, coat of arms // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907. .
- Tipolt N.A. Fundamentals of Heraldry .
- Chapters from the book on the website “Heraldry. Ru ” // Medvedev M. Yu. Heraldry or the true science of coats of arms. - St. Petersburg: Coats of arms and flags, 2008.
- The rules of heraldry // Project “Heraldry. RU".
- The rules of heraldry // Project "Excursion into Heraldry".
- Glossary of heraldic terms // Project "Heraldicum".