SENA, Armory Part 2, Content
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A.2. Armory Content http:heraldry.sca.org/sena.html#A2 #A2AA. Definitions: Armorial elements include tinctures, charges, lines of division, complex line treatments, postures/orientations, arrangements, and the like. Essentially, each piece of an armorial submission is an element. On first registration of any particular element, documentation must be presented that the element and its depiction may be registered. This means presenting evidence that the element is eligible to be registered and that the specific depiction is attested or is otherwise compatible with period style. Elements which have been registered without comment in the last decade or are listed in one of the Appendices as acceptable elements do not usually need to be documented in a new submission. Items which have not been registered in over a decade, have only been registered a few times, or have recent registrations only via the Grandfather Clause may need to be documented. Occasionally new research will require new documentation of a more recently registered element. #A2BB. Standards for Elements: To be used in armorial submissions without penalty, armorial elements must meet one of the following standards. #A2B11. Attested Elements: Armorial elements are registerable if they are attested in period European armory. Designs found in a period roll of arms or a treatise on armory meet this standard, even if it is unclear from the treatise if the element was used in actual heraldry. Elements used in arms, in badges, and in crests all meet this standard. Elements must be used and combined in the same ways they were used in period armory. For example, while both bees// and the //rampant// posture are found in period armory, we do not allow a //rampant bee//, because only quadrupeds were found in the //rampant posture in period armory. Tinctures and their classifications are discussed in [[2]] below. Discussions of charges and other elements that do not need to be further documented can be found in Appendix F. #A2B22. Constructed Elements: Elements that follow a pattern for the formation of period charges are registerable. Some patterns that have been documented include: >> #A2B2aa. Tools: There is a pattern of creating new charges from European tools and other everyday artifacts. Thus, an item that can be documented as this sort of period artifact is registerable. >> #A2B2bb. Plants and Animals: There is a pattern of creating new charges from European plants and animals. Thus an item that can be documented as a plant or animal found in period Europe is registerable. >> European plants and animals that did not appear until after 1600, such as many breeds of dogs, are not registerable. Those attested during the gray period receive the benefit of the doubt, unless there is a reason to believe they first appeared after 1600. >> >> #A2B2cc. Constructed Monsters: There is a pattern of creating monsters by combining elements from different animals and monsters used in heraldry. Thus, a new monster that follows these patterns is registerable. Items which can be constructed using this rule are registerable, even if it recreates a named heraldic monster which is demonstrated to be a wholly post-period invention in real-world heraldry. >> For example, there is a pattern of combining the top half of quadrupeds with a fish tail to make a creature, as in a heraldic sea-horse//. This pattern can be used to create an unattested //sea-bear. #A2B33. Grandfather Clause: Armorial elements which are registered to an individual may be used in a new submission by that individual, even if they are no longer allowed under the rules. Only the exact, actual elements which are registered may be used, not variants or patterns. The use of the grandfather clause does not allow the submitter to evade new style problems (as discussed in A.1 through A.3). It only allows the submitter to evade style problems that already exist with their registered armory. An armorial element from a registered piece of armory of an individual may also be registered by a close legal relative (such as parent, spouse, child, sibling, etc.). To do this, the submitter must demonstrate the relationship through legal documents or through attestation of relationship from the individual whose armory is already registered. Documentation under the grandfather clause does not exempt a design from conflict, presumption, or offense rules, unless that rules violation is itself grandfathered. #A2B44. Elements which are a Step from Period Practice: Some elements are allowed but are considered a step from period practice. An armorial design may have no more than one such step. A design submitted under the Core Style Rules with more than one step from period practice will be returned. For charges, a single example of that charge used in European armory during our period is usually sufficient to allow its use without being a step from period practice. >> #A2B4aa. Non-European Armorial Elements: Elements found only in non-European armorial traditions (e.g., Islamic and Japanese heraldry) are registerable but a step from period practice. The use of two such elements requires the use of the Individually Attested Pattern rules, discussed in [[3]]. These elements must still be describable in standard SCA heraldic terms. The use of elements found in period European armory is not a step from period practice, even if they were also used in non-European contexts. >> #A2B4bb. Non-European Plants and Animals: Plants and animals from outside Europe which were known to Europeans in period are registerable but a step from period practice. This includes plants and animals from the New World, Africa, and Asia. The few such animals used as period charges or crests are registerable as period charges, without a step from period practice. However, there are not enough of them to allow a general pattern for the use of any non-European animals and plants. Plants and animals which cannot be documented to be known to Europeans before 1600 (from the interior of Africa, northern Asia, or parts of the United States that were not systematically explored by Europeans before 1600, for example) will not be registered. While grey period citations will be considered, the great expansion of knowledge Europeans gained about the rest of the world between 1600 and 1650 means that the burden of proof of pre-1600 knowledge here is slightly higher. >> #A2B4cc. Other European Artifacts: There is no pattern of using European artifacts other than tools and general, everyday artifacts in armory. The use of such an artifact, such as an aeolipile, as a charge is considered a step from period practice. >> #A2B4dd. Post-Period Elements: A handful of elements not found in period heraldry have been explicitly allowed, though their use is a step from period practice. A list of them is included in Appendix G. #A2B55. Unregisterable Elements: Some items are generally unregisterable. Examples include heraldic elements that first appear after the end of the grey period (as described in [[4]]) and period artistic elements that are not found in armory, such as the Greek 'key' pattern or Celtic knotwork. #A2CC. Standards for Heraldic Art: Elements must be drawn to meet the following requirements. > #A2C11. Appropriate Drawing: Elements must be drawn in their period forms and in a period armorial style. In general, this means that charges should be drawn as a flat depiction with no perspective. A few special charges are drawn with perspective, such as dice and wedges of cheese, because they are depicted this way in period heraldry and are largely unidentifiable without perspective. Complex lines of division should be drawn with relatively few and deep repeats. Generally three to seven repeats are expected across an axis of the shield. > Depictions that are excessively modern may be returned. This includes, but is not limited to: depictions from comic books and video games, the use of post-1600 art techniques like Impressionism or pointillism, and fantasy art from book covers. > For example, a pen// must be drawn as a quill pen or other period form, not as a ballpoint pen. Similarly, //a wheel must be drawn as a wagon wheel, not a rubber tire from an automobile. > Animals and plants must be drawn in a stylized heraldic form, not in a naturalistic or photorealistic style. This does not mean that only heraldic forms of charges may be used, only that they must adhere to heraldic drawing style. Postures other than defined heraldic postures are not allowed. While depictions that are somewhat more naturalistic than the flat stylized depictions of heraldic charges will be registered, animals and plants may not be drawn in trian aspect (with perspective) or in ways that require detailed zoological knowledge to identify or reproduce. Immature plants, animals, and flowers are allowed only when those forms can be documented as period charges. > For example, we allow both a sea-horse// as the attested heraldic charge made of the front half of a horse and the back half of a fish and //a natural seahorse// as the type of fish found in oceans, but both must be drawn in the stylized artistic style and in a standard heraldic posture. For example, //lambs// are attested in period armory and are allowed, but //rosebuds are not. > #A2C22. Identifiability: Elements must be drawn to be identifiable. While some allowance will be made for lack of artistic skill, the identity of elements must not be ambiguous. Ambiguity can be created when a depiction falls between two states that contribute to difference, such as tincture, posture, or type of charge. We sometimes say that such a depiction blurs the distinction between the two states, and it may not be registered. Additionally, internal detailing can cause issues with identification. This may be due to a complete lack of internal detail, or through excessive internal detail such as can easily occur with clip art. Excessive internal detail can also cause issues with identification of the tincture of the charge or cause it to be seen as primarily sable, instead of the intended tincture. > For example, a point pointed// creates a triangular shape taking up only the bottom third of the field. A //per chevron// field division is typically drawn to take up as much space as possible, dividing the area of the field in two roughly equal parts centered around the mid-line of the space available. Therefore, a //per chevron// field that does not cross or barely crosses the mid-line blurs the difference between a //per chevron// line and a //point pointed//. A //per fess// field division that is too high can be confused with a //chief//. A //fess// that is too large can be confused with //a chief and a base//. A charge that is not clearly either //fesswise// or //bendwise is confusing as we give difference between those orientations. None of these can be registered. > For example, a lion// which is drawn so badly it cannot be identified, even when considering the wide variation in depictions of lions in heraldry in period, cannot be registered; we give difference between a lion and other non-feline animals, so it must be identifiable as some type of cat. For example, a line of division which is partly //indented// and partly //engrailed// cannot be registered, as we give difference between the jagged //indented// and curved //engrailed// lines of division. Many animals //dormant look the same, so care should be taken to make the depiction identifiable. > For example, a charge colored as teal or blue-green may be returned because it is ambiguous between azure// and //vert//. Similarly, some shades of //purpure// are so dark that they cannot easily be distinguished from //sable. > Some charges have identifying characteristics, such as the comb of a rooster; without those identifying characteristics, they may be unregisterable or may only be registered as a generic version of the charge. > For example, doves// are identified by a tuft of feathers on their head; ones drawn without this tuft are likely to be blazoned simply as //birds//. For example, a //lion must have a mane and tufted tail. > In general, a drawing which matches a period heraldic depiction is identifiable. An unusual depiction should probably be documented, as the College of Arms may or may not recognize it. > #A2C33. Appropriate Size: Elements must be drawn at an appropriate size for their role in an armorial submission and must be generally large enough to be identified as charges. Charges that are too big or too small may blur the difference between charge groups. Small charges may be unrecognizable. Complex lines of division that are too shallow or have too many repeats may be unrecognizable from any distance. Charges strewn on the field in too large a number or too close together may be unrecognizable.