Semy

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Definition:

From Glossary of Terms: An adjective meaning that something is strewn with identical charges. (It is from the French semé, the past participle of the verb semer 'to strew'.) A field Azure semy-de-lys Or is blue with a pattern of gold fleurs-de-lys on it. A bordure vert semy of rowels argent is green and is charged with several (at least five and usually eight) white rowels evenly spaced around it. The charges so used are called strewn charges. When placed directly on the field, strewn charges are considered a separate charge group from any other charges. Strewn charges may be considered the primary charge group if there are no other charge groups present or if the only other charge groups present are peripheral charge groups. When placed on another charge, strewn charges are considered a tertiary charge group. Strewn charges are not considered a field treatment. Ermine spots in an ermined tincture are not considered strewn charges; they are considered part of a separate tincture. See also Ermined Tinctures, Field Treatment, Peripheral Charge Group, Primary Charge Group, Tertiary Charge Group. [[1]]

Semy is not a field treatment, but is a group of charges strewn across the entire field or portion of a divided field. It is not a noun but an adjective: the correct usage is semy of [charges], not a semy of [charges]. [[2]]


Examples:

Period:

Wapenboek Beyerin

Mixing charges in a semy

[[3]]

  • de Bara's "Les blazon des armories". The copy at http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5753422z has it on page 92. "D'argent, semé d'angennes & quintes fueilles de gueulles & d'azur, l'une opposée à l'autre." In English, "Argent semy of cinquefoils gules and sexfoils azure."
  • Walters has an emblazon with alternating fleurs-de-lys and martlets. ("Book of English Heraldry", 1589)
  • Foster, p. 196 has a device with alternating tertiaries
  • Libro de Armeria del Reino de Navarra:
    • Plate 15 has an orle of alternating ... saltorels and roundels - three saltorels, a roundel, repeated. Except that one group has four saltorels.
    • Plate 33 has "Argent, a mullet of eight points within in cross four saltorels and in saltire four dogs statant sable." The saltorels and dogs are clearly a single charge group.
    • Plate 45 has "...on a bordure argent the phrase "ORDONANA" sable alternating with roses Or."
    • Plate 49 has, in a quartering, "Or, a cross pointed azure betwen four crosses couped (tincture?), a bordure compony argent and gules semy of dogs statant sable and saltorels Or."
    • Plate 53 has quarters which have "...a bordure gules, semy of Cauldrons and trefoils (argent?)"
    • Plate 54 has two quarters of "Argent, three (flowers?) and three card piques inverted two, one, two, and one gules." By our rules, six is equivalent to a semy.
    • Plate 61 has the arms from Plate 15 in the 1st Quarter. Here, it alternates two saltorels per roundel, the roundels being set in saltire.
    • - Plate 62 has "Purpure, in pale two caldera gringola argent snaked Or, on a bordure purpure three trefoils and three (hammers? Tau crosses couped? Letters 'T'?) Or." Yes, purpure with a purpure bordure, and, um, the top hammer/cross/T is entirely colored in purpure. Oops.
    • Plate 68 has "Argent, a cross flory invected sable within an orle of dogs statant sable and in cross four delfs issuant from the edge of the field gules, each charged with a saltorel Or."
  • http://books.google.com/books?id=NEQ_AAAAcAAJ page 195, has arms blazoned on page 194 as "Or semy of fleurs de lys and towers azure".


Ordinary of Siebmacher's Wappenbuch

http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/heraldry/siebmacher/f-siebmacher.html

Modern:

Pictorial Dictionary of SCA Heraldry (3rd edition):

Pennsic Traceable Art Project

SENA Appendix I:

http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/sena.html#AppendixI

A. Primary Charge Group:

The primary charge group is the charge or group of charges which are directly on the field in the visual center of the shield. Not every device has a primary charge, but most do. The primary charge group will typically be the largest charge or charges on the field.

If the armory has at least one central ordinary, they are the primary charge group. This is true even if there are other charges around it or the ordinaries are drawn narrowly. If there are no central ordinaries and the armory has a central charge or charges, they are the primary charge group. This is true even if the charges are on opposite sides of a field division. If there are no central ordinaries or central charges, but there are semy of charges on the field, those charges are the primary charge group. If there are two or more charges of similar visual weight or size in the center of the field which are touching, they are sustained and all part of the primary charge group.

... In Argent, a lion sable, Argent, three lions sable, and Argent semy of lions sable, the lions are the primary charges. In Argent semy of lions sable, a cross azure, the cross is the primary charge and the lions are secondary charges.

...In Per fess vert and argent crusilly azure, a lion argent, the white lion cannot be on the white part of the field and is only in the top half of the field. Therefore, the primary charge group is the lion and the crosses together...

In armory with a divided field, there are two potential situations. Either each of the charges is entirely in a single section of the field, or one or more charges overlie the line(s) of division. In the first situation, the charges are collectively the primary charge group. This is true even when the bottom charge is drawn larger than the others, as this is common in period depictions. This is true even when one of the divisions contains semy of charges. This is true even if you use blazon terms like "in chief" or the line of division is blazoned as "enhanced". In the second situation, where one or more charges overlie the line of division, those charges are the primary charge group and the other ones are in a secondary charge group...

B. Secondary Charge Group:

A secondary charge group is a single charge or group of charges directly on the field around the primary charges. Therefore, you cannot have a secondary charge group without a primary charge group to surround, except in field-primary armory. In general, secondary charge groups will be drawn smaller than the primary charge group.

For example, in Argent, a fess between three lions sable and Argent semy of lions, a fess sable, the lions are the secondary charges, surrounding the primary fess... In each case if you removed the fess the lions would become the primary charge group.

Several kinds of secondary charge groups can occur together in a design. Armorial designs with multiple secondary charge groups must generally match a pattern for period arrangement of charge groups. Types of secondary charges include:

2. Semy: This type of secondary charge group consists of charges strewn over all or over one part of a field. Charges semy are almost always in a separate charge group from all other charges. However, when a divided field (with or without a central ordinary) has a semy of charges (or charges semy) on one half of the field and another charge or group of charges on the other, the charges form a single secondary charge group around the primary ordinary.

For example, in the armorial submission Argent crusilly, a bend gule, the crosses are the secondary charge group. In the armorial submission Per chevron argent crusilly gules and azure, a chevron Or and in base a griffin argent, the crosses and the griffin together form a single secondary group.

Precedents:

Precedents of the SCA College of Arms - http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/precedents.html
Morsulus Heralds Website - http://www.morsulus.org/ (to search the LoARs and Precedents)
Use the above links to be sure any precedents listed below haven't been superseded by newer precedents.

Definition:

July 2001 - semy charges always their own charge group:

[Per chevron gules crusily fitchy argent and argent, in base a bear rampant gules] This is clear of the Barony of Dun Carraig, Per chevron gules, crusilly bottony argent, and argent, in base a cross bottony within a laurel wreath gules. By current precedent, the semy charges must be in a separate group from all other charges; therefore the charge in base is its own group for both devices. Therefore there are two CDs for changing the number and type of the charges in base. [Giraude Benet, 07/01, A-Calontir]


Registerability:

(Restricted, Reserved, SFPP, OOP)

October 2014 - Fields strewn with 2 types of charges

Gaufrid Falcun. Name and device. Per pale argent goutty de sang and sable semy of decrescents argent, a falcon close regardant gules. A precedent from 1983 stated:

  • [Returning Or, two piles and a pile inverted sable, semé of mullets and crescents argent.] NOTE: We do not use semé of more than one type of charge. [James de Burget, May 1983, R-Meridies]

In commentary, Non Scripta supplied multiple examples of field strewn with two types of charges. Therefore, we are explicitly overturning the May 1983 precedent. [Oct 2014, A-West] https://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2014/10/14-10lar.html#286

March 2012 - tertiary charges on strewn charges

Cathán Ó Dubhagáin. *Name and device. Azure, semy of estoiles Or each charged with a hurt, a decrescent argent. "As strewn charges by their nature are small, tertiary charges on them would be even smaller, hampering their identifiability. In this case, the hurts are easily identified. Still, the unusualness of charging strewn charges leads us to declare it a step from period practice." https://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2012/03/12-03lar.html

April 2010 - Divided Fields, Tinctures, and Strewn Charges

A submission this month asked for clarification on the subject of strewn charges on only part of a plain field. The LoI quoted the following precedents:

  • [Per bend sinister argent and argent semy-de-lys sable, on a bend sinister gules a sword inverted Or, in chief an elephant head cabossed sable] Current precedent disallows strewn charges on only part of a plain field, even when the field has a "natural" division such as an ordinary (see July 1998 LoAR, Miriel MacGregor), barring evidence that such fields were used in period armory. [Bohémond le Sinistre, 01/2001, Outlands]

and

  • [Per chevron pean and sable, on a chevron Or ...] It was the consensus of the College that a divided field in which the two parts are tinctures that share the same background is allowable if there is an ordinary to aid in the separation of the two parts, though the practice is not documented. [Thorgrimr inn kyrri, 02/2001, Atlantia]

The difference between the two is that an ordinary or other natural division is allowed to correct the style problem for tinctures, but not for strewn charges. Tinctures, even the ermined furs, are considered a single entity, not a field with charges strewn upon them. Charges may not be strewn on only one half of a divided field, even in the presence of an ordinary dividing the halves, when the halves share the same background tincture. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2010/04/10-04cl.html

January 2001 - strewn charges on only part of a field

"Current precedent disallows strewn charges on only part of a plain field, even when the field has a "natural" division such as an ordinary (see July 1998 LoAR, Miriel MacGregor), barring evidence that such fields were used in period armory." [Clarification Note: i.e. 'Per pale argent and argent semy of trees vert.' or 'Per pale argent and argent semy of trees vert, a pale sable.' Both sides of the division have the same background tincture, thus the design has a plain field. If the design had a different tinctures on both sides of the division, one side being semed would be acceptable.] [January 2001 LoAR]

February 2000 - two different sets of strewn charges [but see 10/2014 above]:

"Current precedent disallows two different sets of strewn charges directly on the field." [February 2000 LoAR]

Conflict:

July 2001 - semy charges always their own charge group:

[Per chevron gules crusily fitchy argent and argent, in base a bear rampant gules] This is clear of the Barony of Dun Carraig, Per chevron gules, crusilly bottony argent, and argent, in base a cross bottony within a laurel wreath gules. By current precedent, the semy charges must be in a separate group from all other charges; therefore the charge in base is its own group for both devices. Therefore there are two CDs for changing the number and type of the charges in base. [Giraude Benet, 07/01, A-Calontir]


Identifiability:

Collected Precedents:

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