Laurel Letter of Pends and Discussion (LoPaD): April 20, 2005

Society for Creative Anachronism

College of Arms

15910 Val Verde Dr.

Houston, TX 77083-4921

+1-281-277-4055

herald@sca.org

For the December 2004 meetings, printed April 20, 2005

To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from François Laurel King of Arms, Gwenllian Wreath, and Margaret Pelican, greetings.

This letter contains the issues raised in the December 2004 LoAR for CoA discussion. The text in this letter is copied verbatim from that LoAR; it is provided here for convenience. As with a March LoI, these matters are currently scheduled for the Laurel meetings in July 2005. Original commentary must be in the College's hands no later than May 31 2005. Responses and rebuttals to commentary must be in the College's hands no later than June 30 2004.

1. Chlothar Bructerus. Badge. (Fieldless) A saltire couped voided and gringolé Or.

While we would not register a cross/saltire gringolé voided (with the voiding being gringolé as well), this voiding is plain, and we have examples of the simpler period crosses being voided and then having some elaborate treatment applied to the ends. For example, Humphery-Smith's Anglo-Norman Armory Two has a cross clechy voided and bottony (p.309, Benstede, John, from the Falkirk Roll of 1298); there are many examples in the Matrices de Sellos Espanoles (Siglos 12 -16) and the Livro de Armeiro-Mor showing crosses whose interior has a plain-cross shape inside of the same tincture as the field (all the examples had plain undivided fields) but whose arms end in complex ways. (The most common was fleury, but others exist as well, including at least one with acorns issuant from the ends!)

What is not obvious is whether these were being treated as a complex cross charged with a simpler one, or as a for-real voiding; for in order for charges with interior voids to be registerable as fieldless badges, there must be evidence that the treatment was considered in period to be a voiding. As all the examples studied show an interior of the plain undivided field, it is very difficult to tell. Had there been any examples with divided fields showing on the interior that would have been immense evidence in support of the idea. As it is, we are pending this to give the College a chance to research and comment on this specific issue further.

Pray know that I remain

In service

François la Flamme

Laurel Principal King of Arms