Heraldry
This is an informative page for Bretonnian generals, and all those interested in historic heraldry. Here we will give you a brief overview of the true art of heraldry, but also tell you how you can mix it with fantasy for your Warhammer ® game.
Origins and History
Heraldry, often called "The Art of Heraldry", is truly a mix between art, science, sociology and history. It is a study of human history and culture dating back to the earliest personal symbols created by the Egyptians, yet we can still see heraldry's presence today all over The UK, Ireland, Europe and Eastern Europe and beyond. Not only can heraldry's effects be seen in increasingly-popular studies personal genealogy and family names, but it's patterns and psychology is present in modern-day advertising techniques for business logos and symbols.
Theories
However, when you think of heraldry, the most common thought is, of course, the Knights of old. The use of heraldic devices was most prolific in Medieval and Renaissance periods, bestowed upon nobles worthy to receive titles. One common theory is that the use of heraldic devices worn on shield and surcoat became necessary when plated armor developed to the use of full body plating and full-faced helmets. Combatants needed a way to tell friend from foe.
Historically, however, this is doubted, as heraldic devices in more geometric and simple patterns were seen before full plated armor was developed (before even chain mail was common) and as far back as the Celts. Ancient warriors often decorated their shields with mythological beasts that were thought to bring them strength, quickness, or luck in battle. The units of the Roman Empire were known for the markings on their shields, however this was associated with the entire unit and oftentimes the Roman Empire in general; single warriors were not distinguished.
Some believe that the use of heraldry as we know it developed from a mix between the feudal system and a desire for personal decoration and recognition of familial communications. The symbols or "charges" seen on the heraldic device could be used as seals to sign missives from the head of a family or the liege lord.
Inheriting Heraldry
Historians have theorized that in the 12th Century, possibly starting with Henry I of England, heraldry became an inheritable system. Heraldic symbols and signs quickly became objects of pride and were jealously safeguarded as son inherited his father's in turn. By the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, the use of heraldry was prolific, and to regulate such an inheritable system, professional officers of arms were used to regulate the use and registration of heraldic devices. Therefore, a system of heraldry, called blazoning, was developed. Although rules differ from country to country, the basics tenets of heraldry remain the same. (Frair and Furgeson, 1993)
Heraldry Today
Today, heraldry still flourishes in slightly different manner; companies use trademarked symbols to identify their product and often their employees wear badges or clothes with the company insignia (think of the Nike "swish"). The 20th century seems to have renewed the desire for symbolic emblems, be they T-Shirt pictures and mottos or tattoos. Although the use and inheritance of heraldry is still possible through the British nobility, it is a misconception in society today that heraldic devices, known as "crests" can be researched by family name and shown as a decorative honor. Many unscrupulous companies "research" and sell sham "family crests" to uninformed customers which are historically out of date and actually the heraldic charge or armorial achieved by another individual with the same last name long ago.
Blazoning: the rules of heraldry
A blazon is a verbal or written description of a coat of arms using the official terminology of heraldry. For the purposes of quick study, we will discuss heraldry in terms of a knights device. This is most commonly a shield bearing an object or geometric figure. A true shield of arms or coat of arms may display more then one heraldic device; in occurrences of marriage where both parties bear coats of arms they can be placed together on the shield. Rules exist for dividing heraldic devices even further (quartered) or in special cases putting badges or labels on devices.
However, for our purposes, we will explain the basics of heraldry in the order they are presented when emblazoning a coat of arms; tinctures, divisions of the field, charges and ordinaries, the attributes of a charge, and sub-ordinaries. Following, we will give some examples of heraldic devices and also briefly explain helm crests, supporters and mottos which can all be found in the world of Bretonnia.
Basic Tinctures - Colors, Metals and Furs
The most important rule in heraldry is called the "rule of tincture." Tinctures are the colors used in heraldry. The rule was created to create contrast and visibility in the device; metals (the lighter colors) must never be placed on metals, and colors (the darker colors) must never be placed on colors.
The Heraldic Color Palette
The heraldic color palette consist of seven basic tinctures, 2 metals (light) and 5 colors (dark). These are as follows:
Argent (white / silver)
Or (yellow / gold)
Notice that these "metals" show up best against a dark field.
The colors are:
Gules (red)
Azure (blue)
Purpure (purple)
Sable (black)
Vert (green)
As you may be able to tell, most of the proper heraldic names of the colors are of French origin. France is one of the countries in which heraldry originated, and the language of heraldry is based on old Norman French. This will be noticeable through the explanation of field divisions and ordinaries as well.
Furs
There are also tinctures used on the field that are actually patterns, classified as furs. These include:
Ermine
Note that this term, just like the small mammal Ermine, is descriptive of how it looks. Vaguely reminiscent of an Ermine's fur, generally ermine is "argent" (silver or white) with "sable" (black) tails reminiscent of the Ermine's hide. Erminois is the same design of Fur in a background of "or" (gold or yellow).
Ermines
Counter meaning the exact opposite of the standard Ermine. Just like Ermine, Ermines has the same counterpoint in black and gold; Pean is the same background of black with the "tails" in or (gold or yellow).
Furs are very striking in both black and gold or black and silver, in either variation.
Field Divisions
A field division can be as simple as it sounds; the field of a shield can be divided into more than one main color, called parted or varied fields. The field divisions below are all shown in sable and argent (upon blue to make it visible) for the two-part divisions, and Sable, argent and gules for three part divisions.
Divided Per Bend
Divided Per Bend Sinister
Divided Per Chevron
Divided Per Chevron Inverted
Divided Per Fess
Divided Per Pale
Divided Per Pall
Divided Per Pall Inverted
Divided Per Saltire
Divided Quarterly
Further field divisions are called varied fields; they are divided into a number of parts greater than four:
Gyronny
Barry
Bendy
Bendy Sinister
Chequy
Lozengy
Paly
Pily
Charges
A charge is any object or figure placed on a heraldic device or shield. This can include any natural plant or animal, any mythical beast, and can frequently include medieval equipment such as swords, crowns, boats, keys, torches or sconces, etc. The cross was a very common charge in heraldry, and has hundreds of variations, with various names for each deviation. Simple charges can also be geometric shapes; an ordinary (see below) can also be a charge on the field.
When a charge is left in it's natural color, it is considered colored as "proper." For example, Stags shown in brown, Torches enflamed in metal and the color of flames, or any plant in it's natural colors. Even the mythical Phoenix is considered "proper" in reds, oranges, and yellows.
Animals and mythical beasts are found in various natural positions, often fighting stances, but also laying down and sleeping. A creature is automatically placed to it's right, facing left by the viewer, unless it's posture is described otherwise.
Some of the more common attitudes and positions that the beast can assume are as follows:
| Sejant | sitting (as a seated quadruped) |
| Couchant | laying down |
| Dormant | lying and sleeping |
| Statant | standing (as a quadruped on four legs) |
| Passant | fighting (as a quadruped on four legs) |
| Salient | standing (a quadruped upright on two legs) |
| Rampant | standing in a fighting posture |
| Countourne | facing left (also called sinister) / facing sinister |
Other positions and depictions of creatures are found, some may apply only to certain creatures (for example, those with wings) and some may explain the position of the creatures body parts. Some explain the addition of parts which are not normal to the creature, for example, "a lion, attired" would be a lion with antlers:
| Addorsed | two creatures back to back |
| Combatant | two beasts facing each other and fighting |
| Affronty | facing the observer |
| Caboshed | the head of the creature only, facing observer |
| Close | wings folded |
| Displayed | wings expanded |
| Volant | flying horizontally |
| Naiant | creature swimming (often in water) |
| Urinant | a creature diving (into water) |
| Forcene | as a rearing horse |
| Rampant | in a fighting posture |
| Attired | having antlers / of antlers |
| Beaked | having a beak |
| Habited or Vested | wearing clothes |
| Fructed | bearing or holding fruit |
| Chained | in chains (often accompanied by "collared" |
| Collared | wearing a collar |
| Embrued | bloodied from battle, dripping with blood |
| En Soleil | surrounded by sun rays |
| Incensed | flame issuing from mouth and ears |
Eagles and other birds, Wyverns and Dragons are most commonly seen displayed: with their wings spread out. Most animal quadrupeds are more commonly seen rampant or passant. It is easy to find the Arms of England; there you can see the lions are passant.
Some historians and historic heralds believe that charges and colors had special meanings. Many are self-explanatory, such as the color gold representing wealth and red representing might and blood spilled in battle. Some charges can be as easily explained such as courage for the lion, peace for the olive, loyalty for the dog, and immortality for the phoenix.
Ordinaries
An ordinary is a simple charge that consists of one or more shapes or strips of color. Sides of ordinaries are generally straight or parallel the curved edge of the shield. You may notice how the terms of the ordinaries correspond with the names of the field divisions. Other charges can be placed with ordinaries, above, below or on top of the ordinary, and are often found "counterchanged" in color. The following are all on a field of sable, with the ordinary in argent.
Bordure
Chief
Gyron
Pile
Bend
Bend Sinister
Chevron
Fess
Orle
Pale
Pall
Cross
Saltire
Lastly, some of these ordinaries can be found inverted, such as:
Pile Inverted
Some Examples of Heraldry
Here is the official civic coat of arms of the Balearic Islands;
Balearic Islands Heraldry
Properly emblazoned, this device would read "Paly, gules and or, a bend azure."
This device is simple in that it does not have a Charge other than its Ordinary. That is, there is no dragon or castle on the field, it is a simple design of geometric patterns and colors. Because the Ordinary (the azure/blue line) can be considered a type of charge, it can lay atop another color; in this case the field that is divided with gold and red. This device is simple, yet effective as it would be noticeable on the field. From far away the red and gold may look orange together, however, the blue stripe makes it stand out.
Simply taking this device and inverting it's colors creates a similarly emblazoned device: "Paly, azure and argent, a bend or."
The PaintedFantasyMiniatures Pegasus knight below can be considered as having proper heraldry:
This shield, properly emblazoned would be "Sable, a rampant Dragon or, contourne, within a bordure or."
Helm, Crest and Supporters
With this piece it is also interesting to note that the horses barding is "lozengy, sable and gules." Here the use of yellow on the shield and gold on the banner is accurate, as gold and yellow are known as the same color, Or. This knight also wears a helm with a crest. Although the term crest can be used to describe the entire coat of arms, as in "family crest", it is also the word used to describe a three-dimensional figure that was placed on top of the knights helm as further identification. Often this crest would be the same as the charge on the shield, if it was a creature, however, this was not always the case. Notice that the miniature above has a Unicorn crest, even though his main charge is a dragon. Even when the device includes a beast as a main crest, other creatures can be supporters in the heraldry. Supporters were used on paper and cloth forms of the coat-of-arms and in these depictions, characters, animals, birds and mythical beasts were depicted as supporting or holding up the arms or device itself. Therefore, historically knights could have multiple beasts as their symbols.
Historically, the crests on helms were made of all sorts of materials, believed to be most often wood or papier-mâché. To support the crest, and also to keep the knight cool in battle and protect his helm from heating in the sun, mantling was used. Typically the mantling was the principal color and principal metal of the knight's device.
Mottos
Although a motto is not in integral part of the arms, some knights chose to use mottos that described their purpose or intent or the dictum of their family. Although the French and Scottish were most fond of mottos, they have been found in old English, Latin and Greek. Mottos were typically found on a scroll under the shield on the granted arms, but could also be fancifully embroidered into cloth, for elaborate garments, or more commonly pennants and banners. In these cases, knights could bring their family mottos or chosen "war cries" into battle; very suitable for a Bretonnian knight or Lord heading into battle!
Final Notes on Heraldry
Heraldry gets more difficult when emblazoning a piece that was not created as "proper" heraldry. It is likely that the heralds of medieval times found that it became difficult to emblazon some devices that were brought to them as time went on and the designs got more elaborate. Therefore, changes had to be made as heraldry progressed. Later heraldry introduced many more charges and divisions and a few more colors, including orange, as in the knight below. Orange or tan was called "tenne", a dark blood-red was called "sanguine" and a color of deep purple-red or mulberry was called "murrey."
This knight's colors of orange and black are very striking against the brown Pegasus and the variations in his wings. Starting with the horses barding, this is simply "chequy, sable and tenne." His shield is "sable, a rampant Pegasus couped, counterchanged, upon a bend tenne." The word "counterchanged" means that the charge, in this case the upper body of a Pegasus, is divided the same as the field, with the colors reversed.
Heraldry in Bretonnian Armies
This information has been provided solely for your knowledge and pleasure. We understand that some Bretonnian army collectors decide that Bretonnia is for them due to a love of history, and in that case some of you may be far more educated in heraldry than we are. However, for those of you simply in love with Bretonnia and the rich feel of Medieval history that it conveys, this information is for your enjoyment. Feel free to use or ignore any rules for heraldic correctness; we want you to enjoy the creation process of your army as much as possible!
What can you take away from this very brief introduction to historic heraldry? Here are some hints and tips from the artist to make your army look spectacular on the field:
- "Metal on color" or "color on metal" is proper heraldry and in many cases looks best on the miniatures as it adds a necessary contrast in colors.
- Having a whole unit done in the same color scheme can be very striking on the battlefield. For example; a set of knights in black and gold (yellow) can have one knight with chequy (like a checkerboard - an artists' favorite), one with chevrons or chevronells, one divided "in saltire" (cross pattern) another with a simple black field with a gold dragon, one "paly" (vertical stripes). Take the same grouping in reverse colors (gold and black) and you have a whole unit of unique yet unified knights!
- When communicating with the artist about the heraldic devices for your Knights of Bretonnia, please do not feel that you need to use heraldically correct terms! However, if you want something specific that you see here (or are well-versed in heraldry) you can use these terms for communication of your painting needs.
- Feel free to request anything you see in these galleries or alter it for your own needs.
- You can also find stories about family heraldry in the Bretonnian handbook; many noble houses heraldic charges have specific meanings and significance behind them. The following "Charges" are available as transfers from Games Workshop ®:
All transfers as shown above can be painted over in different colors to suit your desires. The artists welcomes other patterns and designs not shown here, as well as any charges (or symbols) that the transfers do not provide. The artist also welcomes you to request a freehand design such as a Tudor Rose, a rampant stag, rampant boars, bulls heads, cross-crosslets, snakes, hearts, stars, clovers, horseshoes or anything else you wish.