Armory

This page is a directory of articles on devices/coats of arms. These articles cover both SCA practice and period heraldic practices and should be of interest to submitters as well as heralds of all levels in the SCA.

SCA Armorial Practices

• Heraldry for Non-Heralds (A Heraldry Primer)
  by Cormac Mór
• Posture quick references (extracted from the old primer):
  • Bird postures
  • Fish postures
  • Quadruped postures
• Roundels and Gouttes
  by Lord Madog Hir of Aire Faucon
• Assorted Lessons in SCA Heraldry
  A series of short lessons in assorted aspects of SCA heraldry.
• What is a Device?
• What is a Badge?
• Period Style: An Introduction
• A Grammar of Blazonry
  or Master Bruce’s Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Blazon
• Conflict Checking 101
• Argent Snail’s Armory Insta-Boing Checklist
  nine basic checks for any SCA device or badge submission
• Counting Complexity in Devices and Badges
  how to apply the SCA’s rule-of-thumb regarding heraldic complexity
• Reserved and Prohibited Charges
  heraldic design-elements whose use is restricted in the SCA
• The Philosophical Basis of Difference
  or What are Little CD’s Made of?
• An Essay on Seme
• Ermine Spots
• Furs
• Modar’s Heraldry Page
  a large collection of articles, and tools and forms to assist in SCA heraldry
• Heraldry Links and References
  includes references and articles on names, armory, titles, flags & banners, and tournaments
• The Book of Traceable Heraldic Art
  NOTE: Use of this traceable art in a submission is NOT a guarantee that it will pass Laurel. These images are provided as a service to SCA heralds and their clients.
• Khevron’s heraldry page
  contains the Principality of Oertha Roll of Arms and Order of precedence

Period Heraldic Practice

• Abatements and Augmentations of Honor
• The Law of Arms in Medieval England
• Heraldica – François Velde’s Selective Heraldry Archive
  a variety of information on heraldry and related topics, in the form of texts, images and links
• “Nowy” in Period Heraldry
• Flames in Period Heraldry
• Medieval Heraldry Archive
  The Academy of Saint Gabriel collection of articles on medieval and renaissance heraldry

Period Armorial Sources

• Period Rolls of Arms and Armorials (and how to find them)
• The Zurich Roll of Arms
  the oldest known surviving original of a roll of arms. Contains many pictures of armory, some quite large.

Modern Heraldic Practice

• An Annotated Bibliography of Scottish Heraldic Materials
• University of Notre Dame’s Heraldic Dictionary
  a primer to aid in understanding blazons (descriptions) of heraldry. With illustrations of field divisions, animals, and inanimate charges.
• The College of Arms of England and Wales
  official repository of the coats of arms and pedigrees of English, Welsh, Northern Irish and Commonwealth families and their descendants. Its records also include official copies of the records of Ulster King of Arms the originals of which remain in Dublin

SCA Armory

• SCA Kingdom Arms, Badges, and More
  information about armory and “colors” for each kingdom in the SCA, and for badges for various SCA offices and for kingdom awards.
• The Inter-Kingdom Directory
  includes Rolls of Arms where available