Styling and Traditions in Palish Heraldry

There are a few legal restrictions on the content of armorials, some more encumbering than others. The most common is the restriction of the crown or coronet depicted. This must, without exception, pair with the rank held by the individual who bears those arms. Noble houses are able to, through the house tithe, allow its members to bear the arms of its head, which somewhat circumvents this rule. The spirit of the law is predominantly to prevent the commissioning of ever more elaborate headwear, as well as for ease of identification of rank on official documents. Another workaround, is that an individual may take the arms of any dependant or titular title that comprises their primary title, although this is unusual, as it would often leave the armiger bearing a lesser rank.

Another common sense Armiger law forbids ‘passing off’, the act of aiming to deceive another in the design of their devices. Deception under Palish law requires intent, so there is still room for similar arms to be granted. The law extends beyond complete armorials, restricting the use of certain charges too. Crowns, such that may suggest royal endorsement, are heavily regulated and rarely granted, (although coronets and circlets are more common), in addition, crescents are often avoided so as not to suggest any religious affiliation or endorsement for nobility.

The final legal directive to touch upon would be the so called ‘morality clause’ that aims to ensure that no offence could be caused by improper depictions and designs. This can be an individual charge, (famously the traditional arms of the Chaplaincy of Saint Relicta were censored to remove depictions of male genitalia), but more commonly applies to the broad context of an armorial. In the case of Harrow v Aurox, a dependency to Aurox had their proposal struck by the Court of Chivalry as it was deemed to be a deliberate debasement to the arms of Aurox. Aurox bore a sable ox rampant on a red field, Harrow’s proposal was a purple ox on a white field. Notably, the judges perceived the ox to be of ‘particularly emaciated bearing’ and adjudged an none to subtle implication of cowardice to their lieges.

Alongside the law, one will also find convention. This can be whatever happens to be in vogue at the time of the grant, or based on a long standing familial or cultural tradition. The use of various charges and tinctures show the clearest patterns, but is also the omissions of the vast majority of arms that give insight into this.

Supporters, Mottos, and Crests

One would note the distinct absence of supports, mottos, and crests in virtually all noble arms. In fact, the only armorial to encompass all three is the arms of House of Paling, the national arms itself. One may therefore think that this would be a law prohibiting such grants, but this is untrue, at least in technicality.

The reason behind this absence harkens back to early coronation ceremonies and other official state functions. Each aspect of the full heraldic achievement were required to be present. Using the arms of Palingvyre as an example, flanking the monarch, a live forest lion would be presented sinister, with the correct colouration dyed upon it and the Palatine Coronet, and the Pallon swan dexter, necklaced with a ducal circlet. The monarch would wear the Crown, the Sash of the Order, and the Adorned Robe, (this bearing the red field with the golden lion embroidered upon it), and the curtain behind the throne being white stoat fur on the interior, with gold thread on the exterior. To complete the achievement, a second, junior Pallon swan would be suspended in a cage topped with an ducal imperial coronet and the motto, 'Ad Coronam Regula' chanted by the attending nobility.

It is apparent why many of these additional touches may be foregone by most nobility, as it simply is not practical on the scale that is required. In addition, mottos in particular have been viewed as increasingly outdated and improper, the current monarchy excepted, of course. As mentioned, there is no law preventing these from being requested, but so stiff has the tradition become, no sound Lord would ever request them.

Tinctures of the Field

Like most modern nations, Palingvyre adheres to a particular set of tinctures prescribed by heraldic law, however even within this, their is clear favouritism towards four ‘primary tinctures’ blue, red, silver, and gold. Of these, red and gold are the most popular. At the other end of the scale, the least used tincture for the field is purple, although this is an international trend too, and following this is green. The use of these colours also varies, with there being a far greater number of single tincture fields of red and blue, while silver and gold often appear partitioned alongside the two other primaries. A silver field will always be depicted as white, which, matching the flag of surrender, explains its frequent use alongside other colours.

Heraldic Animals

The use of animals as charges is common practice in Palingvyre, with the most common being the forest lion. That being said, effort is often taken to avoid having the lion charged in gold given the association with royalty, particularly if the lion is the sole charge.

Other common animals are the swan, often linked with military prowess, and the ox, a beast of burden and industry. Horses and deer feature infrequently, the former often being associated with Hythness, the latter often considered to be an animal of the Elven Fringe. Other Hythnetic animals like the pard and the otter have no presently accounted uses, but have been seen historically.

Marshalling

The practice of merging and displaying two sets of arms on a single escutcheon is exceedingly rare in Palingvyre. The Crown must approve the union of two noble families and given the imbalance of power this can often cause it is unusual for this to be allowed. Even when this does happen, the tradition has always been for the lessor house’s arms to be subsumed or even entirely replaced by the dominant house. In the case of marriage, it will be the greater rank that takes precedence.

Many arms that may be perceived to be marshalled, such as the arms of Arnell, are more often designed with a union in mind, but are distinct designs. In the case of Arnell, the founder, Lily Arnell, was a commoner, so took a plain silver escutcheon and decorated the dexter side with the royal colours of red and gold. On the other hand, an example of arms that are marshalled would be those of Peakly-Rustford which bear the arms of Peakly, blue cleaved per pale with silver, quartered alongside the arms of Rustford, green with three bronze ringlets.

Locations almost always bear the arms of their rulers. This is due to the fact that titles under Armiger Law are only created at the point of the grant of letters patent. Grants can be made to recreate titles, and these will traditionally use the same armorials, but this is not a necessity. A title that fails to pass to an heir is destroyed when it is absorbed into the Crown and thus loses any previously linked armorial.

The exception to the above rule is where a location is the seat of a chivalric order or organisation of particular note. An example of such would be The Castle Duchy, which bears the arms of the Lord Castell, but with a silver gore at its base, charged with the badge of The House of the Lords Advocate.

Cities themselves do not have normal arms, but instead are distguished by eblems of their rulers field, charged with a heraldic key.