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Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 15 Mar 2014, 01:03
by Lucas Garczewski
Not entirely sure if this is the right place (moderators, please move to the right space if not), but...

I've been working on arms for my partner, Barbara. Since these are Polish arms they are emblazoned on a shield (not a lozenge).

Balzon: Gules, a winged cat sejant affronte, it's wings displayed and elevated, the dexter one bat-like, and the sinister one brid-like, Argent, charged on it's breast with a crescent moon Azure, in chief a harp Or strung Argent.

You will notice that the illustration below does not match the blazon. That's because this is an early rendering composed of clip arts, to be drawn from scratch once the final design is accepted. Please refer to the blazon for the intended look and use your imagination to picture the arms for now. ;)

Barbara is a professional harpress and plays an early gaelic harp, hence the harp in the arms, which also denotes ties to Ireland, where Barbara studied. The cat's two wings hint at a sort of duality (darkness & light, if you will), and the animal itself is a totem of sorts and also one of her favorite animals. Finally, the crescent moon is a reference to her spiritual beliefs.

So, my question to you: would you do anything differently? Any clashes or issues you see?

Hints for the final rendering and composition are also welcome, but please bear in mind that the image below is not final (see blazon for the inteded look).

Image

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 15 Mar 2014, 03:33
by Iain Boyd
Dear Lucas,

An interesting composition.

Personally, however, I would prefer to see the harp being held / played by the cat rather than displayed separately above the cat's head.

All the best,

Iain Boyd

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 15 Mar 2014, 11:23
by Chas Charles-Dunne
My observations concern the crest.

The torse is of two colours rather than metal and colour. Is this Polish tradition?

The cat in the crest only has bird wings. Should it have one of each?

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 15 Mar 2014, 11:56
by Lucas Garczewski
Thanks, Chas, good points.

Chas Charles-Dunne wrote:My observations concern the crest.

The torse is of two colours rather than metal and colour. Is this Polish tradition?


I was wondering if Gules & Azure would work myself, now that I've slept on it I'm fairly certain that they don't. The torse will be Gules and Argent.

Chas Charles-Dunne wrote:The cat in the crest only has bird wings. Should it have one of each?


It will have one of each, essentially replicating the charge of the arms, save for the position (i.e. the crest cat is not going to be affronte). It will also be holding the harp with one paw.

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 15 Mar 2014, 22:39
by Ryan Shuflin
As far as the crescent, it might be mistaken for a brisure or mark of cadency. How much that matters is up to the armiger, and how apparent she wants the symbolism to be, if at all. With the wings, I think dragon wing might be the more common blazon term, although one can argue there is a difference between a bat and a dragon wing.

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 16 Mar 2014, 01:11
by Lucas Garczewski
Ryan Shuflin wrote:As far as the crescent, it might be mistaken for a brisure or mark of cadency. How much that matters is up to the armiger, and how apparent she wants the symbolism to be, if at all. With the wings, I think dragon wing might be the more common blazon term, although one can argue there is a difference between a bat and a dragon wing.


Thanks, Ryan.

There is no cadency system in the Polish heraldic tradition, since arms are always inherited by all children, undifferenced (one of the peculiarities of the Polish system).

That said, in this age of globalization, it's still a valid point. I'm going to discuss this with the armiger.

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 16 Mar 2014, 10:45
by Chas Charles-Dunne
Would it not be possible for the crescent to be worn like a medallion on a chain?

The symbolism would still be there and would not be confused with cadency by anybody.

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 16 Mar 2014, 10:49
by Chas Charles-Dunne
Purely as an artistic thing - the cat has a long tail. I think that its tail should curl in front of the torse and back up again, rather than be hidden behind it.

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 16 Mar 2014, 15:19
by Chris Green
The term "harpress" is unusual. Presumably it is the female form of "harper". I have never come across it before and always assumed that the term for both sexes of harp-player was "harpist".

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Posted: 16 Mar 2014, 17:10
by Lucas Garczewski
Chas Charles-Dunne wrote:Would it not be possible for the crescent to be worn like a medallion on a chain?

Good idea, thank you, we might do that.

Chris Green wrote:The term "harpress" is unusual. Presumably it is the female form of "harper". I have never come across it before and always assumed that the term for both sexes of harp-player was "harpist".


While slightly off topic, I'll gladly explain. ;) Barbra and a number of people within the historical harpers' community uses the term "harper" to denote a person playing an early harp, as opposed to a "harpist" who plays a modern (orchestra/filharmonica) harp.

This is just a linguistic convention, not a hard division, but it does reinforce the fact that these are really two quite different musical instruments. I find it quite elegant and it's what that community uses, so I follow their example.