The International Association of Amateur Heralds

Chris Green wrote:. But this is not the same as fimbriation.

I agree.

Not fimbriated? Well, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

Seriously, at least in English, this sort of outlining is - has to be - more than just artistic license, because without it the design just flat doesn't work. If there is another term for it, swell, but I'm not aware of it.

I suppose it could be considered as just "what one does" when the blazon is silent - I would say deficient - but to my mind it's more than just a "default" like blue claws on a red lion and red claws on any other color lion, because either one of these defaults is optional unless stated in the blazon - that is, the artist can leave the claws the same color as the rest of the lion, if he prefers, unless the blazon specifies a different color, and still have a perfectly acceptable emblazonment. That's definitely not the case here.

Michael: If the cross were fimbriated it would have to be fimbriated on both sides of all four arms not just one side of one arm. Q3 cannot be fimbriated unless the gold field is fimbriated all the way round, which it isn't.

I think too much is being made of the little line. If it were a straight line parting two halves of an impalement, or two lines dividing a quartering, or even just the typical inked outlines of charges, no one would think twice about it. I see this as being in the same category.

A lot of time outlines and borders are added to coats of arms for purely artistic reasons.

Here is Prince Oscar's official CoA as emblazoned by Henrik Dahlström, Heraldic Artist at Riksarkivet (the State Archives):



Q3 is indeed the Landskap's arms not the Län.

Chris Green wrote:
Q3 is indeed the Landskap's arms not the Län.

Blue beak and tongue is the choice of the heraldik artist Henrik Dahlström. That is an alternative according to the official blazon for the Scanian Landskap.