Modern day tabards?

[JMcMillan]

Joe; I'm intrigued: what program did you use to create those tabards?

They're just done by drawing and coloring with the mouse using a fairly standard photo/graphics package. I use one called PhotoImpact because it came with an old printer and I'm used to it, but I'm sure any other similar program could do the same thing. The charges are mostly hand drawn with a few items of clipart for standard small heraldic items like garbs and such.

[Chris Green]

For those without the patience to visit the link:

The tabard, the traditional garment of a herald, is a full tunic with large embroidered open sleeves that is worn over other clothing. Bearing the arms of the sovereign, it underlines the formal atmosphere of ceremonies at which arms, flags and badges, granted in the name of the Crown, are presented. Entirely in royal blue, the tabard uses the colour emblematic of the governor general of Canada. The shield of the Royal Arms of Canada is embroidered on the tabard’s sleeves. The raven-bears on the central stripe are inspired by the supporters of the arms of the Canadian Heraldic Authority and honour the emblematic traditions of the First peoples. They are the work of Maynard Johnny Jr. of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw nations in British Columbia. The stripes of alternating maple leaves, the quintessential national emblem of Canada, occupy the rest of the front and back of the tabard.

[JMcMillan]

This discussion prompted me to think what the Canadians might have done by retaining the colorfulness of traditional heraldry while injecting the influence of the indigenous peoples. I haven't put this in tabard form yet, but here's a hanging banner of the Canadian arms with the charges done in the style of Haida art.



To see more detail, go to the larger image at http://www.flickr.com/photos/56412970@N ... otostream/

I think it turned out pretty well for a day or so worth of work.

[Ryan Shuflin]

I like the Irish and French Quarters the best.

[Mike_Oettle]

Joe, that was an excellent suggestion from you. I like the Haida style of images (here, at any rate).

Jonathan, I could not agree with you more.

As for the South African “tabards”, I cringe, and that for two reasons: the “coat of arms” is what Thabo Mbeki commissioned from a graphic design studio because he felt the Bureau was being colonialist, and secondly these are (as has already been said) not tabards at all, but surcoats.
Regards,
Mike

[Michael F. McCartney]

re: Mike's two objections to the tabards or surcoats of the South African heralds:
- AFAIK the arms depicted are, for better or worse, the current arms of of South Africa, replacing the old arms; so they by definition are appropriate for this purpose. Whether or not we might regret how, why & by whom they were designed and adopted, they are what they are. (FWIW, which likely isn't much coming from the other side of the globe, my initial reaction was like yours; the SA flag design by Mr. Brownell, rotated 90 degrees, would IMO have made a smashing armorial design on shield or tabards/surcoat -- but the new arms have grown on me.)

- as to tabards vs. surcoat: the South African garments are not unique in this regard - see the photo of the Flemish herald earlier in this thread; and the Slovak version, while it does repeat the arms on the sleeves, also lacks the large side panels (whatever they're called) of the other European tabards. All, however, are equally the "coats" of their respective sovereign arms, just as any shield shape is a legitimate heraldic shield, whether one of the many various historical forms from Europe, or one of the native shield shapes of the Zulus or other African nations.

Mike~~ (the other one)

[Mike_Oettle]

Personally I agree with you about the South African arms, Mike.
A version of the national flag in vertical format would have been a far better choice (although it might call into the question its use in the Swedish arms of Nelson Mandela).

As far back as 1993 I put forward the idea that the 1910 arms were unsuitable for future use because they symbolised the four colonies that had come together in that year to form the Union of South Africa. However, I proposed that rather than rush into a new design that might later be regretted, time should be allowed for the nine new provinces created in 1994 to adopt their own arms, and that attention be given at that stage to a new national symbol.

In one respect I do like the design that is in use, in that it honours the aboriginal inhabitants of South Africa (and, indeed, Southern Africa).
Far too often members of the ethnic group illustrated have had their rights trampled on by governments of many kinds, from colonial authorities to the present-day government of Botswana.
Regards,
Mike

[Michael F. McCartney]

Slow but steady is a hard sell in the flush of success after a long struggle.

I suspect (hope) that the photos of the two SA heralds in their tabards / surcoats with the new arms will convey a positive image of heraldry generally, and pride in their national heraldry, back home. Same for all the other tabarded / surcoated heralds.

[Mark Henderson]

Joe, the Haida art is very nice. I too wish that the Canadians had used them.

[Michael F. McCartney]

Ditto Mark. The maple leaves in base are my favorite, but the rest are also eyecatchers. Wonder if Joe ever shared this rendition with the CHA?