Heralds International

Internet addresses:

• Heralds International.
• Heralds International, Facebook group
• Professional Heraldry, Facebook group

I was honored with their announce of my incorporation to Heralds International, the announce was the following:

• «Dr. Antonio Salmeron has recently joined Heralds International as a Member Artist and so we thought we would feature some of his work. A longer article will follow later but Dr. Salmeron has described his work thus»:
• «My style as a heraldic artist is clear, symbolic and methodical. Clear because my work searches pieces which transmit energy and vital force to the owner, I think that a coat of arms should be a source of light and joy and an expression of freedom. Symbolic because coats of arms must be a representation of its bearer, his/her ideals, motivations, history and anything he/she might want to display. Methodical because heraldic art is founded on a science, the so called science of heraldry».
• «We look forward to featuring more of his work very soon».

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Categories: Link and Heraldry and heralds.

Vincent Manuscript, in English, usually written as «MS Vincent, 164 ff.1-21b», also called [St. George's Roll; 1285], it is in the College of Arms, London, containing 677 painted coats of arms, it is an English roll of arms dating from c. 1285.

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Bibliographical reference of century XIII.

Classification: Armorial roll, Manuscript and In color.

The author is unknown.

The following articles cite this bibliographic reference:

• Adam de Cretingges
• Bartholomew de Yattendon
• Edmund de Bassingburnn
• Howel ap Res
• James de Sottone, le Fitz
• Joan de Okinton
• John de Beauchamp
• John de Ladbrooke
• John le Sturmy
• Nicholas Malmains
• Norman Darcy
• Ricardo de Mandeville
• Robert de Malet
• Simon de Crombe
• Simon de Ver
• Simon le FizSimon
• St. George's Roll; 1285
• Thomas Roscelyn
• Thomas de Werblintone
• Thomas le FizThomas
• William Bardolf
• William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby
• William de Hondeshacre

Wijnbergen, unknown authors, «Wijnbergen Armorial», currently located in The Hague and owned by the Royal Dutch Society of Genealogy and Heraldry, Île-de-France, 1265.

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This armorial is called «Wijnbergen» because it was named after one of its early owners, and the names of its authors are unknown. I have retained this name in the key to this bibliographic reference for easier identification.

Among known manuscripts, it is the oldest armorial of French heraldry.

It is composed of 15 parts, although some authors divide it into 23, belonging to 2 different temporal stages of creation: a 1^st stage from 1265 to 1270 and a 2^nd stage, more difficult to date, from 1270 to 1285.

The armorial is written in French and contains a total of 1,312 coats of arms, of which 256 belong to the 1^st stage and 1,056 to the 2^nd stage.

Those of the 1^st stage belong to the vassals of the Île-de-France under the reign of Luis IX de Francia, Saint Louis King of France.

Those of the 2^nd stage, probably already under the reign of Felipe III de Francia, contain coats of arms from Normandy, Anjou and Poitou, Lorraine, Germany, Artois, Champagne, Vermandois, Brittany, Beauvais, Burgundy, Brabant, Hainaut (Belgium), Flanders, and finally, the coats of arms of 25 kings, mainly European.

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Bibliographical reference of century XIII.

The author is Wijnbergen, Anonymous.

The following article cites this bibliographic reference:

• Alphonse X of Castile

External resources:

• The development of heraldry.
• Wijnbergen Armorial: Last part.
• In Danish.

Party per fess: 1 Gules, five Swords Argent, erect, in fess; Vairy or and gules gules and or.

Escudo cortado: 1^o de gules, cinco espadas de plata, alzadas, en faja; 2^o verado de oro y gules.

Symbology

There are 6 swords raised to defend the truth, symbolised by the vairy fur, and no matter how much time passes, they will be proud and erect until the truth triumphs.

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Blazon keywords: Party per fess, Gules, Or, Argent, Five, Sword, Vairy, Erect and In fess.

Style keywords: Pointed, Illuminated, Outlined in sable and Watercolor.

Classification: Created, Personal and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Martos García, Juan Carlos.

Based on the stechhelm of John the Constant (Saxony, ca. 1500). The stechhelm is a kind of helm primarily used by mounted knights for tournaments, since 1400 to 1525.

The music is «Hot Swing» by Kevin MacLeod.

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Credits: Kevin MacLeod es el autor de la música.

Blazon keywords: Helm.

Classification: Video.

Bearer: Martos García, Juan Carlos.

Index of the bearers of the coats of arms ordered alphabetically by name of the bearer:

~ A ~

• Alea Capital
• Alphonse X of Castile
• Anderson of Erbury
• Arjona Berrocal, Rubén
• Artillery Combat School of the Swedish Army

~ B ~

• Balchin, Robert George Alexander
• Bedgood, Alvin J.
• Bella, Giovanni de
• Bendel, Nathaniel
• Beninger, Manuel
• Berry, Austin Charles
• Bessières, Jean-Baptiste
• Blanchefort, Bertrand de
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Boteler of Warrington
• Breu, Stephan Urs
• Brim-DeForest, Brady
• Bunyoro-Kitara
• Byrne, Margaret

~ C ~

• Castile and Leon
• Cerda, Carlos de la
• Ceuta
• Charles Dunne, Chas
• Club Ecuestre Val'Quirico
• Colebrand, William de
• Congregación del Oratorio de San Felipe Neri de Alcalá de Henares
• Correa, Lorena
• Coulot, Fabian
• Craon, Robert de
• Csernely

~ D ~

• Dubai Office of the European Chamber of Digital Commerce

~ E ~

• Espinosa, Diego

~ F ~

• Fernández-Cortés y Fonseca, Javier

~ G ~

• Garcia-Bosch-de Morales-de Sola née Adriaensen, Heidi
• Georgia
• Giaimo di Prizzi, Carmen
• Gifra, Vittorio
• Globe, Richard
• Gómez Morillo, Antonio José
• González Lara, Rubén
• González López, Manel
• Granada, Soberana y Muy Noble Orden de la
• Gräupl, Edwin
• Grenville, Thomas
• Grzeszkowiak, Tomasz Arkadiusz
• Gummersbach, Peter Ferdinand

~ H ~

• Haguenau
• Hartemink, Ralf
• Harten, von
• Hérail, Gilbert
• House of Hohenzollern
• Hradec Králové Region

~ I ~

• Ireland
• Israel

~ J ~

• Juchter van Bergen Quast, Rudolph Andries Ulrich

~ K ~

• Kane, Kathleen
• Kasparek, Rick Edward
• Kingdom of Jerusalem
• Kupang, Royal House of

~ L ~

• Lanzagorta Escutia, Miguel Francisco
• Lincoln's Inn, The Honourable Society of
• Lloscós y Soldevilla, Guilaberto
• Lucca de Anaya, Nilda Ernestina

~ M ~

• Martos García, Juan Carlos
• McCarthy, Eugene
• McCartney, Michael
• Milian, family
• Milly, Philippe de
• Molay, Jacques de
• Montbard, André de

~ O ~

• Odysseus of Ithaca
• Oschoven of the Rhin

~ P ~

• Peñafort, Universidad
• Pons Paneque, Jonathan
• Portugal
• Power, Guy Harold

~ Q ~

• Quesada Valles, Bartolomé

~ R ~

• Rage from Discord
• Región Militar Centro
• Rehberger, Alena
• Reyes, Elijah
• Rica II, Nick Allen
• Ricardo de Mandeville
• Rodelo lineage from Galicia

~ S ~

• Sales, Robert Edward
• Scotland
• Shorey, David Ryan
• Sky, Laird
• Sosa-Garcia, Rodolfo
• Spanò, Diego Pantaleone
• Sparkles, Marie Unicorn
• Stauffenberg, Claus von
• Stowe, Richard Allen

~ T ~

• Trading Pro School
• Tremelay, Bernard de
• Trujillo Jiménez, Hermanos

~ U ~

• Ukraine

~ V ~

• Vallín de Lanzagorta, María Concepción
• Vichiers, Renaud de
• Vidriales García y Bustamante, Carlos
• Vidriales, C. M.
• Vidriales, M. P.

~ W ~

• Walker, Peter Edward
• Wilkins, Tim
• Wright, Charles F. M.

~ Y ~

• Yñigo-Genio, Elias
• Yñigo-Genio, Noelia
• Yñigo-Genio, Rolando

Robert John Parsons, heraldic painter at the College of Arms, «The Herald Painter», is an article derived from the lecture given by R. J. Parsons at The Heraldry Society on January 18, 1989, at the premises of «The Society of Antiquaries» at Burlington House, London, and later published in Coat of Arms, COA, An Heraldic Quarterly Magazine, issue 146, The Heraldry Society, Baldock, Hertfordshire, summer of 1989.

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This article presents a historical review of the heraldic painters at the «College of Arms» and analyzes the creation of coats of arms and other objects like badges, flags, stained glass, seals, etc. It is especially interesting for its view of the current stage of heraldic art and, even more, the description of the author's own working method.

I highly recommend reading this article and, here, I present some of the ideas that I highlighted while studying this text by R. J. Parsons, who is «herald painter to Her Majesty's College of Arms».

Tradition and innovation in heraldic art

Creativity, innovation, and achieving a unique style are fundamental characteristics of any self-respecting artist, but when artists enter the realm of heraldry and, especially when working for institutions like the College of Arms, the weight of the norms and rules of heraldry, its long historical tradition, the reverential respect towards it, the language of blazon, the need for a long initiation process, etc. can cause artists to curb their natural impulses, become intimidated, and adhere strictly to rules to avoid criticism, which hinders the introduction of new proposals, ideas, and styles, risking making heraldry a static and time-bound field.

R. J. Parsons' working method

Robert Parsons explains that the first phase of his method is to create the complete drawing of the coat of arms and its ornamentation on tracing paper, starting with the coat of arms and then outlining all the external ornamentation.

He does this considering that the main problem he must solve is reconciling the two-dimensionality of the coat of arms with the three-dimensionality of the external ornamental elements, such as the supporters, mantling, crest, etc. which must be designed as if enveloping the coat of arms. The extent to which this is achieved provides an idea of each artist's skill.

Silhouettes, expressiveness, and balance

R. J. Parsons believes that the silhouettes of the figures probably characterize each artist and their designs the most. For him, each silhouette must be bold and express emotions, and the silhouettes must maintain proportions that give balance to the whole, as there are no rules that guarantee a good aesthetic result.

To achieve boldness and expressiveness in the figures, especially in natural ones, the artist must emphasize certain features and stylize others, resulting in, for example, in beasts and birds, representations that diverge from natural reality.

Shape of the coat of arms and space

All delineation must be done within the chosen mouth shape for the coat of arms. These shapes have evolved over time, and the artist must consider that some shapes facilitate the internal composition of the coat of arms more than others. For example, he highlights the difficulty of fitting the pieces and figures within lozenge-shaped shields, traditionally carried by unmarried women.

Regardless of the chosen shape, pieces and figures must be arranged to use the entire internal space correctly, neither too small to leave space nor too large to make the whole crowded.

External ornamentation

Robert J. Parsons observes that nowadays the protocol rules that used to govern external ornamentation have been greatly relaxed, for example, regarding the shapes, positions, and orientations of the helmets depending on who would be the holder of the coat of arms, and this relaxation has favored art, aesthetics, and the balance of the whole coat of arms.

He states that of all the external ornamentation, and many heraldic artists will agree with him, the most complex to create are the supporters and tenants, and of the three, the tenants, i.e., human figures, are the most difficult.

Human figures do not have a proper heraldic characterization as lions, unicorns, boars, etc., do. The characterization of women and men in heraldry is done through their attire and the objects they carry or accompany them, with ancient attire and objects being the easiest to characterize, while the more modern and, even more so, the more naked they are, the more difficult and challenging it becomes to create heraldically attractive tenants.

As a general rule, Parsons advises that the visual weight of supporters, tenants, and tenants be similar to that of the coat of arms, so that they neither draw all the observer's attention due to their excessive size nor look ridiculous and incapable of performing their function, which is to support the visual weight of the coat of arms.

Tinctures, shadows, edges, and highlights

When he finishes the drawing phase, R. J. Parsons explains how he transfers it to a new paper support and, then:

• he starts by applying the tinctures for the metals,
• the first he applies is gold using gold powder, although it is known that other artists use gold leaf,
• then the metal silver is left as the white of the paper,
• then he proceeds with the colors, using gouache, an opaque watercolor, following the order from light to dark,
• so the first color he applies is gules, which he tends to make somewhat translucent,
• then the mid-tones, azure and vert.
• ending with sable, which he makes warmer with a touch of burnt sienna,
• after applying the tinctures, he adds shadows to suggest forms, noting that some schools say everything should be in flat inks, without shadows or highlights, and even without delineated edges as can be seen, for example, in Norsk Heraldisk Forening,
• then he delineates the silhouettes and
• finishes by adding highlights to bring the composition to life.

The motto or slogan is the last element with which Robert John Parsons completes the creation of a coat of arms.

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Bibliographical reference of century XX.

Author: Parsons, Robert John.

External resource:

• The Heraldry Society.

Internal resources: ParsonsRJ1989.TheHeraldPainter.docx.

Sigue por: Nieto y Cortadellas, R.; 1957a.