Charges

Charges are the animals, plants, and objects used Arms. If you wish to register your Arms with the SCA, you will need to create Arms that are not too similar to any currently registered Arms so most of the sources I have read suggest using the less common charges. Below I give some general SCA and Period rules on charges. Since there are so many possible charges, I suggest you search Parker (5) if you want to choose an actual charge. Additionally, many ordinaries can be used as charges. In general the subordinaries and diminutives can be used. (See the ordinaries page). All examples are period and attributed to Parker (5) unless otherwise noted.

Things to avoid

• Laurel Wreaths: used in shire and kingdom devices only in the SCA.
• Roses: By SCA convention, rose wreaths, chaplets of roses, orles and bordures of roses, (terms explained later on) are all reserved for special use (queens, princesses,...). Single and multiple roses are fine as long as they don't look like a wreath.
• Similarity: Avoid charges that look alike (lions and bengal tigers on the same shield for instance).
• Common Charges: Try not to use these if you plan to submit your device to the SCA: Bear, Eagle, Falcon, Hawk, Raven, Crescent, Dagger, Deer, Dragon, Escallop, Griffin, Hammer, Heart, Hind (a female deer), Lion, Mermaid, Merman, Mullet(a 5 pointed star), Rose, Ship, Stag, Sword, Tree (especially Proper), Unicorn, Wolf.

Layout, Stance, and Actions

Layout

• Movement: Animals should be static. A lion should look as if it could remain balanced in its position forever, not as if it was going to leap off the shield.
• 3-D: Charges may only be drawn in 3 dimentions if they were drawn that way in period armory. A pair of dice would have been drawn in 3-D to show the pips. A bear, dolphin, or castle should appear in a 2-D form. Check standard heralry rules if you are unsure.
• Symmetry: Medieval symmetry found identical charges to be symmetrical even though they might not all be facing the same way. Mirror symmetry (identical charges facing each other as thru a mirror) and radial symmetry (identical charges rotated around a center point like the spokes of a wheel) are both relatively modern concepts. Since each charge is not an exact duplicate of the others (different orientation), medieval symmetry would consider them to be different charges and therefore not symmetrical.
• Number: Try to use only one "complex" item per device. Try not to use more than 2 or 3 different charges.
• Blazoning: When several objects (charges) are arranged in the shape of an ordinary, they are refered to as "number" "charges" in "ordinary" "color" .

Looks/Stance

• Color: Charges colored naturally (a brown tree with green leaves) are called proper (a tree proper). It is perfectly all right to color charges unnaturally in ways that stand out.
• Direction: Most creatures face towards the viewer's left. A creature facing towards the viewer's right is referred to as contourny.
• Unicorns: In period armor, unicorns did not look like horses. They were drawn with a goat's beard and hooves and a lion's tail.

Active Stance

• Rampant: a creature standing upon one hind-limb, as if attacking. A rampant griffin is referred to as segreant.
• Salient: A creature standing on both hind legs, as if attacking.
• Saltant: a creature rampant that wouldn't be described as attacking (rabbits for instance).
• Combattant: two creatures facing each other as if in battle.
• Respectant: two creatures facing each other, but not in battle.

Vert, a lion rampant argent, vulned on the shoulder proper. Bulbeck

Argent, a lion salient gules. Petit, Cornwall

Per pale and per chevron sable and argent, in chief two wolves combattant counterchanged a bordure gules. Nikievna Calontir (1)

Or, a pall inverted engrailed between two sea coneys respectant azure. Visick Calontir (1)

Passive Stance

• Passant: a creature with one foot in the air, as if walking to the viewer's left.
• Dormant: a creature sleeping.
• Couchant: a creature lying down.
• Sejant: a creature seated.

Argent, three rams passant sable. Sydenham, Brimpton, co. Somerset; Baronetcy, 28 July, 1641

Per fess azure and argent fretty vert, in chief a lion dormant Or. Zell Calontir (1)

Ermine, a wolf couchant reguardant to sinister sable within a bordure dovetailed azure. MacThighearnain Calontir (1)

Sable, a squirrel sejant erect to sinister within a bordure argent. Graffenried Calontir (1)

Swimming Stance

• Haurient: a creature swimming towards the top of the shield.
• Naiant: a creature swimming to the viewer's left.

Per saltire argent and sable, in pale two drinking horns fesswise and in fess two dolphins haurient respectant counterchanged. Gebeor Calontir (1)

Sable, a dolphin naiant proper vorant a fish of the last. James

Flying Stance

• Generic wings are drawn like an Eagle's with tips upwards.
• Disclosed: the wings are somewhat open with the points downwards.
• Displayed: the wings are somewhat open with the points upwards.
• En arriere: flying away from the spectator.
• Erect: flying upwards.
• Volant: a creature in full flight with wings extended horizontally.

Argent, a bat displayed proper. Stainings

Azure, three bees volant erect or. Bye

Actions

• Vorant: devouring or swallowing whole - used with fish

Sable, a dolphin naiant proper vorant a fish of the last. James

Features

Plants

Basic flowers (and plants like acorns) come without stems and leaves. There are three types of simple geometric flowers: Trefoil, Quatrefoil, Cinquefoil. These are (simple or stylized) flowers with 3, 4, or 5 petals respectively. They are used to denote a flower that isn't a specific type. In early heraldry a cinquefoil was synonymous with a rose.

• Slipped: with a stem.
• Leaved: with leaves.
• Fructed: with fruit.

Argent, ten trefoils in pale slipped vert. Thomas Turton, Bp. of Ely, 1845-63

Animals

These are only a few examples of what can be done to/with animal charges.

• Caboshed: animal head shown full-faced wit no visible neck.
• Couped: cut off in a straight line.
• Attired: a stag with antler's. also a stag's attires
• Unguled: having nails, claws, talons, or hoofs of a different tincture.
• Tufted: of a goat or antelope when the tuft is a different tincture.
• Maned: having a mane.
• Muzzled: wearing a muzzle.
• Vulned: used of an animal wounded and bleeding.
• Vested: clothed.

	Argent, a buck's head caboshed gules, attired or. Trye, Glouc.		Gules, three dexter arms conjoined at the shoulders, and fixed in triangle, vested or, with fists clenched, proper. Tremayne, Cornwall		Sable, a chevron or, between three stag's attires fixed to the scalps argent. Cocks (Viscount Eastnor and Earl Somers)		Sable, an antelope salient argent, attired, unguled, tufted, and maned or. Harris, Monm. and Devon.
	Argent, a bear rampant sable, muzzled or. Bernard		Vert, a lion rampant argent, vulned on the shoulder proper. Bulbeck