Category: Traceable Art

It’s been a busy couple of months, with well over two hundred items added to the Traceable Heraldic Art collection since December, bringing the total to more than four thousand items grouped into more than a thousand headings.

A big driver of the recent activity has been the College’s Virtual Heralds Point, which for the first time used online tools to coordination heraldic consultations, art assignments, form preparation, and electronic payment. In addition to processing submissions for hundreds of people, this event also facilitated connections between heralds and artists from all across the known world who might not have ever met in person. Continue reading “Traceable Art for February”

With the end of the year approaching, I figured it was time for a summary of the hundred-plus illustrations added to the Traceable Heraldic Art collection since last month’s update.

I’m pleased to welcome first-time contributor Ajir Tsagaan, who sent in more than a dozen original illustrations, including some lovely birds and a beautiful Corinthian helm. Thanks also to Jessimond of Emerickeskepe, Vémundr Syvursson, Elspeth Farre, Elionora inghen Ui Cheallaigh, and Iago ab Adam, who all continue to create new art on an ongoing basis.

This update features a bunch of new charges found in period armorials including the yarn swift, royne, winde, chamber, and scourge. Using a rare or not-yet-registered charge like these is a great way to stand out with unique armory and simple designs facilitated by the limited number of potential conflicts! Continue reading “Traceable Art for December”

More than a hundred new illustrations have been added to the Traceable Heraldic Art collection over the last two months.

Welcome to newcomers Elspeth Farre, who submitted more than a dozen illustrations of diverse subjects, and Maryan Hoskyns, who sent in an alternate style of chain. Thanks to Grimwulf Harland, who granted permission to share a number of charges from his Sledgehamster collection. And my continuing apprecation to returning contributors Vémundr Syvursson, Iago ab Adam, Jessimond of Emerickeskepe, and Elionora inghen Ui Cheallaigh. Continue reading “Traceable Art for November”

Over the last three weeks, 77 new illustrations of charges have been added to the Traceable Heraldic Art collection.

I’m pleased to welcome newcomers Thora Brandsdottir, Elionora inghen Ui Cheallaigh, and Lily Morgaine, who each sent in illustrations for the first time. Thanks also Jessimond of Emerickeskepe for her continuing contributions of original art, and to Vémundr Syvursson for converting a handful of beasts from the Zurich Roll to vector format. Continue reading “September’s New Traceable Art”

Over the last six weeks, I’ve added one hundred and fifty new images to the Traceable Heraldic Art collection, which now contains over 3,600 pieces of armorial clip art for use by heralds and scribes.

Some of the additions are drawn from period sources, including batches from Stemmario Trivulziano and the Mamluk Emblems Online Corpus, while others are new original art contributed by artists including Ræv Kolfinnsson and Jessimond of Emerickeskepe.

I’ve divided the “Food and Farming” section into two volumes, both to make it easier to find items related to a particular interest and because the software I use to assemble the collection works more efficiently when individual volumes are less than two hundred pages. Continue reading “August Additions to the Traceable Art”

Sadly, even material which is freely available online is routinely subject to violations of its license or terms of use.

While the Book of Traceable Heraldic Art doesn’t generate any revenue, and all of its contents are available for use without charge, most of the items which were created in recent decades are still subject to copyright, and are distributed subject to certain license terms. Continue reading “DMCA Takedown Notices”

More than one hundred and thirty new images have been added to the Traceable Heraldic Art collection over the last seven weeks.

Thanks to Ræv Kolfinnsson for contributing forty of those charges, including attractive sets of cats, dogs, foxes, and lions, each drawn in a variety of postures. Thanks also to first-time contributors Elizabeth Turner de Carlisle and Jessimond of Emerickeskepe, and to Iago ab Adam for continuing to dig up unique charges from period armorials.

Among the notable new charges this month, see the Archery Target, Ichthyocentaur, Sledge, Solleret, and Strike, as well as the Curule Chair, Domed Oven, and Thunderbolt. Continue reading “Traceable Art for June and July”

Since last month, I’ve added another ninety images to the Traceable Heraldic Art collection.

Thanks to Iago ab Adam for continuing to send attractive line art adapted from period sources, and to new contributor Zubeydah al-Badawiyyah for filling a gap in the collection of cross variations. Continue reading “May Additions to Traceable Art”

Assembling and refining the Traceable Art collection has been an ever-growing project over the last three years.

Thank you to each of the artists who contributed illustrations to this effort, and to those who posted their creations online under licenses that allowed them to be collected here. Their names are catalogued in the Sources section, and this collection would not exist without them.

I am very grateful to the Pennsic Traceable Art project, led by Ailis Linne, which provided the inspiration for this collection, and was initially the primary source of material. A special thanks to Þórý Veðardóttir for recruiting me to work on updating that resource, and for providing feedback during the first year.

Many thanks to the heralds of the SCA for the years of research and the reference material which informed this work. Notable among these is Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme, creator of the Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry, aka the “PicDic,” a truly invaluable resource.

Particular thanks for the helpful feedback received from Beatrice Domenici della Campana, Kryss Kostarev, Muirenn ingen Dúnadaig, Tanczos Istvan, Thóra Róarsdóttir, Yehuda ben Moshe, and the members of the SCA Heraldry Unofficial Chat group on Facebook.

My sincere appreciation to folks who have contacted me with corrections, including Basil Dragonstrike, Konrad Mailander, Michael Gerard Curtememoire, Amy Hanson, Alexandre Saint Pierre, and Cormac Mór.