My freehand illustration skills are rudimentary at best, so I do all of my armorial design using a computer, and I figured I’d post a few notes about the software I use in hopes that it might be of use to others.
(I should note that I’m a Mac user, and wouldn’t even know where to start on recommendations for Windows.)
Continue reading “A Digital Armory Toolbox”The image of Aladdin’s lamp is so well established that the appearance of actual oil lamps of the medieval Levant might come as a surprise: they are made of clay, and shaped more like a gravy boat than a teapot.
I stumbled over this while helping an Østgarðrian prepare an armory registration featuring an Arabian lamp and wandered down a fascinating rabbit hole of web research.
(SCA heralds with OSCAR commenting privileges may enjoy reading the repeated efforts of Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme to guide people towards using the archeologically-attested form of the lamp here, here, here, here, and here — occasionally overheated, but still an interesting example of the “historical education” tendency within the SCA.)
One of the first things I did after returning from Pennsic was to re-emblazon the armory of those members of the SCA who lived within the boundaries of Whyt Whey. I updated that collection in September for use as a poster to be displayed at the Cloisters demo, shown below.
I’ve started this site to collect material related to heraldry, with a focus on armory as practiced in the SCA.
This site will function more as a record of my learning experience rather than as an instructional guide or authoritative reference, as I’ve only have a few months of heraldic experience, having designed arms for my son and I this spring, receiving training and consultation experience at Pennsic XLV, and being elected the herald of Whyt Whey in August.
Feel free to contact me with questions or feedback about this or any of my other heraldic efforts.
Yours in service to the dream,
— Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
mka Matthew Simon Ryan Cavalletto
