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SCA Field Only Armoury Project, Part Four

Part the fourth of many.

Field Only Armory Part Four. Click for full size, see text for details.

Today we have gyronny, much loved by those who want to be Norse-inspired in their heraldry – Norse round shields have been found with similar radial divisions on them. Gyronny arrondi (or arrondy, depending on how you Anglicize it) is the wavy-edged version.

And then there’s the Society-specific “gyronny arrondi of three”, the mega-swirly pair in the bottom row. That’s actually a Germanic field division called, in German, “Schneckendreipass”. Literally translated, that’s something like “snail trefoil”. Calling it “gyronny arrondi of three” is the SCA College of Arms’ attempt at keeping all our blazoning English-only, which is a laudable goal, but leads to weirdness like this. Actual “gyronny arrondi of three” would look more like per pall with a wavy division line, I think. Thankfully the awesome folks on the Facebook Baby Heralds of the SCA group got me sorted out on schneckendreipass and other amusements!

Favourites in this batch? Gyronny of any sort is always striking, and Cerdic Weyfare’s “Gyronny arrondy of six gules and argent” is classically simple and, being only six divisions, maybe a bit easier to read than some of the other gyronny variants. I’m also always a sucker for the heraldic fur variants, so Adelheld von Katzenellenbogen’s “Gyronny erminois and pean” appeals.

By Brian Burger

Started this site way, way back in November 1998, when the web was young. It's still here, and so am I.

4 replies on “SCA Field Only Armoury Project, Part Four”

Thank you for this helpful information! I THINK I’ve settled all the potential issues with my device:

Gyronny arrondi of eight, Azure and Argent , a Phoenix displayed Or ermined Gules, an Anvil Or

Sveinn Thorbrandsson’s device. The blazon doesn’t match the emblazon. Argent versus Azure.

Thanks, Rian, this was fixed ages ago. If you check the 2022 update posted May 2022 that argent vs azure mistake is long gone – Brian

Cerdic Weyfare here… thanks for the comments about my device. Yes, I do have a Norse persona so that was perfect for me… and looks great on my round shield. Because it is so simple I’ve had the opportunity to find my device carried by folks in the wild on two occasions and had an opportunity to kindly let them who’s device they were fighting with! 🙂

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