Re: [fh] nac vexilliology was Re: Awards and Anthems(and nowsomebackground) [OT] [HIST]

Oerjan Ohlson writes:
> Laserlight wrote:
> 
> >...The wyvern, hand, and leaf should be red, which is not in
> > accordance with the rules of heraldry if displayed on a blue field. 
>	
> The Welsh national arms is unheraldic already - per fess argent and
vert,
> a dragon gules (don't remember the correct term for the dragon's
pose);

Passant?

> the dragon is placed squarely over the division, so half of it is on
the
> green.

Just to be pedantic, the dragon is the Welsh Flag, but it isn't
the Welsh Arms any more than the St. George's Cross is the arms of
England or the St. Andrews Cross is the arms of Scotland.

The heraldric arms of Wales consist of a quartered field, red and
yellow, each quater with a rampant lion respectively yellow and
red. To be honest, I forget whether the first quarter is red or
yellow, but you get the idea.

The Welsh flag derives from the battle standard of Henry Tudor,
consisting of his badge (a red dragon... a cheap propaganda ploy
whilst marching through Wales on his way to win a crown at
Bosworth Field) and his livery colours of green and white.

I'm surprised that the Tudor Rose has not been mentioned as an
English badge. I'm not sure what our current merry band of Saxe-
Coburg-Gotha-Battenburgs have as a badge, if anything.

> > Perhaps instead a canton (upper left quarter) can be changed to the
> > appropriate background color, e.g. for Canada white with the red
leaf.

There's a proper heraldric term (that I've forgotten) for a
coloured border around a charge to outline it and prevent the no-
colour-on-colour-no-metal-on-metal thing. The only example that I
can think of is Malta's flag... the George Cross is silver on a
white ("silver") background, but has an outline of red to keep it
square with the heralds.

-- 
David Brewer