Wikipedia

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been a Wikipedia editor since September of 2005 and have about 13,000 edits.

As I said, Wikipedia is great for a quick answer or to get a general idea about something. It’s also great to use as a starting point for more in depth research, as the sources referenced can be very reliable (not always though).

However, Wikipedia is just about what can be verified by citing “objective” sources. This means that if anything that has ever been published about something is a complete fabrication, then that is what’s going to end up on Wikipedia.

An example would be for me to write about you on this blog saying that you are a polygamist and eat babies. Since this is a published source, then it will be used in an article on Wikipedia about you. Nice huh?

To make this post related to the subject of the blog, i.e. heraldry, I must bring up the excellent work done by the WikiProject Heraldry and Vexillology. Though the members of this group have contributed greatly to the heraldic wealth of Wikipedia, their greatest contribution (in my humble opinion) is the artwork. The very talented computer graphics designers have created the emblazons for many of the blazons in the online encyclopedia for the world to see. The best part is that these images are freely distributed without any copyright limitations (beyond the normal abuse of another’s arms).

As you may have noticed from past blog posts, I have reused these images many a time and you can do the same. Just make sure to give credit where credit is due.

This repository of heraldic images may be of interest to some of you. I know it has been immensely useful to me as a source of clipart:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Coat_of_arms_elements

Yesterday (March 11, 2010) the Swedish parliament voted in favor of a resolution to recognize the mass murder of over a million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I as a massacre.

Some time today (March 12, 2010), the forum of the Swedish Heraldry Society was hacked by a Turkish hacker in retaliation for the vote.

However, since my day job is in IT, I can say that it’s a lame hack probably done by script-kiddies. They didn’t even touch the main page of the Society itself, just the forum.

Why on Earth would they target an irrelevant site like a heraldic forum?

Then again, this guy doesn’t appear to have an IQ sufficient enough for critical thinking…

The Royal Danish Mint has announced a new set of coins to commemorate HRH Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s 70th birthday.

The coins in question (the reverse of the gold 1000 kroner coin is shown above) are heraldic in nature and masterfully designed. Coins are being minted in .90 gold, .999 silver and circulation coins in both proof and mint conditions.

The commemorative coin will be presented at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød 15th March 2010 and can then be viewed on a special exhibition in the palace museum in the period 10th April – 1st August 2010.

It is a special pleasure to present this coin, as the reverse was designed by the most excellent heraldic artist and Royal Herald Artist Ronny Andersen. A young and very talented artist that I had the honor to write an article on him about a year ago on February 23, 2009.

In a post he wrote at the forum of the American Heraldry Society, Ronny said that the daisies of the background are the personal and informal symbol of Her Majesty (daisies are also known as marguerites) . The combination of the Royal Arms along with the daisies are a combination of Her Majesty’s personal and formal sides.

The coin can be (pre)-ordered directly from the relevant page on the Mint’s website.

Note: Image from the website of the Royal Danish Mint

On February 20th, 2010 what in my opinion has been the best blog on heraldry in any language, Blog de Heráldica, posted its final entry.

The blog was maintained by the Spanish Air Force Major José Juan Carrión Rangel, a knight of the Cofraternity of San Fernando (Hermandad de san Fernando) and certified by the Spanish Armed Forces as a military herald. A man I have the honor of calling a friend.

Over the period of time that the blog was active, it was the forum where some of the top heraldic experts of the Spanish speaking world congregated.

Who can forget the discussions on the lack of a national Chronicler of Arms and the potential for a future one. Or the most interesting essays by the Marquess de la Floresta, shining a light on all things heraldic in Spain. Or even the ongoing discussions on the Order of St Lazarus.

It is no small feat that the publication of the Heraldry Society of England, the “Coat of Arms” recognized it, a non-English blog, among the top blogs on heraldry.

It was José Juan’s blog that inspired me to start my own and I modeled mine after his. However, I was unable to keep up with him with the daily and sometimes more frequent updates.

It was this frequency of updates that tired him and understandably so. I know I can’t do it and I’ve tried! It is hard to do so with the busy schedule he has and a family!

I do sincerely hope though that he reconsiders his decision to retire from the blog world and return with his postings but, with a more reasonable frequency. Perhaps weekly or monthly.

The heraldic world is a small one and with the silence of his blog, heraldry online will be much poorer.

The 8.8M_w earthquake that hit Chile on February 27th, 2010 was the 7th most powerful ever recorded! It was almost 800 times more powerful (in terms of energy expended) than the one that hit Haiti!

The devastation is huge and the loss of life is in the hundreds. The power outages and food shortage is compounded by the numerous aftershocks, some reaching even a 6.9!

Thankfully, my family is good and my thoughts go out to all other Chileans.

To tie this in to heraldry, here is a previous article on the heraldry of Chile.

It was just in November of 2009 that His Holiness Patriarch Pavle of Serbia, the 44th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church passed away. He was very much loved in his country and widely respected.

Last week, on January 23^rd, the 45th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox, His Holiness Patriarch Irinej, was enthroned. He is a humble man and, from what I can tell, very much deserving of the honor and will definitely do an excellent job during his tenure.

What of the heraldry though?

As opposed to the Churches of the West, the bishops of the Eastern Churches don’t normally adopt a Coat of Arms unless they come from armigerous families.

This is the case with Patriarch Irinej. As the son of peasant farmers, his family was not armigerous and never adopted personal arms while rising through the ranks of the Church. Therefore, he uses the arms of the Office of the Patriarch displayed above.

What immediately stands out is the cross in base that appears to be the same as that found on Byzantine arms, also known as the tetragrammatic cross.

As was described in a previous post, the objects in each quarter are called “firesteels” or fire starters. The reason these were used in Byzantine arms (and later influenced all the Easter Churches) was because of Greek Fire. In any case, these firesteels are artistically depicted as letters. In the case of the Byzantine Empire and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, they were interpreted as “B”s and having the text “Βασιλεύς Βασιλέων Βασιλεύων Βασιλευόντων” or “King of Kings Ruler of Rulers”.

However, in the Serbian case, these symbols are called očila and in the Serbian tradition have also come to be interpreted as letter with a specific meaning. The letter it is interpreted as is the letter “C” which is the equivalent to the “S” in English. The text is “Само слога Србина спасава” or “Only Unity Saves the Serbs”. This is a text attributed to St. Sava from the 12th Century, a Serbian prince and ascetic who also was the first archbishop of the Church. This saying has united the Serbs for centuries and, it is said, that it was a rallying cry for the faithful Orthodox Serbs in their efforts to remain Orthodox in the face of the increasing pressure from Rome to convert to Catholicism.

(Note: images above are courtesy of Wikipedia)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should have heard about the devastating 7.0 M_w earthquake that hit Haiti on the night of January 12, 2010.

In response to this, the College of Arms has made the very admirable move to send money collected from the sale of the book “The Armorial of Haiti” to those in need in that island country. Clive Cheesman, Rouge Dragon of the College of Arms made the following posting on January 13 in rec.heraldry:

In response to the calamitous earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday evening, the College of Arms has decided that all proceeds arising from future sales of The Armorial of Haiti: Symbols of Nobility in the Reign of Henry Christophe (ISBN 978-09506980-2-1) will be donated to the relief effort.

The book is an edition, with commentary, of an extraordinary heraldic manuscript created in Haiti in the second decade of the nineteenth century and now held in the College of Arms. It was published by the College in 2007 and is available on-line for 45 pounds sterling (plus despatch costs) at http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Haiti.htm and through amazon.co.uk. Production costs for the book have been met, and all sums received by the College over and above normal packing and postage costs will be held for the benefit of a recognised charity working towards the international relief effort, the charity to be selected on the basis of official advice.

I would urge those who have not yet acquired a copy of this book to consider doing so, and to mention it to others who may be interested either in New World heraldry, in Caribbean history or specifically in the politics and culture of Haiti. Doing so will raise money directly for the relief of the nation that produced this unusual and fascinating artefact.

If you have already purchased a copy of the book, or as an alternative to doing so now, please consider donating directly to the effort to the relief campaign through a charity of your choice.

Clive Cheesman
Rouge Dragon
College of Arms
Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4V 4BT

The image above is of the coat of arms of Istvan Varallyay of Hungary. According to Mikaberidze, the armiger was a master farrier and gelder.

A farrier is a person who specializes in the care of a horse’s feet. However, the inspiration for the arms most probably came from Mr. Mikaberidze other specialty, gelding or castrating equines.

Heraldry originated in the European battlefields of the Middle Ages as decorated shields as a means of identification and is derived from the earlier practice in such places as Greece and elsewhere to instill fear in the enemy. The shield above identifies the family and most definitely instills fear in any male that gazes upon them!

Professor Grujic, as he is a professor of literature, has been practicing his art since 2000 and has been very active in Serbian heraldic circles and abroad. He is very much involved in trying to popularize heraldry in his native country, a very difficult task for anyone in any country of the world.

Grujic is an outstanding digital heraldic artist based out of Serbia with an exquisite eye for detail and a rare talent overall. These talents have been widely recognized and has been appointed Heraldic Artist to The Board for Heraldic & Genealogical Studies at The Centre for Research of Orthodox Monarchism (CROM), as Heraldic Artist to the Royal House of Bagration-Muhranski of Georgia and also to the editorial staff of the journal “Ocilo” of the Society “Milos Obilic”. Also, he was most recently elected to the position of Corresponding Member of the Serbian Heraldic Society “White Eagle”, a most prestigious heraldic organization.

I will not go over his biography here, as he has it very well presented on his personal website, however I will present some of his art in the form of what he’s done for me.
In his excellent gallery on his website, one notices not just heraldry but also something that is closely related to this art: personal signums or cyphers. He has a deep appreciation for these personal elements and is immensely creative when designing new ones for clients.

Grujic also has a great passion for “Full Heraldic Achievements” as he calls them. Emblazons that include the shield, crest, a standard, any badges, any supporters and components that add more life to the design. There are many cases where the heraldic standard is being held by a supporter but, this is not be confused with supporters in the traditional sense.

As mentioned above, I had the good fortune to commission Prof. Grujic to work on a new heraldic badge and cypher for me and he did outstanding work. I am well aware that my arms are not the easiest to emblazon and combining elements of my heritage, both Greek and Chilean was tough. Another difficulty with my arms is the eradicated oak tree, a charge that at first glance seems simple but doing it right requires lots of patience and even more skill. The results were so great, the commission was extended to creating an ex libris and other art.

Throughout this post, I have used the images created for me by this most excellent heraldic artist that can also be found in his gallery. These images convey much more than anyone, no matter how eloquent, can say about this extremely talented artist.

Prof. Ljubodrag Grujic’s website is at: http://www.ljubodraggrujich.com/

The experience of the move and dealing with so many fools would fill an ordinary blog but, since this is a heraldry themed blog, let’s just say that the coat of arms for this would have a field semy of heads erased….

The good news is that I now own the home I live in and, hopefully, will not have to deal with moving for several years!