SCA - West Kingdom College of Heralds

Heraldic Templates -- 'Other Charges'

The following links are to pages that contain images that you can use to help design your armory -- this set of images are for all charges that do not fit into other categories as they are used in heraldry. Note that due to size, this will be broken down, and links at the bottom of this page (and at the top) will take you to other groups of charges. These are all listed alphabetically ...

Instructions (please read):

If you want to use this for your heraldic submission, or print it for any reason, click on the 'PDF File' link -- a new browser window will open, and you can print from there.
- If you want to use the image for your own armory submission, these should be sized to be close to the submission forms, and you can trace over them. For straight lines you might want to use a ruler to help.

Note that printing the GIF Files probably will not provide images that are the correct size for the heraldic submission forms.

The descriptions of the charges below are all taken from The Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry ...¹, and rather than having a 'footnote' for each, we have one. Note that not all of the detail in the Pictorial Dictionary has been included in the text given ...

Note: These are not done yet -- the links are here to make it easier for Hirsch, rather than having to keep adding them ... this is a work in progress.

[Abacus to Burnisher] [Caduceus to Cushion] [Distaff to Gyron] [Hammer to Keyhole]
[Oar to Rudder] [Saddle to Stream] [Tablet to Yoke]

Oar     An oar is a long pole with a broad blade at one end, used for rowing a boat. Its default posture is palewise, blade to chief; its proper coloration is brown, the color of wood. ... from the arms of the Worshipful Company of Watermen, granted in 1585.
     The oar is also found in the company of a ship, which is then blazoned with its oars in action; in that case, the oars have their blades to base (i.e. in the water).

        PDF File

Orb     In mundane heraldry, an orb is a ball, banded and with a cross atop it; also called a mound, it is a symbol of the world (and thus, when used as regalia, of temporal sovereignty). As an heraldic charge, it is found c.1130, in the canting arms of Universel.
     In Society heraldry, the term orb has been used once, to refer to a featureless ball, synonymous with a roundel.

        PDF File

Padlock     A padlock is a block of metal pierced by a keyhole, with a pivoted or hinged link to secure doors and such. It is a period charge: a padlock Or was one of the badges of Francis, Viscount Lovel, 1485.

        PDF File

Palette, Artist's     An artist's palette is a mixing surface for pigment and other media. As an heraldic charge, it is unique to the SCA, and is rendered as a conventionalized drawing of a roughly rectangular board with a thumb-hole in it.

        PDF File

Pen     A pen is a writing tool for writing or drawing with ink. The most common form of pen in heraldry is the quill pen, sometimes simply (and misleadingly) blazoned a quill; it is found in the canting arms of Coupenne in 1300. When blazoned simply as a pen, this form may always ben used. But other types of pen are also found, most notably the reed pen or calamus; this is simply a tubular reed with a split point at one end.
     Pens are palewise by default, with points to base.

        PDF File

Penbox     A penbox is a container for calligraphic supplies. In Society heraldry, it's drawn in a highly abstract manner, as found in Middle Eastern armory of the mid-15th Century; it is usually called a Saracenic or Arabic penbox for that reason.

        PDF File

Penner and Inkhorn     The penner and inkhorn is considered a single charge: a cylindrical container for pens, connected by cords to an ink bottle. It is found in the armory of the Worshipful Company of Scriveners as early as 1530.

        PDF File

Pick     A pick is a mining tool for breaking up rock, soil, etc. It is found in the canting arms of Pickworth, c.1334; it may also be termed a pick-axe or miner's pick. The pick's head may be shown either doubly-pointed ... or singly-pointed, sometimes with a blunt shape on the other end.

        PDF File

Pipe     A pipe is a tube with a bowl at one end, for smoking tobacco or other weeds. The standard SCA pipe is a long-stemmed clay pipe; this form was manufactured in England as early as 1575. (The same form is also blazoned a Saracen's smoking pipe in Society heraldry.)
     There is also the hookah or Turkish water pipe, where the fumes are filtered through water or wine. It has not been shown to be period, but it was used in Persia in the 17th Century (though not for tobacco).
     Though many Society blazons specify smoking pipe, the unmodified term pipe is understood to mean this, and not to refer to a musical instrument.

        PDF File

Pitcher     A pitcher is a container for liquids, with a handle and pouring spout; it is found in the canting arms of Monbouchier as early as 1300. A pitcher may also be termed an ewer in mundane heraldry. Its spout is to dexter by default.

        PDF File

Pot     A pot is a round vessel, usually of metal, used for cooking; it is also called a cooking pot or a cauldron. (Mundanely, it is also called a flesh-pot.) It is often found over a fire, sometimes hanging from a tripod.

        PDF File

Press     A press is an implement used to squeeze, crush, or otherwise apply great pressure over a wide area. It has been variously blazoned in Society heraldry as a screw press or a cider press, but the basic form remains unchanged. Though a period artifact, the press does not seem to have been used in period armory.

        PDF File

Pretzel     A pretzel is a twisted bun or pastry, made from a long rope of dough, tied into a knot and baked. Though most stronglyh identified with Germany, pretzels are found in several countries of period Europe.
     The pretzel does not seem to have a default posture: examples are found with the ends to chief and to base, with no difference counted. ... taken from the arms of the Bakers Guild of Augsburg, in the 16th Century.

        PDF File

Printer's Ball     A printer's ball is a tool for applying ink to the plate of a printing press. It is a period artifact, but seems to be unique to Society armory; the handle is to chief by default.

        PDF File

Prow     A prow is the bow or front of a ship. Medieval prows were generally ornate, made of carved wood. The most common prow in Society heraldry is the drakkar prow, the figurehead of a Viking longship; this charge is sometimes blazoned as a dragon's head couped, form which it is neglibly different. ... is taken from the Norse ship on the town seal of Bergen, c.1300.
     There is also the gondola prow, the traditional curved bow of the gondolas of Venice. Both sorts of prow are couped and face dexter (as would their ships) by default.

        PDF File

Pruning Hook     A pruning hook is an agricultural tool for trimming plants, consisting of a sickle's blade on a long handle. Examples are found in mundane heraldry, dating from 1586; it was considered indistinguisable from the sickle.

        PDF File

Quadrant     A quadrant is a period astronomical instrument used for measuring elevation from the horizon. It consists of a graduated quarter-circle (hence the name) with a moveable index and a site.

        PDF File

Quill of Yarn     A quill of yarn is the medieval form of a spool of thread; it is also known mundanemy as an embroiderer's quill. It is a period charge, dating from at least 1558 in the arms of the Worshipful Company of Broderers.
     The quill is wound with yarn by mundane and SCA default. There are instances in mundane armory of empty quils, without yarn, but the fact is always blazoned.
     The blazon should include reference to yarn or embroidery, to distinguish it from a quill pen.

        PDF File

Quintain     A quintain is a target for tilting practice, consisting of a post with a pivoted crosspiece, armed with wooden sword and shield. The rider would attempt to strike the quintain with his lance as he rode by; if he hit off-center, the quintain's arm would swing around and smack him! Though a period artifact, the quintain does not appear in period armory.

        PDF File

Quiver     A quiver is a container that allows for the protection and easy access to arrows. It is palewise by SCA default. if the quiver contains arrows, the fact must be blazoned.

        PDF File

Rainbow     A rainbow is a multi-colored arc found in the sky in rainy or misty weather. As found in heraldry, it is an arc, fesswise, embowed to chief, the ends terminating in clouds. The default heraldic rainbow has four bands; when blazoned proper, these bands are Or, gules, vert and argent with argent clouds, on a dark field; and on a light field, the bands are azure, vert, Or, and gules, with the tincture of the clouds to be specified. The rainbow is a period charge, found in the arms of von Mosen, c.1600.
     The natural rainbow proper, an SCA invention, has white clouds, and seven colored bands, as found in nature: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Technically the natural rainbow proper is a neutral charge, and may be placed on any tincture of field; in practice, the field should not be a dark one.

        PDF File

Ribbon     A ribbon, or riband, is a long narrow strip of silk, linen, etc. It's found primarily as decoration, as on a chaplet, but occasionally as an SCA charge in its own right.
     Sometimes the term riband was used to mean a diminuitive of the bend by 19th Century heraldic writers, but it is more often used in its normal sense; and always so in Society heraldry.

        PDF File

Ring     A ring is a piece of jewelry worn on the finger, consisting of a precious metal band set with gems. It is termed a gemmed (or finger) ring to distinguish it from an annulet. The gemmed ring is a period charge, found in the Scots arms of Seton, c.1314; the gemstone is to chief by mundane and SCA default.

        PDF File

Rivet     A rivet is a metal bolt or pin, with a head shaped like a mushroom's cap; it is used to fasten together plates of hard material, and thus is familiar to armorers. It is shown in its "pre-flattened" state, with the head to chief by default. Though a period artifact, the rivet is not to be found in mundane heraldry.

        PDF File

Rock     A rock is an irregular mass of stone; when used as an independent charge, it is drawn lumpishly to distinguish it from a roundel. It is found in the canting arms of Stone as early as 1586. When issuant from base the rock becomes essentially a rocky mount.
     Rocks come in many materials -- basalt, marble, sandstone -- so, strictly speaking, they have no proper coloration. Nonetheless, there are a few instances of rock proper or stone proper in SCA blazonry; these assume the rock is grey granite and are treated as if they were argent.

        PDF File

Rocket     A rocket is a long cylinder with a conical point at one end, belching flame at the other; it is used as a projectile, and is more fully termed a skyrocket. The Chinese used them as fireworks and signals; they were known in Europe as early as 1379. The skyrocket has its point to chief by SCA default.

        PDF File

Rudder     A rudder is a broad, flat piece of wood, attached to the stern of a ship and used to steer it. It is a period charge, used as a badge by Willoughby, Lord Broke, c.1520. The rudder has its hinge to dexter; it is usually, though not invariably shown with its tiller.

        PDF File

[Abacus to Burnisher] [Caduceus to Cushion] [Distaff to Gyron] [Hammer to Keyhole]
[Label to Net] [Oar to Rudder] [Saddle to Stream] [Tablet to Yoke]

Footnotes:
¹ The Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry as Used in the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., 2nd Edition, Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme and Akagawa Yoshio, 1992, self-published.

Disclaimer: All of these drawings are intended for use in the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., specifically for heraldic purposes. However, these pages do not delineate SCA College of Arms or West Kingdom College of Heralds policy. All attempts are made when describing or portraying the elements of armory used in these pages to be as accurate to both medieval and SCA usage as possible, but if you are not sure, you should check with the College of Arms or the College of Heralds. You may use these drawings "as is" for the purpose of designing heraldry for use within the SCA with this understanding. All decisions by the West Kingdom College of Heraldry and/or the SCA's College of Arms regarding the depictions used on your submission forms supercedes anything found here.

Heraldic Templates Main Page

Oar	An oar is a long pole with a broad blade at one end, used for rowing a boat. Its default posture is palewise, blade to chief; its proper coloration is brown, the color of wood. ... from the arms of the Worshipful Company of Watermen, granted in 1585. The oar is also found in the company of a ship, which is then blazoned with its oars in action; in that case, the oars have their blades to base (i.e. in the water).
		PDF File

Orb	In mundane heraldry, an orb is a ball, banded and with a cross atop it; also called a mound, it is a symbol of the world (and thus, when used as regalia, of temporal sovereignty). As an heraldic charge, it is found c.1130, in the canting arms of Universel. In Society heraldry, the term orb has been used once, to refer to a featureless ball, synonymous with a roundel.
		PDF File

Padlock	A padlock is a block of metal pierced by a keyhole, with a pivoted or hinged link to secure doors and such. It is a period charge: a padlock Or was one of the badges of Francis, Viscount Lovel, 1485.
		PDF File

Palette, Artist's	An artist's palette is a mixing surface for pigment and other media. As an heraldic charge, it is unique to the SCA, and is rendered as a conventionalized drawing of a roughly rectangular board with a thumb-hole in it.
		PDF File

Pen	A pen is a writing tool for writing or drawing with ink. The most common form of pen in heraldry is the quill pen, sometimes simply (and misleadingly) blazoned a quill; it is found in the canting arms of Coupenne in 1300. When blazoned simply as a pen, this form may always ben used. But other types of pen are also found, most notably the reed pen or calamus; this is simply a tubular reed with a split point at one end. Pens are palewise by default, with points to base.
		PDF File

Penbox	A penbox is a container for calligraphic supplies. In Society heraldry, it's drawn in a highly abstract manner, as found in Middle Eastern armory of the mid-15th Century; it is usually called a Saracenic or Arabic penbox for that reason.
		PDF File

Penner and Inkhorn	The penner and inkhorn is considered a single charge: a cylindrical container for pens, connected by cords to an ink bottle. It is found in the armory of the Worshipful Company of Scriveners as early as 1530.
		PDF File

Pick	A pick is a mining tool for breaking up rock, soil, etc. It is found in the canting arms of Pickworth, c.1334; it may also be termed a pick-axe or miner's pick. The pick's head may be shown either doubly-pointed ... or singly-pointed, sometimes with a blunt shape on the other end.
		PDF File

Pipe	A pipe is a tube with a bowl at one end, for smoking tobacco or other weeds. The standard SCA pipe is a long-stemmed clay pipe; this form was manufactured in England as early as 1575. (The same form is also blazoned a Saracen's smoking pipe in Society heraldry.) There is also the hookah or Turkish water pipe, where the fumes are filtered through water or wine. It has not been shown to be period, but it was used in Persia in the 17th Century (though not for tobacco). Though many Society blazons specify smoking pipe, the unmodified term pipe is understood to mean this, and not to refer to a musical instrument.
		PDF File

Pitcher	A pitcher is a container for liquids, with a handle and pouring spout; it is found in the canting arms of Monbouchier as early as 1300. A pitcher may also be termed an ewer in mundane heraldry. Its spout is to dexter by default.
		PDF File

Pot	A pot is a round vessel, usually of metal, used for cooking; it is also called a cooking pot or a cauldron. (Mundanely, it is also called a flesh-pot.) It is often found over a fire, sometimes hanging from a tripod.
		PDF File

Press	A press is an implement used to squeeze, crush, or otherwise apply great pressure over a wide area. It has been variously blazoned in Society heraldry as a screw press or a cider press, but the basic form remains unchanged. Though a period artifact, the press does not seem to have been used in period armory.
		PDF File

Pretzel	A pretzel is a twisted bun or pastry, made from a long rope of dough, tied into a knot and baked. Though most stronglyh identified with Germany, pretzels are found in several countries of period Europe. The pretzel does not seem to have a default posture: examples are found with the ends to chief and to base, with no difference counted. ... taken from the arms of the Bakers Guild of Augsburg, in the 16th Century.
		PDF File

Printer's Ball	A printer's ball is a tool for applying ink to the plate of a printing press. It is a period artifact, but seems to be unique to Society armory; the handle is to chief by default.
		PDF File

Prow	A prow is the bow or front of a ship. Medieval prows were generally ornate, made of carved wood. The most common prow in Society heraldry is the drakkar prow, the figurehead of a Viking longship; this charge is sometimes blazoned as a dragon's head couped, form which it is neglibly different. ... is taken from the Norse ship on the town seal of Bergen, c.1300. There is also the gondola prow, the traditional curved bow of the gondolas of Venice. Both sorts of prow are couped and face dexter (as would their ships) by default.
		PDF File

Pruning Hook	A pruning hook is an agricultural tool for trimming plants, consisting of a sickle's blade on a long handle. Examples are found in mundane heraldry, dating from 1586; it was considered indistinguisable from the sickle.
		PDF File

Quadrant	A quadrant is a period astronomical instrument used for measuring elevation from the horizon. It consists of a graduated quarter-circle (hence the name) with a moveable index and a site.
		PDF File

Quill of Yarn	A quill of yarn is the medieval form of a spool of thread; it is also known mundanemy as an embroiderer's quill. It is a period charge, dating from at least 1558 in the arms of the Worshipful Company of Broderers. The quill is wound with yarn by mundane and SCA default. There are instances in mundane armory of empty quils, without yarn, but the fact is always blazoned. The blazon should include reference to yarn or embroidery, to distinguish it from a quill pen.
		PDF File

Quintain	A quintain is a target for tilting practice, consisting of a post with a pivoted crosspiece, armed with wooden sword and shield. The rider would attempt to strike the quintain with his lance as he rode by; if he hit off-center, the quintain's arm would swing around and smack him! Though a period artifact, the quintain does not appear in period armory.
		PDF File

Quiver	A quiver is a container that allows for the protection and easy access to arrows. It is palewise by SCA default. if the quiver contains arrows, the fact must be blazoned.
		PDF File

Rainbow	A rainbow is a multi-colored arc found in the sky in rainy or misty weather. As found in heraldry, it is an arc, fesswise, embowed to chief, the ends terminating in clouds. The default heraldic rainbow has four bands; when blazoned proper, these bands are Or, gules, vert and argent with argent clouds, on a dark field; and on a light field, the bands are azure, vert, Or, and gules, with the tincture of the clouds to be specified. The rainbow is a period charge, found in the arms of von Mosen, c.1600. The natural rainbow proper, an SCA invention, has white clouds, and seven colored bands, as found in nature: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Technically the natural rainbow proper is a neutral charge, and may be placed on any tincture of field; in practice, the field should not be a dark one.
		PDF File

Ribbon	A ribbon, or riband, is a long narrow strip of silk, linen, etc. It's found primarily as decoration, as on a chaplet, but occasionally as an SCA charge in its own right. Sometimes the term riband was used to mean a diminuitive of the bend by 19th Century heraldic writers, but it is more often used in its normal sense; and always so in Society heraldry.
		PDF File

Ring	A ring is a piece of jewelry worn on the finger, consisting of a precious metal band set with gems. It is termed a gemmed (or finger) ring to distinguish it from an annulet. The gemmed ring is a period charge, found in the Scots arms of Seton, c.1314; the gemstone is to chief by mundane and SCA default.
		PDF File

Rivet	A rivet is a metal bolt or pin, with a head shaped like a mushroom's cap; it is used to fasten together plates of hard material, and thus is familiar to armorers. It is shown in its "pre-flattened" state, with the head to chief by default. Though a period artifact, the rivet is not to be found in mundane heraldry.
		PDF File

Rock	A rock is an irregular mass of stone; when used as an independent charge, it is drawn lumpishly to distinguish it from a roundel. It is found in the canting arms of Stone as early as 1586. When issuant from base the rock becomes essentially a rocky mount. Rocks come in many materials -- basalt, marble, sandstone -- so, strictly speaking, they have no proper coloration. Nonetheless, there are a few instances of rock proper or stone proper in SCA blazonry; these assume the rock is grey granite and are treated as if they were argent.
		PDF File

Rocket	A rocket is a long cylinder with a conical point at one end, belching flame at the other; it is used as a projectile, and is more fully termed a skyrocket. The Chinese used them as fireworks and signals; they were known in Europe as early as 1379. The skyrocket has its point to chief by SCA default.
		PDF File

Rudder	A rudder is a broad, flat piece of wood, attached to the stern of a ship and used to steer it. It is a period charge, used as a badge by Willoughby, Lord Broke, c.1520. The rudder has its hinge to dexter; it is usually, though not invariably shown with its tiller.
		PDF File