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]
[Label to Net] [Oar to Rudder] [Saddle to Stream] [Tablet to Yoke]

Saddle     A saddle is a padded leather seat for the rider of a horse or camel. It's normally found as part of a horse's equipage, but may be used as a charge in its own right, as in the arms of the Worshipful Company of Saddlers, 1585. The horse's saddle is the default, unless otherwise specified. The stirrupts, if shown, must be explicitly blazaoned; in mundane heraldry, the phrase saddle complete may be used for this.
     The term selle is an obscure synonym for saddle, derived from Old French; this is usually used for the sake of a cant.
     The 19th Century saddle of the American West should not be used in SCA emblazonry; a period saddle should be shown instead. ... When proper, the saddle is brown leather; the front of the saddle faces dexter by default.

        PDF File

Saltcellar     A saltcellar is a decorative container, made of glass or metal, used on the table for holding salt. In period, it was blazoned a covered salte, and was sometimes depicted with the salt spilling from either side, to help distinguish it from a cup; such shedding salt was explicitly blazoned. ... from the arms of the Worshipful Company of Salters.

        PDF File

Saw     A saw is a carpenter's tool, used mostly for cutting wood; it has a large thin blade with a toothed edge. The heraldic form of saw is more fully termed a frame saw or bow saw; the artifact dates from at least the 15th Century.

        PDF File

Scabbard     A scabbard is a sheath for a sword or other bladed weapon. While usually found in conjunction with a sword, it is also found as a separate charge in its own right.
     The scabbard is point to base by default when empty, or when worn on the belt (empty or not), or when the sword is being drawn. When the sword is sheathed in it (the two forming a single visual unit), the scabbard is point up by SCA and English default, following the sword's default (as in the arms of Gelibrand, temp. Henry VIII), and point down by Continental default (as in the arms of Pot, d.1430).

        PDF File

Schnecke     A schnecke is a highly stylized charge from German heraldry, consisting of a tapering line spiraling inward from a point on the shield's edge to its center. The term literally translates as snail, as its curve resembes that of the snail's shell; in French blazon, it is termed un gyron gironnant, the "spiraling gyron". The schnecke is a period charge, found in the arms of von Rordorf, c.1600.
     The point at which the schnecke enters the shield should be blazoned; whether it spirals deazel or widdershins is left to the artist.

        PDF File

Scroll     A scroll is a roll of parchment or paper. The mundane heraldic scroll seems to be a simple banderole; in SCA blazonry, the term refers to the ancient form of book.
     A scroll may be either closed (rolled) or open (partially unrolled). As neither type is default, the type should be explicitly blzoned; open scrolls are more common in the SCA. Closed scrolls always included the handled rods around which the paper is rolled; open scrolls may iinclude the rods or not, at the artist's discretion.
     An open scroll is palewise by SCA default. No default posture has been defined for closed scrolls.

        PDF File

Shackle     A shackle is a lockable restraint for the wrist or ankle; it is also called a cuff or manacle. It is often shown with a short length of chain dependant, to promote ready identification. A pair of shackles Or was the badge of Percy, Early of Northumblerand (d. 1527).

        PDF File

Shave, Currier's     A currier's shave is a long single-edged knife with a handle on either end, used to scrape the hair and fat off a cow's hide before tanning. It may also be a termed a tanner's shave, a drawknife, or a currier's knife. ... taken from the arms of the Worshipful Company of Curriers, 1583. The shave is fesswise, edge to base, by default.

        PDF File

Shears     Shears (more property a pair of shears) is a cutting instrument with a pair of opposing blades, joined by a spring. Medievally, they came in several sizes, from large shears the height of a man (used to shear the wool from sheepskin) to small hand-held shears used by seamstresses in sewing; the latter are also called snips. The blades might have either square or rectangular ends; rectangular ends are more often found in mundane heraldry, but the triangular blades are more popular in the Society.
     Shears have their blades to base, slightly open, by default.
     Related to shears is the scissors or pair of scissors: the opposing blades pivot on a bolt, and have handles on the other end to open and close them. Scissors are a period charge, found in the arms of the Guild of Tailors of Basel, 1415; the handles should not be drawn in the modern ergonomic design. Society heraldry distinguishes between the shears and the scissors, though little heraldic difference is granted. The scissors' posture is usually explicitly blazoned, but the SCA default seems to be with points to chief.

        PDF File

Shell     A shell is the hard outer-covering used by some mollusks and fish for protection. The most common heraldic shell is the escallop, but others are also found: the whelk, with its opening to chief by default, found in the canting arms of Shelley temp. Richard II; and the snail shell, with its opening to dexter by default, found in the canting arms of Schneckhaus, c.1600. These are drawn in a more stylized manner; there are also certain sea-shells, such as the nautilus shell and the sand-dollar, which are emblazoned more naturalistically.

        PDF File

Ship     A ship is a sailing vessel or boat; those found in heraldry usually have sails, though there are a few oar-powered ships as well. They should be drawn as seen on a calm sea: the keel should not be depicted. All ships face to dexter by default; when proper, they are of brown wood.
     The most common sort of ship in heraldry is the galley or lympahd: a stylized drawing, with a single square sail, and three or four oars; the sails are furled, and the oars are in action, by default. It is a period charge, found in the arms of the Earls of Caithness c.1310. When the lymphad has no mast, sails or oars, it may be termed a hulk.
     In society heraldry, the next most common ship is the drakkar, or Viking dragonship: the prow is carved in a monstrous head (usually a dragon's), with a square sale and the ship's side lined with tages. These appear to have been used in period armory, in the arms of the Kings of Orkney, temp. Edward II; Matthew Paris, c.1245, attributes drakkars to the King of Norway, but there is no other evidence that they were so used. The drakkar is also blazoned a Viking longship; however, as Phoenician and Norman longships are also found in Society armory, it is best to be specific.
     The caravel or carrack, and the galleon are all late period ships, with multiple masts and triangular (lateen) sails among its square sails; they are indistinguishable for heraldic purposes.
     Of the other, more unusual ships in Society heraldry, there is found the ark, a mastless lymphad with a barn-like shape amidships (mostly used for canting); the dhow, a small Oriental ship with a triangular sail; the gondola, the famous traffic boat of Venice; the knorr, a small single-sailed boat with its ruidder on the side; and the wa'a, a Polynesian outrigger canoe with a single sail.

        PDF File

Shuttle, Weaver's     A weaver's shuttle is a cloth-maker's tool, containing a spool of the woof thread, which it carries back and forth between the warp threads strung in the loom. It is a period heraldic charge, found in arms granted in 1490; it is also known mundanely as a navette. The shuttle is fesswise by default.
     Thhere is also a stick shuttle, a more primitive implement unique to Society heraldry.

        PDF File

Sickle     A sickle is a crescent-shaped blade with a short handle, used for cutting grasses and weeds; it is also known as a reaping hook. It is a period charge, found in the arms of Sawseselle c.1586. The blade is to chief, embowed to sinister, by mundane and SCA default.

        PDF File

Sickle     A sickle is a crescent-shaped blade with a short handle, used for cutting grasses and weeds; it is also known as a reaping hook. It is a period charge, found in the arms of Sawseselle c.1586. The blade is to chief, embowed to sinister, by mundane and SCA default.

        PDF File

Skold     A skold, or scoldsbridle, is an instrument of punishment, intended for women with sharp tongues. It consisted of a metal frame to enclose the head, with a sharp metal bit to restrain the tongue; it was often decorated with horns and derogatory pendants.

        PDF File

Slea, Weaver's     The weaver's slea (also spelled "slay")i is a frame strung with parallel wires, used on a loom to keep the warp threads separate; modern weavers call it the "reed". The weaver's slea is found in mundane heraldry, in the arms of the Weaver's Company of Exeter; it is fesswise by default.

        PDF File

Snaffle-Bit     A snaffle-bit is the part of the bridle which goes into the horse's mouth, and gives the rider control; it is of light metal, without curb, and is jointed in its center. For that reason it is often blazoned a broken snaffle-bit; this doesn't mean the bit is fracted, but simply refers to the center joint.
     There is also the double-strand snaffle-bit, whose central part is made from two braided wires rather than a solid metal bar.

        PDF File

Snowflake     A snowflake is a single crystal of snow, feathery and six-pointed. The shapes of snowflakes were recorded as early as 1555; and of course, no two snowflakes are alike.

        PDF File

Spade     A spade is a digging tool, with a flat triangular blade attached to a long handle. It is a period charge, found in the arms of von Graben c.1600. It may also be called a shovel, particularly if the blade is rectrangular instead of triangular; this is an artistic distinction, rather than an heraldic difference.
Both the spade and the shovel have their blades to base by default.

        PDF File

Sphere     A sphere, more fully termed a terrestrial sphere, is a globe of the Earth showing the lines of lattitude and longitude, and perhaps a vague suggestion of continents. It is found in the crest of Sir Francis Drake, 1581.
     Other spheres include the armillary sphere, an astronomical instrument showing the ecliptic, tropics, etc.; and the celestial sphere, showing the constellations and the band of the Zodiac.

        PDF File

Spiderweb     A spiderweb is the network spun by a spider to catch its prey. It is described in Guillim's Display of Heraldry, 1632, and is considered compatible with period armory. The spiderweb is throughout by mundane and SCA default; later blazones nonetheless blazon this fact explicitly.

        PDF File

Spinning Wheel     A spinning wheel is a tool for making thread; it is sometimes termed a whool wheel. It has a large wheel turning a single spindle; the period form was turned by hand, not by a foot treadle. ... taken from the arms of Luttrell Psalter, c.1330; it is the earliest known reproduction of the artifact.
     The spinning wheel has its spindle to sinister by SCA default.

        PDF File

Spoon     A spoon is an eating utensil, with a small shallow bowl attached to a handle. It is found in the canting arms of Sponeley, in the 15th Century. The spoon is affronty by default, with the bowl to cheif.
     Similar to the spoon is the spurtle, with notces in the bowl's end to let it double as a fork. There is also the ladle, with a deep bowl attached at right angles to to its handle; the ladle has its bowl to base, facing dexter by SCA default.

        PDF File

Spur     A spur is a pointed piece of metal warn on a rider's heel to urge the horse forward. The default form of spur is the roweled spur, with a six-pointed mullet attached to the U-shaped frame and buckle. The mundane default posture is in full view, rowel to chief; the SCA default seems to be in profile, rowel to sinister, as seen on a rider in his default posture.
     There is also the prickspur, which has no rowel, but simply comes to a point. It carries no heraldic difference.

        PDF File

Square, Carpenter's     A carpenter's square is an L-shaped instrument, used for testing right angles; the edges are often marked as rulers, though this is artistic license. It is found as a period charge, dating from at least 1530. There is no default; the square's posture must be explicitly blazoned.

        PDF File

Staff     A staff is a wooden pole, also known as a rod The unmodified term refers to a simple, smooth pole; if drawn with a handhold on its tip, it might also be blazoned a walking staff. There is also the ragged staff, a staff raguly, with the side-limbs lopped off, dating from 1413.
     Other types of staff include the bourdon, also called a palmer's staff or a pilgrim's staff, with a hook for carrying a bag of belongings; it is found in the canting arms of Burdon, c.1285. There is the club or shillelagh, a length of wood with a burl at the top, used as a cudgel; the crook or shepherd's crook, with a hooked end, found in the canting arms of Crook, c.1295; the crozier or bishop's crozier, a more elaborate variant of the crook, dating as a charge from at least 1450; the crutch or crutchstaff (also, poetically, called a potent), dating from at least 1537; the herald's staff or ambassadorial staff, a short staff with ribbons; the jester's bauble, a short stick with a miniature jester's cap on its end; and the wand, a term implying a more naturalistic drawing, perhaps with a leaf or two.
     All staves are palewise by default. Their proper coloration is brown, the color of wood. (The exception is the jester's bauble: when blazoned proper, it's shown with a Caucasian face and brown wooden h andle. the colors of the cap must be explicitly blazoned.)
A thyrsus is a staff entwined with leafy vines, and topped with a pine cone; it was the token of the Greek god Dionysius. In society armory, it is palewise by default; its proper tincture is brown, with green vines.

        PDF File

Staple     A staple is a fastener for holding loose items firmly to a surface; it's a squared-off U-shape, with the ends pointed. It is found in armory dating from c.1450. The staple's points are to base by default.

        PDF File

Stirrup     A stirrup is a footrest for horsemen, a flat-bottomed ring of metal hung by a strap from the saddle. The standard heraldic form is the English stirrup; it is sometimes so blazoned. It is a period charge, dating from c.1310.
     In mundane heraldry, the stirrup is always drawn with a bit of strap showing; in Society heraldry, the strap is not shown unless blazoned. Also found is the stirrup-cup which is identcal to an inverted escutcheon in shape.

        PDF File

Stream     A stream is a small river or current of water. While not found in medieval European armory, a highly stylized depiction is found in Japanese Mon; and this form alone is permitted for Society heraldry. It is also blazoned as barrulets bevilled arrondi.

        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

Saddle	A saddle is a padded leather seat for the rider of a horse or camel. It's normally found as part of a horse's equipage, but may be used as a charge in its own right, as in the arms of the Worshipful Company of Saddlers, 1585. The horse's saddle is the default, unless otherwise specified. The stirrupts, if shown, must be explicitly blazaoned; in mundane heraldry, the phrase saddle complete may be used for this. The term selle is an obscure synonym for saddle, derived from Old French; this is usually used for the sake of a cant. The 19th Century saddle of the American West should not be used in SCA emblazonry; a period saddle should be shown instead. ... When proper, the saddle is brown leather; the front of the saddle faces dexter by default.
		PDF File

Saltcellar	A saltcellar is a decorative container, made of glass or metal, used on the table for holding salt. In period, it was blazoned a covered salte, and was sometimes depicted with the salt spilling from either side, to help distinguish it from a cup; such shedding salt was explicitly blazoned. ... from the arms of the Worshipful Company of Salters.
		PDF File

Saw	A saw is a carpenter's tool, used mostly for cutting wood; it has a large thin blade with a toothed edge. The heraldic form of saw is more fully termed a frame saw or bow saw; the artifact dates from at least the 15th Century.
		PDF File

Scabbard	A scabbard is a sheath for a sword or other bladed weapon. While usually found in conjunction with a sword, it is also found as a separate charge in its own right. The scabbard is point to base by default when empty, or when worn on the belt (empty or not), or when the sword is being drawn. When the sword is sheathed in it (the two forming a single visual unit), the scabbard is point up by SCA and English default, following the sword's default (as in the arms of Gelibrand, temp. Henry VIII), and point down by Continental default (as in the arms of Pot, d.1430).
		PDF File

Schnecke	A schnecke is a highly stylized charge from German heraldry, consisting of a tapering line spiraling inward from a point on the shield's edge to its center. The term literally translates as snail, as its curve resembes that of the snail's shell; in French blazon, it is termed un gyron gironnant, the "spiraling gyron". The schnecke is a period charge, found in the arms of von Rordorf, c.1600. The point at which the schnecke enters the shield should be blazoned; whether it spirals deazel or widdershins is left to the artist.
		PDF File

Scroll	A scroll is a roll of parchment or paper. The mundane heraldic scroll seems to be a simple banderole; in SCA blazonry, the term refers to the ancient form of book. A scroll may be either closed (rolled) or open (partially unrolled). As neither type is default, the type should be explicitly blzoned; open scrolls are more common in the SCA. Closed scrolls always included the handled rods around which the paper is rolled; open scrolls may iinclude the rods or not, at the artist's discretion. An open scroll is palewise by SCA default. No default posture has been defined for closed scrolls.
		PDF File

Shackle	A shackle is a lockable restraint for the wrist or ankle; it is also called a cuff or manacle. It is often shown with a short length of chain dependant, to promote ready identification. A pair of shackles Or was the badge of Percy, Early of Northumblerand (d. 1527).
		PDF File

Shave, Currier's	A currier's shave is a long single-edged knife with a handle on either end, used to scrape the hair and fat off a cow's hide before tanning. It may also be a termed a tanner's shave, a drawknife, or a currier's knife. ... taken from the arms of the Worshipful Company of Curriers, 1583. The shave is fesswise, edge to base, by default.
		PDF File

Shears	Shears (more property a pair of shears) is a cutting instrument with a pair of opposing blades, joined by a spring. Medievally, they came in several sizes, from large shears the height of a man (used to shear the wool from sheepskin) to small hand-held shears used by seamstresses in sewing; the latter are also called snips. The blades might have either square or rectangular ends; rectangular ends are more often found in mundane heraldry, but the triangular blades are more popular in the Society. Shears have their blades to base, slightly open, by default. Related to shears is the scissors or pair of scissors: the opposing blades pivot on a bolt, and have handles on the other end to open and close them. Scissors are a period charge, found in the arms of the Guild of Tailors of Basel, 1415; the handles should not be drawn in the modern ergonomic design. Society heraldry distinguishes between the shears and the scissors, though little heraldic difference is granted. The scissors' posture is usually explicitly blazoned, but the SCA default seems to be with points to chief.
		PDF File

Shell	A shell is the hard outer-covering used by some mollusks and fish for protection. The most common heraldic shell is the escallop, but others are also found: the whelk, with its opening to chief by default, found in the canting arms of Shelley temp. Richard II; and the snail shell, with its opening to dexter by default, found in the canting arms of Schneckhaus, c.1600. These are drawn in a more stylized manner; there are also certain sea-shells, such as the nautilus shell and the sand-dollar, which are emblazoned more naturalistically.
		PDF File

Ship	A ship is a sailing vessel or boat; those found in heraldry usually have sails, though there are a few oar-powered ships as well. They should be drawn as seen on a calm sea: the keel should not be depicted. All ships face to dexter by default; when proper, they are of brown wood. The most common sort of ship in heraldry is the galley or lympahd: a stylized drawing, with a single square sail, and three or four oars; the sails are furled, and the oars are in action, by default. It is a period charge, found in the arms of the Earls of Caithness c.1310. When the lymphad has no mast, sails or oars, it may be termed a hulk. In society heraldry, the next most common ship is the drakkar, or Viking dragonship: the prow is carved in a monstrous head (usually a dragon's), with a square sale and the ship's side lined with tages. These appear to have been used in period armory, in the arms of the Kings of Orkney, temp. Edward II; Matthew Paris, c.1245, attributes drakkars to the King of Norway, but there is no other evidence that they were so used. The drakkar is also blazoned a Viking longship; however, as Phoenician and Norman longships are also found in Society armory, it is best to be specific. The caravel or carrack, and the galleon are all late period ships, with multiple masts and triangular (lateen) sails among its square sails; they are indistinguishable for heraldic purposes. Of the other, more unusual ships in Society heraldry, there is found the ark, a mastless lymphad with a barn-like shape amidships (mostly used for canting); the dhow, a small Oriental ship with a triangular sail; the gondola, the famous traffic boat of Venice; the knorr, a small single-sailed boat with its ruidder on the side; and the wa'a, a Polynesian outrigger canoe with a single sail.
		PDF File

Shuttle, Weaver's	A weaver's shuttle is a cloth-maker's tool, containing a spool of the woof thread, which it carries back and forth between the warp threads strung in the loom. It is a period heraldic charge, found in arms granted in 1490; it is also known mundanely as a navette. The shuttle is fesswise by default. Thhere is also a stick shuttle, a more primitive implement unique to Society heraldry.
		PDF File

Sickle	A sickle is a crescent-shaped blade with a short handle, used for cutting grasses and weeds; it is also known as a reaping hook. It is a period charge, found in the arms of Sawseselle c.1586. The blade is to chief, embowed to sinister, by mundane and SCA default.
		PDF File

Sickle	A sickle is a crescent-shaped blade with a short handle, used for cutting grasses and weeds; it is also known as a reaping hook. It is a period charge, found in the arms of Sawseselle c.1586. The blade is to chief, embowed to sinister, by mundane and SCA default.
		PDF File

Skold	A skold, or scoldsbridle, is an instrument of punishment, intended for women with sharp tongues. It consisted of a metal frame to enclose the head, with a sharp metal bit to restrain the tongue; it was often decorated with horns and derogatory pendants.
		PDF File

Slea, Weaver's	The weaver's slea (also spelled "slay")i is a frame strung with parallel wires, used on a loom to keep the warp threads separate; modern weavers call it the "reed". The weaver's slea is found in mundane heraldry, in the arms of the Weaver's Company of Exeter; it is fesswise by default.
		PDF File

Snaffle-Bit	A snaffle-bit is the part of the bridle which goes into the horse's mouth, and gives the rider control; it is of light metal, without curb, and is jointed in its center. For that reason it is often blazoned a broken snaffle-bit; this doesn't mean the bit is fracted, but simply refers to the center joint. There is also the double-strand snaffle-bit, whose central part is made from two braided wires rather than a solid metal bar.
		PDF File

Snowflake	A snowflake is a single crystal of snow, feathery and six-pointed. The shapes of snowflakes were recorded as early as 1555; and of course, no two snowflakes are alike.
		PDF File

Spade	A spade is a digging tool, with a flat triangular blade attached to a long handle. It is a period charge, found in the arms of von Graben c.1600. It may also be called a shovel, particularly if the blade is rectrangular instead of triangular; this is an artistic distinction, rather than an heraldic difference. Both the spade and the shovel have their blades to base by default.
		PDF File

Sphere	A sphere, more fully termed a terrestrial sphere, is a globe of the Earth showing the lines of lattitude and longitude, and perhaps a vague suggestion of continents. It is found in the crest of Sir Francis Drake, 1581. Other spheres include the armillary sphere, an astronomical instrument showing the ecliptic, tropics, etc.; and the celestial sphere, showing the constellations and the band of the Zodiac.
		PDF File

Spiderweb	A spiderweb is the network spun by a spider to catch its prey. It is described in Guillim's Display of Heraldry, 1632, and is considered compatible with period armory. The spiderweb is throughout by mundane and SCA default; later blazones nonetheless blazon this fact explicitly.
		PDF File

Spinning Wheel	A spinning wheel is a tool for making thread; it is sometimes termed a whool wheel. It has a large wheel turning a single spindle; the period form was turned by hand, not by a foot treadle. ... taken from the arms of Luttrell Psalter, c.1330; it is the earliest known reproduction of the artifact. The spinning wheel has its spindle to sinister by SCA default.
		PDF File

Spoon	A spoon is an eating utensil, with a small shallow bowl attached to a handle. It is found in the canting arms of Sponeley, in the 15th Century. The spoon is affronty by default, with the bowl to cheif. Similar to the spoon is the spurtle, with notces in the bowl's end to let it double as a fork. There is also the ladle, with a deep bowl attached at right angles to to its handle; the ladle has its bowl to base, facing dexter by SCA default.
		PDF File

Spur	A spur is a pointed piece of metal warn on a rider's heel to urge the horse forward. The default form of spur is the roweled spur, with a six-pointed mullet attached to the U-shaped frame and buckle. The mundane default posture is in full view, rowel to chief; the SCA default seems to be in profile, rowel to sinister, as seen on a rider in his default posture. There is also the prickspur, which has no rowel, but simply comes to a point. It carries no heraldic difference.
		PDF File

Square, Carpenter's	A carpenter's square is an L-shaped instrument, used for testing right angles; the edges are often marked as rulers, though this is artistic license. It is found as a period charge, dating from at least 1530. There is no default; the square's posture must be explicitly blazoned.
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Staff	A staff is a wooden pole, also known as a rod The unmodified term refers to a simple, smooth pole; if drawn with a handhold on its tip, it might also be blazoned a walking staff. There is also the ragged staff, a staff raguly, with the side-limbs lopped off, dating from 1413. Other types of staff include the bourdon, also called a palmer's staff or a pilgrim's staff, with a hook for carrying a bag of belongings; it is found in the canting arms of Burdon, c.1285. There is the club or shillelagh, a length of wood with a burl at the top, used as a cudgel; the crook or shepherd's crook, with a hooked end, found in the canting arms of Crook, c.1295; the crozier or bishop's crozier, a more elaborate variant of the crook, dating as a charge from at least 1450; the crutch or crutchstaff (also, poetically, called a potent), dating from at least 1537; the herald's staff or ambassadorial staff, a short staff with ribbons; the jester's bauble, a short stick with a miniature jester's cap on its end; and the wand, a term implying a more naturalistic drawing, perhaps with a leaf or two. All staves are palewise by default. Their proper coloration is brown, the color of wood. (The exception is the jester's bauble: when blazoned proper, it's shown with a Caucasian face and brown wooden h andle. the colors of the cap must be explicitly blazoned.) A thyrsus is a staff entwined with leafy vines, and topped with a pine cone; it was the token of the Greek god Dionysius. In society armory, it is palewise by default; its proper tincture is brown, with green vines.
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Staple	A staple is a fastener for holding loose items firmly to a surface; it's a squared-off U-shape, with the ends pointed. It is found in armory dating from c.1450. The staple's points are to base by default.
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Stirrup	A stirrup is a footrest for horsemen, a flat-bottomed ring of metal hung by a strap from the saddle. The standard heraldic form is the English stirrup; it is sometimes so blazoned. It is a period charge, dating from c.1310. In mundane heraldry, the stirrup is always drawn with a bit of strap showing; in Society heraldry, the strap is not shown unless blazoned. Also found is the stirrup-cup which is identcal to an inverted escutcheon in shape.
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Stream	A stream is a small river or current of water. While not found in medieval European armory, a highly stylized depiction is found in Japanese Mon; and this form alone is permitted for Society heraldry. It is also blazoned as barrulets bevilled arrondi.
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