Information Order of Arms

[gwiis]

ORDER OF ARMS
INFORMATION, POLICY, AND GUIDANCE
​

Heraldry within the Kingdom of Alexandria is governed by the Resurrecting of The Herald Act and administered by the Most Noble Order of Arms under the authority of the Crown.

This document exists to provide information and guidance respecting the customs, traditions, conventions, and practices of Alexandrian heraldry, together with practical guidance for those seeking the recognition of Houses or the grant of Arms.

PETITIONS​

Petitions submitted unto the Order of Arms should be made in good faith and with due regard for the customs, laws, and dignity of the Realm. Submissions must be made in the Order of Arms Petitions subforum.

Petitioners are encouraged to clearly describe the symbolism, inspirations, traditions, themes, ambitions, or intentions relevant unto their petition. Sketches, mock-ups, reference images, or other visual materials may additionally be requested by the Order of Arms, though no artistic expertise is required of petitioners.

The Order of Arms may work alongside petitioners in refining and arranging heraldic designs into forms suitable for armorial use and consistent with Alexandrian heraldic custom.

Petitions for a grant of Arms require that the petitioner hold a title as awarded to them by a Monarch.

HOUSES​

Within the Kingdom of Alexandria, a House is recognised as a dynastic and heraldic institution of the Realm. A House may represent a true familial lineage or instead be bound by fraternity and common identity.

The Head of House serves as the principal representative of the House and bears the dynastic Arms of the House as its chief armiger.

In order to preserve the continuity and active presence of Houses within the Realm, the Head of House is expected to maintain regular activity within Alexandria. A Head of House who fails to maintain at least one hour of playtime within 30 days may be regarded as inactive by the Order of Arms.

Where questions arise respecting the activity, succession, leadership, or continuity of a House, the matter may be brought before the Order of Arms for consideration.

Where a Head of House is deemed inactive, absent, or otherwise unable to fulfil the role, the position shall ordinarily pass unto the Designated Heir recognised under the Herald Act.

Where no Designated Heir exists, or where the succession of a House is unclear or disputed, the Order of Arms may recognise the House as dormant until lawful succession is clarified.

A person may not belong to more than one recognised House at the same time. Individuals who marry into a House, may opt to join that House, but must renounce membership in any former House to do so.

ARMS AND ARMIGERS​

An Armiger is a person lawfully entitled to bear Arms within the Kingdom of Alexandria. Arms are unique visual designs displayed on a shield that serve as symbols of identity, lineage, office, and achievement within the Realm.

Every grant of Arms includes at minimum a shield, which forms the principal element of heraldic display within Alexandrian custom. A full Heraldic Achievement additionally consists of those heraldic elements lawfully granted or recognised alongside the shield under Alexandrian heraldic custom.

Personal Arms belong unto the individual armiger to whom they are granted and are neither inherited nor transferred between individuals.

Dynastic Arms belong unto a recognised House and are borne principally by the Head of House as chief armiger of that House. Members of the House may display the dynastic Arms by courtesy, though such display does not make them the armiger of those Arms.

LAW OF ARMS​

No Arms may be granted, recognised, or lawfully borne where they are identical to, or insufficiently distinguished from, Arms already lawfully borne within the Realm. The unlawful assumption, imitation, or misrepresentation of Arms already lawfully borne by another armiger is contrary to the customs and dignity of Alexandrian heraldry.

Within Alexandrian heraldry, a distinction exists between the lawful bearing of Arms and the lawful display of Arms by courtesy. An armiger lawfully bears Arms in their own right by grant, dynastic position, office, or other recognised heraldic entitlement. By contrast, courtesy display consists of the lawful display of Arms through recognised familial, marital, dynastic, institutional, or social association without the bearer thereby becoming the armiger of those Arms.

Members of a recognised House may display the dynastic Arms of that House by courtesy. Marriage entitles a spouse unto the same rights of courtesy display possessed by their partner, including the right to display personal arms by courtesy. Children likewise possess rights of courtesy display derived from the lawful heraldic displays of their parents in accordance with Alexandrian heraldic custom.

Courtesy display does not, in itself, create independent armigerous entitlement unto the Arms displayed, nor does it necessarily establish hereditary claim, succession, dynastic right, or House membership.

Within Alexandrian heraldic custom, Arms displayed solely through marital association are ordinarily displayed upon a lozenge.

CADENCY​

Cadency is the practice of modifying or differencing a coat of Arms while still retaining the overall appearance of the arms. These differences help distinguish individuals and lines within a larger dynastic family whilst preserving the identity and cohesiveness of the House as a whole.

Alexandrian heraldry does not require every member of a House to display differenced Arms. Members of a recognised House may lawfully display the undifferenced dynastic Arms of their House by courtesy. Nevertheless, Houses may choose to adopt systems of cadency in order to distinguish individuals within the wider House.

Any formal system of cadency adopted by a House should be done with the approval of the Order of Arms and recorded within the House's enrolment in the Heraldic Register.

MARSHALLING​

Marshalling is the display of multiple Arms upon the same shield. This is done for a variety of reasons in Alexandrian heraldry but most commonly to show familial relationships and office.

Marshalled displays do not, in themselves, create independent armigerous entitlement unto the Arms displayed therein, though such displays may serve as the basis for heraldic designs later brought through petition.

Within Alexandrian heraldic custom, marshalling is expected to preserve clarity, hierarchy, and recognisability. Excessively crowded, confusing, or incoherent heraldic arrangements are contrary to proper heraldic practice.

The ordinary forms of marshalling within Alexandria are impalement, quartering, and the use of inescutcheons.

IMPALEMENT​

Impalement consists of two coats of Arms displayed side-by-side upon the same shield and is ordinarily used where both displayed Arms possess equal heraldic status. This may happen when an individual is doubly armigerous, or bears more than one set of arms. It can also happen when two individuals who are entitled to display arms, enter into marriage. In the latter case, the marshalled arms are called a marital display.

Impalement in marital displays requires that both spouses have equal entitlement to their respective arms, for example, both are armigers or both display their arms by courtesy. Where one spouse is an armiger and the other is not, impalement is not used, as the two arms are not of equal standing within Alexandrian heraldic custom.

Within impaled displays, the bearer’s own Arms are ordinarily displayed upon the dexter side of the shield, whilst the Arms of the spouse, House, or office are ordinarily displayed upon the sinister side.

INESCUTCHEONS​

An inescutcheon is a smaller shield placed upon the principal shield and ordinarily displays the personal Arms of the bearer above Arms displayed by courtesy.

Courtesy Arms are not ordinarily displayed upon an inescutcheon above personally borne Arms unless the resulting design is cleaner and more legible.

QUARTERING​

Quartering occurs when Arms are represented in the four corners of the shield. Children whose parents are entitled to an impaled marital display may themselves display those marital Arms in quartered form.

The order of quartered displays should place the Arms of the parent that belongs to the same House as the child in the top dexter (right from the shield's perspective).

DESIGN CONVENTIONS​

Alexandrian heraldry favours bold, recognisable, and symbolically meaningful heraldic design. Arms should remain clear and identifiable at a glance and should preserve visual simplicity even when displayed at small scale.

The ordinary tinctures recognised within Alexandrian heraldry are:

• Gules (red)
• Azure (blue)
• Vert (green)
• Purpure (purple)
• Sable (black)
• Or (gold)
• Argent (silver or white)

Additional tinctures, stains, or non-traditional colouring may be recognised in exceptional circumstances where they preserve heraldic clarity and dignity.

Alexandrian heraldic custom generally follows the rule of tincture, whereby colours should ordinarily not be placed upon colours, nor metals upon metals, in order to preserve contrast and recognisability.

Arms should favour clear charges, strong contrast, and restrained composition over excessive detail or ornamentation. Heraldic designs which become excessively crowded, difficult to distinguish, or visually incoherent are contrary to proper heraldic practice.

Charges and symbols used within Alexandrian heraldry should ordinarily possess clear symbolic significance unto the armiger or House they represent.

Written text, slogans, excessive shading, photorealistic imagery, gradients, or heavily modern graphic design elements are generally discouraged within heraldic display.

Marshalled Arms should preserve visual hierarchy and clarity and should not become excessively subdivided or overcrowded.

A full Heraldic Achievement may also include a helm, a torse, a crest, mantling, a motto, and supporters.

HERALDIC DIGNITIES​

Certain heraldic features within Alexandrian heraldry are regarded as marks of dignity, title, office, royal favour, or special honour and are therefore restricted in their use.

While all armigers may bear a helm as part of their Achievement, there are restrictions on its design based upon rank and title:

• Closed steel helm for an unranked armiger
• Open steel helm for Knights and Paladins
• Silver helm with gold bars for Dukes and Duchesses
• Barred golden helm for members of the Royal House

Mantling is also restricted by rank and office in Alexandrian heraldic tradition. In addition to dukes, duchesses, and the royal family, mantling may be used by members of the judiciary and Members of Parliament, who must have their mantling displayed intact. Their entitlement to mantling lasts only as long as they hold office.

Supporters may only be used by members of the Royal House and former Monarchs.

Alexandrian heraldry makes use of several crowns and coronets, which are placed atop the helm and replace the torse:

• Ducal Coronet
• Royal Coronet
• Monarch's Crown

The use of certain tinctures and furs is also restricted to those of Rank. Only members of the Royal House and former Monarchs may incorporate purpure or ermine into their Achievements. The stains (sanguine, murrey and tenné) and other furs are reserved for Dukes, Duchesses and members of the Royal Family.