The Gauntlet - January 2013

A Publication of Armorial Gold Heraldry Services

THE MARTLET

A bird resembling a swallow, with thighs but no visible legs representing the martin. It is a mark of Cadency and was used as the symbol of the fourth son, because its footlessness symbolized his inability to inherit, and walk on, his ancestral lands. May signify one who had to subsist by virtue and merit, not inheritance; also denotes promptness. It is said that the use of a martlet indicates that the first bearer of the arms had acquired nobility through his own exertions or by patronage, with the absence of feet on the heraldic martlet signifying the lack of ancestral foundations for his nobility.

The word 'martlet' does exist in English as the name of a swift or martin and appears to have been confused with the French 'merlette' (merle) because of its similarities to the word 'martlet'. However, it is also said that the charge first appeared as a small blackbird in 1185 in the arms of Mello in Normandy and subsequently in canting arms of 'merlot', indicating that the intention was to represent the French blackbird called 'merlette'. The legend of the martlet is most appealing but readers should determine their own interpretation, as history seems to be confused about the dubious origins and myths of this marvellous bird.

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NEED HELP WITH A COAT OF ARMS ASK MIKE, RYAN OR RICK

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COMING SOON

A Collection of Austrian coats of arms with a February (we hope) launch. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes. It is a very interesting collection whose surnames, have Bavarian, Slav, and French influence. It is certainly something to look forward to....

COMING SOON

Kingdom of Denmark Plus.

Denmark plus Norway plus Sweden. Here's a sample of a Swedish one.

Now's a great time to upgrade your collections. Click on the Upgrade logo for your options. To upgrade the Platinum email the office.

NOAH'S ARK

In Christian ideology, this bearing was a way of saving believers from the "engulfing sea of godlessness" In Heraldry, the Ark symbolizes hope and survival, prospects and aspirations.

The World's Leader in Heraldry Art

We are leaving this help tip up, as more and more of you are upgrading

your Corel Draw software to X3 or X4 or X6

Corel Draw has changed some default settings in X3 and X4 that can render your vector images black, do the same for your F9 preview and in the case of X4 display your image excessively dark.

Fixes:

Top Command Bar/View Select 'enhanced' and not 'enhanced with overprints';
Top Command Bar/Tools/Color Management Color Mode for Effects-should be set at RGB (not CMYK);
Top Command Bar/Tools Select 'Save Settings as default' ;
When importing AG graphics into X4, make sure you first group your image before using the F9 full screen preview (X3 imports the graphic already grouped).

FREE SOFTWARE FOR THE WMF FILE FORMAT

Popular Free Graphic Software Serif Draw for Windows has introduced some changes worth noting. The new free version is now called the Draw Plus Starter Edition and works with Vista and Windows 7. We should further note that when you have Serif ready to go, to open a wmf file you don't select "open", you use "insert" from file. For those who want to try it out, click on the Serif logo. Once you've downloaded the software Serif will send you an unlock code. The Serif website also has some good tutorials to help you along.

Free software for Windows and Mac. Tips: Use "open" to open a wmf file. To ungroup the image, click once on it and choose "modify" (top command bar), then select "break". To group an image you select the image with your mouse, then choose "modify" then "Group. To download software click on the Logo.

Know of other Free graphic software programs? Please let us know so that we can post it for other members to take advantage of.