Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 08:51:57 +0000
From: Zenobia
Subject: Wyvern/Proper/Boutell Style

> Query Boutell's describes wyverns as having a 'proper' form which
> is a vert body and gules belly and wing sails. Boutell's does not date
> this particolored wyvern.

One has to be careful when using Victorian sources like Boutell's and Fox-Davies. While they can be, of course, very very useful, they make virtually no effort to address the particularly Medieval or Renaissance heraldic aesthetic. For issues of style, the author to read of that era is Oswald Barron, not Fox-Davies etc (if one must overgeneralize.)

Details such as 'wing sails' (presumably, the webbing in the wings) is pretty 'specific' for Medieval tincturing, which allowed a fair amount of leeway for details etc. Tincturing the entire wings in a seperate tincture is fine, and the webs of a wyvern's wing (at least in a Victorian wyvern) tend to be most of it anyways.

When you have, say, a black wyvern with a red belly and wing webs, the blazons I have seen in the SCA either make it a 'wyvern sable winged gules' or a 'wyvern sable winged and bellied gules.' It depends on things like the visual prominance of the belly scales, the size of the whole animal (a primary charge of a wyvern is more likely to have details judged 'significant' than a teeny wyvern up on a chief), etc.

As for difference, we have precedent saying that the tincture of a winged quadruped's wings is considered half the monster's tincture. I suspect wyverns fall into line. That would make the above black wyvern with red wings into a half-red half-black animal which gets a CD for tincture from either an all-black or all-red animal. I suppose that the visual realities of the art could override this if for some reason the art gives the animal as predominantly black (teeny wings) or predominantly red (big wings, huge belly scales.) I would aim for a half and half tincturing if doing this kind of thing.

I'd advise against this kind of multitinctured monster in general unless the monster is clearly the most visually prominent item on the shield, and generally clear to view (putting this black and red wyvern on a vair field might make things quite comfusing.)

Zenobia Naphtali