Quote:
Originally posted by Tom Earp (in part)
I may get some disagreements on this, but the LXA Coat of Arms is the most true to the Heraldict of any that I have ever seen!
There is a reason for everything and more ornate than any.
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And
Quote:
Originally posted by AlphaSigOU (in part)
Tom, You're correct... the Lambda Chi Alpha coat of arms is probably the most heraldically correct of all the fraternity and sorority coat of arms.
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Well, Tom said there might be some disagreement, so I'll bite.
No, Lambda Chi's coat-of-arms -- while very beautiful and, to Lambda Chi brothers, very meaningful -- probably are not the
most heraldically correct of all fraternity and sorority arms. Compared to the arms of other GLOs, Lambda Chi's arms do probably make the most complete use of
optional heraldic elements such as a chivalric ribband, helmet, supporters (in the form of crossed swords behind the shield rather than animals or other figures actually holding the shield), or an inescutcheon (the small shield in the center of the main shield). But supporters, ribbands and the like are not necessary to a "complete" coat-of-arms. The only necessary components are the shield and crest (and possibly a motto).
I would submit that Lambda Chi's arms depart from traditional heraldic rules in two ways. First, the use of quartering -- the division of the shield into four quarters. Traditionally, quartering indicates the uniting of two or more arms-bearing individuals or entities into a single family or entity. For example, the arms of the United Kingdom (properly speaking, the arms of Her Majesty Elizabeth II) quarter the royal arms of England (twice), Scotland and Ireland to show that they are joined in a "united kingdom." The arms of Canada take this a step further by quartering the arms of England, Scotland, Ireland and France, with three maple leaves added to the base of the shield, to indicate the joinder of peoples from these countries in Canada. Quartering, then, is not usually used simply to provide a way to portray four different things, as seems to be the case with Lambda Chi's arms. Applying the traditional rules to Lambda Chi's arms, a herald not otherwise familiar with the arms would quite possibly assume that the four quarters indicate four antecedent groups from which Lambda Chi was formed.
Second, as Tom said, Lambda Chi's arms are the most "ornate" of any GLO's. But arms were meant primarily for identification, up-close or at a distance, so that a standard rule of heraldry is that simple is better,
i.e., more easily recognizable. According to heraldic rules, more complex and ornate shields are not necessarily better. (Note that I'm only talking about design shown on the shield itself -- the elaborateness of the overall execution of the arms, the shape of the shield, and the like are matters of taste left up to the artist. The same coat-of-arms could be painted by one artist as very plain and by another as very ornate, and both would be correct as far the rules are heraldry are concerned as long as the elements of the arms are accurately reproduced.)
Please know that I'm am not slamming Lambda Chi or its arms, which are very beautiful. But when it comes to a description like "most heraldically correct," I think a nod has to be given to numerous other GLOs that have arms that are quite correct according to the rules of heraldry: Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Theta Pi, FIJI, Sigma Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, to name a few. (Notice I do not include my own fraternity in this list. While our coat-of-arms are meaningful to me, they are not heraldically correct.) A special nod should be given to the arms of Pi Beta Phi, which recall that, according to traditional rules of heraldry, a woman's arms are borne on a lozenge (diamond shape), not on a shield.
Now back to our regularly scheduled post.