A laconic phrase or laconism is a concise or terse statement, especially a blunt and elliptical rejoinder. It is named after Laconia , the region of Greece including the city of Sparta , whose ancient inhabitants had a reputation for verbal austerity and were famous for their often pithy remarks.
34-525: Blazon Arms: Quarterly 1st and 4th, Argent two Chevronels between three Ravens each having an Ermine Spot in its beak Sable and between the chevronels three Pellets; 2nd and 3rd, Gules three Towers Argent. Viscount Ashbrook is a title in the Peerage of Ireland . It was created in 1751 for Henry Flower, 2nd Baron Castle Durrow . The title of Baron Castle Durrow , in the County of Kilkenny, had been created in
68-643: A Bar Gules in the Chief a demi-Eagle Sable displayed addextré of the Sun-in-splendour and senestré of a Crescent Argent in the Base seven Towers three and four Gules (for Transylvania ); enté en point Gules a double-headed Eagle proper on a Peninsula Vert holding a Vase pouring Water into the Sea Argent beneath a Crown proper with bands Azure (for Fiume ); over all an escutcheon Barry of eight Gules and Argent impaling Gules on
102-668: A Mount Vert a Crown Or issuant therefrom a double-Cross Argent (for Hungary ) . The field of a shield in heraldry can be divided into more than one tincture , as can the various heraldic charges . Many coats of arms consist simply of a division of the field into two contrasting tinctures. These are considered divisions of a shield, so the rule of tincture can be ignored. For example, a shield divided azure and gules would be perfectly acceptable. A line of partition may be straight or it may be varied. The variations of partition lines can be wavy, indented, embattled, engrailed, nebuly , or made into myriad other forms; see Line (heraldry) . In
136-507: A Thames fishergirl became a viscountess" (FeedARead.com, 2014). A biography of Betty Ridge (1745–1808) who married William Flower, 2nd Viscount Ashbrook (1744–1780), and history of the Ridge and Flower families Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology , a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms , flag or similar emblem , from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb to blazon means to create such
170-500: A chief undé and a saltire undé . Full descriptions of shields range in complexity, from a single word to a convoluted series describing compound shields: Quarterly I. Azure three Lions' Heads affronté Crowned Or (for Dalmatia ); II. chequy Argent and Gules (for Croatia ); III. Azure a River in Fess Gules bordered Argent thereon a Marten proper beneath a six-pointed star Or (for Slavonia ); IV. per Fess Azure and Or over all
204-605: A child". Socrates was known to have admired Spartan laws, as did many other Athenians , but modern scholars have doubted the seriousness of his attribution of a secret love of philosophy to Spartans. Still, the Spartans Myson of Chenae and Chilon of Sparta have traditionally been counted among the Seven Sages of Greece ; both were famous for many laconic sayings. In general, however, Spartans were expected to be men of few words, to hold rhetoric in disdain, and to stick to
238-418: A description. The visual depiction of a coat of arms or flag has traditionally had considerable latitude in design, but a verbal blazon specifies the essentially distinctive elements. A coat of arms or flag is therefore primarily defined not by a picture but rather by the wording of its blazon (though in modern usage flags are often additionally and more precisely defined using geometrical specifications). Blazon
272-478: A pattern of vertical (palewise) stripes is called paly . A pattern of diagonal stripes may be called bendy or bendy sinister , depending on the direction of the stripes. Other variations include chevrony , gyronny and chequy . Wave shaped stripes are termed undy . For further variations, these are sometimes combined to produce patterns of barry-bendy , paly-bendy , lozengy and fusilly . Semés, or patterns of repeated charges, are also considered variations of
306-470: A pompous speaker. A prominent example of a laconism involving Philip II of Macedon was reported by the historian Plutarch . After invading southern Greece and receiving the submission of other key city-states , Philip turned his attention to Sparta and asked menacingly whether he should come as friend or foe. The reply was "Neither." Losing patience, he sent the message: If I invade Laconia, I shall turn you out. The Spartan ephors again replied with
340-595: A reputation for laconic humor: Icelanders in the sagas , and, in the Anglophone world, Australians ( cf. Australian humor ), American cowboys , New Englanders , and people from Northern England . Spartans paid less attention than other ancient Greeks to the development of education , arts , and literature . Some view this as having contributed to the characteristically blunt Laconian speech. However, Socrates , in Plato 's dialogue Protagoras , appears to reject
374-475: A single word: If. Philip proceeded to invade Laconia, devastate much of it, and eject the Spartans from various parts. The Spartans were especially famous for their dry, understated wit, which is now known as "laconic humor". This can be contrasted with the " Attic salt" or "Attic wit" – the refined, poignant, delicate humour of Sparta's chief rival, Athens . Various groups in more recent history also have
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#1732869386786408-630: A verbal description) are not to be confused with the noun emblazonment , or the verb to emblazon , both of which relate to the graphic representation of a coat of arms or heraldic device. The word blazon is derived from French blason , ' shield ' . It is found in English by the end of the 14th century. Formerly, heraldic authorities believed that the word was related to the German verb blasen ' to blow (a horn) ' . Present-day lexicographers reject this theory as conjectural and disproved. Blazon
442-505: Is also the specialized language in which a blazon is written, and, as a verb, the act of writing such a description. Blazonry is the art, craft or practice of creating a blazon. The language employed in blazonry has its own vocabulary , grammar and syntax , which becomes essential for comprehension when blazoning a complex coat of arms. Other armorial objects and devices – such as badges , banners , and seals – may also be described in blazon. The noun and verb blazon (referring to
476-402: Is drawn with straight lines, but each may be indented, embattled, wavy, engrailed, or otherwise have their lines varied. A charge is any object or figure placed on a heraldic shield or on any other object of an armorial composition. Any object found in nature or technology may appear as a heraldic charge in armory. Charges can be animals, objects, or geometric shapes. Apart from the ordinaries,
510-401: Is four, but the principle has been extended to very large numbers of "quarters". The third common mode of marshalling is with an inescutcheon , a small shield placed in front of the main shield. The field of a shield, or less often a charge or crest, is sometimes made up of a pattern of colours, or variation . A pattern of horizontal (barwise) stripes, for example, is called barry , while
544-412: Is generally designed to eliminate ambiguity of interpretation, to be as concise as possible, and to avoid repetition and extraneous punctuation. English antiquarian Charles Boutell stated in 1864: Heraldic language is most concise, and it is always minutely exact, definite, and explicit; all unnecessary words are omitted, and all repetitions are carefully avoided; and, at the same time, every detail
578-550: Is specified with absolute precision. The nomenclature is equally significant, and its aim is to combine definitive exactness with a brevity that is indeed laconic . However, John Brooke-Little , Norroy and Ulster King of Arms , wrote in 1985: "Although there are certain conventions as to how arms shall be blazoned ... many of the supposedly hard and fast rules laid down in heraldic manuals [including those by heralds] are often ignored." A given coat of arms may be drawn in many different ways, all considered equivalent and faithful to
612-474: Is to adhere to the feminine singular form, for example: a chief undée and a saltire undée , even though the French nouns chef and sautoir are in fact masculine. Efforts have been made to ignore grammatical correctness, for example by J. E. Cussans , who suggested that all French adjectives should be expressed in the masculine singular, without regard to the gender and number of the nouns they qualify, thus
646-434: The inescutcheon , the orle , the tressure, the double tressure, the bordure , the chief , the canton , the label , and flaunches . Ordinaries may appear in parallel series, in which case blazons in English give them different names such as pallets, bars, bendlets, and chevronels. French blazon makes no such distinction between these diminutives and the ordinaries when borne singly. Unless otherwise specified an ordinary
680-482: The French form is used, a problem may arise as to the appropriate adjectival ending, determined in normal French usage by gender and number. "To describe two hands as appaumées , because the word main is feminine in French, savours somewhat of pedantry. A person may be a good armorist, and a tolerable French scholar, and still be uncertain whether an escallop-shell covered with bezants should be blazoned as bezanté or bezantée". The usual convention in English heraldry
714-580: The Peerage of Ireland in 1733 for his father William Flower . He was a Colonel in the Army and also represented County Kilkenny and Portarlington in the Irish House of Commons . He was praised by Jonathan Swift as "a gentleman of very great sense and wit". As of 2022, the titles are held by the eleventh Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1995. The family seat is Arley Hall , near Arley , Cheshire . Until 1922,
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#1732869386786748-624: The arms small and inconspicuous marks called brisures , similar to charges but smaller. They are placed on the fess-point , or in-chief in the case of the label. Brisures are generally exempt from the rule of tincture . One of the best examples of usage from the medieval period is shown on the seven Beauchamp cadets in the stained-glass windows of St Mary's Church , Warwick. Laconic A laconic phrase may be used for efficiency (as during military training and operations), for emphasis, for philosophical reasons (especially among thinkers who believe in minimalism, such as Stoics ), or to deflate
782-551: The blazon, just as the letter "A" may be printed in many different fonts while still being the same letter. For example, the shape of the escutcheon is almost always immaterial, with very limited exceptions (e.g., the coat of arms of Nunavut , for which a round shield is specified). The main conventions of blazon are as follows: Because heraldry developed at a time when English clerks wrote in Anglo-Norman French , many terms in English heraldry are of French origin. Some of
816-399: The details of the syntax of blazon also follow French practice: thus, adjectives are normally placed after nouns rather than before. A number of heraldic adjectives may be given in either a French or an anglicised form: for example, a cross pattée or a cross patty ; a cross fitchée or a cross fitchy . In modern English blazons, the anglicised form tends to be preferred. Where
850-470: The early days of heraldry, very simple bold rectilinear shapes were painted on shields. These could be easily recognized at a long distance and could be easily remembered. They therefore served the main purpose of heraldry: identification. As more complicated shields came into use, these bold shapes were set apart in a separate class as the "honorable ordinaries". They act as charges and are always written first in blazon. Unless otherwise specified they extend to
884-422: The edges of the field. Though ordinaries are not easily defined, they are generally described as including the cross , the fess , the pale , the bend , the chevron , the saltire , and the pall . There is a separate class of charges called sub-ordinaries which are of a geometrical shape subordinate to the ordinary. According to Friar, they are distinguished by their order in blazon. The sub-ordinaries include
918-414: The field per pale and putting one whole coat in each half. Impalement replaced the earlier dimidiation – combining the dexter half of one coat with the sinister half of another – because dimidiation can create ambiguity. A more versatile method is quartering , division of the field by both vertical and horizontal lines. As the name implies, the usual number of divisions
952-405: The field. The Rule of tincture applies to all semés and variations of the field. Cadency is any systematic way to distinguish arms displayed by descendants of the holder of a coat of arms when those family members have not been granted arms in their own right. Cadency is necessary in heraldic systems in which a given design may be owned by only one person at any time, generally the head of
986-529: The idea that Spartans' economy with words was simply a consequence of poor literary education: "... they conceal their wisdom, and pretend to be blockheads, so that they may seem to be superior only because of their prowess in battle ... This is how you may know that I am speaking the truth and that the Spartans are the best educated in philosophy and speaking : if you talk to any ordinary Spartan, he seems to be stupid, but eventually, like an expert marksman, he shoots in some brief remark that proves you to be only
1020-409: The left hind foot). Another frequent position is passant , or walking, like the lions of the coat of arms of England . Eagles are almost always shown with their wings spread, or displayed. A pair of wings conjoined is called a vol . In English heraldry the crescent , mullet , martlet , annulet , fleur-de-lis , and rose may be added to a shield to distinguish cadet branches of a family from
1054-420: The most frequent charges are the cross – with its hundreds of variations – and the lion and eagle . Other common animals are stags , wild boars , martlets , and fish . Dragons , bats , unicorns , griffins , and more exotic monsters appear as charges and as supporters . Animals are found in various stereotyped positions or attitudes . Quadrupeds can often be found rampant (standing on
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1088-641: The principal seat of the family was Castle Durrow , near Durrow , County Kilkenny ; in England they also owned Beaumont Lodge , near Old Windsor , Berkshire , and the manor of Shellingford in Shellingford , Berkshire (presently Oxfordshire ). The heir apparent is the present holder's son Hon. Rowland Francis Warburton Flower (b. 1975) The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son Benjamin Warburton Flower (b. 2006). Godson, Julie Ann, "The Water Gypsy. How
1122-500: The senior line of a particular family. As an armiger 's arms may be used "by courtesy", either by children or spouses, while they are still living, some form of differencing may be required so as not to confuse them with the original undifferenced or "plain coat" arms. Historically, arms were only heritable by males and therefore cadency marks had no relevance to daughters; in the modern era, Canadian and Irish heraldry include daughters in cadency. These differences are formed by adding to
1156-417: The senior line. These cadency marks are usually shown smaller than normal charges, but it still does not follow that a shield containing such a charge belongs to a cadet branch. All of these charges occur frequently in basic undifferenced coats of arms. To marshal two or more coats of arms is to combine them in one shield. This can be done in a number of ways, of which the simplest is impalement : dividing
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