ad U.S. Heraldic Registry � Registrations/Center for Historical Fencing, The ?

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The Center for Historical Fencing


Registration number 20150203D


This certifies that the heraldic arms of The Center for Historical Fencing are registered and described by the blazon below

Arms: Sable two swords argent crossed in saltire with points upward enfiling a fencing master's crown Or
Crest: On a wreath Sable and Or, a fencing master of the 1500s proper, doublet Or laced and slashed Sable, beret Sable, with a sword Argent
Motto: To Master the Play

Rationale

Sable is the traditional color of the protective equipment of a fencing master. Swords were used in the arms of the English Masters of Defense, the Academy of Paris, and of German fencing guilds and are emblematic of both training and combat with the sword. The Fencing Master's Crown is a device that appears in Italian illustrations of sword technique in instructional texts from the 1400s to indicate the master. The clothing of the master on the crest is consistent with descriptions of an English fencing master of the 1500s and with contemporary landsknecht clothing. The motto is a play on words, with master suggesting both the fencing master and success in combat and play as a reference to playing a prize, the traditional test for certification of fencing masters, or to fencing itself.

Note

No previous grant or registration. The fencing master's crown is a simple unadorned circlet with three projections - see Filippo Vadi's Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi. The closest illustration in my library is in von Volborth's Heraldry: Customs, Rules, and Styles, number 738 (minus the balls and the ornamentation on the circlet). Other cruder illustrations show a circlet with 5 projections that appear to be simple triangular spikes.

Registered by

Walter G. Green III

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Association, US, C

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