Achievements
Pictures of the arms, helm, and crest of a gentleman were
a popular form of armorial display in the Middle Ages. One custom was for men at
arms coming to take part in a tournament to display them on the walls of their
lodgings. We have adapted the custom for the passage of arms at Northpass. The
intent is an attractive display that will also make it easier for heralds and
spectators to identify you upon the field.
We have specified a size of 5" by 8" to be consistent with the size used for a similar earlier event. You can use one of two methods.
The more weatherproof and durable method is to use thin wood, plywood, or particleboard. The last, while not a medieval material, provides an excellent surface for painting with little preparation, and once painted, is indistinguishable from well-sanded and gessoed wood. You can use white paint or artist's gesso to prepare your surface. If you are using wood rather than particleboard, you may need to apply several coats, and sand between coats, to get a smooth surface for painting. Then transfer your design. One way to do this is to place carbon paper beneath your sketch, and trace it while pressing hard with a pencil or ballpoint pen. Or transfer the design by the grid method, or freehand. In the Middle Ages oil paint or egg tempera would probably have been used for the actual painting. Write your name below the shield.
A less durable, but quicker method is to complete your picture on paper, and then glue it down on heavy cardboard or illustration board. Pasteboard was used in the Middle Ages. However, many sheets of illustration board have modern logos printed on the back. Either cut your piece to avoid them, or glue your picture to the back to cover them, or glue a separate sheet over the back. You will find it easier to use a piece of cardboard or illustration board that is slightly oversized, and trim to fit later, than to line it up perfectly in the gluing process. Rubber cement, artists' spay mount, and white glue can all be used, although white glue may require some care to avoid buckling light paper.
We have provided four sample achievements, which you may use as starting points. If you wish, you can trace them, and then modify them to represent your own crest and helm, and put your own device on the shield. If you might be fighting without a shield, you will want the headgear shown to be recognizably your own. The dots in the upper corners show where you should drill or punch holes, a half-inch from the outside and upper edge. We will be using small nails to mount the achievements, so a 1/8" hole will be sufficient, but you may want to make the hole large enough for a lace or cord to hang it in other situations.
The four achievements may also provide ideas for your crest.
Examples of Crests
|
Crest A shows a mid 14th c. Italian crest, consisting of a hat worn above a simple mantling. The hat may need to be somewhat larger than normal size to look right atop a helmet. Variation on this idea were popular in Germany, with a variety of hat shapes, and in England such an arrangement would often serve as a foundation for a more elaborate crest. |
|
Crest B is from the Luttrel Psalter, ca. 1330-1340. Such a crest would often appear without the mantling, and vice versa. In this case gold balls or rings decorate the tips of the fan shaped crest, and tassels were also used. One approach to recreating such a crest might be to use corset boning or strips of rawhide to stiffen a fan of thin leather, parchment, or gessoed canvas. Frequently the fan was decorated with the owner’s arms. |
|
Crest C, from the late 14th c., is a single flat wing. In Germany the owner's arms were often painted on such crests. This can be effective if the arms are simple. |
|
Crest D, from an Italian ms ca. 1380, uses a small flag as a crest, and variations on this idea reappear throughout the 15th c. The pole for the flag should probably be reasonably resilient. The sorts of material used for corset boning might be good choices. A tightly rolled tube of rawhide might also work. All of the mantlings shown were also used without crests. |
The Zurich Wappenrolle, other rolls of arms, and contemporary depictions of medieval tournaments like King Rene’s Tournament Book provide a myriad of additional designs for crests.