The Gauntlet - April 2012

RHINOCEROS

A symbol of tenacity, vigour and concord...

The word Rhinoceros comes from two ancient Greek words - "rhino" meaning nose and "ceros" meaning head.

They are descendants of ancient times and bring with them the energy of comfort in one's own solitude. The Rhino is unpredictable, and can turn and charge with great agility and ferociousness especially when aroused or agitated. Rhinoceroses have poor eyesight but acute senses of hearing and smell. Most prefer to avoid man, but males, particularly bad-tempered during the breeding season, and females with calves may charge with little provocation. Some historians believe that the horn of the Rhinoceros, former uniceros, is in fact the horn of the legendary unicorn, symbol of chastity. The horn of the Rhino is not made of bone but of skin and hair tissue called keratin and was used by many cultures as an aphrodisiac. The skin of the Rhino could not be pierced by sword or lance and this lead to many legends written about the Rhino. "Thou shalt not conquer my army, as it likens to the skin of the mighty Rhinoceros and cannot be pierced with lance or sabre." A symbol of tenacity, vigour and concord, and may symbolize jurisdiction.

THE ROBIN

An Old World bird resembling the thrush and originally called Ruddock' or 'Redbreast'; symbol of domestic peace and tranquillity; also the mariner's bird of hope.

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THE RAT

symbol of industry

A fierce and voracious animal. In Hinduism the Rat is the most powerful of the demons and represents foresight and prudence and as such is the vehicle of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god (of wisdom, prosperity and successful endeavour), and is an object of veneration.

It is also regarded as the symbol of industry and prosperity on account of its ability for locating, acquiring, and hoarding abundant supplies of food.

THE HERALDIC ROSE

symbol of providence

The early Greeks and the Romans inexorably linked the rose to love, beauty, purity and passion.

The Christians adopted the Rose as a symbol of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and hence became a symbol of motherhood and purity. When shown stalked and leaved it has the added symbolism of protection because of the thorns. The Rose is the emblem of England and still the two counties (Yorkshire and Lancashire) replay the Wars of the Roses on the cricket field each English summer.

In heraldry, the Rose is used as a mark of distinction for the seventh son. The Red Rose is one of the badges used for the House of Lancaster and is mentioned severally in the early days of heraldry in the reigns of Henry IV and Henry V.

The White Rose was used as a badge by Richard Duke of York by his son Edward IV and was adopted by his descendants. The Jacobites also adopted it as an emblem.

The Rose can be shown as a heraldic rose or as a natural rose; symbol of providence, divination, love, beauty, purity and passion.

THE RAVEN

tokens of victory

The Raven was considered a symbol of virility or wisdom by many medieval cultures. An ancient Norse saga describes the use of Ravens by ocean navigators as guides to land, and Norse mythology describes Ravens as scouts for Odin. The Gaelic name for the raven is 'Bran,' also the name of a Celtic God; Bran offers initiation, protection, and the gift of prophecy. To the ancient Germanic tribes, Ravens were a symbol of sacrifice, for they were known for "receiving and rejoicing over sacrificial victims." The Raven was associated to thought and memory, and thus was a source of wisdom and prophetic knowledge, most particularly where such knowledge concerned omens of war. The all-powerful Viking leaders however, were known to bear the sign of the Raven upon their banners as a token of victory. Esteemed by the Romans and an ensign of the Danes, the Raven denotes prophetic counsel and is the sentinel of successful endeavours. A bearer using this device may have done so to commemorate a great battle or noted experience where a family member was killed. To the Christians, the Raven was a symbol of the Jews, of confession and of penance.

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Like their relatives the crows, Ravens were known throughout Europe as death birds and other world messengers especially if you were doomed to die in battle. It is said that dead warriors on the battlefield were called 'feeders of ravens' in Skaldic verse

Popular Free Graphic Software Serif Draw for Windows has introduced some changes worth noting. The software was in disfavour when Vista came out as the Free version of Serif would not work with the Vista operating system nor its offspring Windows 7. The new free version is now called the Draw Plus Starter Edition and works with Vista and Windows 7. We should further note that when you have Serif ready to go, to open a wmf file you don't select "open", you use "insert" from file. For those who want to try it out, click on the Serif logo.

Free software for Windows and Mac. Tips: Use "open" to open a wmf file. To ungroup the image, click once on it and choose "modify" (top command bar), then select "break". To group an image you select the image with your mouse, then choose "modify" then "Group. To download software click on the Logo.

Know of other Free graphic software programs? Please let us know so that we can post it for other members to take advantage of.

The World's Leader in Heraldry Art

We are leaving this help tip up, as more and more of you are upgrading

your Corel Draw software to X3 or X4

Corel Draw has changed some default settings in X3 and X4 that can render your vector images black, do the same for your F9 preview and in the case of X4 display your image excessively dark.

Fixes:

Top Command Bar/View Select 'enhanced' and not 'enhanced with overprints';
Top Command Bar/Tools/Color Management Color Mode for Effects-should be set at RGB (not CMYK);
Top Command Bar/Tools Select 'Save Settings as default' ;
When importing AG graphics into X4, make sure you first group your image before using the F9 full screen preview (X3 imports the graphic already grouped).