Tzadkiel's ship

Mark Millman · 29 Nov 2007, 05:09 · from 2007-November.txt.gz

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From: markjmillman at gmail.com (Mark Millman)
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:09:09 -0500
Subject: (urth) Tzadkiel's ship
In-Reply-To: <474E45D0.80909 at io.com>
References: <9a33123d0711280610g2ebe9adbte27022bd9af837ca at mail.gmail.com>
	<1718.24.119.55.228.1196282468.squirrel at webmail.io.com>
	<1f7617370711281351w3eedf9c8h7ddcaa80e3f1b286 at mail.gmail.com>
	<474E45D0.80909 at io.com>
Message-ID: <c873c2920711282109x83692cat771f6e6bc8bf6855 at mail.gmail.com>

Dear Mr. Wilson:

On Saturday 28 November 2007, you wrote:

> Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:
>
> > Actually, that wasn't me, but I
> > agree with what was said. "Volant"
> > in heraldry most definitely *does*
> > mean "flying," and is not to be
> > taken figuratively - indeed, none
> > of the descriptive terms in heraldry
> > are to be taken figuratively, as
> > they are intended to instruct an
> > artist exactly how to paint the
> > arms. If the ship were in water, it
> > would be "natant."
>
> If "ship" can come to include "rockets and four
> masters and magical space time machines that
> traffic with other universes" over millenia, why
> must "volant" remain fixed in stone? If you insist
> on strictly historical heraldry, "a ship volant" is
> as meaningless a device as "a serpent rampant";
> you can't draw it because historical ships have
> no wings any more than historical serpents had
> feet.

Not so; a ship volant would show no waterline, while a ship natant would.

Best,

Mark Millman

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