# Have we discussed Terry Pratchett's coat of arms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864 "2010-11-08T03:17:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/1 "2010-11-08T03:17:29Z")
Apparently it was awarded in April. You can see it halfway down the page[here](http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Newsletter/026.htm). “The Arms are blazoned: Sable an ankh between four Roundels in saltire each issuing Argent.” The way the roundels are positioned, they make the background look like a cross. I appologize if there’s already been a thread on this. I searched, but may have missed it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/2 "2010-11-08T03:22:40Z")
> [@pretentious wankers](#): > > The Crest is Upon a Helm with a Wreath Argent and Sable On Water Barry wavy Sable Argent and Sable an Owl affronty wings displayed and inverted Or supporting thereby two closed Books erect Gules. Speak English!!! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/3 "2010-11-08T03:35:27Z")
What, no hippos? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/4 "2010-11-08T03:40:18Z")
Hah! It features an Anhk and a Morepork owl. And the motto is “Don’t Fear the Reaper!” ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/5 "2010-11-08T03:40:48Z")
Pratchett deserves his own realm. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/6 "2010-11-08T04:03:25Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Pratchett deserves his own realm. Well, he’s sort of got one. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/7 "2010-11-08T04:08:03Z")
Too fucking cool. Needs hippos. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/8 "2010-11-08T14:38:17Z")
Yeah, I was sort of expecting hippos. I wonder if the black background is a shout out for Vetinari. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/9 "2010-11-08T14:43:21Z")
What would a hippo be called in Pretentious Wankerish? And can anybody supply a translation of the description to Her Majesty’s English or a close approximation thereabouts? I mean, I can see what the coat of arms looks like (aww, no hippos? they could have put two hippos at the bottom, butt-to-butt, ehm, excuse me, “vigilant”) but that description seems to be a good chance to fatten my vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/10 "2010-11-08T14:48:02Z")
Huh. A lot of coats of arms are aesthetically displeasing, like the one at the top of the page, but that one actually looks pretty neat. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/11 "2010-11-08T14:55:30Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > aesthetically displeasing, like the one at the top of the page I like the arms there, not the crest. A coati? And strongly asymmetric crests and supports are hard to pull off anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/12 "2010-11-08T15:18:38Z")
“Noli timere messorem”. Way cool… ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/13 "2010-11-08T16:21:43Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Speak English!!! The Arms are blazoned: Sable (the tincture black) an ankh (a charge, that is a picture, of an ankh) between four Roundels (discs) in saltire (upright cross, as opposed to an X cross) each issuing Argent (emiting the metal silver). Tinctures are colors, and metals are silver (argent) and gold (or). A color can be on a metal, and a metal can be on a color, but colors can’t be placed on colors, nor metals on metals, because it’s too damned hard to figure out who is who in a heated battle if those combinations are allowed. This WAS in Heraldic English. It’s just jargon, and can be easily learned. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/14 "2010-11-08T16:22:47Z")
Oh, and I am VERY disappointed in the lack of hippos, too. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/15 "2010-11-08T16:28:57Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The Arms are blazoned: Sable (the tincture black) an ankh (a charge, that is a picture, of an ankh) between four Roundels (discs) in saltire (upright cross, as opposed to an X cross) each issuing Argent (emiting the metal silver). > > Tinctures are colors, and metals are silver (argent) and gold (or). A color can be on a metal, and a metal can be on a color, but colors can’t be placed on colors, nor metals on metals, because it’s too damned hard to figure out who is who in a heated battle if those combinations are allowed. > > This WAS in Heraldic English. It’s just jargon, and can be easily learned. It’s funny by the way that the language of English Heraldry is French, anyone knows why (Norman legacy FTW?) ? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/16 "2010-11-08T16:41:59Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > “Noli timere messorem”. > > Way cool… Cool thought, at least, but… Messor is a very minor figure in Greek myth, an assistant to the goddess Ceres, who is a _literal_ reaper (she has other assistants for other stages of agriculture, like plowing). As far as I know, there is no connection anywhere between the figure of Messor and the metaphoric act of “reaping” lives by the various personifications of Death, as in the medieval image of the scythe-wielding Grim Reaper. So while this may be a literal translation of “don’t fear the reaper,” it doesn’t carry the same meaning in Latin as that would in English. “Noli timere mortem” would have been a truer way to say in Latin what “don’t fear the reaper” means in English (Mors, or Thanatos, is both literal death and the personified figure of Death–just not carrying agricultural tools). Of course, the whole thing seems to be done with tongue in cheek, so maybe we’re not supposed to worry about what the Latin “really” means, just the translation back again. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/17 "2010-11-08T17:14:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > …four Roundels (discs) in saltire (upright cross, as opposed to an X cross) each issuing Argent (emiting the metal silver). A saltire _is_ an X-cross, also called a St. Andrew’s Cross. “In saltire” means the roundels are arranged as if at the ends of an X’s strokes. “Each issuing” means the roundels are a little “off the edge” of the shield, appearing to enter into the visible field from somewhere else. If that phrase were deleted, you’d be able to see the whole circumference of each circle within the outline of the shield. The “argent” at the end is indeed silver, but it refers to the color of the roundels themselves (which could therefore also be called _plates_). > [@Nava](#): > > What would a hippo be called in Pretentious Wankerish? A heraldic hippo is called a _hippopotamus_. The family of John Hanning Speke received augmentations to their arms including new supports of a crocodile and a hippopotamus (a _sinister_ hippopotamus, at that ;)) in recognition of Speke’s adventures in African exploration in the 1850s and '60s. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/18 "2010-11-08T17:26:04Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Of course, the whole thing seems to be done with tongue in cheek, so maybe we’re not supposed to worry about what the Latin “really” means, just the translation back again. Apropos, as Pterry loves his tongue-in-cheek pseudo-Latin. This is the man who gave us “FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC,” after all. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/19 "2010-11-08T18:03:47Z")
> [@](#): > > The Arms are blazoned: Sable (the tincture black) an ankh (a charge, that is a picture, of an ankh) between four Roundels (discs) in saltire (upright cross, as opposed to an X cross) each issuing Argent (emiting the metal silver). > > Tinctures are colors, and metals are silver (argent) and gold (or). A color can be on a metal, and a metal can be on a color, but colors can’t be placed on colors, nor metals on metals, because it’s too damned hard to figure out who is who in a heated battle if those combinations are allowed. Wait, I thought that sable was a fur (along with ermine and the like), not a tincture. The tinctures would be azure, vert, and the like. And I notice no color is specified for the ankh, either. Is it just expected that it be proper unless specified otherwise? But what is the proper coloring for an ankh, anyway? Oh, and it doesn’t have hippos because that’s Ankh’s crest, not Sir Pterry’s. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864/20 "2010-11-08T18:07:54Z")
No excuse. Still needs hippos. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-discussed-terry-pratchetts-coat-of-arms/559864.md?page=2)