Quote:
Originally posted by Tom Earp
mysticat, by the most correct, It is just as I said.
If you look at the LXA Coat of Arms, (Crest), the things placed on it are from what was done in the Heraldry of the Days of Youre!
....
While not looking down at anyother Greek Organization, there is more intricat value to LXA than anyother.
|
Tom, with all due respect to Lambda Chi Alpha (and I think a lot of respect is indeed due), the most
intricate does not mean the most
correct. I am sure that as with many if not most GLOs, each aspect of Lambda Chi's arms has significance -- some of which can be shared with others and some of which is shared with initiates only. The arms of my fraternity are intricately and deeply meaningful to my brothers and me as well, although I will readily admit that those arms do not comply strictly with the rules of heraldry.
As I said earlier, Lambda Chi's arms are probably the most heraldically intricate and complicated of any GLO's -- they use more of the optional parts of a coat-of-arms, and with one or two possible exceptions (which I can PM you about if you like), everything is done according to heraldic rules -- but there are other, simpler GLO coats-of-arms that are just as "correct" heraldically speaking. Beta Theta Pi, Alpha Tau Omega, Tau Kappa Epsilon, FIJI, Delta Upsilon, Sigma Chi and Phi Delta Theta (just to pick some examples, and not even getting into sororities) all have arms that are completely correct according to heraldic rules. They may not be as intricate Lambda Chi's, but they are just as "correct" as Lambda Chi's. That is to say, they each have the necessary components of a coat-of-arms and they each follow heraldic rules in the design of those components.
The reality is that unlike many European and British Commonwealth countries, the US has no heraldic authority that regulates the design and use of arms. The result is that individuals and groups are free to use whatever design they like, and adherance to the rules of heraldry is the exception rather than the rule here. I think that's okay -- as long as the arms have meaning for those who use them and are distinctive enough to avoid confusion, then what's the problem?
