Fig. 84.—End of Twelfth Century.
Fig. 85.—Late Fourteenth Century.
Fig. 86.—Later Fourteenth Century.
Fig. 87.—Fifteenth Century.
The exact proportion which charges should bear to the field cannot, of course, be stated with accuracy, there being no ready means of measurement, even if such were desirable, and it must necessarily remain a matter for artistic perception to find the just mean between crowding a space and failing to fill it. It is evident also that the proportion would be modified by circumstances, such as the character of the charge (whether condensed or dispersed), and also to some extent by colour, with regard to the respective effects of light on dark or dark on light as affecting apparent size. It may, however, be suggested that the charges should be insisted upon to the fullest extent that is compatible with the general style of the design, the field remaining of such weight that the Scottish quarter of the Royal Banner, for example, if seen as a mass at a distance, will tell as gold rather than red. And after all is said, the actual balance must be left to the decision of the trained eye.
When strong outline filled in with colour is the method of working, due allowance must be made for the tendency of the line to become merged in the darker of the two tinctures; and the object will therefore need to be drawn slightly larger or smaller accordingly.