In heraldry Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander". The word, in its most general sense, encompasses all matters relating to, an ordinary (or honourable ordinary) is a simple geometrical figure, bounded by straight lines and running from side to side or top to bottom of the shield In heraldry, an escutcheon , or scutcheon, is the shield displayed in a coat of arms. The term "crest" is often used incorrectly to designate this part of the coat of arms. The escutcheon shape is based on the Medieval shields that were used by knights in combat, and varied by region and time period accordingly. Since this shape has been. There are also some geometric charges In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design (sometimes called an ordinary) or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device. In French blazon, the ordinaries are called pièces while other charges are called meubles (i.e. "mobile"; this known as subordinaries, which have been given lesser status by some heraldic writers, though most have been in use as long as the traditional ordinaries. Diminutives of ordinaries and some subordinaries are charges of the same shape, though thinner. Most of the ordinaries are theoretically said to occupy one-third of the shield; but this is rarely observed in practice, except when the ordinary is the only charge (as in the coat of arms of Austria The current coat of arms of Austria, albeit without the broken chains, has been in use by the Republic of Austria since 1919. Between 1934 and the German annexation in 1938 Austria used a different coat of arms, which consisted of a double-headed eagle. The establishment of the Second Republic in 1945 saw the return of the original arms, with).
The terms ordinary and subordinary are somewhat controversial, as they have been applied arbitrarily and inconsistently among authors, and the use of these terms has been disparaged by some leading heraldic authorities.[1] In his Complete Guide to Heraldry (1909), Arthur Charles Fox-Davies Arthur Charles Fox-Davies , was a British author on heraldry. By profession, he was a barrister but he also worked as a journalist and novelist asserted that the terms are likely inventions of heraldic writers and not of heralds,[2] arguing the "utter absurdity of the necessity for any [such] classification at all," and stating that the ordinaries and sub-ordinaries are, in his mind, "no more than first charges."[3]
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Ordinaries
Ordinaries (sometimes called "honourable ordinaries") are almost like partitions, but are handled like objects. Though there is some debate as to exactly which geometrical charges - with straight edges and running from edge to edge of the shield - constitute ordinaries, certain ones are agreed on by everyone. Except for the chief they are central to the shield.
- Cross: vertical/horizontal cross +, as in the arms of the City of London The City of London is a small area within Greater London, United Kingdom. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though remains.
- Pale: a vertical stripe right down the middle of the shield.
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- A variant is the Canadian pale, invented in 1964 for the new Canadian national flag The National Flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and l'Unifolié , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag. The Canadian Red Ensign had been unofficially used: it takes up half the width of the field.
- Fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by a fess or other ordinary, ranging from one-fifth to one-third. The Oxford Guide to Heraldry states that earlier writers including: a horizontal stripe, as in the coat of arms of Austria The current coat of arms of Austria, albeit without the broken chains, has been in use by the Republic of Austria since 1919. Between 1934 and the German annexation in 1938 Austria used a different coat of arms, which consisted of a double-headed eagle. The establishment of the Second Republic in 1945 saw the return of the original arms, with.
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- Bar In heraldry, a fess or fesse is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by a fess or other ordinary, ranging from one-fifth to one-third. The Oxford Guide to Heraldry states that earlier writers including: a narrower fess (said in theory to occupy one-fifth of the field), sometimes reckoned as an ordinary in its own right. It is rarely borne singly, but an example is in the arms of Hawarden Rural District Council.
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- In vexillology Vexillology is the scholarly study of flags. The word is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum, meaning "flag", and the suffix -logy, meaning "study of". The vexillum was a particular type of flag used by Roman legions during the classical era; its name is a diminutive form of the word vela meaning sail, and thus literally, a fess significantly wider than one-third of the height of the field is called a Spanish fess, after its use in the flag of Spain The flag of Spain , as it is defined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle stripe was defined by the more archaic term of gualda, and hence the popular name Rojigualda (red-weld).
- Bend: an oblique band from the dexter chief (the bearer's upper right, viewer's upper left) to the opposite corner, as in the arms of the former grand duchy of Baden Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany.
- Chevron A chevron is a V-shaped pattern. The word is usually used in reference to a kind of fret in architecture, or to a badge or insignia used in military or police uniforms to indicate rank or length of service, or in heraldry and the designs of flags (see flag terminology): like the beams of a gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable; as in the arms of Trans, Switzerland. The legs of a chevron usually form a roughly right angle; a chevron with a strongly acute angle is termed a chevron enhanced, and a chevron with an obtuse angle is termed a chevron diminished.
- Saltire A saltire, Saint Andrew's Cross, or crux decussata , is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross (☓, unicode sign U+2613) or letter ex (x). Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross or St Andrew's cross: diagonal cross × as in the Scots national banner The Flag of Scotland, also known as the Saint Andrew's Cross or more commonly The Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland. As the national flag, the Saltire differs from the Royal Standard of Scotland in that it is the Saltire which is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to demonstrate both their loyalty and (often referred to simply as 'the Saltire') and in the arms of Newquay Town Council, England.
- Chief: horizontal band right across the top of the shield, as in the arms of the district of Lausanne (Vaud, Switzerland).
The following are sometimes classed as ordinaries, sometimes as subordinaries (see below):[4]
- Bordure: the boundary of the shield; often used for cadency In heraldry, cadency is any systematic way of distinguishing similar coats of arms belonging to members of the same family. Cadency is necessary in heraldic systems in which a given design may be owned by only one person at once. Because heraldic designs may be inherited, the arms of members of a family will usually be similar to the arms used by.
- Pile: downward pointing triangle, with its top edge right at the top of the shield -- Gower Rural District Council, Wales.
- Pall or Pairle: a Y-shape, as in the Canadian coat of New Caledonia College.
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- A variant is the shakefork: a pall cut short of the margins, with pointed ends. It is frequent in Scotland, owing to its prominence in the armory of Clan Cunningham Clan Cunningham is a Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an Armigerous clan by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, though recently two contenders for the chiefship have emerged. Legal opinion is currently being sought and the best claimant will then petition Lord Lyon for recognition.
Lines of variation
Main article: Line (heraldry)Ordinaries need not be bounded by straight lines.
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a cross engrailed |
a bend dancetty |
three bars wavy |
a bend fir-twigged and wavy |
Subordinaries
Some geometric figures are not considered to be "honourable ordinaries" and are called 'subordinaries'. Very loosely, they are geometric or conventional charges that, unlike ordinaries, don’t stretch from edge to edge of the shield. There is no definitive list or definition, but they generally include:
Fixed subordinaries
- Quarter: the dexter chief quadrant of the shield, as in the arms of Weston-super-Mare Town Council, England.
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- Canton: smaller than the quarter, formally said to occupy one-ninth of the shield, as in the arms of the former Billingham Urban District Council, though sometimes drawn smaller. The canton is often said to be the quarter's diminutive, but perhaps it should be treated as a subordinary in its own right as it fulfils heraldic functions not fulfilled by the quarter, and behaves according to its own special rules - as for example in the case of the canton on which baronets in the UK may display the badges of their 'rank', which is very rarely shown occupying such a large area as the upper left third of the field, and is usually much less and very often shown not as square but as a rectangle with its longer side vertical. very occasionally a 'sinister canton' is found, this canton being over to the shield's other side - Gules, on a bend Or two cinquefoils azure, on a sinister canton argent a cross crosslet fitchy issuing out of a crescent of the first - all within a bordure of the second', Cook (Fox-Davies p 217, f 549) and the coat of 11the Field Artillery Regiment, USA.
- Flaunches, always borne in pairs: a circular arc emerging out of each flank of the shield, as in the arms of Harlow District Council, England.
- Fret: interlacing bendlet, bendlet sinister and mascle, as in the arms of the old Merton and Morden Urban District Council, England.
- Gyron: the half of a quarter cut diagonally, said to be an old charge but rare although there are modern examples - 'Vert; six barrulets dovetailed on the lower sides argent, over all the sun in his splendour Or; along with in dexter base a sixth gyron voided also Or'.[5]
- Orle: A bordure separated from the outside of the shield as in the coat of Barnard Castle Town Council, England. Although the orle's diminutive is the tressure, there are examples of a "fillet orles" (orles narrower than usual), as in the South African coat of the Brotherhood of the Blessed Gérard (relief organisation of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta). It is often said that an orle may not have other charges charged on it, but the Scots Public Register vol 1, p 380, dating 1672-81, has the arms of Norie of Noristone, 'Parted per pale argent and sable, an orle engrailed on both sides charged with four quatrefoils, within a bordure, all counter-changed'. When a number of charges (eight unless otherwise specified) are arranged as if on a bordure, they are said to be in orle or to form an orle of, as in the English coat of Blackwell Rural District Council.
- Tressure: a thinner version and hence diminutive of the orle, as in the Canadian coat of Calder. The most famous tressure is probably the double tressure flory counter flory in the royal coat of arms of Scotland The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland was the official coat of arms of the monarchs of Scotland, and were used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland until the Acts of Union of 1707. The blazon of the arms of the Kingdom of Scotland changed markedly following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, and ultimately went on to become the Royal. Tressures with other ornamentation exist, such as with maple leaves as in the coat of Churchill, Canada; elsewhere crescents, thistles, and roses can be found ornamenting double tressures.
Mobile subordinaries
- Escutcheon In heraldry, an escutcheon , or scutcheon, is the shield displayed in a coat of arms. The term "crest" is often used incorrectly to designate this part of the coat of arms. The escutcheon shape is based on the Medieval shields that were used by knights in combat, and varied by region and time period accordingly. Since this shape has been: a shield used as a charge, as in the former arms of Ampthill Rural District Council, England. When one escutcheon is borne in the centre of the coat, it is sometimes called an inescutcheon or an escutcheon of pretence or an escutcheon en surtout. Such centrally placed escutcheons need have no particular significance - e.g. arms of Bedlington and Wallington, Borough Council, England. But, for example, in arms of dominion an inescutcheon typically shows the dynastic arms of the prince, whose possessions are shown in the quarters of the main shield; current examples include the arms of the Danish Royal Family The Danish Royal Family includes The Queen of Denmark and her family. All members hold the title of Prince or Princess of Denmark with the style of His or Her Royal Highness , or His or Her Highness (Hans or Hendes Højhed). The Queen and her siblings belong to the House of Glücksburg, a branch of the House of Oldenburg. The Queen's children and, with an inescutcheon of the house of Oldenburg Categories: European royal families | German noble houses | Danish noble houses | Royal families of Sweden | Danish royalty , and the coat of arms of Spain, with an inescutcheon of the house of Bourbon The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples and Sicily, and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg currently have Bourbon monarchs-Anjou. In Scots heraldry the escutcheon en surtout serves several different purposes
- Lozenge: a rhombus with its long axis upright, resembling the diamond Diamonds is one of the four suits found in the "international" deck of playing cards. The standard "international" deck uses the French suit system of playing-cards, as in the arms of Blaenavon Town Council, Wales.
- Fusil: a lozenge very much thinner than it is long, as in the device of the US Army 72nd Signal Battalion.
- Mascle: a voided lozenge, as in the English coat of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council [1].
- Rustre (very rare): a lozenge pierced with a round hole, as in the Scots coat Argent, on a saltire gules five rustres of the field [argent], in chief a lion rampant of the second [gules], for Dalrymple of Woodhead (Public Register vol 30, p 36).
- Roundel A roundel in heraldry is a disc; the term is also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours: a disc or ball, as in the arms of the Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two Royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits The Duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the Throne. The current Duke is Charles, Prince of Wales or of the Medici The House of Medici or de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside, gradually rising until they were able to found the Medici Bank.
Gallery of mobile subordinaries
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Or, an inescutcheon sable |
Or, three escutcheons gules |
Argent, a lozenge sable |
Argent, seven lozenges (four and three) sable |
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Gules, three lozenges argent |
Gules, three mascles Or |
Or, a roundel azure |
Azure ten bezants in pile |
