662 



HERALDRY 



Bendlet, the Cotise or Cost, and the Ribbon. The 

 ribbon is sometimes couped or cut short so as not 

 to touch the edges of the shield. The cotise some- 

 times accompanies the bend in pairs on eacli side, 

 when it is said to be Cotised, and the same term 

 is sometimes applied with less propriety to a fess 

 or chevron accompanied by a pair of its diminu- 

 tives. The Bend-sinister (5), a band crossing the 

 shield from sinister chief to dexter base. Its 

 diminutive, the Baton-sinister (q.v. ), couped, and 

 borne over all is a mark of illegitimacy. The 

 Chevron (6), a figure composed of two bands or 

 limbs issuing from dexter and sinister base, and 

 meeting about the honour point. Its diminutives 

 are the Chevronel, which never appears singly, and 

 the Couple-close, "which sometimes accompanies the 

 chevron in pairs, one on each side. The Cross (7), 

 of the form of the Greek cross, with equal limbs. 



13. Treasure. 14. Canton. 15. Flanches. 16. Lozenge. 



17. Mascle. 18. Fusil. 19. Fusils conjoined. 20. Billet. 



21. Roundle. 22. Annulet. 23. Escutcheon. 24. Fret. 

 Fig. IV. Ordinaries and Subordinaries. 



It has numerous varieties, most frequently borne in 

 numbers or with other charges, for which see CROSS. 

 Any of them is said to be fitchee when its lower 

 limb terminates in a sharp point. The Saltire (8), 

 a St Andrew's Cross, or combination of the bends 

 dexter and sinister, often borne along with a chief 

 in the heraldry of Scotland. The Pile (9), a tri- 

 angular wedge-shaped figure, issuing usually from 

 the chief with point downwards. Three piles are 

 often borne together. The Pall ( 10), the upper part 

 of a saltire combined with the lower part of a pale. 

 A variety of it, couped and pointed at the extremi- 

 ties, occurs in Scotland under the name of a Shake- 

 fork. The Bordure (11), a border surrounding the 

 shield, sometimes used as a principal figure, some- 

 times as a difference. The Orle (12) and the 

 Treasure (13) are sometimes classed as its diminu- 



tives. The former is a narrower bordure detached 

 from the edge of the shield. The latter, borne 

 double and flowered and counterfiowered with 

 fleurs-de-lis, occurs in the royal shield of Scotland, 

 and is a bearing greatly esteemed in Scottish 

 heraldry. The Quarter is the upper dexter fourth 

 part of the shield, cut off' by a vertical and a 

 horizontal line meeting in the fess point. The 

 Canton (14), of more frequent occurrence, is a 

 smaller figure like it, and also in dexter chief, 

 ninless otherwise specified. The half of a canton 

 parted per bend is called a Gyron, chiefly known 

 in British heraldry as giving its name to the field 

 Gyronny. Flanches (15), borne in pairs, are pro- 

 jections from each flank of the shield boundeu by 

 a segment of a circle. Their diminutives are 

 Flasques and Voiders. 



Subordinaries. The subordinaries (excluding 

 those here included in the category of honourable 

 ordinaries ) are : The Lozenge ( 16 ), a rhombus 

 with the acute angles at top and bottom. The 

 Mascle ( 17 ), a lozenge deprived of the middle part. 

 The Fusil (18), an elongated lozenge. Several 

 fusils are sometimes conjoined en fess (19), as in 

 the coat of Percy. The Billet (20), an oblong 

 figure placed perpendicularly. The Roundle (21 ), a 

 circular disc or knob. Roundles have, in English 

 heraldry, specific names in respect of their tinc- 

 tures. A roundle or is called a Bezant ; argent, a 

 Plate ; gules, a Torteau ; sable, a Pellet or Ogress ; 

 vert, a Pomme. The Annulet (22), sometimes 

 regarded by armorialists not as a ring but as a 

 pierced roundle. The Escutcheon or Inescutcheon 

 (23), a representation of a shield the latter name 

 being generally used when there is only one. It 

 is difficult to see on what principle these last two 

 charges are conventional enough to be ranked 

 among the lesser ordinaries. The Fret (24), con- 

 sisting of two narrow bendlets dexter and sinister 

 in saltire, interlaced with a mascle. 



Parted Fields. The field of an escutcheon (and 

 sometimes an ordinary or other charge) may 

 be of two or more different tinctures, divided by 



1. Per Pale. 2. Per Fess. 3. Per Saltire. 4. Quarterly. 





6. Gyronny. 



11. Pretty. 

 Kg. V. Parted Fields. 



one or more partition-lines, and the consideration 

 of partition-lines has here been postponed to this 

 point, as the nomenclature of many of them is de- 

 rived from that of the ordinaries and subordinaries. 

 When divided by a partition-line in the direction 

 of one of the ordinaries the shield is said to be 

 ' parted (or party] per that ordinary,' or simply 'per 

 that ordinary.' Thus we may have a shield parted 

 per pale (1, fig. V.), /ess (2), bend, chevron, or 

 saltire (3). A shield divided in the direction 

 of a cross is said to be quartered or parted 



