HERA 
ing the defined difference, would be to add a bend, either 
perpendicular, horizontal , or diagonal, to the paternal bear¬ 
ing; and would thence adopt the pale, as at fig. i, 
Plate II. 
The fecond fon, wifiiing alfo to differ his coat-armour 
from thofe of his father and elder brother, inverted 
limply the fraternal pale, and adopted the fess ; as at 
fig. i6, Plate 11. 
A third foil, or perhaps the chief of any branch of the 
fame Item, uniting in his pedigree the double defeent 
of the two brothers juft mentioned, and wifiiing to pre- 
ferve, in an oftenlible manner, the memory of their 
names, by adopting their bearings, placed the pale and 
the fefs together, and thus produced the cross : fig'. 26, 
Plate n. 
The next proceeding was to decorate the fiiield with 
a dexter diagonal ribband, as at fig. 30, Plate II. which 
they called a bend, palling,'as a fcarf of honourable 
order, from one fide to the other ; and the inverting of 
the pofition of this laft bearing gave birth to the bend 
sinister ; which may be Co ftyled in the double accep¬ 
tation of the word ; ft nee it has commonly been looked 
upon as a JiniJler mark of illegitimacy. Seefig. 37, Plate II. 
The saltire, as at.fig. 38, originated from the com¬ 
bination of the bends crofting each other, and the lower 
half of this ordinary produced the chevron, as at 
fig. 43, Plate III. 
The chief we have placed laft, as being produced 
by nothing more than the removal of the fefs to the 
fummit of the fiiield. See fig. 54, Plate III. 
Thefe are the only charges, which, in our opinion, 
have aright to the title of fuperior ordinaries ; becaufe 
they hold the mod confpicuous place in an efcutcheon; 
and not being.ifolated or floating.in the field, as com¬ 
mon charges are, they difplay themfelves invariably 
from one fide of the fiiield to the other, covering often 
a third part of it, and never lefs than a fifth. Their 
diminutives, as will be deferibed in their refpedive 
places, and all other bearings,that adhere conftantly to 
one of the tides of the fiiield, may be called fub-ordinaries. 
As to our fyftematical introdu6tion of the ordinaries 
in coats of arms, as explained above, it is not the un¬ 
founded conjecture ot a fqrupulous fancy that wifiies 
to leave nothing unexplained: from the feveral branches 
of the ancient and noble family of Grey, the family of 
Leigh of Chefiiire, &c. 8c c. we could bring clear and 
undeniable inftances which would fubftantiate and con¬ 
firm the affertion to the entire fatisfatftion of our readers. 
' , The PALE. 
This ancient and honourable bearing is a double par¬ 
tition of the fiiield, by two perpendicular, parallel, or 
or equi-diftant, lines from the fummit to the bafe ; the 
interval between them being filled with a colour or 
metal in contra-pofition with the metal or colour of rhe 
field. 
The etymology of this Ample ordinary is varioufiy 
ftated in different treatifes of heraldry. Some derive the 
namefrom the Latinword palus ;pali, a poft, a (take, as the 
pale is in an ereCt pofition in the middle of the efcut¬ 
cheon; and to confirm their opinion, they quote the fol¬ 
lowing hexameter: Palus ut hie fxus conjlans etfirma manebo, 
which accompanies, as aii appropriate motto, tue armo¬ 
rial enfigns of the town of Beauvais in Picardy, confid¬ 
ing of 3. pale, in allufion to the faithful and invariable 
attachment which , the citizens of that fortified place 
fhowed to their king during the wars with England ; 
and we do not hefitate to declare this derivation, and to 
adopt it confequently, as the mod probable. Some 
others trace its name from a part of the ancient pallium 
or cloak worn by the patriarchs and archbifhops of 
Greece and Afia, as it is feen hitherto in the arms of 
the fee of Canterbury. Others refer it to the word palus, 
udis, a marfli, or fen ; but this bears no allufion to the 
. ordinary} and feyeral writers who will have that.it de. 
L D R Y. 431 
notes ftrength, power, or dominion, draw the etymology 
from more remote and even myftic fources. 
Heraldry is fo clofely allied to chivalry, that it is al- 
moft impofiible to refrain from ffarching the origin of' 
one in the b.ofom of the other; therefore let the name be 
derived from any one of thofe .fuppofed caufes, how¬ 
ever it is not improper to conjecture, that in thole ro¬ 
mantic ages which witneffed the legitimate birth of the 
noble fcience we attempt to delineate, a ribband or fcarf 
laid on the fiiield by the hands of a renow ned chieftain 
in the field of battle, or of a beloved lady at a tourna¬ 
ment, gave occafion to the bearing, and became an ho¬ 
nourable diftindtion for the warrior whofe military re¬ 
nown, or chivalrous exploits, had not before- been fuf- 
ficiently fignal to allow him a difference in the field of 
his buckler. 
The pale ought to cover the third part of the field, 
if plain ; but when enfigned with charges, which rarely 
exceed three in number, it is conftantly made a little 
wider: it ought alfo to be {haded fo as to appear laid on, 
and the light fuppofed to come from.the left of the be¬ 
holder. See fig. x, Plate II., gules, a pale or. See alfo 
fig. 2, per pale indented argent and azure a pale counter- 
changed. It is eafy .to perceive that, by the ftrength of 
■the general rule, colour may not lie upon colour, the centre 
half of the pale becomes azure, and the finifter argent ; 
in contra-pofition with the metal and colour of the field', 
as obferved before. 
Fig. 3, in the fame Engraving, exhibits a very ancient 
but not common hearing : gules, a fefs engrailedfurmounted . 
by a pale engrailed ermine. We thought proper to intro¬ 
duce it in this Plate, in order to confirm what we ad¬ 
vanced in fpeaking of the origin of thefe ordinaries, that 
a crofs was the refult of a pale and a fefs. Fig. 4, azure , 
a faltire argent, furmounted by a pale gules. This lhows that 
the rule exhibited at fig. 2, although apparently in¬ 
fringed here, is ftill in full force; as the pale does not 
lie properly on the azure of the field, but on the metal 
of the filver faltire : however, were the two ordinaries 
both of the fame tinCture, as in fig. 3 ; or both ot metal, 
as at fig. 32 ; yet it would not be falfe heraldry,-becaufe 
the major part of the fecond ordinary lies on the co¬ 
loured field 7 and many inftances of this apparent devia¬ 
tion from the general principle may be eafily adduced 
from ancient and modern grants of arms. 
Fig. 5, gules, on a pale ingrailed argent, a pale azure: in 
this cafe the pale ought to be ltrongly lhaded ; or elfe it 
might be blazoned: gules, a pale azure fimbriated argent. 
The pale has two diminutives, which are fubordinate 
bearings, the.pallet and the endorfe: the firft is generally 
half of the paje : fee fig. 6, Plate II. azure, two 
pallets argent-; and azure, three pallets wavy argent, 
as at fig. 8 ; where the pallets are not exactly half 
of the pale; to Ihow that if they were of that pro¬ 
portion they would occupy too great a part of the 
fiiield. Fig. 7 reprefents the other diminutive of the 
fame ordinary, which derives its name from its pofition 
refpeCting the pale; ad dorfum pojita : vert , a pale or between 
two endorfes argent-, its proportion is one-fourth of the 
pale. It u needlefs to remark that this fub-ordinary, 
and the preceding, are fo narrow, that they cannot ad¬ 
mit of any charge; they may be of any tindhire; but 
are feldom compofed of furs, and never of vair. Fig. 9, 
party per fefs fable and argent, a pale counter changed. An 
ancient cuftom has prevailed, and w’e find it conftantly 
obferved, not to {hade the pale in this particular bearing. 
Next to the diminutives of the pale comes the divifion 
to which this ordinary gave origin : Fig. 10, paly of fix 
or and gules. This bearing is nothing elfe but a divifion 
of the ftiield into fix pieces, alternately metal and co¬ 
lour. The metal ought in general to begin, although 
there are inftances of the colour taking the'lead ; as in 
the following: Fig. 11, paly of eight fable and argent* 
Fig. 12, paly of ten,, argent and vert. The divifion of the 
fiiield. in this way feldom goes any farther. Fig. 13, 
