_Heraldic Queries._--Will some correspondent versed in heraldry answer me
the following questions?
1. What is the origin and meaning of women of all ranks, except the
sovereign, being now debarred from bearing their arms in shields, and
having to bear them in lozenges? Formerly, all ladies of rank bore shields
upon their seals, _e.g._ the seal of Margaret, Countess of Norfolk, who
deceased A.D. 1399; and of Margaret, Countess of Richmond, and mother of
Henry VIII., who deceased A.D. 1509. These shields are figured in the
_Glossary of Heraldry_, pp. 285, 286.
2. Is it, heraldically speaking, wrong to inscribe the motto upon a circle
(not a garter) or ribbon round the shield? So says the _Glossary_, p. 227.
If wrong, on what principle?
3. Was it ever the custom in this country, as on the Continent to this day,
for ecclesiastics to bear their arms in a circular or oval panel?--the
martial form of the shield being considered inconsistent with their
spiritual character. If so, when did the custom commence, and where may
instances be seen either on monuments or in illustrated works?