DIVISIONS OF THE SHIELD
Although in many shields the field presents an unbroken surface,
yet we often find it cut up into divisions of several kinds. These
divisions come under the head of _simple charges_, and the old heralds
explain their origin--viz.: "After battles were ended, the shields of
soldiers were considered, and he was accounted most deserving whose
shield was most or deepest cut. And to recompense the dangers wherein
they were shown to have been by those cuts for the service of their
King and country, the heralds did represent them upon their shields.
The common cuts gave name to the common partitions, of which the
others are made by various conjunctions."
[Illustration: PLATE 3.
MARQUIS OF HERTFORD.
_Arms._--Quarterly 1st and 4th Or on a pile gu: between 6 fleurs
de lys az: 3 lions passant guardant in pale or.
2nd and 3rd gu: 2 wings conjoined in lure or. Seymour.
_Crest._--Out of a ducal coronet or, a ph[oe]nix ppr.
_Supporters._--Two blackamoors.
_Motto._--Fide et amore.
]
The heraldic term given to these partition-lines of the field is
_ordinaries_. There are nine of these, termed respectively, chief,
fesse, bar, pale, cross, bend, saltire, chevron, and pile.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.]
[Illustration: FIG. 16.]
The chief, occupying about the upper third of the field, is marked
off by a horizontal line (Fig. 15); the fesse, derived from the Latin
_fascia_, a band, is a broad band crossing the centre of the field
horizontally, and extends over a third of its surface (Fig. 16). The
bar is very like the fesse, but differs from it, (_a_) in being much
narrower and only occupying a fifth portion of the field, (_b_) in
being liable to be placed in any part of the field, whereas the fesse
is an immovable charge, (_c_) in being used mostly in pairs and not
singly. Two or three bars may be charged on the same field, and when
an even number either of metal or fur alternating with a colour occur
together, the field is then described as _barry_, the number of the
bars being always stated, so that if there are six bars, it is said
to be "barry of six," if eight, "barry of eight" (Fig. 17). The pale,
probably derived from _palus_, a stake, is also a broad band like
the fesse, but runs perpendicularly down the shield, instead of
horizontally across it (Fig. 18).
[Illustration: FIG. 17.]
[Illustration: FIG. 18.]
[Illustration: FIG. 19.]
The cross, which is the ordinary St. George's Cross, is pre-eminently
_the_ heraldic cross, out of nearly four hundred varieties of the
sacred sign. It is really a simple combination of the fesse and pale.
Bend is again a broad band, but it runs diagonally across the field
from the dexter chief to the sinister base. It is supposed to occupy a
third portion of the field, but rarely does so (Fig. 19). The saltire
is the familiar St. Andrew's Cross, owing its name probably to the
French _salcier_ (see Fig. 20). The chevron, resembling the letter
V turned topsy-turvy, is a combination of a bend dexter and a bend
sinister, and is rather more than the lower half of the saltire. The
French word _chevron_, still in use, means rafters (Fig. 21). The
pile, derived from the Latin for pillar, is a triangular wedge, and
when charged singly on a field may issue from any point of the latter,
_except from the base_ (Fig. 22). If more than one pile occurs, we
generally find the number is three, although the Earl of Clare bears
"two piles issuing from the chief." Many old writers, notably
amongst the French, attribute a symbolical meaning to each of these
ordinaries. Thus, some believe the chief to represent the helmet of
the warrior, the fesse his belt or band, the bar "one of the great
_peeces of tymber_ which be used to debarre the enemy from entering
any city." The pale was thought by some to represent the warrior's
lance, by others the palings by which cities and camps were guarded;
the cross was borne by those who fought for the faith; the bend was
interpreted by some to refer to the shoulder-scarf of the knight,
whilst others describe it as "a scaling-ladder set aslope." Another
variety of the scaling-ladder was represented by the saltire. The
chevron, or rafters, were held to symbolize protection, such as a roof
affords, whilst the pile suggests a strong support of some sort.
[Illustration: FIG. 20.]
[Illustration: FIG. 21.]
[Illustration: FIG. 22.]
There is a tenth ordinary, which is known as the "shakefork" (Fig.
23). Practically unknown in English heraldry, it is frequently met
with in Scotch arms. It is shaped like the letter Y and pointed at
its extremities, but does not extend to the edge of the field. Guillim
attributes its origin to "an instrument in use in the royal stables,
whereby hay was thrown up to the horses" (surely this instrument must
have been next-of-kin to our homely pitchfork?), and he believes the
shakefork to have been granted to a certain Earl of Glencairne, who at
one time was Master of the King's Horse.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.]
Many historical stories are connected with the different charges we
have just been describing, but we have only space to mention two,
referring respectively to the fesse and the saltire.
The former reminds us of the origin of the arms of Austria, which date
from the Siege of Acre, where our C[oe]ur-de-Lion won such glory. It
was here that Leopold, Duke of Austria, went into battle, clad in
a spotlessly white linen robe, bound at the waist with his knight's
belt. On returning from the field, the Duke's tunic was "total
gules"--blood-red--save where the belt had protected the white of the
garment. Thereupon, his liege-lord, Duke Frederic of Swabia, father of
the famous Frederic Barbarossa, granted permission to Leopold to bear
as his arms a silver fesse upon a blood-red field.
The saltire, recalling the French form of scaling-ladder of the Middle
Ages, reminds us of how the brave Joan of Arc placed the _salcier_
with her own hands against the fort of Tournelles. And we remember
how, when her shoulder was presently pierced by an English arrow, she
herself drew it out from the ghastly wound, rebuking the women who
wept round her with the triumphant cry: "This is not blood, but
glory!"
[Illustration: FIG. 24.]
In addition to the ordinaries, there are fifteen sub-ordinaries. These
less important divisions of the shield are known in heraldry as the
_canton_, _inescutcheon_, _bordure_, _orle_, _tressure_, _flanches_,
_lozenge_, _mascle_, _rustre_, _fusil_, _billet_, _gyron_, _frette_,
and _roundle_. Owing to limited space, we cannot go into detail with
regard to these charges, but we may mention that the canton, from
the French word for a corner, is placed, with rare exceptions, in the
dexter side of the field, being supposed to occupy one-third of the
chief. It is often added as an "augmentation of honour" to a coat of
arms. The badge of a baronet, the red hand, is generally charged on
a canton, sometimes also on an inescutcheon, and it is then placed on
the field, so as not to interfere with the family arms (Fig. 24).
The inescutcheon is a smaller shield placed upon the field, and, when
borne singly, it occupies the centre (Fig. 25). Three, or even five,
escutcheons may be borne together. The bordure (Fig. 26) is a band
surrounding the field, which may be either void--that is, bearing
no kind of device--or it may have charges upon it, as in the arms of
England, where the bordure is charged with eight lions. The orle and
the tressure are only varieties of the bordure, just as the mascle,
rustre, and fusil, are variations of the diamond-shaped figure known
as the "lozenge" (Fig. 27). The latter is always set erect on the
field. The arms of an unmarried woman and a widow are always displayed
on a lozenge. The mascle--a link of chain armour--is a lozenge square
set diagonally, pierced in the centre with a diamond-shaped opening,
whilst the rustre is a lozenge pierced with a round hole. The fusil is
a longer and narrower form of diamond.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.]
[Illustration: FIG. 26.]
[Illustration: FIG. 27.]
[Illustration: FIG. 28.]
The billet is a small elongated rectangular figure, representing a
block of wood, and is seldom used. The gyron (Fig. 28), which is a
triangular figure, does not occur in English heraldry as a single
charge, but what is termed a _coat gyronny_ is not unusual in armorial
bearings, when the field may be divided into ten, twelve, or even
sixteen pieces. All arms borne by the Campbell clan have a field
gyronny. The origin of the word is doubtful; some trace it to the
Greek for curve, others to a Spanish word for gore or gusset. The
introduction of a gyron into heraldry dates from the reign of Alfonso
VI. of Spain, who, being sore beset by the Moors, was rescued by his
faithful knight, Don Roderico de Cissnères. The latter, as a memento
of the occasion, tore three triangular pieces from Alfonso's mantle,
being henceforward allowed to represent the same on his shield in the
shape of a gyron. The frette, formerly known as a "trellis," from its
resemblance to lattice-work, is very frequent in British heraldry;
it also occurs as a net in connection with fish charges. In the Grand
Tournament held at Dunstable to celebrate Edward III.'s return from
Scotland, one Sir John de Harrington bore "a fretty arg., charged upon
a sable field."
The roundlet is simply a ring of metal or colour, and is much used in
coats of arms at all periods of heraldry. The family of Wells bears a
roundlet to represent a fountain, whilst the Sykes charge their shield
with three roundlets, in allusion to their name, "sykes" being an old
term for a well.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.]
In Fig. 29 we see an example of a shield charged with an inescutcheon
within a bordure.