The Manual of Heraldry; Fifth Edition / Being a Concise Description of the Several Terms Used, and Containing a Dictionary of Every Designation in the Science

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THE

MANUAL OF HERALDRY:

BEING

A CONCISE DESCRIPTION

OF

THE SEVERAL TERMS USED,

AND CONTAINING

A Dictionary of every Designation in the Science.

ILLUSTRATED BY

FOUR HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.

FIFTH EDITION.

LONDON:

ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE & CO.

25, PATERNOSTER ROW.

Click picture to enlarge.

LONDON:

R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL.

MANUAL OF HERALDRY.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

ORIGIN OF COATS OF ARMS.

Heraldry is the science which teaches how to blazon or describe in proper terms armorial bearings and their accessories.

Many volumes have been written on the origin of Heraldry and even on the antiquity of separate charges contained in an escutcheon: it would be filling the pages of an elementary work on Heraldry to little purpose to enter upon an inquiry as to the exact period of the introduction of an art that has existed in some degree in all countries whose inhabitants have emerged from barbarism to civilization. In all ages men have made use of figures of living creatures, trees, flowers, and inanimate objects, as symbolical signs to distinguish themselves in war, or denote the bravery and courage of their chief or nation.

The allegorical designs emblazoned on the standards, shields, and armour of the Greeks and Romans—the White Horse of the Saxons, the Raven of the Danes, and the Lion of the Normans, may all be termed heraldic devices; but according to the opinions of Camden, Spelman, and other high authorities, hereditary arms of families were first introduced at the commencement of the twelfth century. When numerous armies engaged in the expeditions to the Holy Land, consisting of the troops of twenty different nations, they were obliged to adopt some ensign or mark in order to marshal the vassals under the banners of the various leaders. The regulation of the symbols whereby the Sovereigns and Lords of Europe should be distinguished, all of whom were ardent in maintaining the honour of the several nations to which they belonged, was a matter of great nicety, and it was properly entrusted to the Heralds who invented signs of honour which could not be construed into offence, and made general regulations for their display on the banners and shields of the chiefs of the different nations. The ornaments and regulations were sanctioned by the sovereigns engaged in the Crusade, and hence the origin of the present system of Heraldry, which prevails with trifling variations in every kingdom of Europe.

The passion for military fame which prevailed at this period led to the introduction of mock battles, called Tournaments. Here the Knights appeared with the Heraldic honours conferred upon them for deeds of prowess in actual battle. All were emulous of such distinctions. The subordinate followers appeared with the distinctive arms of their Lord, with the addition of some mark denoting inferiority. These marks of honour at first were merely pieces of stuff of various colours cut into strips and sewn on the surcoat or garment worn over armour, to protect it from the effect of exposure to the atmosphere. These strips were disposed in various ways, and gave the idea of the chief, bend, chevron, &c. Figures of animals and other objects were gradually introduced; and as none could legally claim or use those honourable distinctions unless they were granted by the Kings of Arms, those Heraldic sovereigns formed a code of laws for the regulation of titles and insignia of honour, which the Sovereigns and Knights of Europe have bound themselves to protect; and those rules constitute the science of Heraldry which forms the subject of the following pages.

CHAP. II.

VARIOUS SORTS OF ARMS.

Arms are not only granted to individuals and families, but also to cities, corporate bodies, and learned societies. They may therefore be classed as follows:—

Arms of DOMINION, PRETENSION, CONCESSION.
COMMUNITY, PATRONAGE, FAMILY.
ALLIANCE, AND SUCCESSION.

Arms of Dominion or Sovereignty are properly the arms of the kings or sovereigns of the territories they govern, which are also regarded as the arms of the State. Thus the Lions of England and the Russian Eagle are the arms of the Kings of England and the Emperors of Russia, and cannot properly be altered by a change of dynasty.

Arms of Pretension are those of kingdoms, provinces, or territories to which a prince or lord has some claim, and which he adds to his own, though the kingdoms or territories are governed by a foreign king or lord: thus the Kings of England for many ages quartered the arms of France in their escutcheon as the descendants of Edward III., who claimed that kingdom, in right of his mother, a French princess.

Arms of Concession are arms granted by sovereigns as the reward of virtue, valour, or extraordinary service. All arms granted to subjects were originally conceded by the Sovereign.

Arms of Community are those of bishoprics, cities, universities, academies, societies, and corporate bodies.

Arms of Patronage are such as governors of provinces, lords of manors, add to their family arms as a token of their superiority, right, and jurisdiction.

Arms of Family, or paternal arms, are such as are hereditary and belong to one particular family, which none others have a right to assume, nor can they do so without rendering themselves guilty of a breach of the laws of honour punishable by the Earl Marshal and the Kings at Arms. The assumption of arms has however become so common that little notice is taken of it at the present time.

Arms of Alliance are those gained by marriage.

Arms of Succession are such as are taken up by those who inherit certain estates by bequest, entail, or donation.

SHIELDS, TINCTURES, FURS, &c.

The Shield contains the field or ground whereon are represented the charges or figures that form a coat of arms. These were painted on the shield before they were placed on banners, standards, and coat armour; and wherever they appear at the present time they are painted on a plane or superficies resembling a shield.

Shields in Heraldic language are called Escutcheons or Scutcheons, from the Latin word scutum. The forms of the shield or field upon which arms are emblazoned are varied according to the taste of the painter. The Norman pointed shield is generally used in Heraldic paintings in ecclesiastical

buildings: the escutcheons of maiden ladies and widows are painted on a lozenge-shaped shield. Armorists distinguish several points in the escutcheon in order to determine exactly the position of the bearings or charges. They are denoted in the annexed diagram, by the first nine letters of the alphabet ranged in the following manner:

A, the dexter chief.
B, the precise middle chief.
C, the sinister chief.
D, the honour point.
E, the fess point.
F, the nombril point.
G, the dexter base.
H, the precise middle base.
I, the sinister base.

The dexter side of the escutcheon answers to the left hand, and the sinister side to the right hand of the person that looks at it.

TINCTURES.

By the term Tincture is meant that variable hue which is given to shields and their bearings; they are divided into colours and furs.

The colours or metals used in emblazoning arms are—

These colours are denoted in engravings by various lines or dots, as follows:

OR, which signifies gold, and in colour yellow, is expressed by dots.

ARGENT signifies silver or white: it is left quite plain.

GULES signifies red: it is expressed by lines drawn from the chief to the base of the shield.

AZURE signifies blue: it is represented by lines drawn from the dexter to the sinister side of the shield, parallel to the chief.

VERT signifies green: it is represented by slanting lines, drawn from the dexter to the sinister side of the shield.

PURPURE, or purple, is expressed by diagonal lines, drawn from the sinister to the dexter side of the shield.

SABLE, or black, is expressed by horizontal and perpendicular lines crossing each other.

TENNE, which is tawny, or orange colour, is marked by diagonal lines drawn from the sinister to the dexter side of the shield, traversed by perpendicular lines from the chief.

SANGUINE is dark red, or murrey colour; it is represented by diagonal lines crossing each other.

In addition to the foregoing tinctures, there are nine roundlets or balls used in Armory, the names of which are sufficient to denote their colour without expressing the same.

FURS.

Furs are used to ornament garments of state and denote dignity: ther are used in Heraldry, not only for the lining of mantles and other ornaments of the shield, but also as bearings on escutcheons.

WHITE, represented by a plain shield, like argent.

ERMINE—white powdered with black tufts.

ERMINES—field sable, powdering argent.

ERMINOIS—field or, powdering sable.

PEAN—field sable; powdering or.

ERMYNITES—Argent, powdered sable, with the addition of a single red hair on each side the sable tufts. This fur is seldom seen in English heraldry; and it is impossible to give an example without using colour.

VAIR—argent and azure. It is represented by small bells, part reversed, ranged in lines in such a manner, that the base argent is opposite to the base azure.

COUNTER-VAIR, is when the bells are placed base against base, and point against point.

POTENT—an obsolete word for a crutch: it is so called in Chaucer's description of Old Age.

"So eld she was that she ne went
A foote, but it were by potent."

The field is filled with small potents, ranged in lines, azure and argent.

POTENT COUNTER-POTENT.
The heads of the crutches or potents touch each other in the centre of the shield.

CHAP. III.

LINES USED IN PARTING THE FIELD.

Escutcheons that have more than one tincture are divided by lines; the straight lines are either perpendicular |, horizontal —, diagonal line dexter \, and diagonal line sinister /.

Curved and angular lines are numerous, and each has an Heraldic name expressive of its form. The names and figures of those most commonly used by English armorists are as follow:—

Engrailed

Invected

Wavy, or undé

Embattled, or crenelle

Nebule

Indented

Dancette

Angled

Bevilled

Escartelle

Nowy, or franché

Dove-tailed

Embattled grady:
sometimes called
battled embattled

Potent

Double arched

Arched or enarched

Urdée

Radient

If a shield is divided into four equal parts, it is said to be quartered: this may be done two ways, viz.—

QUARTERED PER CROSS—The shield is divided into four parts, called quarters, by an horizontal and perpendicular line, crossing each other in the centre of the field, each of which is numbered.

QUARTERED PER SALTIER, which is made by two diagonal lines, dexter and sinister, crossing each other in the centre of the field.

The Escutcheon is sometimes divided into a great number of parts, in order to place in it the arms of several families to which one is allied; this is called a genealogical achievement. The compartments are called QUARTERINGS.

DIFFERENCES.

All members of the same family claim the same bearings in their coats of arms; and to distinguish the principal bearer from his descendants or relatives, it was necessary to invent some sign so that the degree of consanguinity might be known. These signs are called DIFFERENCES. During the Crusades, the only difference consisted in the bordure or border, which, as the name implies, was a border or edging running round the edge of the shield. The colour and form of this border served to distinguish the leaders of the different bands that served under one duke or chieftain. The same difference might be used to denote a diversity between particular persons descended from one family. At the present time they are not used to denote a difference, but as one of the ordinaries to a coat of arms.

The annexed example exhibits the arms of the Monastery of Bermondsey. Party per pale, azure and gules; a bordure, argent. This bordure is plain; but they may be formed by any of the foregoing lines.

The annexed example is or, a bordure engrailed, gules.

The differences used by armorists at the present time are nine in number. They not only distinguish the sons of one family, but also denote the subordinate degrees in each house.

Should either of the nine brothers have male children, the eldest child would place the label on the difference that distinguished his father; the second son would place the crescent upon it; the third the mullet; continuing the same order for as many sons as he may have.

The label only, is used in the arms of the royal family as a difference; but the points of the label are charged with different figures to distinguish the second and succeeding sons. The arms of the sons of King George III. were thus distinguished: the shield of the arms of the Prince of Wales by a label; the Duke of York's by the label, the center point of which was charged with a red cross; that of the Duke of Clarence by a label, the dexter and sinister points of which were charged with an anchor, the center point with the red cross; each of the succeeding sons were differenced by charges on the points of the labels.

All the figures denoting differences are also used as perfect charges on the shield; but their size and situation will sufficiently determine whether the figure is used as a perfect coat of arms, or is introduced as a difference or dimunition.

Sisters have no differences in their coats of arms. They are permitted to bear the arms of their father, as the eldest son does after his father's decease.

Guillim, Leigh, and other ancient armorists mention divers figures, which, they assert, were formerly added to coats of arms as marks of degradation for slander, cowardice, murder, and other crimes, and to them they give the name of abatements of honour; others have called them blots in the escutcheon: but as no instance can be produced of such dishonourable marks having been borne in a coat of arms, they may justly be considered as chimerical, or at any rate obsolete, and unworthy of consideration at the present time. Porney pithily observes, "that arms being marks of honour, they cannot admit of any note of infamy, nor would any one bear them if they were so branded. It is true, a man may be degraded for divers crimes, particularly high treason; but in such cases the escutcheon is reversed, trod upon, and torn in pieces, to denote a total extinction and suppression of the honour and dignity of the person to whom it belonged."

The only abatement used in heraldry is the baton: this denotes illegitimacy. It is borne in the escutcheons of the dukes that assume the royal arms as the illegitimate descendants of King Charles the Second.

CHAP. IV.

HONOURABLE ORDINARIES.

Honourable ordinaries are the original marks of distinction bestowed by sovereigns on subjects that have become eminent for their services, either in the council or the field of battle. Volumes have been written upon the origin and form of the honourable ordinaries. These long and tedious inquiries can only be interesting to antiquaries: it is sufficient for the tyro in heraldry to know that they are merely broad lines or bands of various colours, which have different names, according to the place they occupy in the shield; ancient armorists admit but nine honourable ordinaries—the chief, the pale, the bend, the bend sinister, the fess, the bar, the chevron, the cross, and the saltier.

The chief is an ordinary terminated by an horizontal line, which, if it is of any other form but straight, its form must be expressed; it is placed in the upper part of the escutcheon, and occupies one third of the field.

Ex. Argent, on a chief, gules, two mullets, sable.

Any of the lines before described may be used to form the chief.

Ex. Argent, a chief, azure, indented.

The chief has a diminutive called a fillet; it must never be more than one fourth the breadth of the chief.

Ex. Or, a chief, purpure, in the lower part a fillet, azure.

This ordinary may be charged with a variety of figures, which are always named after the tincture of the chief.

It may be necessary to inform the reader that, in describing a coat of arms, the general colour of the shield or the field is first described, then the honourable ordinaries, their tinctures, then the object with which they are charged. We shall have to remark more particularly on the order of describing ordinaries, tinctures, and charges on coats of arms, when we treat of the rules of heraldry; but the student might have been confused if this brief direction had been omitted, as we shall have to describe every shield of arms in the same order.

The pale is an honourable ordinary, consisting of two perpendicular lines drawn from the top to the base of the escutcheon, and contains one third of the width of the field.

Ex. Azure, a pale, or.

The pale may be formed of any of the lines before described; it is then called a pale engrailed, a pale dancette, &c.

The pale has a diminutive called the pallet, which is one half the width of the pale.

Ex. Argent, a pallet, gules.

The pale has another diminutive one fourth its size; it is called an endorse.

Ex. Argent, a pale between two endorses, gules.

The pale and the pallet may receive any charge; but the endorse is never to be charged with any thing.

THE BEND.

The bend is an honourable ordinary, formed by two diagonal lines drawn from the dexter chief to the sinister base, and contains the fifth part of the field if uncharged; but if charged with other figures, the third part of the field.

Ex. Argent, a bend, vert.

The bend has four diminutives, viz. the garter which is half the breadth of the bend.

Ex. Argent, a garter, gules.

The cotice which is the fourth part of the bend. Cotices generally accompany the bend in pairs; thus a bend between two cotices is said to be cotised.

Ex. Gules, a bend, argent, coticed of the same.

The riband, which is one third less than the garter and the bendlet, must never occupy more than one sixth of the field.

Ex. Argent, a riband vert.

Ex. Gules, two bendlets, engrailed, argent.

The bend sinister is the same breadth as the bend dexter, and is drawn from the sinister to the dexter side of the shield.

Ex. Argent, a bend sinister, purpure.

The scarpe is the diminutive of the bend sinister, and is half its size.

Ex. Argent, a scarpe, purpure.

The baton is the fourth part of the bend, and, as before mentioned, it is a mark of illegitimacy, and seldom used in Heraldry, but by the illegitimate descendants of royalty.

Ex. Gules, a baton, sable, garnished, or.

THE FESS AND BAR.

The fess is formed by two horizontal lines drawn above and below the centre of the shield. The fess contains in breadth one third of the field.

Ex. Argent, a fess, azure.

The bar is formed in the same manner as the fess, but it only occupies the fifth part of the field. It differs from the fess, that ordinary being always placed in the centre of the field; but the bar may be placed in any part of it, and there may be more than one bar in an escutcheon.

Ex. Gules, two bars, argent.

The closet is a diminutive of the bar, and is half its width.

Ex. Argent, two closets, azure.

The barrulet is half the width of the closet.

Ex. Gules, two barrulets, argent.

The annexed example is to illustrate the word gemels, which is frequently used to describe double bars. The word gemels is a corruption of the French word jumelles, which signifies double.

Ex. Azure, two bars, gemels, argent.

When the shield contains a number of bars of metal and colour alternate, exceeding five, it is called barry of so many pieces, expressing their numbers.

Ex. Barry of seven pieces, argent and azure.

THE CHEVRON.

The figure of the chevron has been described as representing the gable of a roof. It is a very ancient ordinary, and the less it is charged with other figures the more ancient and honourable it appears.

Ex. Argent, a chevron, gules.

The diminutives of the chevron, according to English Heraldry, are the chevronel, which is half the breadth of the chevron.

Ex. Argent, two chevronels, gules.

And the couple-close, which is half the chevronel.

Ex. Gules, three couple-closes interlaced in base, or.

Braced is sometimes used for interlaced. See the word [BRACED] in the Dictionary.

THE CROSS.

This, as its name imports, was the distinguishing badge of the Crusaders, in its simplest form. It was merely two pieces of list or riband of the same length, crossing each other at right angles. The colour of the riband or list denoted the nation to which the Crusader belonged. The cross is an honourable ordinary, occupying one fifth of the shield when not charged, but if charged, one third.

Ex. Or, a cross, gules.

When the cross became the distinguishing badge of different leaders in the Crusades, the simple form given in the preceding example was not generally adopted. Some bordered the red list with a narrow white edge, others terminated the arms of the cross with short pieces of the same colour, placed transversely, making each arm of the cross have the appearance of a short crutch; the ends of these crutches meeting in a point, make the cross potent. There is so great a variety of crosses used in Heraldry that it would be impossible to describe them within the limits of this introduction to Heraldry. The reader will find a great number of those most used in English Heraldry described and illustrated in the Dictionary. He of course will understand, if a coat of arms comes under his notice where this ordinary is described as a cross engrailed, a cross invected, that the form of the cross is the same as that in the last example, but that the lines forming it are engrailed, invected, &c. Small crosses borne as charges are called crosslets.

See the words [CROSS], [CROSSLETS], in the Dictionary.

THE SALTIER.

The saltier was formed by making two pieces of riband cross diagonally, having the appearance of the letter X, or, speaking heraldically, the bend and bend sinister crossing each other in the centre of the shield. The saltier, if uncharged, occupies one-fifth of the field; if charged, one-third.

Ex. Gules, a saltier, argent.

Like the cross, the saltier may be borne engrailed, wavy, and the termination of the arms of the saltier varied; but there are not so many examples of the variation of the form in the saltier as in the cross.

CHAP. V.

SUBORDINATE ORDINARIES.

In order more particularly to distinguish the subordinates in an army (the chieftains of different countries alone being entitled to the preceding marks of honour), other figures were invented by ancient armorists, and by them termed subordinate ordinaries. Their names and forms are as follows:—

The gyron is a triangular figure formed by drawing a line from the dexter angle of the chief of the shield to the fess point, and an horizontal line from that point to the dexter side of the shield.

The field is said to be gyrony when it is covered with gyrons.

Ex. Gyrony of eight pieces, argent and gules.

The canton is a square part of the escutcheon, usually occupying about one-eighth of the field; it is placed over the chief at the dexter side of the shield: it may be charged, and when this is the case, its size may be increased. The canton represents the banner of the ancient Knights Banneret. The canton in the example is marked A.

See [KNIGHTS BANNERET] in the Dictionary.

The lozenge is formed by four equal and parallel lines but not rectangular, two of its opposite angles being acute, and two obtuse.

Ex. Argent, a lozenge, vert.

The fusil is narrower than the lozenge, the angles at the chief and base being more acute, and the others more obtuse.

Ex. Argent, a fusil, purpure.

The mascle is in the shape of a lozenge but perforated through its whole extent except a narrow border.

Ex. Gules, a mascle, argent.

The fret is formed by two lines interlaced in saltier with a mascle.