In
heraldry and
vexillology, a 'charge' is an image occupying the
field on an
escutcheon (or shield). ''Charge'' can also be a verb; for example, if an escutcheon bears three
lions, then it is said to be ''charged with three lions.'' It is important to distinguish between
divisions of the field and charges, and to note that charges can themselves be charged with a superimposed image.
Sometimes the significance or the allusion behind the charge(s) may be given in the blazon, but this is generally regarded as poor practice.
Thousands of objects found in nature, mythology or technology have appeared in armory, in addition to charges that are unique to heraldry. This article lists only those charges frequently seen, which contribute to the distinctive flavor of heraldic design; a more exhaustive list will be found at ''
List of heraldic charges''.
Charges can be animals (cf.
totem), objects or geometric constructs. The ordinaries are sometimes called ''proper charges,'' with other charges being known as ''common charges.'' In French blazon the ordinaries are called ''pièces'' while other charges, which may be placed anywhere on the shield, are called ''meubles'' (i.e. "mobile"; the same word also means "furniture" in modern French).
Proper charges
: ''Main article:
Ordinary (heraldry)''
Heraldic writers traditionally distinguish, somewhat arbitrarily, between ''honourable ordinaries'' and ''sub-ordinaries''. It is often said that only nine charges are ''honourable ordinaries'', but exactly which nine fit into this category is a subject of disagreement. It is sometimes said that only those ordinaries each of whose widths is one-fifth or more of the total width of the escutcheon is ''honourable''.
Narrower or smaller versions of these ordinaries are called ''diminutives''. The names of the diminutives are omitted here for brevity.
Honourable Ordinaries
Several different figures are recognised as honourable ordinaries. Each normally occupies one-fifth to one-third of the field; the precise amount depends on whether there are other charges on the ordinary or on the field.
★ The ''
chief'' is the upper portion of the field.
★ The ''
fess'', a horizontal stripe in the centre of the field.
★ The ''
bar'', which is of an indeterminate width, but if borne singly supposed to be slightly thinner than a fess.
★ The ''
pale'', a vertical stripe in the centre of the field.
★ The ''
bend'' runs from the upper left to the lower right, as '', as seen by the viewer.
★ The ''bend sinister'' runs from the upper right to the lower left, as '/'.
★ The ''
cross'' is a geometric construction of two perpendicular lines or bands, and is sometimes referred to as the "noblest" of the honourable ordinaries. It has hundreds of variants, most of which are common charges rather than ordinaries; some of these will be discussed below.
★ The ''
saltire'', sometimes called ''Saint Andrew's cross'', is a diagonal cross.
★ The ''
chevron'' is a construction shaped like an inverted
letter V
★ The ''
pall'' is shaped like the letter
Y. (There is a T-shaped charge, the
tau, which is not understood to be an ordinary.)
★ The ''
pile'' is a triangle, whose base is along the top of the field, and whose vertex is in the centre of the bottom half of the field.
★ The ''
quarter'' is a rectangle occupying the top left quarter of the field, as seen by the viewer.
★ The ''
canton'' is a diminutive of the quarter.
Care must be taken in blazoning when two or more ordinaries or subordinaries, or diminutives thereof, are depicted "conjoined".
Sub-Ordinaries
As well as those mentioned in the above section whose status as honourable ordinaries is disputed, there are several other charges recognised as sub-ordinaries.
★ The ''bordure'' is a border touching the edge of the field.
★ The ''orle'' may be considered the inner half of the bordure: it usually follows the shape of the shield, without touching the edges. It cannot have other charges on it. The ''double tressure'' is an orle gemel (split into two halves with an orle-shaped line drawn through the middle, and the two halves slightly separated), but never so called: seen in the arms of the kings of
Scotland.
★ The ''fret'' originally consisted of three bendlets interlaced with three bendlets sinister; this would now be blazoned as a field ''fretty''. In modern depictions the outer strips are combined to form a continuous square. The
Harington knot constists of a square balanced on one corner with diagonal lacing.
★ The ''gyron'' is a
right triangle occupying the lower half of the first quarter: its edges are the midlines of an imaginary bend and fess. A ''gyron sinister'', much rarer, is a similar figure in the sinister chief.
★ ''Flaunches'' or ''flanches'' are regions on the sides of the shield, bounded by a pair of circular arcs whose centers are to the right and left of the shield.
★ A ''label'' is a horizontal strap, with a number of pendants (usually called ''points'', or, more rarely, ''drops'') suspended therefrom; normally three, but any number may be specified. The label is nearly always a
cadency mark, but is occasionally found as a regular charge in early armory. It is sometimes called a ''file'', as in the canting arms of Belfile, a label with a bell hanging from each point. There are some examples in which the strap is omitted, the "drops" depending from the top of the shield.
Common charges
Common charges include land animals and fish and birds. The heraldic depictions need not, and usually do not, exactly resemble the actual creatures. Mythical creatures used in heraldry are sometimes called "monsters". Inanimate objects are also used; many of them resemble flowers and floral designs.
Simple charges
A number of frequent charges are sometimes listed among the subordinaries (see above), but as their form is not related to the shape of the shield – indeed they may appear independent of the shield, e.g. in
crests – they are more usefully considered here.
★ '
escutcheon': a small shield. If borne singly in the centre of the main shield, it is called an ''inescutcheon'', and is usually employed to combine multiple coats. General practice, if not strictly speaking a "rule", suggests that it be the same shape as the shield it is on, though shields of specific shapes are rarely specified.
[1]
★ '
lozenge': a
rhomb, typically resembling the
diamonds of playing-cards (except that its sides are always straight). A more acute lozenge may be called a 'fusil'. A ''lozenge voided'', i.e. with a lozenge-shaped hole, is a 'mascle'; a ''lozenge pierced'', i.e. with a round hole, is a 'rustre' (rare).
★ 'billet': a rectangle, usually at least twice as tall as it is wide; it may represent a block of wood or a sheet of paper. Billets appear in the shield of the
house of Nassau, which was modified to become that of the
kingdom of the Netherlands. A rare variant is the square 'delf'.
★ '
roundel': a solid circle, often representing either a coin or a cannonball. An '
annulet' is a ''roundel voided'', i.e. a ring.
Several other simple charges occur often enough to be grouped with these:
★ '
mullet': a star of (usually) five or six straight rays, originally representing a
spur.
★ '
crescent': a symbol of the
Moon, normally with its horns upward; if its horns are to dexter it represents a waxing moon (''increscent''), and with horns to sinister it represents a waning moon (''decrescent'').
★ '
fleur-de-lis' — see ''Flowers'' below.
★ '
cross'. When the cross does not reach the edges of the field, it becomes a common charge. The plain ''Greek cross'' (with equal limbs) and ''Latin cross'' (with the lower limb extended) are sometimes seen, but more often the tip of each limb is developed into some ornamental shape. Several of the most frequent variants are shown at
Cross#In heraldry; another occasionally seen (and not shown in that article) is the ''Calvary cross'', a Latin cross standing on a series of steps.
★ 'escallop': the
shell of the
scallop, a symbol of
pilgrimage.
★ 'ermine spot': properly a component of the
tincture ermine but sometimes seen as an independent charge.
★ '
goutte': a "drop" of some liquid, seen more often in a field ''semé'' than as a single charge; there is a perhaps unique instance of these being blazoned as "drops".
[2]
★ '
heart' — notably in the arms of the kingdom of
Denmark
In English heraldry the
crescent,
mullet,
martlet,
annulet,
fleur-de-lis and
rose may be added to a shield to distinguish
cadet branches of a family from the senior line. It does not follow, however, that a shield containing such a charge belongs to a cadet branch. All of these charges occur frequently in basic (''undifferenced'') coats of arms.
Human or manlike beings
Humans, deities, angels and demons occur more often as
crests and
supporters than on the shield.
The largest group of human charges consists of
saints, often as the patron of a town.
Knights,
bishops,
monks and
nuns,
kings and
queens also occur frequently.
The ''savage'' or ''wild man'' wears only a loincoth made of leaves, and usually carries a club.
Greco-
Roman mythological figures typically appear in an allegorical or
canting role.
Angels very frequently appear, but angelic beings of higher rank, such as
cherubim and
seraphim, are extremely rare. An
archangel appears in the arms of
Arkhangelsk. The
Devil (or a
demon) is occasionally seen, being defeated by the
archangel Saint Michael.
Though the taboo is not invariably respected, British heraldry in particular, and to a greater or lesser extent the heraldry of other countries, frowns on depictions of
God or
Christ, though an exception may be in the not-uncommon Continental depictions of
Madonna and Child, including the
Black Madonna in the arms of
Marija Bistrica, Croatia.
[3]
There are rare occurrences of a "child" (used to mean "boy"), both the head and entire. A famous example is the child swallowed by a reptile (the
biscione) in the arms of
Visconti dukes of
Milan.
Races and nationalities of humans
Particularly in Europe, the "default" human is almost always depicted as one of European ancestry, though contrary examples can very occasionally be seen.
[4]) "Humans" so blazoned are rare, though there are some examples.
[5]
Generally speaking, there is only one type of
woman: young, beautiful and
blonde, with ''disheveled'' hair (though there are occasional instances of her hair being
braided), and appearing more often as a ''bust'' than head.
The
American Indian occasionally appears in heraldry though far more often as a supporter than a charge.
The
Moor or "blackamoor" is inaccurately shown as being (sub-Saharan)
African, although James Parker states that an "African" appears in the arms of Routell,
[6]
Turks appear frequently in
Balkan armory, as defeated enemies.
Parts of human bodies
Parts of human bodies occur more often than the whole, particularly heads (often of exotic nationality), hearts (always stylized), hands, and armored limbs.
A famous heraldic
hand is the
Red Hand of
Ulster, alluding to an incident in the legendary
Milesian invasion.
Ribs occur in Iberian armory, canting for ''Costa''.
[7]
The
Lombard family of
Coglione bore "per fess gules and argent, three pairs of
testicles counterchanged".
[8] This charge has sometimes been described and rendered as ''a heart inverted''.
Animals
Mammals
The beast most often portrayed in heraldry is the
lion. When posed ''passant guardant'' (walking and facing the viewer), he is called a ''léopard'' in French blazon.
Other beasts frequently seen include
wolf,
bear,
boar,
horse,
bull or
ox,
stag.
The ''tiger'' (unless blazoned as a ''Bengal
tiger'') is a fanciful beast with a wolflike body, a mane and a pointed snout.
Dogs (of various breeds) occur more often as crests or supporters than as charges.
The
unicorn resembles a horse with a single horn, but its hooves are usually cloven like those of
deer.
The
griffin combines the head (but with ears), chest, wings and forelegs of the eagle with the hindquarters and legs of a lion. The ''male griffin'' lacks wings and his body is scattered with spikes.
Birds
★
martlet, a stylized swallow without beak or feet
★
eagle, shown with
two heads in the arms of the
Holy Roman Empire and sometimes with three heads in the arms of imperial
Russia
★
★
alerion, an eagle without beak or feet, appears in the arms of the
duchy of Lorraine for which its name is an anagram
★
rooster
★
dove
Sea beasts
Fish of various species often appear in
canting arms, e.g.:
pike for Pike; luce (
perch) for Lucy;
dolphin (a conventional kind of fish rather than the natural mammal) for the
Dauphin de Viennois.
The ''escallop'' (
scallop shell) became popular as a token of pilgrimage to the shrine of
Santiago de Compostela.
The ''sea-lion'' and ''sea-horse'', like the
mermaid, combine the foreparts of a mammal with the tail of a fish, and a dorsal fin in place of the mane. (When the natural
seahorse is meant, it is blazoned as a ''hippocampus''.)
The ''sea-dog'' and ''sea-wolf'' are quadrupeds but with scales, webbed feet, and often a flat tail resembling that of the
beaver.
Reptiles and invertebrates
★
serpent
★
salamander is typically shown as a generic lizard surrounded by flames.
★ The
dragon is a large reptile with a forked tongue, an eagle's eyes, a bat's wings, and four legs. The
wyvern is a dragon with only two legs.
★
Bees and
beehives appear as symbols of industry; the bee was a favorite badge of
Napoleon.
Parts
Animals' heads are also very frequent charges, as are the paw or leg (''gamb'') of the lion, the wing (often paired) of the eagle, and the antler (''attire'') of the stag.
Heads of horned beasts (bull, stag) are typically shown ''caboshed'': face-on, so as to display the horns, and with no neck visible. Other heads are usually shown in profile. If the neck ends in a clean horizontal line, it is 'couped;' if in a ragged edge (as if the head were forcibly torn from the body), it is 'erased.'
Sometimes only the forward half of a beast is shown; for example, the ''demi-lion'' is among the most common forms of
crest.
Attitude of animals
The position, or ''attitude'', of the creature's body is also described.
By default, the charge faces the left, as seen by the viewer; this would be forward on a shield worn on the left arm (leaving the right hand to hold a weapon).
★ The head of an animal ''guardant'' faces the viewer,
★ The head of an animal ''reguardant'' faces the right, as seen by the viewer.
Certain features of an animal are often of a contrasting tincture. The charge is then said to be ''armed'' (claws and horns), ''langued'' (tongue), ''pizzled'' (penis), ''attired'' (antlers), ''unguled'' (hooves), ''crined'' (horse's mane) of a specified tincture.
Quadrupeds
★ ''at bay'' (of prey): standing on four feet
★ ''at gaze'' (of prey): standing on four feet, ''gardant''
★ ''couchant'' (of predators): lying on the ground, head raised
★ ''courant'': running: body horizontal, all four feet raised
★ ''dormant'': sleeping: lying on the ground, head lowered
★ ''gardant'': head turned to face the viewer
★ ''lodged'' (of prey): lying on the ground, head raised
★ ''passant'' (of predators): walking: standing on three feet, one forefoot raised
★ ''rampant'': standing on left hind foot, other feet raised to fight; this is the most frequent position for lions and the like, typically omitted in early blazon
★ ''reguardant'': head turned back over its shoulder
★ ''salient'' (of predators): leaping, both hind feet planted
★ ''segreant'': like rampant, but applied to winged quadrupeds such as griffins
★ ''sejant erect'': sitting on hindquarters, forefeet raised
★ ''sejant'': sitting on hindquarters, forefeet planted
★ ''springing'' (of prey): leaping, both hind feet planted
★ ''statant'' (of predators): standing on four feet
★ ''trippant'' (of prey): walking: standing on three feet, one forefoot raised
★ The bear, apparently uniquely, can walk on its hind legs.
Fish
A straight horizontal fish is ''
naiant'' (swimming); an arched horizontal fish is ''embowed''.
If the fish is vertical, and its head is upward, it is ''hauriant''; if its head is downward, the fish is ''urinant''.
Serpents
Frequent positions for serpents are ''glissant'' (gliding) and ''nowed'' (
knotted).
An ''ouroboros'' is a snake looped with its tail in its mouth.
The rattlesnake, uniquely, may be ''coiled to strike''.
Birds
The terminology for birds is based on the position of the wings.
★ If a bird faces the viewer, with the head turned to one side, and the wings spread apart on either side, the bird is ''displayed''.
★ If the bird is not shown facing the viewer, and the wings are shown spread apart, the bird is ''volant'' (flying);
★ If the wings are shown folded, the bird is ''trussed'', ''close'' or ''perched''.
★ (The attitude "volant" is also sometimes applied to aircraft.)
★ If the bird's head faces upward, the bird is ''rising'' or ''rousant'' (about to take flight).
★ Swans and ducks are very occasionally found ''naiant'' (= swimming).
[9]
★ There are several examples of crowing
cocks.
Plants
Plants are extremely common in heraldry and figure among the earliest charges.
(The colonial-era arms of Tlemcen, Algeria are unusual in that they contain generic "plants".) The
turnip, for instance, makes an early appearance, as does
wheat.
When the fruit of a
tree, branch, or the like is mentioned, as it generally will only be if it is of a different tincture, it is said to be ''fructed'' of the tincture.
The arms of the French family of Fenoyer provide a perhaps unique example in which the number of "pieces" of the "fructed" is stated.
Grain crops
★ Wheat constantly occurs in the form of "garbs" or sheaves (and in fields in the arms of the province of
Alberta and elsewhere), though less often as ears), though most often they are shown in stylised form.
★
★ bearded
wheat ears are distinguished in the arms of the 469th Support Battalion of the United States Army
★ Ears of
rye are depicted exactly as wheat, except the ears droop down.
★ "Ginny wheat" (like wheat but with a fatter ear) also exists.
★ There are very few examples of
barley,
maize and
oats.
Flowers
The most famous heraldic flower is the ''
fleur-de-lis'', which is often stated to be a stylised lily, though despite the name there is considerable debate on this. The "natural"
lily, somewhat stylised, also occurs, as (together with the fleur-de-lys) in the arms of
Eton College.
The
rose is perhaps even more widely seen than the fleur-de-lis. Its heraldic form is derived from the "wild" type with only five petals. It is often ''barbed'' (the hull of the bud, its points showing between the petals) and ''seeded'' in contrasting tinctures.
The
thistle frequently appears as a symbol of
Scotland.
The ''trefoil'', ''quatrefoil'' and ''cinquefoil'' are abstract forms resembling flowers.
★ The trefoil is supposed to be always, and is default, ''slipped'', i.e. with a stem, though there is at least one exception
[10]
★ The cinquefoil is sometimes blazoned ''fraise'' (strawberry flower), especially when
canting for Fraser.
The
trillium flower occurs occasionally in a Canadian context, and the
protea flower constantly appears in South Africa.
Fruits
Apples and bunches of
grapes occur very frequently, other fruits less so.
Trees
When the species of a tree is specified, it is drawn in a stylized form so that its fruit (if it is blazoned as "fructed," which it may well need to be to distinguish types of trees from each other) and the shape of its leaves are conspicuous.
The most frequent tree by far is the
oak, followed by the
pine.
A small group of trees is blazoned as a "hurst", which is distinguished from a
forest.
If a tree is "eradicated" it is shown as if it has been ripped up from the ground, the roots being exposed. "Erased" is rarely used for a similar treatment.
[11]
In Portuguese heraldry but rarely in the heraldry of other countries trees are sometimes found
decorticated.
Other plants
★ The
maple usually occurs only in the form of leaves (and occasionally seeds)
[12]
★
Nuts are sometimes blazoned simply as "nuts" (depicted like the
walnut) though the most frequently occurring nut is the
acorn, often cracked by a squirrel, and constantly in conjunction with the oak.
★
Grass is sometimes specified to occur on the "mounts vert" (green hillocks) on which charges on the shield, or crest, sit or are placed.
★ The
broom plant, symbol of the
Plantagenets, occurs occasionally.
★ The
fern is usually found as part of the "fern-brake" or group of ferns. Almost invariably ferns are "generic" and mature but the arms of John Leighton Williamson give an example of
fiddleheads (
Matteuccia struthiopteris).
★
hemp (French ''chanvre''): in the
canting arms of
Chennevières lès Louvres, in the department of
Val d'Oise.
Inanimate charges
Astronomical
The
sun is a disc with twelve or more wavy rays, or alternating wavy and straight rays.
The
moon is occasionally depicted "in her plenitude" (full), distinguished from a ''roundel argent'' by having a face; but
crescents occur much more frequently.
''Estoiles'' are stars with wavy rays;
pole stars are occasionally differentiated.
Weather
★
Clouds often occur, though more frequently for people or animals to stand on or issue from than as isolated charges.
★ In terms of clouds' precipitation, the raindrop as such is unknown,
★ and the
snowflake (blazoned as "snow crystal"
[13]) is only known in more recent times,
★ though the
snowball predates this by some centuries.
Geology and geography
The oldest charge of this class is the ''mount'', typically a green hilltop rising from the lower edge of the field, providing a place for a beast or a building to stand. This feature is exceedingly common in Hungarian arms.
A charge distinctive to Italian arms is a mount stylized as a 'pyramid' of three or six domed cylinders.
Natural mountains and boulders are not unknown, though ranges of mountains are diffently shown. An example is the arms of
Edinburgh, portraying
Edinburgh Castle atop
Castle Rock.
Volcanos are shown, almost without exception, as erupting, and the eruption is generally quite stylised.
In the 18th century, ''landscapes'' began to appear in armory, often depicting the sites of battles. For example,
Admiral Lord Nelson received a chief of augmentation containing a landscape alluding to the
Battle of the Nile.
Tools
Tools include:
★
axes, including
ice-axe,
pickaxe,
halberd
★
hammers, occasionally of specific types
★
★
maul
★
shovel
★
sickle
★
ladders typically take the form of scaling ladders.
★
scales (weighing)
★
scissors
★ A torch, lamp, or candle.
The
wheel is almost invariably a carriage wheel.
Ships, boats and water transport
Ships of various types often appear; the most frequent being the ancient
lymphad. Also frequent are
anchors and
oars.
Clothing
Buckles occur not infrequently, including the stylized ''boucle d'Oise''.
The ecclesiastical
hat and bishop's
mitre are not uncommon.
Crowns and
coronets of various kinds are constantly seen.
The 'maunch' is a lady's sleeve, highly stylized, resembling a fancifully-written letter M; in French blazon it is called ''manche mal taillée'', a sleeve badly cut.
Buildings
By far the most frequent building in heraldry is the 'tower', a tapering cylinder of masonry topped with
battlements, usually having a door and a few windows. A 'castle' is two towers joined by a wall; but the canting arms of the
Kingdom of Castile are ''Gules, a tower triple-turreted Or'', i.e. three small towers standing atop a larger one.
★ The ordinary
chess-rook would be indistinguishable from a tower; the heraldic chess rook, instead of battlements, has two outward-splayed "horns".
★ The doorway of a castle is often secured by a
portcullis. This charge was used as a canting badge by the
Tudors (two-doors), and has since come to represent the British Parliament.
Civic and ecclesiastical armory often shows a
church or a whole town.
Sometimes a specific building is depicted; e.g. the shield of the city of
Edinburgh has a representation of
Edinburgh Castle atop
Castle Rock.
Bridges, variously and usually more fully described, often occur.
Industrial
★ Charges related to
industry include the
cogwheel.
★
Keys (taking a form similar to a "
skeleton key") frequently appear, particularly in allusion to
Saint Peter.
Music
Musical instruments commonly seen are the
harp (as in the
coat of arms of Ireland),
bell and
trumpet. The
drum, almost without exception, is a
field drum type.
Weapons and militaria
The
sword is sometimes a symbol of authority, as in the royal arms of the
Netherlands, but more often alludes to
Saint Paul, as the patron of a town (e.g.
London) or dedicatee of a church.
Other weapons occur more often in modern than in earlier heraldry.
★ The
trophy is a collection of armor and
weapons.
★ Bows include the
longbow and
crossbow;
arrows include the
birdbolt.
★ The
cannon (and its
balls).
★ The
dirk makes frequent appearances in Scottish heraldry.
★ The
grenade has an appearance similar to a cannonball with flames coming out of a flattened end.
★ The
mace appears as a weapon in addition to its appearance as a symbol of authority.
Flags of various kinds occasionally appear as charges.
Writing
Books constantly occur, most frequently in the arms of
colleges and
universities, though the
Gospel and
Bible are sometimes distinguished. Books if open may be inscribed with words. Words and phrases are otherwise rare, except in Spanish and Portuguese armory. Letters of the various alphabets are also relatively rare.
Arms of merchants in Poland and eastern Germany are often based on "house-marks", abstract symbols resembling
runes, though they are almost never blazoned as runes, but as a combination of other heraldic charges.
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