Basic Heraldry

Basic Heraldry
within the Combined Realms

 In medieval times it was difficult to keep a pictorial
record of large numbers of Coats of Arms. A large part
of a heralds job was to record and recognize coats of
arms. They would identify people in tournaments as
well as on the battlefield. It would have been
impractical to carry around a large collection of
pictures. In addition, even if they were recorded
pictorially, a single Coat of Arms would likely vary
from artist to artist. In such a case, two examples of the
same Coat of Arms might not be recognizable as being
the same.
 The system of describing coats of arms needed to be
standardized and exact. So, to describe the appearance
of a coat of arms, a special set of terminology was used.
This language of heraldry is called "Blazon".

 A blazon can also be the description of a particular coat of
arms. Because the practice of heraldry was formalized by the
Normans, most of the terminology is derived from Old
French. It should be noted that the terminology in this
introduction is that used in English heraldry. Although it is
almost entirely universal among European languages, there
are as well numerous variations.
When a herald "blazons a coat" he is describing in a very
specific code the "field" (background) and the "charges"
(things on the field).
The field must be described in terms of it's coloring, if and
how it is divided (parted) and the "partitions" themselves.
In addition to the field, Blazon also describes any charges that
are to appear on the field in terms of such aspects as, their
coloring, what shape they are (or what they represent), where
they are placed, or if in groups, how they are arranged, and
even (in the case of living things) how they are behaving (their
"attitude").
A heraldic picture is called an emblazon.

 Emblazons are visual manifestations of
heraldic insignia, typically displayed on shields
or flags. Because emblazons are awkward to
work with, heraldry uses a specialized jargon
called blazon to describe shields and flags.
Persons skilled in heraldry can discuss shields
entirely in blazon, without ever drawing the
emblazons. As a noun, the word "blazon" is
also used to refer to the heraldic description of
a shield or flag.

 Emblazons are visual manifestations of heraldic insignia, typically displayed
on shields or flags. Because emblazons are awkward to work with, heraldry
uses a specialized jargon called blazon to describe shields and flags. Persons
skilled in heraldry can discuss shields entirely in blazon, without ever
drawing the emblazons. As a noun, the word "blazon" is also used to refer to
the heraldic description of a shield or flag.

The great advantage of blazon over plain English is that blazon terms are
defined more precisely than English ones. As a result, one can describe a
shield more accurately and in fewer words with blazon than one can in plain
English.

The distinction between blazon and emblazon is an important one, since there
is not a one-to-one correspondence between blazons and emblazons. In many
cases, a particular emblazon can be blazoned (=described in heraldic language)
in more than one way. And no two heraldic artists will emblazon (=draw) a
given blazon in exactly the same way. But for well-designed heraldry, the
blazon captures the important features of the emblazon, and, given a blazon, a
trained heraldic artist should be able to produce a reasonable facsimile of the
original emblazon.

Achievement of Arms
•

What you see here is not a Coat of Arms. It is an Achievement
of Arms. A Coat of Arms is only the shield shape (escutcheon)
and the design upon it (though it is not always a
shield, depending on who is bearing the arms).
A. Crest
B. Torse or wreath
C. Helm
D. Mantling or lambrequin
E. Shield
F. Scroll
G. Motto
H. Supporters

 A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it
stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's
head.

In English the word "crest" is commonly (but erroneously) used to
refer to an entire heraldic achievement of armorial bearings. The
technical use of the heraldic term crest refers to just one component
of a complete achievement. The crest has evolved from the three-
dimensional figure placed on the top of the helms as a further means
of identification.
The crest rests on top of a helmet which itself rests on the most
important part of the achievement: the shield. The crest is a common
adjunct of the shield, and consists of any object or objects placed
above it. When shown above the shield, the crest normally arises out
of a wreath made of twisted ribbons of the two principal tinctures of
the shield. Other times it may surmount a "cap of dignity" in place of
the wreath. Crests are not always found with a shield, they are not a
required addition. The crest is blazoned as if it were a charge. " A
crest of…."

 The torse or wreath, is a twisted roll of fabric wound around
the top of the helm and crest to hold the mantle. the
protective cloth covering worn over a knight's helmet, the
torse is represented in two colors, generally the same pair of
colors used on the mantle. The torse was made up of a pair
of ribbons twisted together, tinctured of the principal metal
and colors of the shield, the livery colors. The torse was
sometimes held to represent the token which the crusader’s
lady-love gave him when he left for the wars, a sort of
hankie which he twisted round the top of his
helmet, masking the join where the crest was fixed to it. The
torse is also often used as a decoration on a heraldic
animal, either as a form of crown, or as a wreath around the
neck. The Torse is blazoned as "On a wreath of the colors x
and y…"

 Crowns and coronets are emblems of the rank
of the bearer. Coronets (small crowns
specifying the bearer’s rank in the peerage) are
emblems of rank that are shown, when
depicted, between shield and helmet. There are
different coronets specified for the ranks of
baron, viscount, earl, marquess, and duke.
Among the relics of this usage is the crest
coronet, a coronet that supports the crest either
instead of the wreath or in addition to it and
resting upon it.. Another relic is the chapeau, or
cap of maintenance, a cap with ermine lining
that was once worn on the helmet before the
development of mantling and that is sometimes
used instead of the wreath to support the
crest. These are blazoned by name.

 On top of the shield is placed the helmet, upon
which the crest is fastened by a
wreath, coronet, or chapeau. Some helmets are
displayed in profile and some in full face, with
different metals and accoutrements. The shape
of the helmet has varied greatly in heraldic
representation. While the basic features of
heraldry remain unchanged, the modes in
which the insignia are shown have been subject
to change and to fashion. The barrel-shaped
helmet was used in the 13th century.

 When the helm and crest are shown, they are usually
accompanied by a mantling or lambrequin. This was
originally a cloth worn over the back of the helmet as partial
protection against heating by sunlight. Today it takes the
form of a stylized cloak tinctured of the principal metal and
colors of the shield, the livery colors, hanging from the
helmet.
Typically, the outer surface of the mantling is of the
principal color in the shield and the inner surface is of the
principal metal. The mantling is sometimes conventionally
depicted with a ragged edge, as if damaged in combat,
though the edges of most are simply decorated at the
emblazoner's discretion. More elaborately styled mantles
are used for kings and sovereign princes. It is blazoned as "
A lambrequin of X and Y…" (X and Y being the primary
tinctures used)

 The Scroll is a ribbon on which the motto is written. If there is no
motto there will be no scroll. The scroll is tinctured of the
principal metal and colors of the shield, known as the livery
colors, generally the same pair of colors used on the mantle. It is
blazoned as " a scroll of X and Y…" (X and Y being the primary
tinctures used)
Myths have grown around mottoes—time and again, a phrase or
short sentence that began life as an inspiration or exhortation
acquired a fantastic explanation. An armorial motto is a phrase or
collection of words intended to describe the motivation or
intention of the entity it represents. Most of these can be
dismissed. Some mottoes are old war cries. Others are puns on the
owner’s name or title, such as the Seton war cry of “Set on.”
French and Latin are the most popular languages, but Gaelic and
Greek also appear. Mottoes are generally changed at will and do
not make up an integral part of the armorial achievement. Mottoes
can typically be found on a scroll under the shield.

 Supporters are figures usually placed on either side of the shield and
depicted holding it up. Supporters are traditionally beasts, birds,
monsters, human or mythical animals that stand on either side and
support the coat of arms. Today, many civic and municipal Coats of Arms
have such supporters, but their use is mostly restricted to the above or for
people who have achieved much notoriety. These figures may be real or
imaginary animals, human figures, and in rare cases plants or inanimate
objects. Often these can have local significance. Human supporters can
also be allegorical figures, or, more rarely, specifically named
individuals. There is usually one supporter on each side of the shield,
though there are some examples of single supporters placed behind the
shield, and the arms of Congo provide an extremely unusual example of
supporters issuing from behind the shield. While such single supporters
are generally eagles with one or two heads, there are other
examples. Animal supporters are by default as close to rampant as
possible if the nature of the supporter allows it (this does not need to be
mentioned in the blazon), though there are some blazoned exceptions.
Another addition that can be made to a Coat of Arms is the insignia of a
baronet (or higher rank) or of an order of knighthood. This is usually
represented by a collar or similar band surrounding the shield.

 Rule of Tincture
Simply, the Rule of Tincture says that "good contrast" should
exist between the field and the charges upon it, or between a
charge and the charges on it. Good contrast is most often
achieved by:
1. A metal and a color
2. An element equally divided of a color and a metal and
any other element, provided identifiably is maintained
3. A color and a charge blazoned proper that is
predominantly light
The main duty of a heraldic device is to be recognized at a
distance, and the dark colors or light metals are often too
difficult to distinguish if they are placed on top of other dark
or light colors, particularly in poor light. Though this is the
practical genesis of the rule. Within the HFS, no one is forced
to conform to the rule.

 The heraldic palette consist of seven basic tinctures:
white/silver, blue, red, yellow/gold, purple, black,
and green. But these names are never used in
heraldry. .

The basic tinctures are classified according to
whether they are colors (dark) or metals (light). The
Metals are Argent and Or. The Colors are Azure,
Gules, Vert, Purpure, and Sable. The Stains, seen
uncommonly, are; bleu-celeste, brunatre, cendree, de
piedra, murry, rose or rouge, terry or amaranth,
carnation or buff, sanguine, tenné and ochre.

 Or (gold, often depicted as yellow) is drawn as black dots.
Argent (silver, often depicted as white) drawn as white
Sable (black, depicted as black) drawn as a fully darkened area
Gules (red, depicted as red) drawn as vertical lines
Azure (blue, depicted as blue) drawn as horizontal lines
Vert (green, depicted as green) drawn as diagonal lines from left to right
Purpure (purple, depicted as purple) drawn as diagonal lines from right
to left
Murrey (mulberry depicted as berry-red) drawn as crossing diagonal
lines
Sanguine (blood depicted as blood-red) drawn as horizontal and
diagonal lines from left to right
Tenne (brown depicted as brown) drawn as vertical and diagonal lines
from left to right
Orange (orange), depicted as orange) drawn as segmented vertical lines
Ermine (depicted as black ermine tails on white)
Erminois (depicted as black ermine tails on yellow)
Pean (depicted as yellow ermine tails on black)
Papellone (scales)
Plumete (feathers)

 A shield or flag usually consists of a field (=
background) on which one or more distinct
charges (= objects) are placed. The blazon of
such a shield describes the field first, then the
charges.
 The field may be a single, solid tincture. In this
case, it is described by simply naming the
tincture. For example, the arms of Brittany
consist of a field ermine with no charges on it.

 The emblazon of the arms of Brittany look like
this:

To describe a group of charges
• To describe a group of charges, you usually specify at least three things:
• the number charges in the group
• the type(s) of charge(s) in the group
• the tinctures of the charge(s)
• in that order. For example, the following shield:

is blazoned "Sable, a mullet argent."

To Recap
• The first word, "Sable" describes the field, indicating that it is entirely
sable.
• The remainder of the blazon, "a mullet argent" describes a group of
charges on the field:
– "a" indicates that there is one charge in the group
– "mullet" indicates that charges in the group are mullets (=stars)
– "argent" indicates that the tincture of the group is argent.
• It is helpful to think of a shield as being painted in layers. The field
constitutes the first layer, and the first group of charges is placed in a
second layer on the field. The following picture may help make this clear:

The illustration shows how "Sable, a mullet argent." might look if viewed
obliquely from below.
• To summarize the syntax rules so far:
• field before charges
• number, then type, then tincture

FIELD DIVISIONS

 The field may be divided into multiple
sections in certain conventional ways.
The field is still considered to be a
single layer, so no section is considered
to be "on" any other.
 In general the sections of a divided field
are blazoned in the order that one
would read a page: primarily from top to
bottom and secondarily from left to right,
as one faces the shield.

Ordinaries

 An ordinary is a charge that consists of one
or more strips of some tincture which cover
large areas of the shield. Every side of an
ordinary is either straight or else parallels a
curved edge of the shield.
 When learning these terms, it is useful to
notice how the field divisions seen earlier
correspond with the multi-edged ordinaries.
 Sometimes the rarer ordinaries are called
subordinaries. It is easiest to classify them
according to how many edges they have.

 There are also special names for certain
variants of the ordinaries, including
diminuative (narrow) versions and other
variants, such as the dance, the baton, and
the shakefork.
There are four special variants of ordinaries
which will be discussed
here, Fimbriation, Voiding, Gemels, Cottices
and Diminutives,.

 Fimbriation is a narrow edging around plain-
line ordinaries and other simple geometric
charges. It is used primarily to seperate a
charge and the field of the same type of
tincture (metal/metal or color/color).

 The term voided applies to an ordinary or
other simple geometric charge where only the
outline of the charge is visible.

 Gemelling is a term which applies to two bars
placed closely together. It is generally termed
as a bar gemel

 Cottices (singular cost) are a normally found in pairs and are thin
(double diminutives) versions of the ordinary they accompany
and flank it on either side. When cottices are present, the ordinary
is called cotised, except in the case of a pale, where it is considered
endorsed.

 Diminutives are thinner, smaller versions of the
ordinaries. For Example: the bar is a diminutive
of the fess, in that the bar is a narrower version
of the fess.

 HFS Armory is best served when we remember to exhibit good contrast
between charges and the ground upon which they lie. The Rules for
Submissions defines good contrast in terms of colors, metals, stains and
combinations of them.
To review:

Colors are "dark"
 Metals are "light"
 Neutral is evenly composed of "light" and "dark".

To describe a group of charges, you usually specify at least three things:

the number charges in the group
 the type(s) of charge(s) in the group
 the tinctures of the charge(s)
 …in that order.

 We have seen how charges on the field are blazoned. It is also possible to have charges
that lie completely on other charges, and do not meet the field at all. Such charges form a
third layer of the design.
Such charges are blazoned after the charges on which they lie. There are two forms:
"... on an X, some Y's ..."
 "... some X's (each) charged with some Y's ..."
 Form (1) is usually preferred, because it is shorter. But when there are multiple
underlying charges, form (2) must be used.
 The following picture may help clarify what is meant by charges on charges:
The illustration shows how "Sable, on a pale Argent a mullet of five points Sable." might
look if viewed obliquely from below.
Here is a summary of the syntax rules so far:
field before charges
 number, then type, then tincture
 charges on charges are blazoned after the charges on which they lie

 Almost anything HFS appropriate can be used as a
Charge in HFS heraldry.
 There are two reasons a charge is restricted or reserved:
 Presumption (legally restricted within the Mundane world)
 Offense
 Presumptuous charges make a mundane claim to a specific thing.
For example, a Papal cross says "I am the Pope ." Since this is a mundane office, no one in
the context of the HFS may claim to be the Pope without offending the mundane world,
thus no one may bear a Papal cross.
 Offensive charges make the HFS look bad to observers.
 The charges listed as restricted here are listed because they have been involved in official legal
complaints against individuals (and groups) who displayed them.
 For example: the swastika, while a period charge, is so tainted by its
association with the Nazis as to be unusable.
 The list of offensive charges includes:
 Hand of Glory (a hand enflamed)
 Swastika
 A pall gammadion (three armed swastika)
 A cross of flames

 The list of presumptuous charges includes:
 Crowned anything
 Imperial dragon (4- or 5-toed Chinese dragon)
 Papal cross (A cross with three cross pieces)
 Red Hand of Ulster (hand appaumy gules)
 Scottish tressure (double tressure flory-counterflory)
 Tudor rose (various combinations of a white rose and a
red row)
 White rose en soleil (a white rose on top of a sun)
 France, ancient or modern (Azure, semy-de- lys Or) and
(Azure, three fleurs-de-lys Or)
 Triple-headed eagle
 Cross couped gules
 Mitre
 Pallium

 The Charges on the presumptuous list are
Mundane associated with Royalty that to use
them on armory would claim to be a mundane
Royal person.
 The 5-toed Chinese dragon is still reserved to
the Chinese Emperor, while the 4-toed variety
was reserved to the King of Korea.
 Chinese dragons used in armory should have
no more than three toes on each foot.
 The Red Hand of Ulster is an Augmentation of
Arms granted to Baronets in Great Britain.

 Quadrupeds (four-legged creatures) come in
many shapes and sizes. Pictured below are but
a few of the myriad of creatures known to
heraldry.
 Antelope, Stag, Bear, Rabbit, Cat, Dog, Dragon,
Griffon, Lion, Panther, Squirrel, Tiger, Unicorn…

 Finally, the position of the head, if not looking
'forward', is blazoned explicitly. If the beast is looking
at the viewer, it is considered "gardant" and if it is
looking back over it's shoulder, it is considered
"regardant". Thus:
 a lion sejant a lion sejant gardant a lion sejant regardant

 In addition to the many different types of four
legged creatures found in heraldry, most all of
the creatures can be depicted in many different
manners, known as postures. Below is a list of
standard heraldic postures, along with
depictions and descriptions of each.

 Rampant - Rearing Body erect, forelegs apart and out, back-rear leg off the ground.
Salient - Leaping Body erect and elongated, forelegs out and together, rear legs
together and on the ground
Courant - Running Body elongated, head erect, all four legs extended.
Passant - walking Body horizontal, head angled or erect, three feet touching the
ground with the right foreleg raised.
Statant - standing Body horizontal, head angled or erect, all four feet touching the
ground.
Sejant - sitting Body angled, head erect, all four legs touching the ground, rear legs
curved and front legs straight.
Sejant Erect - sitting upright Body and head erect, the rear legs as in sejant and the
forelegs apart and out.
Sejant Affronty - sitting facing the viewer ("in full aspect") As Sejant, but viewed
from the front, so the belly of the creature is fully visible. The 'knees' of the rear legs
are splayed to give a better 'view'.
Sejant Erect Affronty - sitting upright facing the viewer As Sejant Affronty, but
with the forelegs upraised and spread wide.
Couchant - lying down Body horizontal, head erect with legs tucked under the
body.
Dormant - sleeping Body horizontal, legs tucked under body and head down in a
sleeping position using forelegs as a pillow.

 Just as there are beasts of the field, there are birds of the air. Though not as
numerous as the beasts, there are still many different types of birds. One of
the primary differences between beasts and birds is that the latter are
commonly linked quite closely with a specific posture in period armory. Thus,
in period armory, almost all displayed birds are eagles, only storks have the
posture 'in their vigilance', only peacocks are 'in their pride' and only pelicans
are 'in their piety'. The present Laurel thought on this is that birds who are
represented in their period posture, displaying defining characteristics (more
on this later) and were considered different in period will g
The first group is that of the raptors: Chief among them is the Eagle, being the
king of the air, much like the lion is the king of beasts. The eagle is normally
seen displayed. Next is the falcon, which is seen as both rising and close in
period armory. Finally, there is the owl which is always seen in period in the
close guardant posture.generally be considered different

 The next group is the general 'bird' group. The
default posture for these is close and include
birds such as the crow, duck and dove.

 The final category is reserved for special
birds who have postures which make them
unique enough to render them different
from other birds. These include the crane,
peacock and the pelican.

 Displayed --Wings and legs splayed
 Close --Wings close against the body and feet on ground
 Volant --Feet invisible, wings outstretched. Wings can be displayed
or not.
 Rising --Feet on ground, wings elevated or displayed, addorsed or
not.
 Close affronty --Normally only for owls - also known as close
guardant
 Pride-- seen only with Peacocks.
 Close affronty --with tailfeathers displayed
 Vigilance --seen only with Cranes. Close with one leg raised, stone in
claw
 Vulning or Piety --seen only with Pelicans..normally with nest and
chicks

 Addorsed --Both wings on same side of body
 Displayed --Wings on either side of body
 Elevated --Wingtips away from body
 Inverted --Wingtips tucked back towards body
 Often, the two wing position variants will be used
together

 As we have discussed the birds of the air and
the beasts of the field, the denizens of the ocean
are also seen in armory. They range from the
dolphin and the whale through various
different fish used primarily for canting.
 A dolphin, A lucy (medieval name for pike), A
whale, A lobster, crabs, escallops, octopi and squid
(known as kraken).

 Embowed --Curved body bending 'inward'
 Embowed--counterembowed 'S' shaped curve
to the body, Seen most often with dolphins.
 Haurient --Body in pale, head to chief
 Naiant --Body in fess, head to dexter
 Urinant --Body in pale, head to base

 Though uncommon, it is not unheard of to
find reptiles and amphibians in heraldy. The
most commonly found of these is the
serpent or snake, which is seen either nowed
(or knotted) or erect.
 A serpent knowed A serpent erect

 Other reptiles and amphibians which are seen
in armory include the lizard, the turtle and the
frog. Note that all are depicted in a 'top-down'
perspective which is called tergiant.

 Insects and arthropods can be found in armory.
All insects are found depicted in the tergiant
posture. However, when the insect is
winged, the posture is known as volant en
arrière (flying).

 The animal kingdom is not the only resource which was drawn upon for
period armory. There are many forms of plant life which can be used as
charges. These include flowers, trees and fruits/nuts. When a flower has
a stem attached, it is termed slipped. When it has a stem and leaves
attached, it is termed slipped and leaved. When the leaves of a rose have
a different tincture than the flower, they are referred to as barbed and
when the center of the rose is a different tincture, it is referred to as
seeded.
 A rose, A thistle, A Fleur-de-lys, A trefoil
 Note that the trefoil and the Fleur-de-lys are stylised representations of flowers.
 Trees were also found in armory. Though many different species of trees
were used in armory, for purposes of conflict checking, we use the basic
shapes of the tree (oval, conical, palm, etc). When the roots of a tree are
showing, the tree is termed eradicated and when they are not, it is called
couped. When there are no leaves on the tree, it is termed blasted.
 The fruits from these plants are also the subject of armorial
depiction, from humble acorn and garb (a sheaf of wheat), to the
pomegranate.

 There are a myriad of other charges which are
used in period armory. These range from the
simple everyday objects, such as tools and
household goods, to weapons and armor and
even structures and body parts.

 Lines of division and the edges of ordinaries need not be straight; they can
take any of a number of decorative patterns. The more common ones are
illustrated below:
 The example above showed embattlements applied only to the upper edge of
the fess. This is the default practice for bends, fesses, and chevrons embattled,
and presumably also for bends sinister embattled. I'm not sure about chevrons
inverted, though. The upper-edge rule also seems to apply to fesses flory and
trefly, chevrons grady and potent, and bends flory, though some might
dispute these. But surprisingly, fesses and bends potent are decorated on both
edges.
 Indeed, in most cases, the default is for patterns to be applied to all edges of an
ordinary.
 For instance, here is Sable, a pale wavy Argent:

 When all edges of a multi-edged ordinary are
indented, the term "dancetty" is used. For
instance, here is Sable, a pale dancetty Argent:

 Notice that waves and dents on opposite sides
of the pale are "in phase" so that the width of
the pale remains more-or-less constant. This is
generally true of complex lines applied to
multi-edged ordinaries. The one exception is
bretessed which is identical to embattled except
that the battlements on opposite edges are 180
degrees "out-of-phase" with one another. Here
is Sable, a pale bretessed Argent:

 Chevrons, fesses, and bends
bretessed, naturally, have battlements on both
edges. To specify that a fess, chevron, or bend has
embattlements on both edges that are "in
phase", the term "embattled-counter-embattled" is
used.
 Engrailed and invected edges, because of their
asymmetry, require special clarification. An
engrailed ordinary has semi-circular "bites" taken
out of it, whereas an invected ordinary has semi-
circular "bumps" added to it. For instance, here is
Sable, a chief engrailed Argent:

 Counterchanging is a common practice wherein the field is
divided between a metal and a color. Upon that field is a
charge or group of charges whose tinctures are of the opposite
tincture. For instance, if one has Per pale sable and argent, two
roundels counterchanged, the roundel on the sable part of the
field is argent and vice versa as such...

Counterchanging can also be applied to single charges and
groups of charges.

DIRECTIONS
 In the world of a map there are four cardinal directions: north,
east, south, and west. Similarly, the world of a shield also has
four cardinal directions:
 to base (= toward the bottom point of the shield)
 to chief (= toward the top edge of the shield)
 to dexter (= toward the viewer's left)
 to sinister (= toward the viewer's right)
 Those familiar with Latin or anatomy will notice that, from the
viewer's point of view, dexter and sinister are backwards! The
usual explanation for this is that directions are specified from the
point of view of someone carrying the shield.
 In addition, there are four "in-between" directions, analogous to
northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast:
 to dexter chief (or to canton)
 to sinister chief (or to sinister canton)
 to dexter base
 to sinister base

 Orientatation refers to the way that axes of a charge are pointed with respect
to the shield.
 In a blazon, the orientation of a charge appears after the type, but before the
tincture. For any charge which can be oriented in more than one way, there is
a default orientation, which is assumed if no orientation is specified.
 The orientations that can be specified for a charge depend on how many axes
the charge has and how symmetric each one is:
 Some charges, such as annulets and roundels, are perfectly symmetric; they
look the same no matter how they are rotated or reflected. They have no
axes, and no orientation can be specified.
 Other charges, such as billets, cartouches, lozenges, and mascles, have a single
axis but no "top end". For these charges, only four orientations can be
specified:
 palewise,

 bendwise,

 bendwise sinister,

 and fesswise.

 When these charges appear singly on the field, their
default orientation is "palewise".
 Other charges, such as chalices, hearts, pheons, and trees,
have a single axis with a clearly-defined "top" and "bottom"
that can be swapped. The first four orientations above
apply to these charges as well, with the additional
constraint that the "top" end of the charge is to chief for
palewise, bendwise, or bendwise sinister charges and to
dexter for fesswise charges. If the top and bottom of the
charge are swapped, one replaces
 "palewise" with "palewise inverted",
 "bendwise" with "bendwise inverted",
 "bendwise sinister" with "bendwise sinister inverted", and
 "fesswise" with "fesswise reversed".
 Basically, inverted means "swap top for bottom", and
reversed means "swap left for right".

 Other charges, such as harps, maunches, and
mugs have a two axes: a principal axis with a
"top" and "bottom" and a secondary axis with
a "leading edge" and "trailing edge". Each of
the eight orientations above come in two
flavors now, depending on whether the
leading edge is in the normal orientation or
not. For "palewise", the normal flavor is
"leading edge to dexter" and the other flavor
is palewise reversed, which means "leading
edge to sinister".

Arrangements
 Arrangement refers to the placement of charges
relative to other charges in a single grouping. If
you have a group of three charges there are
many standard ways in which they can be
arranged:
 Sable, in fess three billets argent. Sable, three billets in pale argent.

More on Arrangments
 Note that the arrangement can appear in different positions in
the blazon. Sometimes it appears before the number; sometimes
it appears after the type. Both positions are legal for phrases that
begin with the word "in". Phases consisting of lists of numbers
should only appear after the type.
 Note that it was necessary to specify the orientation of the billets
when they were arranged "in bend" and "in bend sinister". This is
because:
 charges arranged "in bend" are oriented "bendwise" by default
 charges arranged "in bend sinister" are oriented "bendwise
sinister" by default
 In many circumstances, there is a default arrangement. For
instance, a group of three charges on the field are "two and one"
if no other arrangement is specified.

Help is Available!
• If you have an idea of what you want your
device to look like (or even a drawing) and you
would like help getting a Blazon or
Emblazon, contact us!
• There is much more possible in Heraldry that
what is posted here. We have many options
and we will gladly work with you to add to the
pagentry within the Combined Realms.

Basic Heraldry

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