Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/865

* HERALDRY. 797 HERALDRY. The mantling is au embellishment of scroll- vork How ing down on both sides of the shield, and originating in the cointoise, or scarf, wrapped round the body in tlie days of eout armor. From the centre of the helmet, within a icreath of two pieces of silk usually of the first two colors of the armorial bearings, issues the crest, originally a special mark of honor worn only by heroes of great valor, or advanced to a high military command; now an inseparable ad- junct of the coat of arms in English, though not in Continental heraldry, and sometimes as- sumed or changed arbitrarilv, although this is illegal. The scroll, placed over the crest or below the shield, contains a motto bearing in many cases an allusion to .the family name or arms. Tho motto was originally the war-cry of the bearer. tiupporters are figxires or animals standing on each side of the escutcheon, and seeming to defend or support it. They were in their origin ]jurely ornamental devices, which only gradually acquired an heraldic character. In England the right to use supporters is confined to the royal family, peers, peeresses, and peers by courtesy, Knights of the Garter. Knights Grand Cross of the Bath, and a very few families whose ances- tors bore supporters before their general use was restricted. In Scotland supporters are also used by the baronets of Nova Scotia and the chiefs of various families. They have sometimes been conferred on towns, e.g. Liverpool, Belfast. The crown of the sovereign, the mitre of the bishop, and the coronet of the nobility are ad- juncts appended to the shield of those whose dig- nity and office entitle them to that distinction. I5l.zoxry. This is the art of describing, in technical terms, the charges borne in arms — their positions, gestures, tinctures, etc.. and the man- ner of arranging them on the shield. As her- aldry, though arbitrary, is very exact, the rules of blazoning are observed on all occasions with the most rigid precision. The following are the most important: In blazoning or describing a coat of arms, avoid repetitions and use as few words as possible. Begin with the field, naming the tincture or tinctures, and mentioning the lines by w'hich it is divided — per pale, per fess, etc., if such there be — and noticing if they are indented, engrailed, or the like, it being taken for granted that they are straight unless the contrary is mentioned. The charges are named next, beginning with the most important and i^tarest ihe centre, giving their number, position, and tincture: e.g. the .lHeck family bear arijent, three bam, sable: the Aldboroughs, barn/ of ten, urgent and a^itre, a- lion rampant, gules. Usually the ordinaries and their diminutives come first; but the chirf, bordnre. or canton generally comes last : e.g. the Gainsboroughs bear or fretttignles, a canton, ermine. Where the principal charge is not in the centre its position must be named, as in first quarter. When an ordinary debniises another charge, the latter is named first unless some other direction is given. Two charges are in pale, i.e. one above the other: three are repre- sented two above, one below ; when a fess or bend is between six similar charges, three are in chief and three in base. In all other cases tho position of the charges must be described. When the ordinary bears a charge ami there are also other charges in the field, the latter are named before the charges on the ordinary. When a tincture occurs twice it is not repeated, but of the field, of the first, etc., are used. The Anglesey family bears sable, on a cross engrailed belwccn four eagles displayed argent, five lions passant- gardant of the field. When there is an equal niiml)er of two charges, 'as many' is used instead of repeating the number. The l.eilhs bear or, a cross-crosslet filchy, sable, betucen three cres- cents in chief, and us many lozenges in base, gules. The Parkers bear gules, o)i a chevron, between three keys erect, argent, as many fleurs- de-lis of the field. Finally the diM'erenccs, crests, and supporters are described. A full knowledge of blazonrj' can be acquired only by the careful study of many exam|)les. Mar.siialing of Akms. This is the combining of dilferent coats of arms in one esculchcon, for the purpose of indicating family alliance or ollice. In the earlier heraldry it was not the jiractiee to e.xhibit more than one coat in a shield, but the arms of hu.sband and wife were sometimes placed accolli; tn- side by side, in sepa- rate escutcheons; or the principal shield was surrounded by smaller ones, containing the arms of maternal ancestors ; and not infrequently maternal descent or marriage was indicated by the addition of some bearing from the wife's or mother's shield. Then followed dimidialion, where the shield was parted per pale, and the two coats placed side by side, half of each being shown. By the more modern custom of impaling, the whole of each coat is exhibited, a reminiscence of the older practice being retained in the omis- sion of bordures, orles. and tressures on the side bounded by the line of impalement. The most common case of impalement is where the coats of husband and wife are conjoined, the husband's .-.rms occupying the dexter side of the shield, or place of honor, and the wife's the sinister side. Bishops, deans, heads of colleges, and kings-at- arms impale their arms of ofliice with their family coat, giving the dexter side to the former. A man who marries an heiress (in heraldic sense) is entitled to place her arms on a small shield called an escutcheon of pretense, in the centre of his achievement, instead of impaling them. Quartering, or the exhibiting of ditTcrent coals on a shield divided at once perpendicularly and horizontally, is the most commcm mode of mar- shaling arms, a practice which, however, was imknown till the middle of the fourteenth cen- tury. The divisions of the shield are called <iuar- tcrs. and are numbered horizontally, beginning at the dexter chief. The most comnum object of quartering is to indicate descent. The coats quartered in an escutcheon must all have been brought in by successive heiresses, who have in- termarried into the family. In the case of a single quartering, the paternal arms are placed in the first and fourth quarters, and the maternal in the second and third. The third and fourth quarters may. in after-generations, be occupied bv the arms of a second and third heiress. Some- times an already qmirtcred coat is placed in one of tJie four quarters of the escutcheon, then termed a grand quarter. We occasionally find a shield divided by perpendicular and horizontal lines into six. nine, or even more parts, each occupied by a coat brought in by an heiress: and in case of an odd number of coats, the last division is inconvenicntlv crowded bv the accu-