We'd like to use analytics cookies to understand which symbols people look up, so we know what to research next. They are not used for advertising and we set none of them unless you say yes. What we store.
The bands and geometric shapes that partition a shield, and the first thing to learn in blazon because everything else is placed relative to them. They come in a fixed vocabulary with fixed proportions: a fess is horizontal and about a third of the depth, a pale is the same vertically, a bend runs diagonally and its mirror has a separate name and a false reputation. Most also give their name to a division of the field — per pale, per fess, per saltire — so learning the charge teaches the division for free. The one thing to carry away: dexter and sinister are named from behind the shield, so dexter appears on your left.
A broad horizontal band across the top of a shield, occupying roughly the upper third.
The lower portion of a heraldic shield, and a band occupying it.
A vertical band down the centre of a shield, about a third of its width.
A narrow vertical band, half the width of a pale.
A horizontal band across the middle of a shield, about a third of its depth.
A narrow horizontal band, borne in multiples across a shield.
A diagonal band running from the top left of a shield to the bottom right, as the bearer sees it.
A diagonal band running from the top right of a shield to the bottom left, as the bearer sees it.
An inverted V-shaped band spanning a shield, like a rafter or a roof gable.
A vertical and a horizontal band crossing at the centre of a shield, spanning it in both directions.
A wedge or triangle issuing from the top of a shield and tapering to a point.
A Y-shaped band across a shield, formed of a half-pale and two half-bends.
A band following the whole edge of a shield, like a frame.
A small square in the upper corner of a shield, usually the dexter side.
A diamond-shaped charge standing on one of its points.
A lozenge interlaced with two crossing diagonal bands.