SECTION IV

The Subordinaries:— The Canton or Quarter: The Inescutcheon: The Orle: The Tressure: The Bordure: Flanches: The Lozenge, Mascle, and Rustre: The Fusil: The Billet: The Gyron: The Frette— The Roundles.

"The second in a line of stars." —IDYLLS OF THE KING.

THE SUBORDINARIES. This title has been assigned, but without any decisive authority, to another group of devices, second in rank to the Ordinaries. Very few writers agree as to which are ordinaries and which subordinaries; nor does there seem any reason why any distinction between them should exist. Nor, indeed, save that all are exclusively heraldic, why some of them should be regarded as anything more than ordinary charges. These Subordinaries are the Canton, the Quarter, the Inescutcheon, the Orle, the Tressure, the Bordure, Flanches, the Lozenge, Mascle and Rustre, the Fusil, the Billet, the Gyron, and the Frette. The Canton, by the early Heralds commonly styled the "Quarter," sometimes has been grouped with the Ordinaries. And it must here be observed that the Lozenge, Fusil, Billet, Gyron, and Frette were not used as single charges by the early Heralds; but by them the fields of Shields were divided lozengy and gyronny, or they were semée of Billets, or covered over with Frette-work, from which the single charges evidently were afterwards obtained.

The CANTON (H. 3), sometimes blazoned as a QUARTER, cut off by two lines, the one drawn in pale and the other bar-wise, or in fesse, is either the first quarter of the field of a Shield, or about three-fourths of that quarter, but smaller if not charged. The confusion between the canton and the quarter is due to the fact that ancient arms in which the charge is now, and has been for centuries past, stereotyped as a canton and drawn to occupy one-ninth of the Shield, were uniformly drawn and blazoned in early times with the charge as a quarter. But there is a marked distinction now made between the canton and the quarter. A Canton ermine is of frequent occurrence, as in No. 128; but it is generally borne charged, and it always overlies the charges of the field of the Shield, as No. 129, for DE KYRKEBY (R. 2)—Arg., two bars gu.; on a canton of the last a cross moline or; and, for BLUNDELL (H. 3)—Az., billettée, on a canton or a raven ppr., No. 130.

The INESCUTCHEON (H. 3) is a Shield borne as a charge, and superimposed upon another Shield larger than itself. When one Inescutcheon is borne, it is usually placed on the fesse-point; but several Inescutcheons may appear in one composition. The well-known Shield of the MORTIMERS supplies a good example, No. 131 (H. 3)—Barry of six or and az., an inescutcheon arg.; on a chief gold, gyroned of the second, two pallets of the same: for DARCY—Arg., an inescutcheon sa., within an orle of roses gu., No. 132 (E. 2): Arg., three inescutcheons gu., for DE WYLLERS (E. 2), No. 133. This is also the well-known Scottish coat of Hay.

The ORLE (H. 3), blazoned by early Heralds as a "false escutcheon" ("faux escocheon"), or as an "inescutcheon voided," is the border of a Shield or Escutcheon—a Shield, that is, voided of the central area of its field, and, like an Inescutcheon, charged on a Shield. The arms of BALLIOL, No. 134, are—Gu., an Orle arg. (H. 3). These arms are blazoned on many Scottish Seals of the greatest interest, and on the Seals of Balliol College, Oxford. Small charges are frequently disposed about the border of a Shield "in Orle," as in Nos. 86 and 132.

The TRESSURE (H. 3) may be regarded as a variety of the Orle; indeed, in its simplest form it is a very narrow Orle, which is generally set round with fleurs de lys. A Tressure thus enriched is represented in No. 135: in this example all the heads of the fleurs de lys point externally, and all their stalks internally, and this accordingly is blazoned as a "Tressure flory." In No. 136, which, like No. 135, is a single Tressure, the fleurs de lys are so disposed that the heads and stalks of the flowers point alternately in contrary directions: this is blazoned as a "Tressure flory counterflory." From this last example the Tressure that is so well known in the blazonry of the Royal Shield of SCOTLAND differs, in being "double." This, the double Tressure of Scotland, is a combination of two such single Tressures as No. 136, and it is produced from them in the manner following:—From one such single Tressure, as No. 136, all the alternate heads and stalks of the fleurs de lys that point internally are cut away and removed; then a second similar Tressure, of rather smaller size, is denuded of all its external adornment, and in that condition it is placed within the former Tressure, leaving a narrow interval between the two. Each component half of this "double Tressure flory counterflory," accordingly, has its own independent series of demi-fleurs de lys, the stalks and heads of the flowers alternating, and the one alternate series pointing externally, while the other points internally. When in combination, these two series of demi-fleurs de lys must be so arranged that the heads of the flowers in one series correspond with their stalks in the other, as in No. 137. I am thus particular in describing the process of producing the Royal Tressure, because it is frequently to be seen incorrectly drawn. No. 138, the Royal Shield of SCOTLAND, now displayed in the second quarter of the Royal Arms of the UNITED KINGDOM, is thus blazoned—Or, a lion rampt. within a double Tressure flory counterflory, gu. It will be observed that a narrow strip of the golden field of this Shield intervenes between the two Tressures. There are many fine examples of this Shield in Scottish Seals; in the Garter-plate, also, of JAMES V. of Scotland, K.G., at Windsor; and on the Monuments in Westminster Abbey to MARY Queen of SCOTS (A.D. 1604), and to the Countess of LENNOX, the mother of Lord DARNLEY (A.D. 1577). Mr. Seton ("Scottish Heraldry," p. 447) states that the Tressure may be borne "triple"; and, after specifying the Scottish families upon whose Shields the same honourable bearing is blazoned, he adds:—"In the coat of the Marquess of HUNTLY, the Tressure is flowered with fleurs de lys within, and adorned with crescents without; while in that of the Earl of ABERDEEN it is flowered and counter-flowered with thistles, roses, and fleurs de lys alternately."

The BORDURE (H. 3), as its name implies, forms a border to a Shield: it is borne both plain and charged. Thus, for DE WALTONE (E. 2)—Arg., a cross patée sa., within a Bordure indented gu., No. 139: for RICHARD, Earl of CORNWALL, second son of King JOHN (H. 3),—Arg., a lion rampt. gu., crowned or, within a Bordure sa. bezantée, No. 140. The Bordure, and its important services in Heraldry, will be more fully considered hereafter. (See Chapters XII. and XIII.)

FLANCHES are always borne in pairs; but they are not of very early date, nor do they often appear in blazon. Flanches are formed by two curved lines issuing from the chief, one on each side of the Shield: they are shown, shaded for azure, in No. 141; and in No. 142 are their Diminutives, Flasques or Voiders, shaded for gules. But these diminutives are hardly ever met with. There is a close resemblance between these charges and a peculiar dress worn by Ladies of rank in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; but it is not easy to determine whether the dress suggested the Flanches on the Shield, or was derived from them. One thing, however, is certain—the dress must have possessed very decided good qualities, since it continued in favour for more than two centuries. It is remarkable that many of the ancient Greek Shields have pierced Flanches.

The LOZENGE (E. 2), MASCLE (H. 3), and RUSTRE. The Lozenge is a diamond-shaped figure, or a parallelogram set diagonally. The Mascle is a Lozenge voided of the field, No. 143; and the Rustre, No. 144, is a Lozenge pierced with a circular opening. In the early days of Heraldry the Lozenge and the Mascle were evidently held to be identical. The Shield of the famous HUBERT DE BURGH, Earl of KENT, in the early Rolls is blazoned as "masculée": but his Seal proves it to have been, as in No. 145, lozengy vair and gu. The Lozenge, it will be remembered, is always set erect upon the field of a Shield.

The FUSIL is an elongated Lozenge. The Arms of MONTACUTE or MONTAGU (see No. 20) are—Arg., three Fusils conjoined in fesse gu., No. 20: the Arms of PERCY are—Az., five fusils conjoined in fesse or.

The BILLET (H. 3) is a small elongated rectangular figure. Thus, for DEINCOURT, No. 146—Az., billettée, a fesse dancette or. The early Heralds blazoned a "Fesse Dancette" as simply a "Dancette" or "Danse." See also No. 130.

The GYRON, a triangular figure, not known in English blazon as a separate charge (except perhaps in the one case of the arms of Mortimer), gives its title to the gyronny field, which is more commonly found in the Heraldry of the North than of the South. The field gyronny generally, and more particularly in Scotland, is divided into eight pieces: but the divisions are sometimes six, ten, twelve, or even sixteen in number. A Roll of the time of HENRY III. has, for WARIN DE BASINGBORNE—"Gerony d'or et d'azur." The Arms of CAMPBELL are—Gyronny or and sa., No. 147. Here, where there are eight pieces of divisions, it is not necessary to specify the number; but if they were either more or less than eight the blazon would be—gyronny of six, of ten, &c.

The FRETTE, in more recent Heraldry, has generally superseded the original field fretty. This interlaced design, whether borne as a distinct figure, as No. 148, or repeated over the field of a Shield, as in No. 149, differs from a field lozengy or gyronny, in being a bearing charged upon the field of a Shield, and not a form of varied surface: No. 149, for DE ETCHINGHAM (E. 2), is—Az., fretty arg. An early variety or modification of Frette is the Trellis or Treille, in which the pieces do not interlace, but all those in bend lie over all those in bend sinister, and they are fastened at the crossings with nails—"clouée," as in No. 150. RICHARD DE TRUSSELL or TRESSELL (H. 3) bears—Arg., a trellis gu., clouée or.

The ROUNDLES, or ROUNDLETS. These simple figures, in constant use in every age of Heraldry, are divided into two groups, which correspond with the division of the Tinctures into "Metals" and "Colours."

The first group contains the two Roundles of the Metals, which are flat discs: 1, The Bezant, or golden Roundle, No. 151, which has apparently derived its name from the Byzantine coins with which the Crusaders, when in the East, would have been familiar. 2, The Silver Roundle, or Plate, is from the Spanish "Plata"—silver. When Bezants or Plates appear in considerable numbers, the field on which they are charged is said to be "bezantée" or "platée." See No. 140.

The second group contains the five Roundles of the Colours, which are globular, and are usually shaded accordingly. The Torteau, No. 152, in the plural Torteaux, is gules: the Hurt is azure: the Pellet or Ogress is sable: the Pomme is vert: and the Golpe is purpure. These distinctive titles, which are more calculated to perplex the student than to simplify his study, are of comparatively recent origin, the early Heralds having used the terms "Bezant," "Plate," and "Torteau," with the general designations "Roundle" and "Pellet," adding the tinctures for the others. Examples:—Az., bezantée, for WM. DE LA ZOUCHE: Or, on a fesse gu. three plates, for ROGER DE HUNTINGFIELD: Arg., ten torteaux, four, three, two, one, for ALEX. GIFFARD (all H. 3). See also Nos. 80, 82.

A circular figure or Roundle that is barry wavy arg. and az., is blazoned as a "Fountain," No. 153. Examples:—Arg., three fountains, for WELLES: Arg., a Chevron sable between three fountains, borne by a family named Sykes, their name being an ancient term signifying a well or fountain. An Annulet, or a plain ring, No. 154, was sometimes blazoned as a "false Roundle"—a Roundle, that is, pierced, and having its central area removed.

CHAPTER VIII

THE GRAMMAR OF HERALDRY