A Complete Guide to HeraldryFox-Davies, Arthur Charles
History
A Complete Guide to Heraldry
Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles
Heraldry -- Great Britain
belong to the latter part of the reign of Henry III., a Sir William
Maltravers is credited with "sable fretty or, on a quarter argent, three
lions passant in pale gules." The palpable origin of the fret or fretty in
the case of the arms of Maltravers is simply the canting similarity between
a traverse and the name Maltravers. Another case, which starting fretty has
ended in a fret, occurs in the arms of the family of Harington. Sir John de
Haverington, or Sir John de Harington, is found at the first Dunstable
tournament in 1308 bearing "sable fretty argent," and this coat of arms
variously differenced appears in some number of the other early rolls of
arms. The Harington family, as may be seen from the current baronetages,
now bear "sable a fret argent," but there can be little doubt that in this
case the origin of the fretty is to be found in a representation of a
herring-net.
The fret is usually depicted _throughout_ when borne singly, and is then
composed of a bendlet dexter and a bendlet sinister, interlaced in the
centre by a mascle. Occasionally it will be found couped, but it is then,
as a rule, only occupying the position of a subsidiary charge. A coat which
is _fretty_ is entirely covered by the interlacing bendlets and bendlets
sinister, no mascles being introduced.
THE FLAUNCH
[Illustration: FIG. 241.--Flaunches.]
The flaunch, which is never borne singly, and for which the additional
names of "flasks" and "voiders" are sometimes found, is the segment of a
circle of large diameter projecting into the field from either side of the
escutcheon, of a different colour from the field. It is by no means an
unusual charge to be met with, and, like the majority of other ordinaries,
is subject to the usual lines of partition, but so subject is, however, of
rather rare occurrence.
Planché, in his "Pursuivant of Arms," mentions the old idea, which is
repeated by Woodward, "that the base son of a noble woman, if he doe gev
armes, must give upon the same a surcoat, but unless you do {151} well mark
such coat you may take it for a coat flanchette." The surcoat is much the
same figure that would remain after flaunches had been taken from the field
of a shield, with this exception, that the flaunches would be wider and the
intervening space necessarily much narrower. In spite of the fact that this
is supposed to be one of the recognised rules of armory, one instance only
appears to be known of its employment, which, however, considering the
circumstances, is not very much to be wondered at. One exceptional case
surely cannot make a rule. I know of no modern case of a mother's coat
bastardised--but I assume it would fall under the ordinary practice of the
bordure wavy.
THE ROUNDLE
The roundle is a generic name which comprises all charges which are plain
circular figures of colour or metal. Foreign heraldry merely terms them
roundles of such and such a colour, but in England we have special terms
for each tincture.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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