Ordinaries

Ordinaries are the basic geometric shapes used in Arms. They cover the background of the shield. I have grouped them by general shape. My groupings do not reflect any actual SCA or heraldic catagories. Most ordinaries are either shapes or dividers. When the ordinary is a shape, it is refered to as an "ordinary" "color". When the ordinary divides up areas on the shield, it is refered to as per "ordinary" "color" (and "color" and "color"...). When several objects (charges) are arranged in the shape of an ordinary, they are refered to as "number" "charges" in "ordinary" "color".

Ordinaries can be divided into three catagories ordinaries, subordinaries and diminutives. The principle ordinaries are the cross, the chief, the pale, the bend, the bend sinister, the fesse, the bar, the saltire, and the chevron. The subordinaries include the bordure, the canton, the flanche, the gyron, the inescutcheon, the orle, the quarter, the pile, and the tressure, the fret, the label, and the pall. The diminutives include the fillet, the barrulet, the pallet, the bendlet, the scarpe, the closet, the cotise, the chevronel, the crosslet, and the saltorel.

There is no real agreement about which ordinaries fit into which catagories. One thought is that the catagory of an ordinary defines how the ordinary can be used. Shapes in the ordinaries catagory can only be used as shapes directly on top of the painted shield background. They may not be placed over other ordinaries. Other charges, subordinaries, and diminutives may be placed on top of these ordinaries. One such ordinary is the chief, a horizontal band at the top of the shield. Subordinaries may be the basic shape on the shield or a shape on top of a basic ordinary. Other charges, subordinaries, and diminutives may be placed on top of them. The subordinary, quarter, may be applied to a shield "Quarterly argent and gules" or to an ordinary "Ermine, a chief quarterly gules and or - Peckham. [Abp. Cant. 1219-92]". A diminutive may not be charged (have objects placed on it). (But remember, all rules were made to be broken).

I mention many of these ordinaries below and give actual period examples whenever possible. All examples attributed to Parker (5) unless otherwise noted.

Stripes

• Fess: An ordinary. A broad horizontal band across the middle of the shield. If the shield is divided into 2 parts horizontally it may be blazoned per fess or party per fess.
• Bar: An ordinary. A horizontal band, about 1/5th as wide as the field. A band 1/2 the thickness of a bar is the diminutive closet. A band 1/4 the thickness of a bar is the diminutive barrulet. The diminutive bar-gemel or gemelle is a voided bar or two closets close together. A shield may also be divided per bar into equal horizontal bands. The term barry is used when the number of these bands is even.
• Chief: An ordinary, a horizontal band at the top of the shield.
• Pale: An ordinary. a vertical band down the middle of the shield. If there are two or more such bands of the same color, they are called pallets and are a diminutive. A shield divided into 2 equal parts vertically may be per pale or party per pale. If the whole surface is divided into an even number of equal vertical bands it is called paly of the number of bands. If the number of bands is odd, it is blazoned as of so many pales.

	Argent, on a fesse sable, three chevronels couched sinister of the field. Trenowith, Corn.		Argent, a fesse gules between three ducks azure. Carthen		Ermine, three bars wavy gules. Lacy
	Argent, four barrulets gules; on a canton of the second a mullet of six points of the first. Wace		Argent, three bars-gemels sable. Ercall		Barry of six ermine and ermines. Bradwardine, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1349
	Per pale argent and gules, in the dexter fesse point a parrot russet beaked and legged or. Senhouse, Cumberland[also Richard Senhouse, Bp. of Carlisle, 1624-26].		Paly of six, or and azure. Gournay or Gurney, Devon.		Gules, three pallets vair; on a chief or a lion passant azure. Simon Patrick, Bp. of Chichester, 1689; of Ely, 1691-1707

Diagonals

• Bend: An ordinary. a diagonal band from the upper left to the lower right of the shield. The opposite diagonal is the bend sinister. A shield divided into 2 parts daigonally may be per bend or party per bend. Likewise with the sinister bend. A bend should occupy one-third of the shield when there are charges on it and one-fifth of the shield when plain.
• Saltire: An ordinary composed of two crossed diagonal arms, like the letter X. An ordinary in the shape of a St. Andrew's cross, formed by the crossing of a bend and a bend sinister.
• Gyron: A subordinary. A triangular sector of the shield, formed by half a bend line and half a fess line meeting at the middle of the shield. When this is continued all the way round it is called gyronny. The tinctures on a gyron are named starting from the upper left.

	Party per bend, or and vert. Hawley		Argent, a bend sinister gules. Bizzet, Scotland.		Gules, a bend ermine between six bezants. [? Sir Armoyne Coughte, from arms in Dorchester Church, Oxon.]
	Gules, three lions passant gardant in pale argent, over all a bend or charged with three mullet. Payler		Argent, a saltire counter embattled sable. Richard Kidder, Bp. of Bath and Wells, 1691-1703.		Argent, two stilts in saltire sable, garnished or Newby, Yorkshire.
	Azure, a saltire quarterly quartered or and argent or and azure. See of Wells		Gyronny of eight, argent and gules Acton		Gyronny of eight argent and sable, four fleur-de-lys counterchanged; on a saltier or, five cinquefoils gules. Edward Vaughan, Bp. of S.Davids, 1509-22.

Checkers

• Cheque: A subordinary. A square-shaped figure. When the area is completely divided by perpendicular and horizontal lines into small squares with alternating metal and color tinctures it is called chequy. When a bend, chevron, or saltire is chequy, the squares are not perpendicular, but slant in the direction of the ordinary.
• Lozenge: A subordinary. A diamond-shaped figure. When the area is completely covered with lozenges of alternating tinctures, it is called Lozengy.
• Fusil: A subordinary. An elongated lozenge. When the area is completely covered with fusils of alternating tinctures, it is called Fusilly.
• Quarter: A subordinary. when the area is divided into four quarters it is called Quarterly. When using a quartered field, you want to avoid designs that look like "marshalling". (See The SCA Heraldry Rules for Submission (XI.3.)) Either use identical charges over the whole field or one charge that covers all four quarters. You could also use complex lines of division that were not used for marshalling in period heraldry.

	Chequey or and azure Warren		Fusilly, ermine and sable. Patten, Stoke Newington, Middlesex		Quarterly gules and or, in the first quarter a mullet argent Vere, Earl of Oxford.
	Quarterly, first and fourth France and England quartered within a bordure argent; second and third or, a chevron gules. Stafford, Duke of Buckingham		Quarterly per pale dovetailed, gules and or. Bromley, Horse-heath, Cambridgeshire

Triangles

• Chevron: like an '^'. When the chevron issues from the top of the shield, in a 'V' shape, it is called a chevron inverted.
• Pile: a wedge-shaped figure issuing from the top of the shield. The tip of this wedge often touches the far side of the shield. When it issues from the bottom of the shield, it is called a pile inverted. When the field is dividd into piles issuing from the top and bottom, it is called pily

	Party per chevron, sable and argent. Aston		Or, a fesse between two chevrons gules. Fitz-Walter		Or, a pile gules. Chandos, Baron Chandos. [Summoned to Parliament, 1337.]
	Argent, three piles flory at the points, issuing from the sinister base bendwise sable. Wroton		Pily counter pily of seven traits(or pierces) or and sable, the points ending in crosses pettee, three in chief, and two in base. Poynter

Crosses

There are many different types of crosses. Most are charges rather than ordinaries. (Charges are objects on the field rather than partitions of the field).

• Cross: an ordinary formed by two stripes, one vertical and one horizontal, that cross each other in the middle.

	Argent, a cross quarter pierced gules. Boisy, Ile de France		Or, on a cross quarterly azure and gules five roses of the first. Thomas Langton, Bp. of S.David's, 1483
	Quarterly argent and azure, a cross counterchanged. Bevercott		Argent, a cross triple parted and fretted sable. Skirlaw, Yorkshire

Other Ordinaries

• Flaunch: Rounds projecting from the sides of the shield. Always in a pair.
• Square Flaunch: Triangles projecting from the sides of the shield. Always in a pair.
• Pall: a 'Y' shaped figure. When the figure is a thin line that divides the shield it is called per pall.

Or, two flaunches gules. Lanercost Priory, Cumberland

Gules, a pall reversed ermine. Kelverdon, or Keldon, Essex

Types of lines

Complex lines should be easily and quickly recognizable with 3 or 4 "bumps" on horizontal lines and 4 or 5 on vertical and diagonal lines. By using fewer "bumps", each can be drawn larger making them more recognizable.

• Embattled: resembling the battlements of a castle.
• Wavy: a line with curved ripples.
• Indented: a zig-zag line.
• Dancetty: a zig-zag line with deep and not very many indents.
• Engrailed: a line with circular bites taken from it.
• Nebuly: an undulating line, like a horizontal bottom edge of clouds
• Cotissed: lined by two thin lines one on each side. The cotises may also have line treatments.

	Per bend embattled argent and gules. Boyle, Middlesex		Azure, three bars wavy argent. Henry de Sandford, Bp. of Rochester, 1227-35		Azure, a chief indented or. Dunham, Lincolnshire
	Argent, a fesse dancetty with a cross formy issuing in chief gules. Arms ascribed to Reginald Fitz-Jocelyn, Bp. of Bath and Wells, 1191		Argent, a bend engrailed sable. Radcliffe		Party per pale nebuly azure and or, six martletts counterchanged; a crescent for difference. Fleetwood, Bp. of S.Asaph, 1708; afterwards of Ely, 1714-23.
	Argent, a fesse per fesse indented throughout vert and sable, cottised counterchanged. Hody, Dorset.

Borders

• Bordure: a narrow border around the edge of the field.
• Orle: a ring around the shield. When a charge forms the ring, it is referred to as in orle.

Ermine, a bordure gules. Hundescote

Barry argent and azure, an orle of marlets gules. William de Valens, Hen III