A roundel is a circular charge in

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

. Roundels are among the oldest charges used in

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

, dating from the start of the age of heraldry in Europe, ''circa'' 1200–1215. Roundels are typically a solid colour but may be charged with an item or be any of the furs used in heraldry. Roundels are similar to the annulet, which some heralds would refer to as a ''false roundel''.

Terms for roundels

In some languages, the heraldic roundel has a unique name specific to its

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

, based on the Old French tradition. This is still observed in English-language heraldry, which adopted terms from Old French for specific round items. Thus, while a gold roundel may be

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

ed by its tincture, e.g., ''a roundel or'', it is more often described as a ''bezant'', from the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th besant'' for a gold coin, which itself is named for the Byzantine Empire">bezant">besant'' for a gold coin, which itself is named for the Byzantine Empire. The terms and their origin can be seen in the following table: A ''roundel vert'' ("green roundel") is known as a ''pomme'', the French word for apple. It was frequently pluralised as ''pomeis'' – as in the Heathcote arms: ''Ermine, three pomeis, each charged with a cross or'' – but ''pommes'' is now more common. The term for a red roundel, ''torteau'', is typically pluralised in the French manner as rather than ''torteaus'', although ''torteaus'' is occasionally seen. A ''pellet'' may also be called an ''ogress''. In modern French-language blazonry, a roundel of any metal (''

Or'' or Argent) is a ''besant''HERO entry for "besant" https://finto.fi/hero/en/page/p3717?clang=fr (being specified as a "besant d'or" or a "besant d'argent"), and a roundel of any colour is a ''tourteau'' HERO entry for "tourteau (fr)" https://finto.fi/hero/en/page/p3718 (for instance, a blue roundel is a "tourteau d'azur"). However, an alternate naming system is occasionally used, with similar terms as English heraldry (''plate'' for ''argent'', HERO entry for "besant d'argent (fr)" https://finto.fi/hero/en/page/p1726?clang=fr ''heurte'' for ''azure (fr:azur)'',HERO entry for "tourteau d'azur" https://finto.fi/hero/en/page/p2379?clang=fr ''ogress'' for ''sable'', ''pomme'' for ''vert (fr:sinople)'', ''guse'' for ''gules (fr:gueules)'',HERO entry for "tourteau de gueules" https://finto.fi/hero/en/page/p2380?clang=fr and ''gulpe'' for ''purpure (fr:pourpre)''). Archaic names for roundels based on the French tradition are sometimes found in other languages, such as Spanish (see ) and Portuguese (see ) In German blazonry, the general word for a roundel is ("ball"); a roundel of silver can also be called , and a roundel of gold .

Special roundels

Fountain

One special example of a named roundel is the ''fountain (heraldry)">fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

'', depicted as ''a roundel barry wavy argent and azure'', that is, containing alternating horizontal wavy bands of blue and silver (or white). Because the fountain consists equally of parts in a light and a dark tincture, its use is not limited by the rule of tincture as are the other roundels. The traditional fountain in heraldry was a ''barry wavy of six'', that is, with six alternating wavy rows of white and blue. Another name for the fountain is the ''syke'' (Northern English for "well"). One of the most well-known and ancient uses of the fountain is in the arms of the Stourton family. Three fountains appear on the arms of

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

, Ireland.

Semy

In their earliest uses, roundels were often strewn or sown as seeds (Latin: ''semen, -inis'', a seed) upon the field of a coat of arms, blazoned as '' semée/semy'', an arrangement with numerous varieties. For example, a field ''semy of plates'' (i.e. ''roundels argent'') could be blazoned ''platy''; a field ''semy of pellets'' (i.e. ''roundels sable'') could be blazoned ''pellety''. The precise number and placement of the roundels in such cases were usually left to the discretion of the artist.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=December 2020 Heraldic charges

Terms for roundels

Special roundels

Fountain

Semy

See also

References