The baton sinister (alternatively baston) is a

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

used 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, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

Heraldic charge

It is a diminutive of the

bend sinister In heraldry, a bend is a band or strap running from the upper dexter (the bearer's right side and the viewer's left) corner of the shield to the lower sinister (the bearer's left side, and the viewer's right). Authorities differ as to how mu ...

and constitutes a narrow strip that runs from the upper right to the lower left of a coat of arms. Sinister (meaning ''left'' in Latin) is merely a directional indicator, and does not carry the negative connotations of the word in modern English. It is commonly believed to be an indicator of an illegitimate birth in the family line, and is used in this way in literary contexts. However, in medieval England, there was no single mark of difference for bastardy. Until the late fourteenth century, the same marks of

cadency In heraldry, cadency is any systematic way to distinguish arms displayed by descendants of the holder of a coat of arms when those family members have not been granted arms in their own right. Cadency is necessary in heraldic systems in whic ...

were used for both illegitimate and legitimate children, but thereafter the arms of some bastards took the form of a plain or party field with their fathers' arms on a figure such as a bend, fess, chief, chevron or quarter. The baton sinister can be seen in the arms of the

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...

, descended from an illegitimate son of

King Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

. Today, the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sover ...

in England uses a

bordure In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself. It is sometimes reckoned as an ordinary and sometimes as a subordinary. A bordure encl ...

wavy to mark an armiger as illegitimate. The

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

uses a bordure compony to denote the same.

Notes

References

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External links

Baton sinister
in the arms of the Duke of Grafton

{{heraldry Heraldic charges