In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

''fesse'', from

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

''faisse'', from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''fascia'', "band") 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 ...

on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shield.Woodcock & Robinson (1988), ''Oxford Guide to Heraldry'', p. 60. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by a fess or other ordinary, ranging from one-fifth to one-third. The ''Oxford Guide to Heraldry'' states that earlier writers including Leigh, Holme, and Guillim favour one-third, while later writers such as Edmondson favour one-fifth "on the grounds that a bend, pale, or chevron occupying one-third of the field makes the coat look clumsy and disagreeable."Woodcock & Robinson (1988), ''Oxford Guide to Heraldry'', p. 58. A fess is likely to be shown narrower if it is ''uncharged'', that is, if it does not have other charges placed on it, and/or if it is to be shown with charges above and below it; and shown wider if ''charged''. The fess or bar, termed ''fasce'' in

French heraldry French heraldry is the use of heraldic symbols in France. Although it had a considerable history, existing from the 11th century, such formality has largely died out in France, as far as regulated personal heraldry is concerned. Civic heraldry on ...

, should not be confused with '' fasces''.

Gallery

File:Fess cotised demo.svg , Fess cottised File:Barrulet demo.svg , Two barrulets File:Bars gemelles demo.svg , Two bars gemelles File:Armoiries de Kerpen 1.svg , Fess dancetty File:Party per fess demo.svg , Party per fess File:Hungary Arms.svg , Barry of eight File:Blason-Rochechouart.svg , Barry wavy File:Heraldique blason ville fr rochechouart.svg , Barry nebuly

Diminutives

In English heraldry, two or more such charges appearing together on a shield are termed ''bars'', though there are no definitive rules setting the width of the fess, the bar, nor their comparative width. A shield of (often six or eight) horizontal stripes of alternating colour is called ''barry''. Narrower versions of the bar are called ''barrulets'' ("little bars"), and when a shield of horizontal stripes alternating colour is composed of ten or more stripes, it is called ''barruly'' or ''burely'' instead of ''barry''. A ''cotise'', defined as half the width of a barrulet, may be borne alongside a fess, and often two of these appear, one on either side of the fess. This is often termed "a fess cotised" (also ''cottised'', ''coticed'' or ''cotticed''). Another diminutive of the fess called a ''closet'' is said to be between a bar and barrulet, but this is seldom found.

Other uses

File:Tierced per fess demo.svg, Tierced per fess File:Coat of arms of Owain Gwynedd.svg, Three eagles in fess File:Stevenson arms.svg, A fleur-de-lys between two mullets in fess File:141 Signal Battalion DUI.PNG, A flaming arrow fesswise A shield ''party per fess'' (or simply ''per fess'') is divided in half horizontally (''in the manner of a fess''). A charge placed horizontally may be termed ''fesswise'' or ''fessways'', and two or more charges arranged in a horizontal row are blazoned ''in fess'' or ''in bar''.

Notable and unusual forms

A ''mural fess'', that is a fess embattled and masoned of the field, can be seen in the arms of Suzanne Elizabeth Altvater. The arms of Baroness Fritchie provide an example of ''three Barrulets fracted and there conjoined to a Chevronel''. A flag which has a central ''horizontal'' stripe that is half the height of the flag is sometimes said to have a Spanish fess. The name is based on the most well-known example of this style of flag, the flag of Spain.

Gallery

Diminutives

Other uses

Notable and unusual forms

See also

Notes

Further reading