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In heraldry, dimidiation is a method of marshalling (heraldically combining) two coats of arms.
For a time, dimidiation preceded the method known as impalement. Whereas impalement involves placing the whole of both coats of arms side by side in the same shield, dimidiation involves placing the '' dexter'' half of one coat of arms alongside the '' sinister'' half of the other. In the case of marriage, the ''dexter'' half of the husband's arms would be placed alongside the ''sinister'' half of the wife's arms.
The practice fell out of use because the result was not always aesthetically pleasing (sometimes creating strange hybrids), and also because in some cases, it would have resulted in a shield that confusingly looked like one coat of arms rather than a combination of two. For instance, a '' bend'' combined with a ''bend sinister'' might result in a combination that simply looked like a ''
File:Dimidiation demo.svg, Example of two coats dimidiated
File:Impalement demo.svg, The same two coats impaled
File:Dimidiation, worse case demo.svg, When the ''dexter'' half of a ''bend sinister'' is dimidiated with the ''sinister'' half of a ''bend'', the result would look like a ''chevron''
File:Isabella of Scotland Arms.svg, ''Tressure'' does not continue down the line of impalement
File:Armes anne pisseleu.png, Coat of arms of Anne de Pisseleu, Countess of Penthièvre, Duchess of E'tampes
In heraldry, dimidiation is a method of marshalling (heraldically combining) two coats of arms.
For a time, dimidiation preceded the method known as impalement. Whereas impalement involves placing the whole of both coats of arms side by side in the same shield, dimidiation involves placing the '' dexter'' half of one coat of arms alongside the '' sinister'' half of the other. In the case of marriage, the ''dexter'' half of the husband's arms would be placed alongside the ''sinister'' half of the wife's arms.
The practice fell out of use because the result was not always aesthetically pleasing (sometimes creating strange hybrids), and also because in some cases, it would have resulted in a shield that confusingly looked like one coat of arms rather than a combination of two. For instance, a '' bend'' combined with a ''bend sinister'' might result in a combination that simply looked like a ''chevron
Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to:
Science and technology
* Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines
* Chevron (anatomy), a bone
* '' Eulithis testata'', a moth
* Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...
'', thus hiding the fact that two coats of arms had been combined.
In order to avoid these drawbacks, it became customary to use more than half of each coat of arms when combining them through dimidiation. Once this practice had begun, the logical progression was to include the whole of both coats of arms in the new shield, so that in effect, impalement replaced dimidiation as a method of combining coats of arms.
A general rule which carries over from dimidiation to impalement is that if a coat of arms with 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 ...
'' (or ''tressure
In heraldry, an orle is a subordinary consisting of a narrow band occupying the inward half of where a bordure would be, following the exact outline of the shield but within it, showing the field between the outer edge of the orle and the edge o ...
'', '' orle'', etc.) is impaled, the ''bordure'' should not continue down the line of impalement.
Gallery
See also
{{commons category, Dimidiation in heraldry *Division of the field
In heraldry, the field (background) of a shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name (e.g. a shield divided in the shape of a c ...
*Frisian eagle
A Frisian eagle is a specific kind of eagle in Dutch heraldry, consisting of half of a black double-headed eagle on the ''dexter'' side of a shield parted per pale.
It originated as a mark of favour granted to certain Frisian noblemen by the Hol ...
References
Sources
*Arthur Charles Fox-Davies
Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (28 February 1871 – 19 May 1928) was a British expert on heraldry. His ''Complete Guide to Heraldry'', published in 1909, has become a standard work on heraldry in England. A barrister by profession, Fox-Davies worke ...
, ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'' (1909), pp. 182, 523-525. Online texts at https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh00foxduoft or http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~bprince/hr/foxdavies/index.htm .
ja:マーシャリング (紋章学)
Heraldry