A gyron is a triangular heraldic ordinary having an angle at the

fess point In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ''fesse'', from Old French ''faisse'', from Latin ''fascia'', "band") is a charge on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shield.Wo ...

and the opposite side at the edge of the escutcheon. A shield divided into gyrons is called gyronny, the default is typically of eight if no number of gyrons is specified. The word ''gyron'' is derived 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 ...

''giron'', meaning '

gusset In sewing, a gusset is a triangular or rhomboidal piece of fabric inserted into a seam to add breadth or reduce stress from tight-fitting clothing. Gussets were used at the shoulders, underarms, and hems of traditional shirts and chemises made ...

'. When a single gyron extends across so the tip touches the edge of the coat of arms, forming a square, it's called an esquire. The gyron rarely appears singly, but as a

variation of the field In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (or a charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field. Blazoning of French adjectives Variations of the field p ...

, gyronny coats appear frequently. These most often appear as eight roughly equal parts, but occasionally a coat gyronny of six, ten, twelve or more parts may be specified.

References

Heraldic ordinaries {{heraldry-stub