A carbuncle or escarbuncle is a heraldic
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 Aqua ...
consisting of eight radiating rods or spokes, four of which make a common cross and the other four a
saltire
A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltato ...
. The ends typically terminate in a
fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol.
The fleur-de-lis has been used in th ...
or some other decorative form. Frequently the centrepoint is adorned with a jewel; the name may therefore be a reference to a
carbuncle gemstone though in heraldry the jewel need not be red.
It has its origins in the iron bands and
bosses historically used to strengthen shields.
[Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909). ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'', p. 291. New York: Dodge Pub. Co. {{ISBN, 0-517-26643-1. LCCN 09-23803] The name may therefore be derived from the Old French ''boucle'', meaning a shield boss.
Gallery
File:Coat of arms of Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex and Gloucester.png, Arms of Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex and Gloucester: ''Quarterly Or and gules, an escarbuncle sable.''
File:Blason de la ville de Louvil (59) Nord-France.svg, Arms of the town of Louvil in France: ''Gules, an escarbuncle Or pierced vert.''
File:Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Cleves.svg, Arms of the Duke of Cleves
Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...
in Germany: ''Gules, an escutcheon argent surmounted by an escarbuncle Or.''
References
Heraldic charges
fr:Liste des meubles héraldiques#Escarboucle