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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, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
, a bend is a band or strap running from the upper
dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...
(the bearer's right side and the viewer's left) corner of the
shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...
to the lower sinister (the bearer's left side, and the viewer's right). Authorities differ as to how much of the
field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...
it should cover, ranging from one-fifth (if shown between other
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 ...
s) up to one-third (if charged alone).


Variations

A bend can be modified by most of the lines of partition, such as the ''bend engrailed'' in the ancient arms of
Fortescue Fortescue may refer to: People * Fortescue (surname), a list of people with the name * Fortescue Ash (1882–1956), Anglican bishop in Australia * Fortescue Graham (1794–1880), British Royal Marines general Places * Fortescue, Missouri, United ...
and the ''bend wavy'' in the ancient coat of Wallop,
Earls of Portsmouth Earl of Portsmouth is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. After the death of Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (c. 19 August 1673 - 14 November 1734), it was created in 1743 for John Wallop, 1st Viscount Lymington, who had p ...
.


Diminutives

The diminutives of the bend, being narrower versions, are as follows, in descending order of width: *Bendlet: One-half as wide as a bend, as in the ancient arms of Churchill family, and the arms of
Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
. A ''bendlet couped'' is also known as a baton, as in the coat of Elliot of Stobs *Cotise: One-fourth the width of a bend; it usually appears in pairs, one on either side (French: ''coté'') of a bend, in which case the bend is said to be ''cotised'' as in the ancient arms of
Fortescue Fortescue may refer to: People * Fortescue (surname), a list of people with the name * Fortescue Ash (1882–1956), Anglican bishop in Australia * Fortescue Graham (1794–1880), British Royal Marines general Places * Fortescue, Missouri, United ...
and Bohun and in the more modern arms of
Hyndburn Borough Council Hyndburn is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington, the largest town, and the borough also covers the outlying towns of Clayton-le-Moors, Great Harwood, Oswaldtwistle and Rish ...
, England. In ancient arms it can be found on only one side of a bend blazoned as ''a bend singly cotised''. *Riband or ribbon: Also one-fourth the width of a bend. It is also called a cost as in the arms of Abernethie of Auchincloch (''Or, a lion rampant gules surmounted of a cost sable, all within a bordure engrailed azure'' — first and fourth quarters) *Scarp (or scarf): a ''bend sinister'' of one-half width.


Bend sinister

The usual bend is occasionally called a ''bend dexter'' when it needs to contrast with the ''bend sinister'' (Latin; means ''left''), which runs in the other direction, like a sash worn diagonally from the left shoulder. The bend sinister and its diminutives such as the baton sinister are rare as an independent motif; they occur more often as marks of distinction. The term "bar sinister" is an erroneous term when used in this context, since the "bar" in heraldry refers to a horizontal line. The bend sinister, reduced in size to that of a ''bendlet'' (narrow) or ''baton'' (ending short of the edge of the shield), was one of the commonest
brisure 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 which ...
s (differences) added to the arms of
illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
offspring of European aristocratic lords. Such royal descent was considered a mark of honour, and in most of Europe, illegitimate children of nobles, despite having few legal rights, were customarily regarded as noble and married within the most aristocratic families. This was the usual mark used to identify illegitimate descendants of the
English royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is conside ...
dating from fifteenth century, as in the arms of
Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG (died 3 March 1542) was an illegitimate son of the English king Edward IV, half-brother-in-law of Henry VII, and an uncle of Henry VIII, at whose court he was a prominent figure and by whom he was appo ...
, illegitimate son of
Edward IV of England Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
. It also appears in the arms of Antoine de Bourgogne, illegitimate son of
Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...
, Duke of Burgundy. The full-sized bend sinister was seldom used in this way, and more recent examples also exist of bends sinister that have no connection with illegitimacy, such as in the arms of the
Burne-Jones baronets The Burne-Jones Baronetcy, of Rottingdean in the County of Sussex, and of The Grange in the Parish of Fulham in the County of London, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 4 May 1894 for the artist and designer ...
. These markings were never subject to strict rules, and the customary English use of the bend, bendlet, and baton sinister to denote illegitimacy in this way eventually gave way to the use of different kinds of
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 ...
s.


"Bar sinister"

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
is credited with inventing the phrase ''bar sinister'', which has become a
metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...
ic term for
bastardy Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...
. Heraldry scholar
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 ...
and others state that the phrase derives from a misspelling of ''barre'', the French term for ''bend sinister''. The term is irregular, since in English heraldry a ''bar'' is horizontal, neither ''dexter'' nor ''sinister''; nevertheless, ''bar sinister'' has become a standard euphemism for illegitimate birth.


Similar elements


In bend

The phrase in bend refers to the appearance of several items on the shield being lined up in the direction of a bend, as in the arms of the ancient Northcote family of Devon: ''Argent, three crosses-crosslet in bend sable''. It is also used when something is slanted in the direction of a bend, as in the coat of
Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority. The leader ...
in England.


Bendwise

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 ...
bendwise is slanted like a bend. When a charge is placed on a bend, by default it is shown bendwise.


Party per bend

A shield party per bend (or simply ''per bend'') is
divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. What is being divided is called the ''dividend'', which is divided by the ''divisor'', and the result is called the ...
into two parts by a single line which runs in the direction of a bend. Applies not only to the fields of shields but also to charges. A division in the opposite direction is called ''party per bend sinister''.


Bendy

Bendy is a
variation of the field In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a Field (heraldry), field (or a Charge (heraldry), charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat Tincture (heraldry), tincture or a simple Divisions of the field, di ...
consisting (usually) of an even number of parts, most often six; as in the coat of the
duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...
. Analogous terms are derived from the bend sinister: ''per bend sinister'', ''bendwise sinister'', ''bendy sinister''.


Engouled

In
Spanish heraldry The tradition and art of heraldry first appeared in Spain at about the beginning of the eleventh century AD and its origin was similar to other European countries: the need for knights and nobles to distinguish themselves from one another on th ...
, bends may be ''engouled'', or swallowed, by the heads of dragons or wolves. A famous example of this is in the
Royal Bend of Castile The Royal Bend of Castile (''Banda Real de Castilla'') was the heraldic flag of the monarchs of the Crown of Castile, a personal banner of military use, distinctive indicating to the troops the presence of the monarch and allowed them to have id ...
.


In national flags


Bend


Party per bend


Bend sinister


Bendlet sinister


Party per bend sinister


References


Citations


General and cited references

* * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Canadian Heraldic Authority, Public Register
with many official versions of modern coats of arms, searchable online
International Heraldry & Heralds
heraldry information by James McDonald {{DEFAULTSORT:Bend (Heraldry) Heraldic ordinaries