Divisions and decorations of shields

Terms and rules

The top part of a shield is called the chief, the bottom is the base, the centre is the fesse and the upper centre is the honour point.

The part of the shield which protects the right of the wearer is known as the dexter side, from the Latin word dexter meaning right. The part that covers the left is called the sinister side, from the Latin sinister meaning left

The surface of field of the shield may be charged in different ways by bands or stripes known as ordinaries. Examples such as the chief, the pale, the bend, bend sinister, the fesse, the chevron, the cross and the salture are illustrated below. The field may be divided in a similar way with regular and irregular lines.

Any decoration on a shield, such as the ordinaries already mentioned, is called a charge. All kinds of attractive and interesting charges may be used to decorate a shield - flowers, leaves, shells, birds, animals, etc.

Strange mythical creatures are used in heraldry - the dragon, the unicorn, the griffin, which is half lion and half eagle, the immortal bird the phoenix and the royal inherited beasts.