![Azure, a bend Or](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Azure%2C_a_bend_Or.svg)
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, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
, a bend is a band or strap running from the upper
dexter
Dexter may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003
* Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...
(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 or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...
to the lower
sinister
Sinister commonly refers to:
* Evil
* Ominous
Sinister may also refer to:
Left side
* Sinister, Latin for the direction " left"
* Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see ...
(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 Aqua ...
s) up to one-third (if charged alone). The supposed rule that a bend should occupy a maximum of one-third of the field appears to exclude the possibility of three bends being shown together, but contrary examples exist.
Variations
![Arms1stEarlFortescue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Arms1stEarlFortescue.jpg)
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 British surname ''Includes list of name-holders''
* Fortescue Ash (1882–1956), Anglican bishop in Australia
* Fortescue Graham (1794–1880), British Royal Marines general
Places
* Fo ...
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. It was created in 1743 for John Wallop, 1st Viscount Lymington, who had previously represented Hampshire in the House of Commons. He had already been created Baron Wallop, of Far ...
.
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
Duke of Marlborough (pronounced ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill, 1st Earl of Marlborough (1650–1722), the noted military leader. In historical texts, unqualified use of the tit ...
, and the arms of
Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
. 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 British surname ''Includes list of name-holders''
* Fortescue Ash (1882–1956), Anglican bishop in Australia
* Fortescue Graham (1794–1880), British Royal Marines general
Places
* Fo ...
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 and covers the outlying towns of Clayton-le-Moors, Great Harwood, Oswaldtwistle and Rishton. The borough was created in 19 ...
, 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
![Arms of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Arms_of_Arthur_Plantagenet%2C_1st_Viscount_Lisle.svg)
The usual bend is occasionally called a ''bend dexter'' when it needs to contrast with the ''bend
sinister
Sinister commonly refers to:
* Evil
* Ominous
Sinister may also refer to:
Left side
* Sinister, Latin for the direction " left"
* Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see ...
'', which runs in the other direction, like a sash worn diagonally from the left shoulder (Latin ''sinister'' means ''left''). The bend sinister and its diminutives such as the
baton sinister
The baton sinister (alternatively baston) is a charge (heraldry), charge used in heraldry.
Heraldic charge
It is a diminutive of the bend sinister (heraldry), bend sinister and constitutes a narrow strip that runs from the upper right to the l ...
are rare as an independent motif; they occur more often as
marks of distinction
A mark of distinction, in heraldry, is a charge showing that the bearer of a shield is not (as defined by the rules or laws of heraldry in most, though not all, countries and situations) descended by blood from the original bearer. The "mark of d ...
. 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 Coat of arms, arms displayed by Lineal descendant, descendants of the holder of a coat of arms when those family members have not been granted arms in their own right. Cadency is necessa ...
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 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 app ...
, 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 ...
. 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, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
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 closely associated with that thing or concept.
Etymology
The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
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 ''b ...
. 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''. 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
![Croix recroisettee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Croix_recroisettee.svg)
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 Northcote may refer to:
People with the surname
* Sir Geoffry Northcote (1881–1948), British colonial administrator
* Hannah Northcote (c.1761–1831), English silversmith
* Henry Northcote (disambiguation)
* James Northcote (1746–1831), ...
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 administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...
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 Aqua ...
bendwise is slanted like a bend. When a charge is placed on a bend, by default it is shown bendwise.
Party per bend
![Party per bend demo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Party_per_bend_demo.svg)
A shield party per bend (or simply ''per bend'') is
divided
Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the ways that numbers are combined to make new numbers. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication.
At an elementary level the division of two natural numb ...
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
![Blason Ducs Bourgogne (ancien)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Blason_Ducs_Bourgogne_%28ancien%29.svg)
Bendy is 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 pres ...
consisting (usually) of an even number of parts, most often six; as in the coat of the
duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...
.
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 t ...
, 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 i ...
.
In national flags
Image:Flag of Bhutan.svg, Flag of Bhutan
The national flag of Bhutan ( dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་རྒྱལ་དར) is one of the national symbols of Bhutan. The flag features a Chinese dragon (''druk'' ylie 'brugin Dzongkha, the Bhutanese language) from Bhutanese myth ...
Image:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg, Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The national flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: drapeau de la république démocratique du Congo) is a sky blue flag, adorned with a yellow star in the upper left canton and cut diagonally by a red stripe with a yellow fimbr ...
Image:Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg, Flag of the Republic of the Congo
The national flag of the Republic of the Congo (french: drapeau de la république du Congo) consists of a yellow diagonal band divided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner, with a green upper triangle and red lower triangle. Adopted in 19 ...
Image:Flag of Namibia.svg, Flag of Namibia
The flag of Namibia was adopted on 21 March 1990 upon independence from South Africa.
Design
The National Symbols Sub-Committee received 870 entries for the national flag. Six designs were short-listed; this was reduced to three, those of thr ...
Image:Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg, Flag of Papua New Guinea
The flag of Papua New Guinea (Tok Pisin: ''plak bilong Papua Niugini'') was adopted on 1 July 1971. In the hoist, it depicts the Southern Cross; in the fly, a Raggiana bird-of-paradise is silhouetted. The design was chosen through a nationwide ...
Image:Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg, Flag of the Solomon Islands
The flag of Solomon Islands consists of a thin yellow diagonal stripe divided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner, with a blue upper triangle and green lower triangle, and the canton charged with five white stars. Adopted in 1977 to ...
Image:Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg, Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis
The flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis consists of a yellow-edged black band containing two white stars that divides diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner, with a green upper triangle and red lower triangle. Adopted in 1983 to replace the fla ...
Image:Flag of Tanzania.svg, Flag of Tanzania
The flag of Tanzania ( sw, bendera ya Tanzania) consists of a yellow-edged black diagonal band, divided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner, with a green upper triangle and light blue lower triangle. Adopted in 1964 to replace the indiv ...
Image:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg, Flag of Trinidad and Tobago
The flag of Trinidad and Tobago was adopted upon independence from the United Kingdom on 31 August 1962. Designed by Carlisle Chang (1921–2001), the flag of Trinidad and Tobago was chosen by the independence committee of 1962. Red, black and w ...
References
Citations
General and cited references
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Further reading
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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