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 ''saltator ...

. 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 the ...

or some other decorative form. Frequently the centrepoint is adorned with a jewel; the name may therefore be a reference to a

carbuncle gemstone Carbuncle () is another name for a deep red almandine gemstone that has been cut with a smooth, convex face in a method called cabochon. Traditionally, the term referred to any red gemstone, most often a red garnet. Although they share the same ...

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 Louvil () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also * Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in th ...

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