The armoured triskelion on the flag of the Isle of Man

Embowed () is a term 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 ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

which means: *''curved like a bow'' (when applied to fish, animals or heraldic charges) *''bent'' (when applied to the human arm or leg), or *''having an arch or arches'' but, in the Anglophone heraldries, concave ones, not bulging out convex ones.

Examples

The heraldic examples illustrated show the ''pile embowed inverted throughout azure'' of the

Coat of arms of the Western Cape The coat of arms of the Western Cape is the official heraldic symbol of the Western Cape province of the Republic of South Africa. It has been in use since 1998. History The Western Cape is one of the three provinces into which the former Cap ...

, and the ''three legs embowed conjoined in the fesse points in armour proper spurred and garnished or'' of the

Triskelion A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs. It is found in artefacts of ...

on the

Flag of the Isle of Man The flag of the Isle of Man or flag of Mann ( gv, brattagh Vannin) is a triskelion, composed of three armoured legs with golden spurs, upon a red background. It has been the official flag of the Isle of Mann since 1 December 1932 and is based o ...

and its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

. Fish embowed can be seen in the crest of Thompson Rivers University.

References

*''Pimbley's Dictionary of Heraldry: An Authoritative Guide to the Terminology of Heraldry'' by Arthur Francis Pimbley (1908) *''

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary The ''Chambers Dictionary'' (''TCD'') was first published by William and Robert Chambers as ''Chambers's English Dictionary'' in 1872. It was an expanded version of ''Chambers's Etymological Dictionary'' of 1867, compiled by James Donald. A sec ...

'' ed. E. M. Kirkpatrick (W. & R. Chambers Ltd, Edinburgh, new edition, 1983)
Pimbley's Dictionary of Heraldry online - E
- accessed 17 July 2007 {{Heraldry footer Heraldry