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 Aqu ...

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 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