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 ...

, mantling or "lambrequin" (its name in French) is drapery tied to the

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

above the shield. In paper heraldry it is a depiction of the protective cloth covering (often of

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

) worn by

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s from their helmets to stave off the elements, and, secondarily, to decrease the effects of sword-blows against the helmet in battle, from which it is usually shown tattered or cut to shreds; less often it is shown as an intact drape, principally in those cases where clergy use a helmet and mantling (to symbolise that, despite the perhaps contradictory presence of the helmet, they have not been involved in combat), although this is usually the artist's discretion and done for decorative rather than symbolic reasons. Generally, mantling is blazoned ''mantled x, doubled'' ined''y''; the cloth has two sides, one of a

colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

and the other of a

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

. The mantling is usually in the main colours of the shield, or else in the

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

colours that symbolize the entity bearing the arms, though there are exceptions, with occasional tinctures differing from these, or occasional examples in which the outside of the mantling is per pale of two colours or both the inside and outside are per pale, and even rarer examples of other divisions, and there is a perhaps unique example in which the lining of the mantling is per pale of the two metals or of the entire mantling being of a single tincture. The mantling of the Black Loyalist Heritage Society is a unique example in which the mantling is of two furs ( ermines, lined ermine). There is also the unique example of the mantling of Bruce Douglas Bolton, which is

tartan Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...

on the outside. The

Coat of Arms of Canada The Arms of Canada (french: Armoiries du Canada, links=no), also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada (french: armoiries royales du Canada, links=no) or formally as the Arms of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada (french: Armoiries de Sa M ...

is mantled white and red, or ''argent doubled gules''; furthermore, the current standard rendering of the Canadian arms has mantling in the shape of

maple leaves The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along the ...

. The arms of sovereigns are a common exception. The

arms of the United Kingdom The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Vari ...

are ''or, lined ermine'', such a mantling often being held to be limited to sovereigns.In the early days of the development of the crest, before the

torse In heraldry, a torse or wreath is a twisted roll of fabric laid about the top of the helmet and the base of the crest. It has the dual purpose of masking the join between helm and crest, and of holding the mantling in place. The torse is somet ...

(wreath), crest coronets and

chapeau A chapeau is a flat-topped hat once worn by senior clerics. In heraldry In European ecclesiastical heraldry, it is used as a mark of ecclesiastical dignity, especially that of cardinals, where it is called the ''red chapeau''. It is worn over th ...

x were developed, the crest often "continued into the mantling" if this was feasible (the clothes worn by a demi- human figure, or the fur of the animal, for instance, allowing or encouraging this). It still holds true frequently in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. There are rare examples where the mantling is blazoned to complement the armiger's coat of arms, mimicking the ordinaries and charges on the escutcheon. When charges occur, they are usually displayed as a

semy 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 pre ...

References

{{heraldry Heraldry

See also

References