CADENCY (from Lat. cado, to fall or decline). The marks by which the shields of the younger members of families are distinguished from those of the elder, and from each other, is an extensive, and, in so far as that term can be applied to heraldry at all, an important branch of the science. No distinction is usually made by writers on heraldry, and probably the practice of heralds in general scarcely admits of any being made, between marks of C, differences, distinctions, or even brisares, though the last term is pretty constantly and quite appropriately used to include not only differences in general, but also abatements (q.v.) or bearings by which the arms of the family are broken or diminished. See 13AsTany BAIL But there is a manifest convenience in the practice which is usually followed in Scotland, of appropriating the label, the crescent, the mullet, and the rest of the series of marks, commonly known as marks of C., to the purpose of distinguishing the sons from the father, and from each other, during the father's life-time; and of adopting other distinctions—such as the bordeur of various kinds, the chief engrailed, embattled, and the like, as differences between the coats of brothers, after the death of their father, and of the houses descended from them.
Another very common mode of differencing the shields of brothers in early times, was by changing the tinctures; but this is now regarded as too extensive a change for such a purpose.
The differences at present used by the royal family will be found in most of the peerages. The rule with regard to them seems to be that, unlike subjects, they all bear the label of three points argent; hut the label of the prince of Wales is plain, whilst those of the other princes and iwineessos are charged with crosses, fleurs-de-lis, hearts, or other figures, for the sake of distinction. One of the most frequent rensues for matriculating the arms of the younger branches of families of distinction in the lord Lyon's register, is that they may be properly distinguished from those borne by the bead of the house.