Of Additions of Honour.
32. Certain ordinaries have been, from what cause it is difficult to say, selected as more proper than others for bearing and exhibiting heraldic additions of honour, and augmentations of arms. These are nine in number, viz. the border, the quarter, the canton, the Byron, the pile, the fasque, thefanche, the voider, and the escutcheon of pre tence. These have all at various times been in vogue. In the days of King Henry VIII. the pile had the preference, and was by him granted to the Lady Jane Seymour, and to the Lady Catharine Parr. But of late years, the quarter and canton are most in use.
Abatements of Honour.
33. By abatements of honour, we are to understand " Such figures as heraldic authors affirm were, by judgments of the court military, to be added or annexed to coat-armour, in order to denote some ungentlemanlike, dishonourable, or disloyal act, demeanour, quality stain, or vice in the bear er, and whereby the dignity of the said coat-armour is great ly abased." These abatements of honour arc in like man ner nine in number, viz. • 1st, 4 delf(or turf) tenne, for him who revokes or recedes from a challenge.
2d, An escutcheon reversed sanguine occupying the middle point of the escutcheon of arms, for him who deflowers a maid or widow, or flies from the banner of his prince.
3d, A point dexter parted tenne, for a braggadochio, or vain-glorious boaster of acts unperformed.
4th, A point in point sanguine, for a person guilty of cowardice.
5th, A point champaine tenne, for him who kills his ptisor. er after quarter demanded.
6th, 4 plain point sanguine, for him who lieth to his prince or general.
7th, 4 gore sinister tenne, for him who behaveth basely towards his enemy.
8th, A gusset sanguine, on the dexter side of an adulterer, on the sinister for a drunkard.
9th, The whole coat turned upside down, or reversed, for a traitor.
N. 13. These figures are always given in the English systems, but are ridiculed by the Stotch writers, and by the Jesuit Menestrier termed" English fancies." The truth is, no instance is furnished in any of the books of such figures being actually borne for the purposes alleged. Cer tain it is, that many of these figures are frequently used as marks of honour.
Of Marshalling Coat-Armour.
34. " Arms," according to Nisbet, " are said to be mar shalled, when ensigns of honour and dominion, or the en tire arms of other families, are joined with the paternal arms of the bearer by partition lines, making distinct areas or compartments in one shield." Edmonstone defines mar
shalling of arms " an orderly disposing of sundry coats be longing to dictinct families in their proper places within one shield, by impaling and quartering." Marshalling is moreover extended to the disposition of the appurtenances of such arms without the escutcheon.
Women, unless they arc sovereign queens or princesses, by the rules of heraldry, bear their paternal arms in a lozenge or shield ; and therefore, when they marry, it has been the custom to impale their arms with those of their husbands, in order to shew that alliance ; which is called " arms en baron et femme." Impaling has been practised in three different manners. First, by dimidiation, (Plate CCXCIII. Fig. 1.) that is, by halving or cutting the shields of both husband and wife into two equal parts, and joining the dexter half of the hus band's to the sinister half of the wife's, so as to form one shield. In this mode (called in their tongue ciccolee) the French kings used to impale the arms of Navarre. The second mode is dimidiating the husband's arms, and im paling them with the full coat of his wife, (Fig. 2 ) The third mode (Fig. 3.) and that now in use in England, is that of impaling the two full coats, except when one of them hath a border ; for this can never he carried all round an impaled shield, but must stop at both ends where the two shields meet, (Fig 4.) Dimidiation of arms was much used long before entire impalements were in use. Margaret, sister to Philip IV. of France, and second wife to Edward I. of England, had on her seal, in the year 1299, the arms of England so dimidiat ed with those of France, and she was the first queen of Eng land who had her arms so marshalled. The same method prevailed in France up to the time of the Revolution. But the reasons which have induced the English heralds to lay it aside are certainly very powerful ; for were it practised as of old, no end could be put to the jumble and confusion which it must infallibly create. For example, dimidiate the arms of CLARE, viz. or three cheverons gales, and im pale them on the woman's side with any coat, and you will have or three bends gales. Again dimidiate the coat of Waldegrave, viz. per pale argent and gales for the man, and it will be only a white field ; but do the same for the sister, and then it becomes a red field.