Heraldic Terms
Heraldic Terms
Heraldic terms were very important in Medieval England, where heraldry was a significant part of life. As heraldry was so complex, exclusive and significant, the practise was required a long list of very precise terms. We have listed some of the most common below:
| Accosted | Side by side |
|---|---|
| Addorsed | Back to back |
| Affronté | An animal seen in full front view |
| Aislé | With wings |
| Ambulent | Walking |
| Ancient Crown | A circlet with 4 fleurs-de-lis (3 visible) |
| Apaumé | Referring to a hand showing its palm |
| Arched | Shaped like an arch |
| Armed | Referring to claws, teeth, horns or talons of animals including birds |
| Armigerous | Applied to people who possessed coats of arms |
| Armorial bearings | Another name for achievement of arms |
| At gaze | A stag with its face looking forward |
| Attires | The horns of a deer |
| Attired | With horns |
| Augmentation | A special grant that allowed additions to a coat of arms, usually as a result of a special deed |
| Banded | With a band or ribbon around |
| Bars gemelles | Barrulets placed in pairs |
| Barbed and seeded proper | A heraldic rose with five leaves in a natural colour |
| Beaked | Referring to the beaks of birds and creatures like a griffin. |
| Bezanty | Strewn with bezants |
| Billety | Strewn with billets |
| Caboshed | The head of a deer shown full face but with no neck |
| Cadency marks | Symbols used by sons to emphasise differences between their coat of arms and that of their father |
| Canting arms | Punning arms |
| Caparisoned | A horse dressed for battle |
| Close | When the wings of a bird lie against its body |
| Cockatrice | An imaginary beast made up of two different parts of two creatures |
| Combatant | When two lions faced each other, seemingly preparing to fight |
| Combed | A reference to the crest of a cock |
| Compony | A single row of chequers |
| Conjoined | Joined together |
| Cotise | Narrower than a bendlet |
| Cotised | A bend, fess or chevron is cotised when placed between two narrow bars |
| Counter compony | Two rows of chequers |
| Courant | Running |
| Coward | An animal with its tail between its legs |
| Crined | This referred to human hair or the mane of animals |
| Crusily | Scattered with little crosses |
| Dancetty | This described a zigzag line with fewer but bigger points than a line indented |
| Demi | Halved |
| Dimidiation | Two coats on one shield |
| Dormant | Sleeping |
| Double-queued | With two tails |
| Ducally gorged and chained | With a crest coronet around the neck and a chain attached |
| Elevated | Wings that are raised |
| Embowed | Curved |
| Enfield | Imaginary beast with the head of a fox, chest of an elephant, mane of a horse, front legs of an eagle, hind legs of a greyhound and a lion’s tail |
| Eradicated | A tree that is uprooted |
| Erect | In an upright position |
| Erminois | A fur – black spots on gold |
| Escutcheon | A shield |
| Escutcheon of pretence | A shield containing the arms of an heiress wife placed in the centre of her husband’s shield |
| Flory | A field scattered with fleurs-de-lis |
| Fructed | A tree bearing fruit |
| Fusil | Diamond shape that is narrower than a lozenge |
| Gamb | Leg of an animal |
| Gorged | Placed around the neck |
| Gorges | A whirlpool |
| Goutteé | Scattered with drops of liquid |
| Gyronny | Where a shield has been divided into eight parts |
| Habited in | Dressed in |
| Hauriant | A fish in an upright position |
| Hoofed | Referred to the hooves of animals |
| Horned | referred to the horns of animals |
| Impaled | A shield that is parted down the middle so that two coats can be displayed |
| In splendour | The sun when it is shown with its rays |
| Inescutcheon | A shield placed inside another shield |
| Inverted | Upside down; wings with tips facing downwards |
| Irradiated | With rays about it |
| Issuant | Coming out of |
| Langued | Referring to an animal’s tongue |
| Lined | With cords |
| Marshalling | Grouping two or more coats of arms on one shield |
| Masoned | A reference to the lines that represent cement between bricks |
| Mural Crown | Crown with the appearance of a wall with an embattled top |
| Naiant | Swimming |
| Passion Nail | Like a wedge and with no head |
| Pean | A fur – gold spots on black |
| Pendent | Hanging |
| Per | Used to show how a line is drawn to divide a shield |
| Pierced | With a hole so that another tincture shows through |
| Plate | A silver roundel |
| Platy | Strewn with plates |
| Potent | A fur – made up of T-shapes |
| Queue fourché | With a forked tail |
| Radiant | Charges that have the sun’s rays around them |
| Reguardant | Looking behind |
| Respectant | Face to face |
| Salient | Springing |
| Sans | Without |
| Sejant | Sitting |
| Shafted | Referring to the shaft of an arrow, spear etc |
| Surmounted | A charge that has another place on it |
| Tierced | Divided into three |
| Torse | Wreath |
| Torteau | A red roundel |
| Transfixed | Pierced through |
| Trippant | Used for deer shown to be walking |
| Unguled | Referring to the hooves of animals |
| Urchin | A hedgehog |
| Voided | A charge with the middle removed so that only an outline remains |
| Volant | Flying |
| Wattled | This described a cock’s wattles |
See also: Heraldry
MLA Citation/Reference
"Heraldic Terms". HistoryLearning.com. 2025. Web.