Charge (heraldry)

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In heraldry, a charge is an image occupying the field on an escutcheon (or shield). The most common charges, or ordinaries, are geometric constructs such as crosses and saltires. Other charges include:-

• animals
• plants
• astronomical objects
• tools ranging from those of ancient vintage to locomotives.
• Railroads: in the arms of a handful of units of the United States Army
• airplanes
• A satellite: in the arms of Arthur Maxwell House

The ordinaries are sometimes called proper charges, with other charges being known as common charges. Charge can also be used as a verb; for example, if an escutcheon bears three lions, then it is said to be charged with three lions. It is important to distinguish between divisions of the field and charges, and to note that charges can themselves be charged with a superposed image.

Most armorial achievements include charges, but a few only have a plain tincture (what would be called "colour" in layman's terms, though the word has a different meaning in heraldry) without any device, or a simple division or pattern of the field. The charges are either in one or more of the tinctures, or umbrated, supposedly represented as a shadow, though the representation is closest to an outline alone (an example of similar terminology applied to the "shadows" of a charge are the arms of Risoul, Hautes Alpes, France). Even though it can be argued that it is not strictly accurate, charges consisting of an outline of a particular tincture (where a blazon as voided would not be appropriate) have been blazoned as umbreated of such-and-such a tincture. This is to be distinguished from "a silhouette of [a charge then named]".[1]

Charges that were chosen as a pun on the name of the armiger are called "canting arms", and while this largely 15th and 16th century practice survives, charges are less commonly chosen now for their supposed or actual symbolism than formerly (the lion symbolising courage, for example). Recently granted charges are more likely to be chosen for some connection with the career or interests of the grantee, or for aesthetic purposes. Charges need not have any attached meaning.

When a charge is said to be sans something, that part is missing; this is most commonly used in the case of animals missing some body part.[2]

A charge is said to be throughout when it is shown as touching the edges of the shield when this is not its default position.

Some charges can be diminished; that is, shown smaller than their default size.

The many examples of charges blazoned as stylized are practically[3] confined to the heraldry of the United States Army, but this can be open to criticism because it does not necessarily make their appearance clear.
Similarly, there is an example in the heraldry of the United States Air Force of a caricatured charge.[4]

In later times there are rare instances of charges "in perspective": normally perspective is ignored in the treatment of charges.

A charge of rectangular form is said to be arraswise when a corner is in front and two sides are visible.[5]

Contents 1 Proper charges 1.1 Honourable Ordinaries 1.2 Sub-Ordinaries 1.3 Diminutives 2 Common charges 2.1 Supernatural or Divine beings 2.1.1 Christianity 2.1.2 Other religions 2.2 Humans 2.2.1 Races and nationalities of humans 2.2.2 Human occupations 2.2.3 Named individuals 2.2.4 Attitudes of humans 2.2.5 Parts of human bodies 2.3 Animals 2.3.1 Carnivores 2.3.2 Hoofed animals 2.3.3 Other mammals 2.3.4 Reptiles and amphibians 2.3.5 Fish and other sea animals 2.3.6 Birds 2.3.7 Invertebrates 2.3.8 Mythical 2.3.9 Attitude of animals 2.4 Plants 2.4.1 Grain crops 2.4.2 Flowers 2.4.3 Fruits 2.4.4 Vegetables 2.4.5 Other plants 2.5 Inanimate charges 2.5.1 Astronomical 2.5.2 Weather 2.5.3 Geology and geography 2.5.4 Geometrical shapes 2.5.5 Tools 2.5.6 Aircraft and flying 2.5.7 Ground vehicles 2.5.8 Ships and boats and water transport 2.5.9 Bridges 2.5.10 Buildings 2.5.10.1 Religious buildings 2.5.10.2 Industrial buildings 2.5.10.3 Fortified buildings 2.5.10.4 Groups of buildings 2.5.10.5 Other buildings 2.5.11 Hats and other headgear 2.5.12 Industrial 2.5.13 Scientific 2.5.14 Atomic 2.5.15 Letters and numbers 2.5.16 Music 2.5.17 Sports equipment 2.5.18 Weapons and militaria 2.5.19 Others

Proper charges

Heraldic writers have, somewhat arbitrarily, distinguished between honourable ordinaries and sub-ordinaries. It is often said that only nine charges are honourable ordinaries, but exactly which nine fit into this category is a subject of disagreement. It is sometimes said that only those ordinaries each of whose widths is one-fifth or more of the total width of the escutcheon is honourable.

Narrower or smaller versions of these ordinaries are called diminutives. Many have two diminutives, the first with half the width of the original, and the second with quarter the width of the original.

Honourable Ordinaries

Several different figures are recognised as honourable ordinaries.

• The chief is a horizontal stripe at the top of the field.
• The fess, a horizontal stripe in the centre of the field.
• The bar, which is of an indeterminate width, but if borne singly supposed to be slightly thinner than a fess.
• The pale, a vertical stripe in the centre of the field.
• The bend runs from the upper left to the lower right, as \, as seen by the viewer.
• The bend sinister runs from the upper right to the lower left, as / .

A chief, fess, or pale occupies one-third of the field; a bar, bend, or bend sinister occupies one-fifth of the field.

• The cross is a geometric construction of two perpendicular lines or bands, and is sometimes referred to as the "noblest" of the honourable ordinaries. There are hundreds of variants, including:-
  • Latin crosses
  • calvary crosses
  • the fillet cross, which is apparently the same as the narrow cross
  • The arms of Pope John Paul II show "a Latin cross skewed to dexter throughout", although this cross had been extensively criticised as "unheraldic".

Of these variants, only the "saltire" (a St Andrew's Cross or X-shaped construction) is considered an ordinary in its own right. The size of each depends on whether or not the cross bears another charge; if it is charged, the width is one-third the width of the field, and if it is uncharged, the width is one-fifth the width of the field.

• The chevron is a construction shaped like an inverted letter V
• The pall is shaped like the letter Y. (There is a T-shaped charge, the tau, which is not understood to be an ordinary.)
• The pile is a triangle, whose base is along the top of the field, and whose vertex is in the centre of the bottom half of the field.
• The quarter is a rectangle occupying the top left quarter of the field, as seen by the viewer.
• The canton is a "diminutive" of the quarter, occupying in theory one-ninth of the area of the field, being as deep as the chief, which theoretically occupies one-third of the area of the field, but occupies the dexter third of this.

A quarter or canton on the left side of the field is called a "quarter sinister" or "canton sinister".

Care must be taken in blazoning when two or more ordinaries or subordinaries, or diminutives thereof, are depicted "conjoined".

Sub-Ordinaries

As well as those mentioned in the above section whose status as honourable ordinaries is disputed, there are several other charges recognised as sub-ordinaries.

• The inescutcheon is a small shield placed in the centre of the field, and general practice, if not strictly speaking a "rule", suggests that it be the same shape as the shield it is on, though shields of specific shapes are rarely specified.[6]
• The bordure is a border touching the edge of the field.
• The orle is a narrow border within the field. Unlike the bordure, the orle does not touch the edges of the field.

There are several diamond-shaped sub-ordinaries, including the lozenge and the fusil (which is thinner and longer than the lozenge).

• If a lozenge is "voided" or empty, it is called a mascle.
• If it appears to have a circular hole within it, it is called a rustre.
• The fret is an interlaced pattern of a mascle and two diagonal bands.
• The gyron is a right triangle placed in the dexter chief of the field. A gyron is shaped like the lower left half of a canton.
• A gyron sinister is a similar figure in the sinister chief.
• Demi-gyrons are in the arms of the Oranjegloed Prmary School.[7])
• The flanch, also called the flaunch, is a curved figure (somewhat shaped like a part of a hyperbola) that is placed along the dexter or sinister edges of the field. Flanches are always found in pairs, one on either side of the field.
• A label is a horizontal strap, with a number of pendants suspended therefrom; it is almost invariably used as a cadency mark, but occasionally, and almost invariably in ancient examples, can be a regular charge. The default number of pendants (called lambeaux, drops, or, confusingly, as the file is also a name for the label itself, files) is three; another number may be specified in the blazon. This is almost invariably a greater number, though there are quite rare examples of two-pointed and even a one-pointed label.
• The billet is a rectangle. The short sides of the rectangle are at the top and bottom, and the long sides are on the right and left.
  • a billet with ends splayed in three points appears in the arms of Khienburg[8]
• It is important to distinguish the billet from the delf, a square charge that when occurring singly and in one of the stainard colours in supposed to be an abatement.
• The delf is distinguished from the square, which rarely occurs, the arms of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada including "a square... joined at each corner with a smaller square Vert".
• A circular ring is called an annulet; a circle is called a roundel. Roundels have different names depending on their tincture. A gold circle is a bezant, a silver circle a plate, a red circle a torteau, a blue circle a hurt, a black circle an ogress or pellet, a green circle a pomme, a purple circle a golpe, an orange circle an orange, and a blood-red circle a guze. Furthermore, if the circle is barry wavy argent and azure (so that it appears as blue and white waves), then it is called a fountain or syke.

Diminutives

Ordinaries have diminutives, or charges of the same pattern but of smaller sizes.

• A charge one-half the size of the ordinary is called a closet in the case of a bar, a pallet in the case of a pale, and a chevronnel in the case of a chevron. (There are occasional mentions of "narrow pallets" and "fillet saltires" [very thin pallets and saltires] but these are not considered to be a diminutive.)[9])
• A charge one-fourth the size of the ordinary is called a barrulet in the case of a bar, an endorse in the case of a pale, and a couple close in the case of a chevron. Cotises, the endorse, and the couple close cannot be borne singly, but must be born on either side of, and close to, the associated ordinary, in which case the ordinary is said to be cotised. An unusual example of cotising by eight demi maple leaves appears in the arms of the St. Georges Society of Toronto.[10] In addition, the cross, pile and saltire are occasionally found cotised, but the pieces making up the "cotising" have no independent description.

Bends and bends sinister have another system of nomenclature for their diminutives.

• A stripe half as large as a bend is a bendlet or garter.
• A stripe a fourth as large as a bend is a cotise.
• A stripe an eighth as large is a riband.
• A stripes half as large as a bend sinister is a scarpe.
• A stripes a fourth as large as a bend sinister is a baton.
• A stripe half the size of a bend, but cut off at the ends (so that it does not reach the corners of the field) is called a baton.
• The equivalent for a bend sinister is a baton sinister.
• One must distinguish this baton from the type of baton in the arms of The American College of Heraldry.[11]

The diminutive of the chief is sometimes stated to be the fillet, but this is a controversial position.

• The fess does not have a diminutive; it is sometimes suggested that bars are diminutives of fesses, but they are most often regarded as honourable ordinaries in their own right.
• A similar situation applies to the quarter and canton, though both the quarter and canton are often considered sub-ordinaries.

Most sub-ordinaries do not have diminutives. Though there are occasional anomalous appearances of "a narrow border", such as in the new arms of South Africa (see below), this is a regular charge.

A label's default number of pendants (called lambeaux, drops, or files: confusingly, as file is also a name for the whole label) is three; another number may be specified in the blazon. This is almost invariably a greater number, though there are quite rare examples of two-pointed and even a one-pointed label.

• The billet is a rectangle (the length being twice the width). The short sides of the rectangle are at the top and bottom, and the long sides are on the right and left.
• It is important to distinguish the billet from the delf, a square charge that when occurring singly and in one of the stainard colours in supposed to be an abatement.
• The delf is distinguished from the square, which rarely occurs: the arms of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada include "a square ... joined at each corner with a smaller square Vert".)

Common charges

Common charges include land animals and fish and birds. The heraldic depictions need not, and usually do not, exactly resemble the actual creatures. Mythical creatures used in heraldry are sometimes called "monsters". Inanimate objects are also used; many of them resemble flowers and floral designs.

Supernatural or Divine beings

Though the taboo is not invariably respected, British heraldry in particular, and to a greater or lesser extent the heraldry of other countries, frowns on depictions of God or Christ, though an exception may be in the not-uncommon Continental depictions of Madonna and Child, including the Black Madonna in the arms of Marija Bistrica, Croatia.[12]

Christianity

• The Ascension of St. Mary: on the arms of Breil, Graubünden, Switzerland,[13], and [http://www.ngw.nl/int/oos/p/pinggau.htm.
• "the Virgin, St. John the Apostle and St. Mary Magdalene lamenting the body of Christ taken down from the Cross": the arms of Pinggau, Steiermark, Austria][14]
• The Devil (or a demon) being defeated by an archangel (probably St. Michael)
• The Devil (or a demon), freestanding. This form is far from popular.
• Satan's face: on the arms of the 5th Communications Group of the United States Air Force.
• The "devil of Chateau-de-Diable": in the arms of the 305th Regiment of the United States Army.[15]
• Angels very frequently appear, but angelic beings of higher rank, such as cherubim and seraphim, are extremely rare.
• An archangel: in the arms of Arkhangelsk.
• An imp: in the arms of the 720th Military Police Battalion of the United States Army.[16]
• Outside Britain, particular saints are the named individuals most often appearing. It may be necessary to know the attributes of saints to be able to accurately blazon the coat.
• John the Baptist usually occurs as a head on a plate.

Other religions

• The goddess Ceres: in the arms of the South-African town of that name.[17]
• The god Mercury: in the arms of Idrija, Slovenia[18]
• The head of Minerva: in the arms of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions.[19]
• Venus: in the arms of Zianno di Fiemme, Italy.[20]
• Taras: in the arms of Taranto.
• Hercules: in a number of Continental coats of arms
• The head of Geryon: in the arms of Trivulzi.

Humans

Humans may be used as charges, usually as heads rather than as whole individuals. (Particularly in Europe, the "default" human is almost always depicted as one of European ancestry, though contrary examples can very occasionally be seen.[21]) "Humans" so blazoned are rare, though there are some examples.[22]

• A two-headed figure with one head a man's and one head a woman's: the arms of di Petris-Fragianni.
• There are also some examples of a man, not more fully described.

However, there are a number of frequently-occurring types of men, usually just as heads.

• The Moor or "blackamoor" is inaccurately shown as being African, although James Parker states that an "African" appears in the arms of Routell,[23]
• Englishman
• A "nègre" (= Negro): in the arms of Braunjohan[24]).
• A "negro cutting down a sugar cane": George Frederick Chambers, Esq.
• Saracen
• Saxon
• Turk
• Welshman
• The head of a Greek warrior: in the arms of the 642d Military Intelligence Battalion[25].
• A "conquistador's head": in the arms of the 202d Field Artillery Regiment[26], of the United States Army.
• An Aboriginal head: in the arms of the city of Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia.[27]
• The "bust of a Jew": in the arms of Jud de Bruckberg.

Generally speaking, there is only one type of woman (young, beautiful and blonde, with disheveled hair, but there are occasional instances of her hair being braided), and appearing more often as a bust than head.

• A brunette [with an eagle's beak in place of a nose]: Elzanowski et Elzanowski-Sepiathere
• A Moorish woman: Apfaltrer d'Apfaltrera.
• "The upper body of a Xhosa woman": in the arms of Lingelethu[28]).

The "maiden" or "virgin" overlaps with the woman to a large degree. A "maiden in her modesty" is one who is covering her breasts with one arm and her groin with the other hand.

• The symbol for a woman: in the arms of Kim Campbell, Prime Minister of Canada.[29]

There are rare occurrences of the child, both the head and entire, and (although generally speaking the word "child" is used to mean "boy"): the arms of Frans Bernhard Staal specify a "male child".[30]

• A young girl: in the arms of Boul.[31]

There are a number of appearances of the "infant"

• Three newborns' heads: the arms of Auvity.
• An African mother and baby: the arms of the Order of Ethiopia.[32]

Races and nationalities of humans

The American Indian occasionally appears in heraldry though far more often as a supporter than a charge.

• "Sapphire an Indian dressed in his shirt and moccasins, belted proper. In his right hand a bow topaz; in his left, an arrow, its point towards the base. On the dexter side of the Indian's head a star, pearl, for one of the United States of America": the arms of Massachusetts.
• Irregularly, in caricatured form in the arms of the 8th Flying Training Squadron of the United States Air Force.[33]
• A similar figure is described as an "American": in the arms of Leonhardi)
• An "Algonquin warrior's head couped proper wearing two feathers gules": in the arms of the 306th Military Police Battalion of the United States Army.[34]
• A Taíno Indian: the arms of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico.
• A Tarahumara woman's head: the arms of the city of Chihuahua.[35]
• The new arms of South Africa are blazoned "Or, representations of two San human figures of red ochre, statant respectant, the hands of the innermost arms clasped, with upper arm, inner wrist, waist and knee bands Argent, and a narrow border of red ochre".[36]
• Giants: in the arms of Agrigento, Italy.

Human occupations

• A Druid: Patrick McG. Stoker's crest.
• A naked man: in the arms of Dalyell
• There are a number of examples of naked women.
• Men and women of various types and professions are rare other than as knights (described as Templars in the arms of Merlevenez, Morbihan, France)
• monks, nuns and the like.
• A minuteman: the arms of the 437th Airlift Wing of the United States Air Force.[37]
• A blacksmith: in the arms of the Portuguese Município of Ferreira do Alentejo.
• A coal miner: the arms of Jaworzno, Poland.
• A zinc miner: the arms of Altenberg, Sachsen, Germany.
• A farmer: in the arms of Baardegem, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium (now incorporated into Aalst).
• A labourer:in the arms of Saint Arnaud, Algeria.
• A cowboy mounted on a horse appears on the arms of Thomas Gordon Towers.[38].
• A scuba diver: in the arms of Kenneth Angus Munn: in this image he seems to be using a rebreather.
• A woman scattering corn into 13 furrows on the arms of Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico
• A naked athlete: the arms of Manessy.
• A discus thrower: the arms of Alexander Road High School.[39]
• A man wearing judo apparel: the arms of the South African Judo Union.
• Two "judo wrestlers": the arms of M.L. Sultan Technical College.

[40]

• A bowler: the arms of the Claremont Bowling Club, Cape Town[41]
• A Roman praetor: the canting arms of Pretoria, South Africa.[42]
• Frequently, allegorical figures, such as "Hope" in the former arms of South Africa.[43]

Named individuals

In British heraldry it is highly unusual for there to be a depiction of a particular named individual on the shield.

• The head of Charlemagne: in profile in the arms of the Münstertal District in Graubünden canton, Switzerland.
• Atahuallpa: on the arms of Francisco Pizarro.[44]
• Dmitriy Ivanovich: arms of Uglich, Russia[45]
• Balto Puente: the arms of Yumbo, Valle de Cauca, Colombia.[46]
• Martin Krpan (a character created by Slovenian writer Fran Levstik): on the arms of Pivka.[47]
• A "[representation] in the Australian Aboriginal manner of an Arnhem Land rock painting of a woman with stylised internal anatomy": is the central charge in the arms of the Northern Territory of Australia.
• A dead woman: the arms of Moura, Portugal.[48]

Attitudes of humans

Humans are standing and affronty unless otherwise stated, though there are occasional examples of people kneeling. Walking people are sometimes described as ambulant.

Parts of human bodies

Parts of human bodies, in addition to the head, that occur include the arm, eye (rarely accompanied by eyebrows), leg and skull.

• a dexter hand appaumé and a maple leaf conjoined: the arms of Brian Mulroney.[49]
• feet: the arms of Millares.[50]
• The cochlea: in the arms of Daniel Ling.[51]
• Shin bones: appeared in the arms of Sir Isaac Newton.
• Rib bones: in the arms of Mendes da Costa[52].
• A vertebra: in the arms of Walter William Roy Bradford.[53]
• Teeth: in the arms of Zahn.
• If possible to determine the difference, the "default" is supposed to be a man's, though a woman's arm occurs in the arms of Beyer de Boppard.
• The hand, as in the blood-soaked severed hand on the flag of Ulster.
• The heart, even when blazoned "a human heart", always appears like the heart in a deck of cards rather than a natural human heart.
• A "dug" or woman's breast "distilling drops of milk", famously appears in the arms of the Dodge family, and appeared for a time on the badge of cars made by the Dodge Automotive company. [54] [55]
• There are some Continental appearances of the beard.
• Moustaches: the arms of Barban, Istria County, Croatia.[56]
• Kidneys with their ducts: the Urological Association of South Africa's arms.
• Testicles: the Neapolitan family of Coglione bore "per fess argent and gules, three pairs of testicles counterchanged".[57]

Animals

Except the griffin, beasts in heraldry are male unless otherwise specified.

Carnivores

• The most common beast used in heraldry is perhaps the lion.
• Other common beasts include the tiger (if not otherwise described, depicted in a typically heraldic, rather than the natural, form)

(A "tiger of Ussouri": the arms of the Jewish Autonomous Region

• leopard (which may be used to describe the lion "passant guardant" [see explanation of "attitude"s below] rather than the natural leopard)
• ounce (snow leopard)
• bobcat: the arms of the Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division of the United States Army.[58]
• The cat has two forms: the "cat-a-mount", and the domestic cat, the latter called just a "cat". Only rarely is the breed described; Himalayan cats are known. A female cat appears in a handful of coats of arms.
• wolf
• She-wolf: the arms of Cormaranche en Bugey Ain, France),
• fox (occasionally including the arctic fox)
• dog
• bear (including, rarely, the polar bear) frequently appears
• Two young bears: the arms of Perlsdorf, Steiermark, Austria
• "brock" (badger) (occasional) (and his pawprints): [59]
• ermine (occasional)
• cougar (rare)
• raccoon (rare)

Hoofed animals

• antelope
• bison
• The boar occurs very frequently
• bullt
• calf
• camel (occasional)
• caribou heads: in the arms of MacPherson[60]),
• cow
• doe
• ass (occasional)
• The eland figures in a few coats of South African origin.
• elk (occasional)
• goat
• hart
• The hippopotamus is mentioned by very early writers on heraldry.
• horse
• lamb
• moose (occasional)
• "moose-deer": the arms of State of Maine, USA
• pig: Wilnis, Utrecht, the Netherlands
  • "Or, three hams sable": [61]
• ram
• reindeer
• rhinoceros: the arms of Tapps-Gervis.[62]
• roebuck
• sheep
• The "fat-tailed sheep" is distinguished in the arms of Canvey Island Urban District Council
• stag
• vicuña: the arms of Peru.

Other mammals

• ape
• bat (sometimes called "reremouse"),
• beaver (often depicted as quite unlike the natural animal),
• The elephant appears fairly frequently: the arms of Marija Gorica, Croatia, give an apparently unique example of a "paleo-elephant".[63]
• gopher: the arms of the 136th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army.[64]
• kangaroo: rarely, in arms with an Australian connexion, although quite frequently as a supporter.
• manatee: the Kingdom of Haiti; the arms of Manati, Puerto Rico.[65]
• marmot (occasional)
• "moldiwarp" (mole) (occasional)
• monkey (much less often than ape)
• numbat (rare)
• pangolin: the arms of Mazoe, in Zimbabwe.
• porcupine (occasional)
• squirrel.
• thylacine: the arms of the Australian state of Tasmania.
• walrus: the arms of Van Walree
• wolverine (rare)

Reptiles and amphibians

• The serpent (the almost invariably used word for "snake", though in Canadian heraldry the snake is sometimes called a snake,[66].
• In French heraldry the "couleuvre" or Grass Snake is distinguished.
• The arms of the 6th Field Artillery Regiment of the United States Army contain a rattlesnake[67];
• There are instances of winged serpents,
• The lizard is almost without exception shown in generic form, but the crocodile also appears.
• The salamander is shown as a generic lizard surrounded by flames (in the arms of Le Clei shown as "vomissant des flammes" ["vomiting flames"] as well).
• There are quite rare appearances of the chameleon.
• The arms of the 92nd Bombardment Group of the United States Air Force contain a pterodactyl.[68]

Fish and other sea animals

"Fish" are sometimes only described as "a fish", but commonly-found types include:-

• burt,
• The catfish appears in the arms of Karl Freiherr Auer von Welsbach.[69]
• Conger eel: distinguished in the arms of the Congleton Borough Council),
• The coelacanth appears in the arms of Arcadia School in East London, South Africa.[70]
• dolphin (though it is not, in scientific terms, fish),
• eel
• ged (= pike),
• lucy (= perch),
• roach
• salmon (there is at least one occurrence of an "Atlantic salmon"),
• and herring.
• The "seahorse" is depicted as one of those pulling Neptune's chariot, and if the natural seahorse is to be depicted it is blazoned as a "seahorse (hippocampus)".
• The shark is rare in the extreme.
• The swordfish appears in the arms of Snyders.
• There are occasional appearances of the trout.
• The whale (again, defined as a fish though in science it is a mammal) rarely appears
• The ichthus symbol appears in the arms of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada.[71]
• Fishbones appear in the arms of Bordes (des) de Chalendray.
• The escallop (scallop shell) is one of the most frequent charges
• Mussels appear in the arms of Musselburgh in Scotland.
• The proteus appears in a 1909 grant to Postojna, now Slovenia.
• The sand dollar appears in the arms of Michaëlle Jean.
• oyster shell, in which a pearl sometimes appears.[72]
• whelk shell
• A trilobite appears in the Dudley coat of arms.

Birds

There are rare examples of a "bird," not more specifically named.[73]

Oft-used birds include the eagle (sometimes having two heads, and there is at least one example of a three-headed eagle[74]),

• The allerion is an eagle with expanded wings, the points turned downwards, and without beak or feet.
• canary (apparently one use only): [75]
• cardinal: was a later immigrant from the New World
• cock: with two heads on the arms of Versailles)
• cormorant
• crane
• dove,
• duck: sometimes appears
• duck without beak or legs
• Ducklings: the arms of Steynsrus, South Africa.[76]
• emu: the arms of Toowoomba, Australia.
• falcon
  • the Icelandic falcon: in the arms of George Johnson[77]
• flamingo appears, rarely, in South-African heraldry.
• finch: more rarely.
• The generic goose
  • The "Magellan-goose": in the arms of Ashfield,[78]
  • Canada goose: almost invariably in Canada
• grebe: in the arms of Ig, Slovenia[79]
• gull or seagull
• heron
• kiwi: sometimes in coats where the grantee has some connection to New Zealand;
• Knysna Lourie (apparently one use only): [80]
• kookaburra: Australia.
• magpie: Otton de Cazeneuve bore "Or, three magpies sable" at Falkirk.
• martlet: common, is a mythiclal bird without legs.
• merlette (used almost exclusively in France)
• North American Kingfisher: was a later immigrant from the New World
• osprey: almost invariably depicted simply as an eagle argent
• ostrich,
• owl
• peacock,
• popinjay (parrot).
• ptarmigan: the arms of the 588th Engineering Battalion of the United States Army[81]
• puffin (apparently one use only)
• raven: (appearing as the Naden Raven, a symbol of the Naden River people of the Haida Indians in the arms of Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada),
• three heads of a Redhead (Aythya americana) drake: the arms of Thomas A. Hickey'.[82]
• secretary bird.
• stork
• swallow
• swan
• white-tailed tropic bird: the arms of Colin Fleming
• turkey cock: was a later immigrant from the New World
• egg: rarely ([83])
• see below for an example of "duck eggs".
• An example of "a vertical section of an egg".[84]

Invertebrates

Insects include:-

• bee (beehives also sometimes occur, usually in the natural form, though that in the arms of Marquion, Pas de Calais, France was at least once depicted as of a man-made type).
• dragonfly
• grasshopper
• butterfly
• ant (rather rarely)
• fly (rather rarely)
• anthill: in the arms of Bertrand.
• Stag beetles, appropriately, appear in the arms of Sir George Martin.[85]
• In heraldry the spider is considered an insect, and there are a few examples.
• A "caricatured" mosquito: in the arms of the 6147th Tactical Control Group,[86]
• boll weevil: in the arms of the 81st Training Wing of the United States Air Force.[87]
• snail (rarely called "house snail," supposedly to disntinguish from slug),
• worm: very rare

Mythical

Several mythical creatures are also used as charges.

• dragon: another common charge, depicted as large and reptilian, with a forked tongue, an eagle's eyes, and a bat's wings. (The number of "membranes" in the wings may be specified.[88])
• wyvern: similar to a dragon, but with only two legs.
• These pre-date the appearance of several types of Oriental dragons including:-
• The generally-described "Chinese dragon"
  • The three-clawed dragon, granted in Europe and Canada for those with some connexion to China,
  • The imperial Chinese dragon.[89]
• Another Chinese monster, the qilin: in the arms of Captain Benjamin Lee.[90]
• mermaid: not infrequently.
• Phoenix: including in a Chinese type in the arms of Adrienne Clarkson)
• unicorn
• sphinx: not depicted in the familiar way, but with the head and breasts of a woman.
• Many of the other monsters are compound creatures.
• A simple example is the griffin, combining the head (but with ears), chest, wings and forelegs of the eagle with the hindquarters and legs of a lion (the male griffin lacks wings and his body is scattered with spikes); there is at least one example of the double-headed griffin.

(The arms of Magdalensberg, Kärnten, Austria show a specific ancient statue of a griffin.)

• The hippogriff is like the griffin except that the lion parts of the griffin are replaced by those of a horse.
• The pegasus is a winged horse.
• The sea-lion is a combination of a lion and a fish.
• A half-eagle, half-tiger (an eagle dimidated with a tiger) creature figured in the arms granted to Fernando de Tapia.[91]
• In Canada compound creatures such as the raven-bear and raven-wolf appear.

Parts of creatures may also be used as charges. The most frequent parts used as charges are the head, the gamb (or limb) and the paw.

• If the part is erased, then it is depicted with ragged edges, as if it had been ripped from the animal's body.
• If the part is couped, then it is depicted with a straight edge, as if it were neatly severed.
• demi (as in, for instance, demi-lion) means that the upper half of an animal alone is to be shown.
• If an animal is shown in its entirety, but with the head, tail and limbs separated from the body, it is said to be dismembered.
• The terms applied to the head vary; if shown full-faced and without the neck showing, the heads of deer-like animals, and the bull, are termed "caboshed", and the arms of Alexander L. Purves show an application of this term to the head of the Chinese dragon.[92]
• Elephant tusks frequently appear
• A "boar's tooth" [sic] appears in the arms of the Orange Free State Amateur Athletic Association,[93]
• Wolves' teeth in the arms of Zemby.

Attitude of animals

The position, or attitude, of the creature's body is also described.

• An animal engaged in battle (shown with one hind paw on the ground and three paws in the air) is called rampant (except the griffin, for whom the term segreant must be used);
• one that is walking (shown with one forepaw in the air and three paws on the ground) is passant. *A rare example of passant applied to the bird is to the flamingo in the arms of the Kuisebmond Second School, Walvis Bay,[94]
• The flamingo[95] and kiwi[96] have also been blazoned stantant.
• There is even an example in the heraldry of the United States Air Force of "two boots passant",[97] though this is incorrect as "passant" can be applied only to beasts and, rarely, some types of birds, and not inanimate objects.)
• Animals with all four paws on the ground are statant (standing).
• Beasts of prey, and horses, running are courant (they are shown with both forelimbs and both hind limbs together), though the arms of Iberia show a horse in full gallop.[98]
• The bear, apparently uniquely, can walk on its hind legs.
• If the animal is sitting, the term sejant is employed, and if sitting with the front paws raised in the air, sejant erect.
• Animals with the two hind paws on the ground and the two forepaws in the air are salient (jumping).
• (There is at least one case of leaping being distinguished.)[99]
• An animal is couchant if it is laying down, and dormant if it is sleeping (with its head lowered).
• The term clymant is almost exclusively applied to the goat, but there are instances of its application to:-
  • The unicorn[100]
  • The pegasus.[101]
• A very rare term, pascuant, is applied to a quadruped when grazing.
• A bull "storming": The arms of the Erasmus Family Association[102]
• "a crouching panther, tail elevated": the arms of the 31st Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army show .[103]
• If the eyes the animal are of a different tincture, it is said to be eyed of such-and-such a tincture, and the arms of the 83d Chemical Battalion of the U.S. Army show a rare example in which the tincture of the pupil is specified.
• If the penis of the animal is of a different tincture than the rest, it is said to be pizzled of such-and-such a tincture.

By default, the charge faces the left, as seen by the viewer.

• The head of an animal guardant faces the viewer,
• The head of an animal reguardant faces the right, as seen by the viewer.
• It is extremely unusual for the head to be described as in trian aspect (or three-quarters profile).[104]
• There are several positional descriptions unique to the lion, which appears to be the only creature that can be stantant with tail extended, though other animals have been known to have their tails "erect".
• A "lion with a dragon's tail"[105] can be seen in the arms of Christopher Sterling Tod Mackie.
• The Chinese dragon in the arms of Dr. Richard Gordon Num is torqued.[106]

Entirely different terms are used for stags and other deer-like creatures. Trippant is used instead of passant, at bay instead of statant, at gaze instead of statant guardant, springing instead of salient and lodged instead of couchant.

• The serpent is said to be nowed if tied in a knot.
• The snake is sometimes found in a circle with its tail in its mouth, which position in French heraldry sometimes makes it an ouroboros.
• If gliding along, the serpent is glissant, though the arms of the 37th Armor of the United States Army give an example of a wyvern (sans legs) glissant.[107]
• The rattlesnake, uniquely, can be described as coiled to strike.

Fish also use a different terminology.

• A straight horizontal fish is naiant,
• and an arched horizontal fish is embowed.
• If the fish is vertical, and its head faces upwards, it is hauriant;
• if its head faces downwards, the fish is uriant.

The terminology for birds is based on the position of the wings.

• If a bird faces the viewer, with the head turned to one side, and the wings spread apart on either side, the bird is displayed.
• If the bird is not shown facing the viewer, and the wings are shown spread apart, the bird is volant (flying);
• If the wings are shown folded, the bird is trussed, close or perched.
• (The attitude "volant" is also sometimes applied to aircraft.)
• (Owls volant affronty appear in the arms of Sir Christopher Frayling[108])
• {An owl affronty hovering appears in the arms of Jules Léger.)
• If the bird's head faces upward, the bird is rising or rousant (about to take flight).
• Swans and ducks are very occasionally found naiant (= swimming).[109]
• There are several examples of crowing cocks.

Plants

Plants are extremely common in heraldry and figure among the earliest charges. (The colonial-era arms of Tlemcen, Algeria are unusual in that they contain generic "plants".) The turnip, for instance, makes an early appearance, as does wheat.

When the fruit of a tree, branch, or the like is mentioned, as it generally will only be if it is of a different tincture, it is said to be fructed of the tincture. The arms of the French family of Fenoyer provide a perhaps unique example in which the number of "pieces" of the "fructed" is stated.

Grain crops

• Wheat constantly occurs in the form of "garbs" or sheaves (and in fields in the arms of the province of Alberta and elsewhere), though less often as ears), though most often they are shown in stylised form.
  • bearded wheat ears are distinguished in the arms of the 469th Support Battalion of the United States Army
• Ears of rye are depicted exactly as wheat, except the ears droop down.
• "Ginny wheat" (like wheat but with a fatter ear) also exists.
• There are very few examples of barley, maize and oats.

Flowers

The most famous heraldic flower is the fleur-de-lis, which is often stated to be a stylised lily, though despite the name there is considerable debate on this (the "natural" lily -- also somewhat stylised in its depiction -- also occurs, as (together with the fleur-de-lys) on the arms of Eton College; the Joseph's lily in some Irish grants[110] and the lily of the valley are also distinguished from these).

• The head of an Orange River Lily: the arms of Free State Province, South Africa[111] The arms of Laško, Slovenia are blazoned "Azure, three Bourbonic Fleurs-de-lys Argent".[112]
• Heraldic roses are also (most commonly, and unless otherwise specified) shown in stylised form,
• as is the lotus flower.
• The thistle occurs constantly, as it is the symbol of Scotland.

Other commonly used flower-like charges (called "foils") include:-

• trefoil (with three petals),
• quatrefoil (with four petals),
• cinquefoil (with five petals),
• sexfoil (with six petals);
• The septfoil (with seven petals) appears in the arms of the 63rd Armor of the United States Army.[113]
• The double quatrefoil (with eight petals) is in England the seldom if ever seen cadency mark of the ninth son.
• Less frequently used flowers include the flower of the almond tree, the anemone, the carnation, the daisy, the lilac, the dogwood flower, the peony, the poppy,[114] the sunflower, the tulip and the hydrangea (as in the arms of Rueil Malmaison).
• The althaea blossom appears in the arms of the 228th Support Battalion of the United States Army.[115]
• Sprigs of lavender occur in the arms of the Mitcham Borough Council; cranberry flowers in the arms of Besenbüren, Aargau, Switzerland.

(Tulip bulbs appear in the arms of Fressal.)

• The trillium flower occurs occasionally in a Canadian context, and the protea flower constantly appears in South Africa.
• "A floral pattern" of "a water nut": the arms of Rybnik, Poland[116]
• Bermudiana flower,
• The heliotrope: in the arms of Ennery, in the department of Val d'Oise.
• Giant Red Paintbrush all make at least one appearance.
• Parnassus flowers appear in the arms of Cumberland.
• The peach blossom.[117]

Fruits

• apples occur very frequently,
• cantaloupe (infrequent)
• cherries,
• gourds (infrequent)
• grapevines (with their grapes) occur very frequently,
• lemon: in the arms of Limojon
• lemon tree (more frequently)
• Lime (fruit): in the arms of Durand
• oranges (infrequent)
• The "orange sanguine": in the arms of Perrégaux, Algeria.)
• peaches
• pears (with peartrees)
• raspberry: in the arms of Abernethy, Scotland
• strawberries.
• A slice of watermelon: in the arms of General Bravo, in Mexico.

Vegetables

• The artichoke appears in a very few European coats, and there is at least one example of its leaves.[118]
• Cabbage appears in the arms of the French Antarctic Territory and lettuce in the arms of Lechuga.
• carrot (rare)
• There is an apparently unique example of celery in the arms of Boussu.
• cucumbers (rare): the family of Favier de Bains
• garlic (occasional)

Trees are sometimes merely blazoned as "a tree" but specific trees are mentioned in blazon.

• Far and away the most frequently occurring is the oak.
• A close second is the pine.
  • "pineapples" refer anciently and much more often to the cone rather than the tropical fruit.

Members of the pine family such as:-

• The fir,
• redwood (in the form of a "triple frond"): in the arms of the Stanford University School of Medicine[119].
• There is at least one appearance of the almond.[120]
• The beech, birch, the elm, the poplar, willow, alder, box tree, coconut tree and the palm also appear.
• The chestnut, sometimes on branches, also appears (the burr of the chestnut tree appears in the arms of the Município of Alijó in Portugal) as does the hazel.
• dragon tree: in the arms of Porto Santo in Portugal.[121]
• gum tree: in the arms of Woodville, Australia, since incorporated into Charles Stuart City.[122]
• Juniper appears at least once.
• Laurel trees occur, as do olive, but in both cases less frequently than their branches.
• A milkwood tree appears in the arms of the former Republic of Ciskei.[123]
• Palm branches very frequently occur but are blazoned as appearing in a "stylized" form in the arms of Éragny sur Oise in Val d'Oise.
• In addition to the much more frequent appearance of its fruit, the pomegranate tree appears in a stylized form in the arms of the Chesterfield Borough Council.
• quinine tree: in the arms of Peru
• The tree of paradise: in the arms of Vale do Paraíso, Azambuja, Lisboa, Portugal.
• A monstrous tree ending in two hands cradling a town: the arms of Fosses, in Val d'Oise
• The china cokar tree is another kind of "monster tree".
• "A palmetto tree issuant from an oak t