List of heraldic charges


This is a list of heraldic charges. It does not cover those charges which are geometrical patterns and resemble partitions of the field; for these, see Ordinary.
Fox-Davies in his presentation of common heraldic charges divides them into the following categories : the human figure, the heraldic lion, beasts, monsters, birds, fish, reptiles, insects, plants, and "inanimate objects".

Subordinaries

A number of simple geometric shapes have traditionally, and somewhat arbitrarily, been classified among the so-called subordinaries.
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Any animal can be a heraldic charge, although more traditional ones vary in the exactitude with which they resemble the creature as found in nature. Animals depicted naturally are either described as natural or using the scientific nomenclature.

Predatory beasts

Insects include:
By far the most frequent heraldic bird is the eagle. A variant is the alerion, without beak or feet, seen in the arms of the duchy of Lorraine.
Also very frequent is the martlet, a conventional swallow depicted without feet or the French variant the merlette, which also omits the beak.
"Fish" are sometimes only described as "a fish", but the species is often named:
Parts of creatures may also be used as charges.

Flowers

Trees appear as eradicated or couped. Fruit can appear on a tree, or by itself. Also, leaves and branches appear.
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Trees are sometimes merely blazoned as "a tree" but specific trees are mentioned in blazon.
A small group of trees is blazoned as a hurst, grove, wood or thicket.

Grain crops and vegetables

Regarding "inanimate objects", Fox-Davies comments:

Crosses

Originally representing the Christian cross used as field sign and standard during the Crusades, heraldic crosses diversified into many variants in the late medieval to early modern period, the most common being the cross potent, cross pattée, cross fleury, cross moline, cross crosslet.

Lettering

Lettering in coats of arms are usually placed in the motto, not in the heraldic shield as a charge. However, a tradition of introducing individual letters as heraldic charges on the basis of acrophony originates in the 15th to 16th century, primarily in personal and municipial heraldry, and with some frequency in the modern period, appearing more often on the continent than in British heraldry where letters as charges have traditionally been discouraged. Fox-Davies regarding letters of the alphabet as heraldic charges:
One of the earliest instances of the use of letters as heraldic charges is that of the Langenmantel family of Augsburg. Rüdiger I Langenmantel, one of the leading figures of the Augsburg patriciate during the first four decades of the 14th century, is the founder of the "Langenmantel vom RR" branch of the family, derived from his coat of arms showing two letters R, shown addorsed.
Religious symbolism:
Musical instruments include: