Charges

Any design on a shield is known as a charge. A charge can be placed on another charge, and a charge that has another charge on it is called charged. Charges are divided into two main groups, the ordinaries, and the common charges.

The Ordinaries

Ordinaries are basic geometrical shapes that are placed on the shield. There are several ordinaries that are concidered to be the orginal designs used in heraldry and these are known as the Honourable Ordinaries. The following section shows the ten honourable ordinary shapes along with their names and an example of the blazon (the text that describes the shield).

Honourable Ordinaries
The Pale Vert a pale or	The pale is centred and is one third of the width of the shield.	The Fess Or a fess sable
	The fess is centred and one third of the height of the shield.
The Chief Azure a chief Argent	The chief covers the top one third of the shield.	The Cross Gules a cross or
	The cross is one fifth of the width and height of the shield.
The Bend Argent a bend gules	The bend and bend sinister are normally one fifth the width of the shield or a third of the width when they have charges on them.	The Bend Sinister Azure a bend sinister Argent
The Saltire Azure a saltire argent	The saltire is a combination of Bend and Bend Sinister and is used on the Scottish flag.	The Cheveron Azure a cheveron argent
	The cheveron is about a fifth of the width of the shield.
The Pile Argent a pile gules	The pile normally starts from the top of the shield and ends in a point near the base. Usually a third of the width of the shield at the top.	The Quarter Or a quarter sable
	The quarter is usually placed in the left top of the shield (dexter chief) but can be placed top right (sinister) if described so.