Bar (heraldry)

In English heraldry, the bar is an heraldic ordinary consisting of a horizontal band extending across the shield.^[1] In form, it closely resembles the fess but differs in breadth: the bar occupies one-fifth of the breadth of the field of the escutcheon (or flag)^[2]; the fess occupies one-third.^[3] Heraldists differ in how they class the bar in relation to the fess. A number of authors consider the bar to be a diminutive of the fess.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} But, others, including Leigh (1597) and Guillim (1638), assert that the bar is a separate and distinct ‘honorouble ordinary’.^{[11][12][13][14][15]} As an honourable ordinary, it is co-equal with the other nine of the English system.^[16] Some authors who consider the bar a diminutive of the fess class it as a subordinary.^[17][18] Authorities agree that the bar and its diminutives have a number features that distinguish them from the fess.

The diminutive of the bar one-half its breadth is the closet, while the diminutive one-quarter its breadth is the barrulet.^[19] These frequently appear in pairs separated by the width of a single barrulet. Such a pair is termed a "bar gemel" and is considered a single charge and a third diminutive of the bar.^[20] A field divided by many bars — often six, eight or ten parts with two alternating tinctures — is described as barry. The term 'bar' is also sometimes used as a more general term for ordinaries that traverse the field and sometimes to denote the bend sinister and its diminutives.^[21]

Like other charges, bars may bear varied lines—such as embattled, indented, nebuly, etc.^[22]

There are several differences between the bar and the fess, in addition to their difference in breadth. An escutcheon or flag can bear only one fess but multiple bars.^[23][24][25] Also, the fess must remain centered along the line extending from the exact middle of the escutcheon or flag, while the bar can be borne “in several parts of the field”.^{[26][27][28][29][30]} However, Guillim asserts that the if there is a single bar it must assume the place of the fess at the center of the field.^[31] Some textbooks state that the bar cannot be borne singly, but this is erroneous.^[32] Smedley et al. (1845) maintain that if there are two bars, they must be placed equally distant from the fess point or center of the shield, the space of a bar between them, effectively dividing the field into five equal parts.^[33][34] (Neither convention is strictly observed in vexillography.) Further, for those that maintain that the bar is an honourable ordinary separate and distinct from the fess, the fess is distinguished among the ordinaries in that it has no diminutives.^[35] The bar is universally held to have two diminutives: the closet and the barrulet.^{[36][37][38][39][40][41]}

Another key difference between the bar and fess is the significance of what they each represent. For Nisbet (1722), the bar represents “a piece wood or other matter” laid across a pass, bridge, or gate to bar passage to an enemy.^[42] As such, the bar on a shield or an escutcheon represents to the bearer "force, valour, courage, or wisdom, whereby he hath repelled any peril or danger imminent to his country or sovereign".^[43][44] Nisbet, citing Ferne (1586), observes also that the diminutives of the chevron, bend, and pale—the chevronel, bendlet, and pallet—represent pieces of wood or other matter used as different parts of fortified barriers surrounding settlements or encampments.^[45] The honourable ordinary the pale is also said to represent a wooden stake or picket used as a part of such a defensive barriers.^[46] The term closet may derive from the Latin claustrum and signify a bar used to secure a door or gate shut.^[47] The fess on the other hand portrays the military arming belt or Girdle of Honor awarded by rulers to soldiers or warriors for special services performed, as part of the ceremony of their investiture as knights.^[48][49] The fess is thus symbolic of military rank, achievement, recognition, and distinction.

The term ‘bar’ has sometimes been used in a heraldic context to denote other charges. Mackenzie (1680) observed that in the Scots heraldry of the day, the term ‘bar’ was used for what the English termed the fess.^[50] Nisbet (1722) found that the term ‘bar’ had been used “by all nations” as a general term for all pieces that “thwart or traverse” the field, as many of the honourable ordinaries do.^[51] The Spanish use the term “indifferently” for pales, fesses, and bends.^[52] For example, the arms of Aragon and Barcelona, Pallee argent and gules, are termed by them Barras longas, and Nisbet claims this usage is at the root of the place-name Barcelona.^{[53][nb 1]} They observe that the Italians also have used the term sbarra (pl. sbarre) similarly.^[57] Ginanni (1756) declares this usage mistaken though, and that the term sbarra properly refers to the bend sinister.^[58]

In French heraldry, the term barre is also specifically used to denote the English bend sinister.^[59] Writing of Scots heraldry in English, Nisbet himself uses the term ‘bar’ for the bend sinister.^[60] The term ‘bar sinister’, derived from the French usage of barre, has sometimes been used in English to denote the bend sinister as a "brisure of illegitimacy".^[61] It has even been referred to as the ‘bastard bar’.^[62] The baton sinister, also taken as a mark of illegitimacy, has been referred to as the ‘Bar of bastardy’^[63] and the 'Fillet of bastardy'.^[64] Though commonly used, this adaptation of the French use of 'bar' into English it involves has been harshly criticized by some heraldists. The term ‘bar sinister’ has been dismissed as an “ignorant vulgarism”^[65] and “an absurdity and impossibility”^[66] in light of the established English usage of bar.

In contemporary vexillology, one also sometimes encounters a general or ‘indifferent’ use of the term bar. Alfred Znamierowski (2007) refers to the white fess of the Flag of Austria as a “wide bar”, and then also immediately characterizes its design as "white-red-white stripes".^[67] The First National Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863) has been popularly nicknamed the "Stars and Bars". The field of this flag is, like the Flag of Austria, composed of a white fess on a red field.

The bar has four diminutives: the closet, barrulet, bar gemel, and cottise. The diminutive half its width is the closet, and that one-fourth the width is the barrulet.^[68][69] Barrulets are often borne in pairs known as bar gemel, the pair separated by the width of a barrulet and considered a single charge. A coat of arms can bear multiple bar gemels, though four is usually the maximum.^[70] The bar gemel is sometimes referred to by the French Jumelle or jumelles.^[71][72] The diminutive of the barrulet, half its width, is known as a cottise. Cottises rarely appear alone, but are most often borne on each side of an ordinary (such as a fess, pale, bend or chevron). The ordinary thus accompanied by a cottise on each side is then described as "cottised", or these may even be "doubly cottised" (i.e. surrounded by four cottises, two along each side).^[73] A single cottise is usually blazoned a cost.^[74][75]

A bar that has been "couped" (cut) at the ends so as not to reach the edges of the field is called a hamade, hamaide or hummet, after the town of La Hamaide in Hainaut, Belgium.^[76] As a charge, it is almost always depicted in threes. The adjective is hummety.^[77]

French heraldry has a set of diminutives of the fess—the fasce en divise, trangle, burelle, and filet—that a number of writers treat as equivalent to the English bar and its diminutives.^[78][79][80] The bar as defined by the English is "unknown",^[81] but Boyer writes that the English bar "answers to" the French fasce on divise, while the English barrulet "agrees pretty nearly" to the French burelle.^[82] However, these French diminutives of the fess are defined differently than the English bar and its diminutives—in terms of the proportion of their breadth relative to that of the field and to each other. The fess (Fr. fasce) occupies one third of the breadth of the field and the fasce en divise, burelle/trangle, and filet are defined as one half, one-third, and one-fourth the breadth of the fess, respectively, or one-sixth, one-ninth, and one-twelfth the breadth of the field.^[83] (Regarding the trangle, French usage is not consistent, but it is often defined as a component of the variation of the field field burellé (Eng. barry) when its transverse pieces are odd in number, i.e. as the equivalent of the burelle.^[84][85]) The English bar, on the other hand, is defined as one-fifth the breadth of the field, and its diminutives—the closet, barrulet, and cottise—are defined as one half, one quarter, and one-eighth the breadth of the bar, or one-tenth, one-twentieth, and one-fortieth of the field. The bar and fasce en divise are roughly approximate as one-fifth and one-sixth of the field, respectively. But the burelle and barrulet are quite different—one-ninth and one-twentieth of the field. The English closet (one-tenth) does however approximate the burelle (one-ninth).^[86] The French filet (one-twelfth) is not far either.

The tierce is a charge composed of three diminutives of the fess that are one-fifth its breadth and separated by an equal space, together occupying the breadth of a fess (one-third of the field).^[87][88] The charge is analogous to the bar gemel as a pair of diminutives of the bar separated by a space equal to their width. As such, the tierce can be considered a diminutive of the fess. (If the charge is oriented bend-wise, the name tierce is still applied, its component diminutives referred to as bendlets.^[89]) It can be noted that the diminutives composing this charge, as one-fifteenth the breadth of the field, are the same breadth as those composing the bar gemel as a diminutive of the bar (i.e. also one-fifteenth). Boyer's (1729) use of the term 'barrulet' to refer to the diminutives composing this charge is an example of how in practical use terms like barrulet are employed flexibly (for a diminutive one-third the breadth of the bar in this instance).

Finally, a word of caution is in order concerning the French term divise or fasce en divise when used for a diminutive of the fess said to be equivalent to the English bar. It risks confusion with the more prevalent French heraldic use of the term divise (sometimes fasce en divise) to denote a diminutive of the fess roughly the breadth of the filet. This divise (also filet en chef)^[90] "supports" the chief, being positioned at its bottom edge and functioning effectively as fimbriation (see fillet).^[91][92][93]

Barry is the term applied to a field that is divided by parallel lines into numerous horizontally transverse partitions of equal breadth, and that alternate in tincture.^[94] The tinctures are often two in number, and specified as an alternating color and metal, but sometimes can be more than two in number.^[95][96][97] Many heraldic traditions reserve the term barry for fields with partitions of an equal number.^[98] The number of partitions is typically specified as six or more and the transverse sections are termed bars.^[99][100] (The French use the term 'fessy' (fascé) for partitions up to five.) The term bars is applied even though only a field of five partitions would be composed of English bars strictly speaking.^[101] In blazoning fields as barry, the term bar is thus used flexibly by heraldists. Barry of six is common^[102] and Ferne suggests that the close resemblance of these partitions of the field to the bar, strictly defined, means that this variation of the field expresses the same meaning as the bar: force, valor, courage and wisdom and having repelled "any danger or peril imminent to country or sovereign".^[103]

In English heraldry, if the partitions are odd in number, they are not blazoned as barry. Instead, they are blazoned as a certain number of bars upon a field—a field of the tincture of the more numerous partitions, charged by bars of the number and tincture of the fewer.^[104] Thus a field with eight transverse sections alternating red and gold would be blazoned as 'barry of eight, or and gules', while a field with nine horizontal transverse sections alternating red and gold would be blazoned as 'Gules, four bars or'. However, not every heraldic tradition is said to strictly observes the convention of not blazoning an odd number of transverse partitions as barry. Some English sources suggest that the French and other nations are “not so nice”^[105] or "not as particular"^[106] in their observance of the convention. However, French language heraldic sources seem to indicate that French heraldists do commonly observe the convention.^[107][108] At the same time, Woodward, citing examples in French and German heraldry, asserts that even in English it is correct to blazon an odd number of partitions as ‘’barry’’—but in specific cases.^[109] It is correct if refers to an odd-numbered partition varied by an odd number of tinctures—such as nine partitions of three repeating tinctures—or if an odd number of partitions are colored by the same number of tinctures, one for each transverse section.^[110][111]

If the partitions number twelve or more, the field is not blazoned as barry but as barruly.^[112] However, in French, the term for barry is burellé and the sections are termed burelles, a diminutive of the fess one-third its breadth.^[113] Although, as in English the term is applied flexibly for a range of numbers of constituent partitions and consequent breadths. The English terms barrulet and barruly recall the French terms burelle and burellé; but they are not cognate. Burelle may be analogous to the English bar in some cases and barrulet in others; but burellé is analogous to English barry.

The term barry is sometimes compounded with other heraldic terms and this is done for one of three reasons: to indicate the modification by horizontally transverse partitions by variations of line, to indicate complex partitions with additional orthogonal lines of division, and the the use of charges other than bars placed horizontally and transversely (barways) to effect variations of the field.

First, a barry-compound term can be used to indicate that the horizontal lines of partition dividing the field are modified by heraldic variations of line. Barry-wavy, barry-nebuly, and barry-dancetty are commonly cited examples.^[114][115] The wavy variation of line and barry-wavy variation of the field generally represent water.^[116] The heraldic mobile charge fountain takes the form of a heraldic roundel barry-wavy of six, argent and azure (white and blue). The charge represents a well or spring that Berry (1810) speculates that the fountain "might have been borne by ancient knights to express the inexhaustible source of courage ever to be found within them, which flowed from motives equally pure as the crystal stream."^[117] Guillim (1679) suggests that wavy lines of variation may evoke triumph over adversity and steadfastness in the face of the 'stormy seas' of fate.^[118] Nisbet (1722) finds that, in their time, barry-wavy arms were granted in recognition of services performed at sea.^[119]

Nebuly on the other hand is an undulating line of variation and division symbolizing clouds.^[120] Du Marte (1777) suggests that it may symbolize an award of arms for skill in navigation, in recognition of an achievement requiring the mastery of "storms, clouds, and wind".^[121] As with other barry variations of the field, the number of partitions is specified in blazonry (barry of six, barry of eight, etc.). But, often it is not specified whether the parallel lines of barry-nebuly vary in synchrony or counter-vary and that can pose difficuries for translating from blazon to visual representation.^[122]

Finally, the line dancetty (dancette, dancetté) is another variation of line used to modify the lines of barry variations. A line dancetty is a line drawn zig-zag, resembling the teeth of saw,.^[123] It is often defined as a larger variant of a line indented, with the number of 'teeth' limited to three.^[124][125] A dancetty line may be used represent water (in the same way the wavy line does).^[126] As noted, the indented variation of line closely resembles the dancetty, having only a greater number of consequently smaller, narrower and shallower 'serrated' or 'tooth-like' protrusions.^[127] But they have divergent meanings: the indented line symbolizes fire rather than water.^[128] Additionally, the term barry-indented is used in a very different manner than barry dancetty as well. Instead of barways lines running parallel, it refers to the type of complex patterns of variation effected by the intersection of multiple lines of division: in this case, barry and indented lines intersecting to produce a pattern of triangles, counter-changed.^[129] Complex patterns of this type, including barry-indented, are discussed in the next section.

The second use of barry in compound terms is to express that the horizontal lines of division partitioning the field as barry are crosscut by one or more non-horizontal lines of partition. These complex patterns of shapes are marked by counterchanging of tinctures that produces more complex patterns of variation composed by horizontal arrays of various shapes. Barry-lozengy, barry-indented, and barry-paly are prominent examples. These variants are sometimes named by the lines of division producing them (bendy, paly, chevronny, fretty), sometimes by the counterchanging shapes produced (lozengy, trianglé) and sometimes by both (barry-bendy-lozengy).^[130][131]

Barry-bendy is a pattern of variation produced by the intersection of a barways partition of the field and a bendy one. The resulting shapes produced by counter-changing are lozenges whose long edges run parallel to the top and bottom of the shield or flag. [mention barry-paly] The bendy lines of division may be bendwise or counter-bendwise.^[132][133] Barry-bendy is also sometimes referred to as barry-lozengy.^[134][135] This pattern of variation resembles lozengy and fusilly patterns that are distinct in often not being barry. These non-barry patterns are produced by the intersection of bendy and counter-bendy lines.^[136] If the angle of the the two lines of division are the same they are blazoned as and the long axis is vertical, simply lozengy or fusilly (a more elongated lozenge), but if horizontal as in fess or in bar.^[137] If the bendy and counter-bendy lines of partition are not at the same angle, the lozengy or fusilly variation can be 'tilted' bendwise or counter-bendwise and are blazoned as in bend or in counter-bend.^[138] Examples of these the fusilly of the arms of the Grimaldi family as Sovereign-Princes of Monaco^{[139] [140]} and the lozengy or fusilly in bend of Arms of the Elector of Bavaria.^[141][142]

The barry-indented is a pattern of triangle shapes counter-changed that has been conceived in a number of ways: by some as produced by the intersection of three variations of the field: barry, bendy and counter-bendy (or barry and bendy dexter and sinister)^[143][144]; by others, as noted above, as produced by the intersection of barry and indented lines^[145]; and, finally as a lozengy pattern couped and counter-changed per fess or bar.^[146] These diverse conceptions have led to a proliferation of an even greater number of alternate names: barry point in point^[147], triangle counter-triangle^[148][149], just counter-triangle^[150], lozengy couped per fess^[151], trianglé^[152], barry bendy sinister and dexter^[153], and barry-bendy-lozengy^[154]. At the same time, it is not common. An extant example of this pattern is the banner of the commune of Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella in Veneto, Italy. A special case of this type of variation in blazonry, one composed of four bars intersected by both bendy and counter-bendy variations, has another name—barry per fret.^[155]

Barry-paly is when a barry variation of the field is counter-changed per a paly variation of the field, that is by vertical transverse sections of equal width.^[156] When a barry variation is counter-changed per a single perpendicular line, this is known as barry per pale counter-changed instead.^[157] If the width of the sections produced by lines of the paly division of the field is equal to the breadth of the transverse sections of the barry division of the field, this special case of a barry-paly variation of the field is known as chequy.^[158]

In addition to compound barry terms, conjunctive expressions ‘barry and per (charge)’ or ‘barry and (variation)’ or 'fess per and per (charge)' have also sometimes been used to evoke these complex patterns of variation.^[159][160] What could be termed barry-chevronny or 'barry and chevronny (of six)', "ancient authors"^[161] would blazon as "chevron per and per fess, of six".^[162] In such a formula, the numerical operator "of six" operates on both terms—'barry of six' and 'chevronny of six'. On the other hand, if the numerical operator is not appended, say as in "chevron per and fess" the field is divided and counter-changed by only a single line per chevron and a single line per fess.^[163] A field barry per canton or barry per chevron is similarly divided.

Other variations of the field, such as vair and potenty, feaure the barways distribution of various shapes but are not considered barry.

Finally, the third reason the term barry is compounded with other heraldic terms is to indicate that a field is divided into partitions of alternating tinctures by the horizontal placement, barways, of equal-breadth charges other than bars. Barry-pily, a field divided by the barways placement of ‘’piles thoughout’’ of equal breadth is a commonly cited example.^{[164][165][166]}

In practical use, the number and breadth of narrower fess-like and bar-like charges placed on a field varies. When used to create variations of field of equal-breadth horizontal partitions, the number can range continuously from four to twelve (or more). That is, such charges are devised without regard to the number that would correspond to the abstract definition of the breadth of the bar and its diminutives—the closet and barrulet—or the French fess en divise and other French diminutives of the fess—the burelle/trangle and the filet. Some heraldists, therefore, question the usefulness of these terms. Copinger (1910) reports that Joseph Edmondson dismissed them as “useless and superfluous in blazon” because heraldists tended to use the term bar as a covering term for its diminutives and charges that approximate them without regard to their number or precise breadth.^[167] Outside the precision of blazon, some heraldists have nonetheless found it advantageous at least to have term barrulet that they employ flexibly—sometimes to describe partitions a third the width of a bar or less, or sometimes a quarter of a fess.

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  Argent, three bars gules or Barry of six, argent and gules
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  Gules, four bars indented Or
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  Argent, three bars gemelles gules
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  Argent, a fess doubly cottised gules
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  A bar gemel wavy cottised in the arms of the French commune of Berneuil-sur-Aisne
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  Barry of ten sable and Or in the arms of the German state of Saxony
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  Lion barry of ten argent and gules in the arms of the German state of Hesse
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  A bordure barry of ten argent and sable
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  Or, three hamades gules, the arms of La Hamaide in the Belgian province of Hainaut
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  Arms of Richard de Valoines: Barruly of 14 argent and azure on a bend gules three mullets of six points or (1285)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bars in heraldry.

Fess
Fillet (heraldry)
Ordinary (heraldry)
Charge (heraldry)
Fimbriation
Liste de pièces héraldiques