Side (heraldry)

Side (Fr. Flanc dextre) Side sinister (Fr. Flanc sénestre)

The side, or flank (Fr. flanc), is a heraldic ordinary resembling a pale that has been displaced (glissé) to either the dexter or sinister edge of the field. Pierre-Barthélemy Gheusi, following M. Aug. Tailhades, groups the sides (flanc dextre and flanc sénestre) with the chief and base (and bordure) as ordinaries (pièces honorables) that are affixed to an edge of the field by their longest side.[1]

The use of the term side to refer to the ordinary (or division of the field) is not to be confused with the use of the term to refer to regions or edges of the field or points of an escutcheon—the dexter and sinister sides or points flanc dextre and flanc sénestre.[2] In English, sides as charges are typically referred to as ‘sides sinister’ or ‘sides dexter’, in contradistinction to the ‘sinister side’ and ‘dexter side’ as edges or portions of the field.

In some heraldic traditions, such as the English, it is specified that the side extend not more than one-sixth of the width of the field;[3] in others, such as the French, it may extend to up to one-third the width of the field.

Like other heraldic ordinaries—such as the pale, fess, chief, bend, base, or pile—the side is possessed of a fundamental ambiguity: it can be conceived as alternately a charge or as a division of the field. As with any principal charge, the side can bear another charge or a group of charges. Its edge can also be modified by variations of line. It can be modified by variations of the field as well.

## Gallery

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### Coats of arms

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#### Side

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* Březová-Oleško, Czech Republic

* Pusula, Finland

* Longkamp, Germany

* Werra-Meißner-Kreis, Germany

#### Side sinister

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* Kempele, Finland

* Parikkala, Finland

* Kreis Schwerin-Land, Germany

* Soportújar, Granada, Spain

### On flags

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#### Side (hoistward) on flags

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* Flag of Terengganu (1912 - 1933)

* Flag of Ajman, UAE

* Flag of the first three Saudi states, 1744-1913 (hoist at right)

* Flag of Pakistan

* Flag of Umm al-Qaiwain, United Arab Emirates

* Flag of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR (1954–1991)

* House style (logo) flag of the Government of the Netherlands

* Flag of the Australian Capital Territory

* Flag of the Northern Territory, Australia

* Flag of Portugal

* Flag of Norman, Oklahoma, USA

* Flag of Topeka, Kansas, USA

* Flag of Benin

* Flag of Madagascar

* Flag of Texas, USA

* Flag of North Carolina, USA

* Flag of Laredo, Texas, USA, and historic Flag of the Republic of the Rio Grande

* Flag of Chechen Republic, Russia

* Flag of Belarus

* Flag of the United Arab Emirates

* Flag of the South African Republic (1857–74, 1875–77, 1881–1902, and 1914–1915)

* Flag of the Republic of Yucatán

* Flag of the Sultanate of Oman

* Morning Star flag

* Flag of the Valencian Community, Spain

* Flag of Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain

* Flag of Salerno, Campania, Italy

##### Charges in pale, hoistward side

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* Flag of Mongolia

* Former flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–2003)

##### Charges on hoistward side

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* Flag of Orellana Province, Ecuador

* Finchfield village flag, England, United Kingdom

* Flag of Laredo, Texas, USA, and historic Flag of the Republic of the Rio Grande

* Flag of Maricopa County, Arizona, USA

#### Side sinister (flyward) on flags

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* Third flag of the Confederate States of America (1865)

* Flag of Isère, France

* Flag of Vologda Oblast, Russia

* Flag of Anambra State, Nigeria

* Flag of Prachinburi Province, Thailand

* Flag of Tennessee, USA

##### Charges on flyward side

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* Flag of the Canadian Coast Guard

* Flag of Alameda County, California, USA

## See also

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* Heraldry portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sides in heraldry.

* Ordinary (heraldry)
* Charge (heraldry)
* Liste de pièces héraldiques

## References

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1. ^ Gheusi, Pierre-Barthélemy (1892). Le blason héraldique: Manuel nouveau de l'art héraldique de la science du blason et de la polychromie féodale d'après les règles du moyen age avec 1300 gravures et un armorial. Paris: Librairie de Firmin Didot et c. p. 40.
2. ^ Gheusi, Pierre-Barthélemy (1892). Le blason héraldique: Manuel nouveau de l'art héraldique de la science du blason et de la polychromie féodale d'après les règles du moyen age avec 1300 gravures et un armorial. Paris: Librairie de Firmin Didot et c. p. 22.
3. ^ Gough, Henry; Parker, James (1894). A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry (New ed.). Oxford and London: J. Parker and Co. p. 541.

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