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Heraldic Dictionary: 3.a Other Ordinaries, Base and Chief, Fimbriation

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HERALDRY IIIa: Other Ordinaries, Base and Chief, Fimbriation

As has been pointed out, the sideways Pile that I have designated the Pennon is not the only "ordinary" found in vexillology that has no common equivalent in heraldry. The same shape I have described exists in several forms in itself - as a triangle extending towards, but not reaching, the centre of the flag (as is the case in the flag of the Czech republic 'Tierced in Pairle From dexter to sinister Argent Gules and Azure'), a longer triangle stretching to the fly edge (as is the case with Guyana 'Tierced in Pile from dexter to sinister Vert and Or overall the Pile parted per chevron from dexter to Sinister Gules'), and the latter long triangle reversed, as in the flag of American Samoa. ('Azure a Pile from sinister to dexter Argent fimbriated Gules') Alternatively, the term 'point' can be used to denote an 'intrusion into the field'.

Other shapes rarely if ever dealt with in heraldry are the horizontally aligned Lozenge (diamond) encountered in the flag of Brazil, the lenticular shape of the emblem of Guam's flag, the sideways Pall of South Africa's flag, the oval of Israel's Merchant flag, shory coloured areas stretching across part of a flag's length or width (as is the case with Zambia's flag), and diagonal "beams" as found in the flag of Mozambique. Also, as previously mentioned, off-centred objects and partitions can create problems.

After a bit of research, I've found the names of some of these ordinaries or subordinaries.

The off centre division of Portugal's flag is not encountered in English heraldry, but in continental European heraldry it is Gules, a DEXTER FLANK vert (for those confused as to why the left hand side is a dexter flank, remember that it is the left side as seen from the point of view of the shieldbearer, from whose perspective all blazoning is carried out).

At this point it is worth noting that whereas the (shieldbearer's) left of a shield is SINISTER and the right is DEXTER, the top is the CHIEF, and the bottom is the BASE. Thus, a thin horizontal band across a shield near the top would be A BAR IN CHIEF. I'll deal with Chiefs and Bases further in part IV.

The reversed Pile, with the wide base, is surprisingly, a Pile Reversed. As to my Pennon, American Samoa features