In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English fesse, Old French faisse,[Woodcock & Robinson (1988), Oxford Guide to Heraldry, p. 60.] Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by a fess or other ordinary, ranging from one-fifth to one-third. The Oxford Guide to Heraldry states that earlier writers including Leigh, Holme, and Guillim favour one-third, while later writers such as Edmondson favour one-fifth "on the grounds that a bend, pale, or chevron occupying one-third of the field makes the coat look clumsy and disagreeable."[Woodcock & Robinson (1988), Oxford Guide to Heraldry, p. 58.] A fess is likely to be shown narrower if it is uncharged, that is, if it does not have other charges placed on it, and/or if it is to be shown with charges above and below it; and shown wider if charged. The fess or bar, termed fasce in French heraldry, should not be confused with fasces.
Gallery
File:Fess cotised demo.svg|Fess cottised
File:Barrulet demo.svg|Two barrulets
File:Bars gemelles demo.svg|Two bars gemelles
File:Armoiries de Kerpen 1.svg|Fess indented
File:Party per fess demo.svg|Party per fess
File:Hungary Arms.svg|Barry of eight
File:Blason-Rochechouart.svg|Barry wavy
File:Heraldique blason ville fr rochechouart.svg|Barry nebuly
Diminutives
In
English heraldry, two or more such charges appearing together on a shield are termed
bars, though there are no definitive rules setting the width of the fess, the bar, nor their comparative width.
A shield of (often six or eight) horizontal stripes of alternating colour is called
barry. Narrower versions of the bar are called
barrulets ("little bars"), and when a shield of horizontal stripes alternating colour is composed of ten or more stripes, it is called
barruly or
burely instead of
barry.
A
cotise, defined as half the width of a barrulet, may be borne alongside a fess, and often two of these appear, one on either side of the fess.
This is often termed "a fess cotised" (also
cottised,
coticed or
cotticed).
Another diminutive of the fess called a
closet is said to be between a bar and barrulet, but this is seldom found.
Other uses
File:Tierced per fess demo.svg|Tierced per fess
File:Coat of arms of Owain Gwynedd.svg|Three eagles in fess
File:Stevenson arms.svg|A fleur-de-lys between two mullets in fess
File:141 Signal Battalion DUI.PNG|A flaming arrow fesswise
A shield party per fess (or simply per fess) is divided in half horizontally ( in the manner of a fess). A charge placed horizontally may be termed fesswise or fessways, and two or more charges arranged in a horizontal row are blazoned in fess or in bar.
Notable and unusual forms
A
mural fess, that is a fess embattled and masoned of the field, can be seen in the arms of Suzanne Elizabeth Altvater.
The arms of Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie provide an example of three Barrulets fracted and there conjoined to a Chevronel.
A flag which has a central horizontal stripe that is half the height of the flag is sometimes said to have a Spanish fess. The name is based on the most well-known example of this style of flag, the flag of Spain.
See also
Notes
Further reading
-
Boutell, Charles (1890). Heraldry, Ancient and Modern: Including Boutell's Heraldry. London: Frederick Warne.
-
Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. New York: Dodge Pub. Co. .
-
Neubecker, Ottfried (1976). . Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill. .
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Volborth, Carl-Alexander von (1981). . Poole, England: Blandford Press. .
-
Woodcock, Thomas and John Martin Robinson (1988). . Oxford: University Press. .
-
Woodward, John and George Burnett (1892). Woodward's a treatise on heraldry, British and foreign. Edinburgh: W. & A. K. Johnson. .
