Ordinary

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Illustrations:

Period source/s:

An Ordinary of Siebmacher's Wappenbuch

• http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/heraldry/siebmacher/f-siebmacher.html

Modern:

Pictorial Dictionary of SCA Heraldry (3rd edition):

• [Ordinaries]
• central ordinaries, which cross the center of the field – the [bend], [chevron], [chief-pale], [cross], [fess], pale, pall, pile, and saltire
• peripheral ordinaries, which lie on the field’s edge – the base, bordure, canton, chief, flaunches, gore, orle, and tierce.

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Glossary of Terms

(1) A simple geometric charge. Although different lists of ordinaries may be found in heraldic texts, in SCA heraldry the term denotes those simple geometric figures that pass through the center of the field and terminate at the edge of the field (the pale, fess, bend, bend sinister, chevron, cross, saltire, pall, and pile), their diminutives, and the simple geometric additions to the edges of the field (such as the chief and bordure). (2) A list of pieces of armory, organized by charge types. See also Armorial. [[1]]

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A Heraldic Primer: Ordinaries

New version - @http://heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/h4f6.shtml

An ordinary is a charge that consists of one or more strips of some tincture which cover large areas of the shield. Every side of an ordinary is either straight or else parallels a curved edge of the shield.

When learning these terms, it is useful to notice how the field divisions seen earlier correspond with the multi-edged ordinaries.

Sometimes the rarer ordinaries are called subordinaries. I find it more useful to classify them according to how many edges they have.

One-edged Ordinaries:

Sable#base, a base Or#base.
File:Http:heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6base.gif	Sable#bordure, a //bordure Or#bordure.
File:Http:heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6bordure.gif	Sable, a //canton Or.
File:Http:heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6canton.gif	Sable, a //chief Or.
File:Http://heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6chief.gif
Sable, a gyron Or.
File:Http:heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6gyron.gif	Sable#pile, a //pile argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/apile.gif	Sable, a //tierce Or.
File:Http://heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6tierce.gif
==Two-edged Ordinaries==
Sable#bend, a bend Or.
File:Http:heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6bend.gif	Sable#chevron, a //chevron Or#chevron.
File:Http:heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6chevron.gif	Sable#fess, a //fess Or#fess.
File:Http:heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6fess.gif	Sable, an //orle argent.
File:Http://www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/anorle.gif
Sable#pale, a pale Or#pale.
File:Http://heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6pale.gif
==Other Ordinaries==

There is one three-edged ordinary:

Sable, a pall Or#pall.

File:Http://heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6pall.gif

There are two four-edged ordinaries:

Sable, a cross Or#cross.
File:Http:heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6cross.gif	Sable#saltire, a //saltire Or.
File:Http://heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6saltire.gif

The word inverted// following a charge indicates that it is up-side down. Similarly, the word //sinister is used with an ordinary to indicate that it is switched left-to-right.

Sable, a bend sinister Or#bend-sinister.
File:Http:heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/s6bendsinister.gif	Sable, a //chevron inverted argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/achevroninverted.gif	Sable, a //pall inverted argent.
File:Http://www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/apallinverted.gif
Sable#pile-inverted, a pile inverted argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/apileinverted.gif	Sable, a //sinister canton argent#sinister-canton.
File:Http://www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/asinistercanton.gif
There are also special names for certain variants of the ordinaries, including diminutive (narrow) versions and other variants, such as the dance, the baton, and the shakefork, which we will discuss next.

A Heraldic Primer: Special Variants of Ordinaries -

[[2]] (now defunct) There are four special variants of ordinaries which will be discussed here, Fimbriation, Voiding, Gemels, Cottices and Diminutives,.

Fimbriation

#fimbriatedFimbriation is a narrow edging around plain-line ordinaries and other simple geometric charges. It is used primarily to seperate a charge and the field of the same type of tincture (metal/metal or color/color). #fimbriated

Sable, a fess gules fimbriated argent
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/afessfimbriated.gif	Sable, a chevron gules //fimbriated argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/achevronfimbriated.gif	Or, a pale argent //fimbriated sable.
File:Http://www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/apalefimbriated.gif
#fimbriated

#fimbriated

Voiding

#voidedThe term voided applies to an ordinary or other simple geometric charge where only the outline of the charge is visible.

Sable, a fess voided argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/afessvoided.gif	Sable, a chevron //voided argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/achevronvoided.gif	Sable, a bend //voided// argent//.
File:Http://www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/abendvoided.gif
#voided#fimbriated

Gemels

Gemelling is a term which applies to two bars placed closely together. It is generally termed as a bar gemel.

Sable, a bar gemel (or gemmelled) argent	Sable, three bars gemmelled.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/abargemmelled.gif	File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/barsgemelled.gif
#gemel
#gemel
#gemel
===Cottices===
#gemel
#endorsedCottices (singular cost) are a normally found in pairs and are thin (double diminutives) versions of the ordinary they accompany and flank it on either side. When cottices are present, the ordinary is called cotised, except in the case of a pale, where it is considered endorsed.
#gemel#endorsed
Sable, a fess cotised argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/afesscotised.gif	Sable, a bend //cotised argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/abendcotised.gif	Sable, a pale //endorsed argent.
File:Http://www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/apaleendorsed.gif

Diminutives #diminutiveDiminutives are thinner, smaller versions of the ordinaries. Diminutives are not registered in SCA heraldry as solitary charges. They may be registered in multiples (per PicDic3).

The bar is a diminutive of the fess#gemel, in that the bar is a narrower version of the fess.

Sable, a fess argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/afess.gif	Sable, a //bar argent.
File:Http://www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/abar.gif

#gemel Other ordinaries have their own diminutives: #palet #gemel

The diminutive of a pale is a palet//.		#bendletThe diminutive of a bend is a //bendlet.
Sable, a pale argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/apale.gif	Sable, a //palet argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/apalet.gif	Sable, a //bend argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/abend.gif	Sable, a //bendlet argent.
File:Http://www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/abendlet.gif
#scarpeThe diminutive of a bend sinister#scarpe is a scarpe//.		#tressureThe diminutive of an orle is a //tressure.
Sable, a bend sinister argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/abendsinister.gif	Sable, a //scarpe argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/ascarpe.gif	Sable, an //orle argent.
File:Http:www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/anorle.gif	Sable, a //tressure argent.
File:Http://www.sofyalarus.info/heraldicart/HeraldicPrimer/atressure.gif
#gemel#fimbriated
=Precedents:=
Precedents of the SCA College of Arms - [[3]]
Morsulus Heralds Website - [[4]] (to search the LoARs and Precedents)
Restatement Wiki - [[5]] (restatements of Precedents)
Use the above links to be sure any precedents listed below haven't been superseded by newer precedents.

Registerability:

(Restricted, Reserved, SFPP, OOP)

Conflict:

May 1997 - charge vs. charge throughout:

In general there is a difference between an ordinary throughout vs. an ordinary couped, but not between a non-ordinary throughout vs. its non-throughout version. [1997 LoAR]

June 1990 - ordinary vs. ordinary couped:

@http://heraldry.sca.org/precedents/daud/daud1c.html - "There is no difference between [an ordinary] and [the same ordinary] couped on fieldless armory." (LoAR 6/90 Symposium p.3).

Collected Precedents:

Tenure of Elisabeth de Rossignol (May 2005 - July 2008) - [Armory Precedents] The 2nd Tenure of François la Flamme (October 2004 - May 2005) - Collected Armory Precedents The Tenure of Shauna of Carrick Point (May 2004 - August 2004) - [Armory Precedents] The Tenure of François la Flamme (August 2001 - April 2004) - [Armory Precedents] The Tenure of Elsbeth Anne Roth (June 1999 - July 2001) - [Armory Precedents] The Tenure of Jaelle of Armida (June 1996 - June 1999) - [HTML Document] The 2nd Tenure of Da'ud ibn Auda (November 1993 - June 1996) - the 1st part (Nov 1993 - June 1994) and the 2nd part (July 1994 - June 1996) The Tenure of Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme (June 1992 - October 1993) - [precedents] The 1st Tenure of Da'ud ibn Auda (June 1990 - June 1992) - the 1st year (June 1990 - June 1991) and the 2nd year (July 1991 - June 1992) The Tenure of Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane (September 1986 - June 1990) - [Precedents] The Tenure of Baldwin of Erebor (August 1984 - August 1986) - [HTML Document] The Tenure of Wilhelm von Schlüssel (August 1979 - August 1984) - [Precedents] The Tenure of Karina of the Far West (December 1975 - June 1979) - [Precedents] The Early Days (June 1971 - June 1975) - [Precedents]