See also Cadency (name) and cadency name

Cadency is any systematic way of distinguishing similar coats of arms belonging to members of the same family. Heraldry is the science and art of designing, displaying, describing and recording coats of arms and badges, as well as the formal ceremonies and laws that regulate the use and inheritance of arms. ... A family of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family is a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by comparable legal relationships — including domestic partnership, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the Roman Empire). ...

Cadency is necessary because in most heraldic systems a given design may be owned by only one person (or, in some cases, one man) at once. However, because heraldic designs may be inherited, the arms of members of a family will usually be similar to the arms used by its oldest surviving member (called the "plain coat"). They are formed by adding marks called brisures, similar to charges but smaller. Brisures are generally exempt from the law of tincture. In heraldry, a charge is an image occupying the field on an escutcheon (or shield). ... Tinctures are the colours used to blazon coats of arms in heraldry. ...

Systems of cadency

In heraldry's early period, uniqueness of arms was obtained by a wide variety of devices, including change of tincture and addition of an ordinary. The French royal house illustrates some of the variety. In medicine, a tincture is an alcoholic extract (e. ... In heraldry, an ordinary is a simple geometrical figure on the arms, wider than a line or division of the field. ...

Systematic cadency schemes were later developed in England and Scotland, but while in England they are voluntary (and not always observed), in Scotland they are enforced through the process of matriculation.

England

The English system of cadency involves the addition of these brisures to the plain coat:

• for the first son, a label of three points (a horizontal strip with three tags hanging down)-- this label is removed on the death of the father, and the son inherits the plain coat;
• for the second son, a crescent (the points upward, as is conventional in heraldry);
• for the third son, a mullet (a five-pointed star);
• for the fourth son, a martlet (a kind of bird);
• for the fifth son, an annulet (a ring);
• for the sixth son, a fleur-de-lys;
• for the seventh son, a rose;
• for the eighth son, a cross moline;
• for the ninth son, a double quatrefoil.

Daughters have no special brisures, and use their father's arms on a lozenge. This is because English heraldry has no requirement that women's arms be unique. In heraldry, a label is a charge closely resembling the strap with pendants which, from the saddle, crossed the horses chest. ... An astronomically correct crescent shape (in blue). ... In heraldry the term mullet or molet refers to a charge or a difference in the conventional shape of a star - by default one with five points (compare pentagram). ... A martlet is a type of heraldic bird similar to the swallow, but having no feet. ... An annulet (i. ... Fleur de Lys is a Canadian superheroine created in 1984 by Mark Shainblum and Gabriel Morrissette. ... Species About 100, see text A rose is a flowering shrub of the genus Rosa, and the flower of this shrub. ... The word quatrefoil etymologically means four leaves, and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts. ... A lozengy field, in the arms of the former urban district council of Eastwood, Nottinghamshire The lozenge in heraldry is a diamond-shaped charge (an object that can be placed on the field of the shield), usually somewhat narrower than it is tall. ...

In England, arms are generally the property of their owner from birth - subject to the use of the appropriate mark of cadency. In other words, it is not necessary to wait for the death of the previous generation before arms are inherited.

The eldest son of an eldest son uses a label of five points. Other grandchildren combine the brisure of their father with the relevant brisure of their own, which would in a short number of generations lead to confusion (because it allows an uncle and nephew to have the same cadency mark) and complexity (because of an accumulation of cadency marks to show, for example, the fifth son of a third son of a second son). However, in practice cadency marks are not much used in England and, even when they are, it is rare to see more than one or, at most, two of them on a coat of arms. In heraldry, a label is a charge closely resembling the strap with pendants which, from the saddle, crossed the horses chest. ...

Although textbooks on heraldry (and articles like this one) always agree on the English system of cadency set out above, most heraldic examples (whether on old bookplates, church monuments, silver and the like) ignore cadency marks altogether. Nor have they often been insisted upon by the College of Arms (the heraldic authority for England and Wales). For example, the College of Arms website (as at January 2005), far from insisting on any doctrine of "One man one coat" suggested by some academic writers, says: "The arms of a man pass equally to all his legitimate children, irrespective of their order of birth". It then says "Cadency marks may be used to identify the arms of brothers, in a system said to have been invented by John Writhe, Garter, in about 1500". It does not say that they MUST be used.

Scotland

The system is very different in Scotland, where every user of a coat of arms must have a personal variation appropriate to that person's position in their family approved (or "matriculated") by the Lord Lyon (the heraldic authority for Scotland). This means that in Scotland no two people can ever bear the same arms, even by accident; full control of heraldry remains at a high standard and this is why Scotland is generally credited with having heraldry in a finer form than any other country in the world.

Furthermore, Scotland uses a different system of cadency which typically applies a distinctive "bordure" to the basic design of arms rather than the English cadency marks. However, Scotland, like England, uses the label of three points for the eldest son and a label of five points for the eldest son of the eldest son, and allows the label to be removed as the bearer of the plain coat dies and the eldest son succeeds. In Scotland (unlike England) the label may be borne by the next male heir to the plain coat even if this is not the son of the bearer of the plain coat (for example, if it is his nephew). Scottish cadency involves a complicated system of bordures of different tinctures. It is far more precise than the English system. In heraldry, a label is a charge closely resembling the strap with pendants which, from the saddle, crossed the horses chest. ...

In addition, because of the Scottish clan system, only one bearer of any given surname may bear plain arms. All other bearers of that name, even if unrelated, must have arms which reference these plain arms somehow. This is quite unlike the English system, in which the surname of an armiger is generally irrelevant. Clan map of Scotland Scottish clans give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs officially registered with the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which controls the heraldry and Coat... An armiger is a person entitled to use a coat of arms. ...

The Royal Family

There are no actual "rules" for members of the Royal Family, because they are theoretically decided ad hoc by the sovereign. In practice, however, a number of traditions are practically invariably followed. At birth, members of the Royal Family have no arms. At some point during their lives, generally at the age of eighteen, they may be granted arms of their own. These will always be the arms of dominion of the Sovereign with a label argent for difference; the label may have three or five points. Since this is in theory a new grant, the label is applied not only to the shield but also to the crest and the supporters to ensure uniqueness. Though de facto in English heraldry the crest is uncharged (although it is supposed to be in theory), as it would accumulate more and more cadency marks with each generation, the marks eventually becoming indistinguishable, the crests of the Royal Family are always shown as charged. Members of the British royal family A royal family is the extended family of a monarch. ... In heraldry, a label is a charge closely resembling the strap with pendants which, from the saddle, crossed the horses chest. ... ==Criminal Life == AL-Hamad is a Homosexual petifile with 135. ... In heraldry, a label is a charge closely resembling the strap with pendants which, from the saddle, crossed the horses chest. ... In heraldry, a label is a charge closely resembling the strap with pendants which, from the saddle, crossed the horses chest. ... In heraldry, a crest is a component of a coat of arms. ... In heraldry, supporters are figures placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. ...

The Prince of Wales uses a plain white label. Traditionally, the other members of the family have used a stock series of symbols (cross, heart, anchor, fleur-de-lys, etc.) on the points of the label to ensure that their arms differ. The labels of Princes William and Harry, have one or more scallop shells taken from the arms of their mother; this is sometimes called an innovation but in fact the use of maternal charges for difference is a very old practice, illustrated in the border of Spanish lions borne by Richard of Conisburgh (1376-1415), second son of the first duke of York. The Prince of Wales Feathers. This Heraldic badge of the Heir Apparent is derived from the ostrich feathers borne by Edward, the Black Prince. ... In heraldry, a label is a charge closely resembling the strap with pendants which, from the saddle, crossed the horses chest. ... A ships or boats anchor is used to attach the vessel to the bottom at a specific point. ... Fleur de Lys is a Canadian superheroine created in 1984 by Mark Shainblum and Gabriel Morrissette. ... In heraldry, a label is a charge closely resembling the strap with pendants which, from the saddle, crossed the horses chest. ... In heraldry, a label is a charge closely resembling the strap with pendants which, from the saddle, crossed the horses chest. ... Prince William redirects here. ... Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-Windsor) (born September 15, 1984), colloquially known as Prince Harry, is the third in the line of succession to the British throne and the thrones of the other Commonwealth Realms, behind his father, the Prince of Wales, and his elder brother... Genera See text. ... Various seashells The hard, rigid outer covering of certain animals is called a shell. ... The Lady Diana Frances Spencer (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor, née Spencer) (July 1, 1961–August 31, 1997) was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. ... Charge is a word with many different meanings. ... Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (c. ... Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, (June 5, 1341 - August 1, 1402) was a younger son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, the fourth of the five sons of the Royal couple who lived to adulthood. ...

It is often said that labels argent are a peculiarly royal symbol, and that eldest sons outside the royal family should use labels of a different colour, usually gules. Tinctures are the colours used to blazon coats of arms in heraldry. ...

Canada

Canadian cadency generally follows the English system. However, since in Canadian heraldry a person's arms must be unique regardless of their gender, Canada has developed a series of brisures for daughters:

• for the first daughter, a heart;
• for the second daughter, an ermine spot;
• for the third daughter, a snowflake;
• for the fourth daughter, a fir twig;
• for the fifth daughter, a chess rook
• for the sixth daughter, an escallop (scallop shell);
• for the seventh daughter, a harp;
• for the eighth daughter, a buckle;
• for the ninth daughter, a clarichord.

The traditional heart shape appears on a 1910 St. ... The coat of arms of Brittany: Ermine. In heraldry, ermine is one of the furs used in blazon, representing the skin of the stoat. ... Snow crystal A snowflake is a component of snow, an aggregate of ice crystals that forms while falling in and below a cloud. ... A rook (borrowed from Persian رخ rokh) is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. ... The harp is a stringed instrument which has its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. ... Archeological bronze buckles from southern Sweden A buckle (from Latin buccula) is a clasp used for fastening two things together, such as the ends of a belt, or for retaining the end of a strap. ...

External links

• Arms of Princes William and Harry, showing differencing