POINTS OF THE ESCUTCHEON

Shield shapes have varied greatly, over the years and in different countries. While our presentation shows some of the ancient types, it must be stressed that the modern shield is still near enough to the one borne by the knights banneret and which is still borne by the Gontaut-Biron family (descendants of one of the oldest lines of French aristocrats, two of whom were Marshals of France in the 16th century)…. the shield being a rectangle of 7 modules in breadth and 8 in height.

Here is a depiction of how the original war-shields have developed.

Cet écu moderne, appelé écu français, comporte en sa partie basse, en son milieu, une pointe entourée de deux angles arrondis.

Each space is clearly designated, as shown in this drawing:

A :The heart, or fesse pointe
EBG, and particularly B: The chief
HCI and particularly C: The point
EDH and particularly D: The Dexter flank
GFI and particularly F: The Sinister flank
E : The Dexter chief point
G - le canton senestre du chef
H : The Sinister chief point
I : The Sinister base point
J :The Honour (or Collar) point
K : The Nombril point

It may perhaps surprise you that the dexter is on your left and the sinister on your right, but a shield is always read from the viewpoint of he who bears it and not of the person who sees it - so what is on your left is indeed on the right of the man facing you.
When the blazon does not indicate the exact place where the various elements are placed, it is because they go without saying. For “in gold, a crescent of…”, for instance, it is obligatory that the crescent would be placed in the middle of the shield, i.e. at its heart. More elaborately: “Azure, with a chevron in gold, two gold stars in the chief and a crescent argent in base”…. The chevron will be in the middle, its two arms touching the point of the shield; the two stars will be evenly balanced in the chief (one on the right, one on the left); and the silver crescent will be on the vertical line, starting from the middle of the point, under the chevron. If the figures are to be placed in another manner, the blazon will specify it. Our glossary will enable you to “unscramble” many such cases.

With a little practice, you will soon find problems of this nature quite simple to solve.