Fillet supporting chief (Fr. Divise sous chef)

In English-language heraldry, the fillet is considered a diminutive of the chief. It is defined as occupying one fourth the width of the chief and typically positioned at its bottom edge.[1] When so positioned the chief is blazoned as supported by the fillet; but, when the chief is charged by the fillet, when the fillet positioned at its top edge[2] or middle, the chief is blazoned as surmounted.[3] In French heraldry, terms for this charge are divise[4] and filet en chef.[5] The term chef retrait has also been used.[6] The fillet or divise placed beneath the chief is of a different tincture than the field,[7] evidently to avoid violations of the rule of tincture (see Berry 1828[8]).

There are other uses of the English fillet that are similar to its use above as diminutive of the chief. The term is used by some for a diminutive of the fess narrower than the bar, as a synonym for barrulet.[9] It is also used by some more generally for a narrow band as charge that can be positioned variously on the field—as a diminutive of the bend, as synonym of riband[10] as well as the fess, as synonym of barrulet. This latter use parallels that of the cognate term, filet, in French heraldry, where authors write of the filet en bande or filet en croix, referring to the narrowest diminutive of the ordinary.[11] Such uses of the term fillet in English (or filet in French) often employ it as term for a component element of other devices such as the cross parted and fretted,[12] the ordinary the fret, or the variation of the field fretty.[13] 'Fretted' and 'fretty' refer to the interlacing of the fillets.[14] The Jumelle (Eng. bar gemel, etc.) and Tierce are other charges also said to be composed of filets.[15] The pentagram has even been described as a "star reduced to an interlaced fillet".[16]

This use of the term, as the diminutive of an ordinary, is to be distinguished from other uses of the term fillet in heraldry. See section #Other uses of fillet in a heraldic context below.

Fillet as adjective

The adjective 'fillet'—as in fillet cross, fillet saltire—is used to denote a mode of diminution achieved by a reduction in thickness, to typically one-fourth that of the ordinary,[17] without any corresponding reduction in the extent of the charge, in terms of length or width, or both. The fillet cross and fillet saltire occupy the full length and breadth field, as the cross and saltire as ordinaries do. The fillet bordure adheres to the outer edges of the field in the same manner as the bordure. In French heraldry, the 'fillet bordure' is the filière.[18]

Filleting and fimbriation

The terms fillet and fimbriation share etymological roots with words associated with clothing, sewing and stitching. The word fillet derives from the Middle English and Old French filet, a diminutive of thread.[19] But the heraldic use may derive more proximately from use of the term for an item of clothing, a headband of white silk or linen worn to indicate sovereignty.[20] In its practical inspiration dating to the Age of Chivalry, as a cloth worn around the helmets of knights, sometimes by sons of nobles as a mark of cadency, the fillet is related to another heraldic charge, the lambel or label.[21] But the meaning of the word fillet extends to bands of metal historically worn around the head as marks of distinction, as crowns.[22] For its part, fimbriate derives from the Latin for 'fibers, fringe, and thread' and more proximately from the word for the skirt or hem of a garment, "implying an ordinary or charge bordered all round".[23] The use of the term 'fimbriation' for the bordering of ordinaries like crosses and bends that extends only to the edge of the field and does not fully encompass the charge, though common, is considered by authorities like William Berry to be likely mistaken.[24]

Other uses of fillet in a heraldic context

Aside from the use of the term fillet for the diminutive of an ordinary as a narrow band, the term is also used in a figurative-representational manner drawing on the meanings of fillet discussed above, as ribbon, cloth headband, or band of metal. In the first case, it is used to describe a decorative element of an achievement of arms, the figurative representation of a ribbon entwined around a helmet. The fillet in this sense is also frequently incorporated (twisted into) the torse.[25] In the second, the term is used for representations of cloth wrapped around the heads of 'Moors' or 'Saracens'.[26] When used thusly, the human figures portrayed with a candida fascia, after the diadem of the Roman kings, are blazoned diadameté.[27] A third use, resembling the two preceding, is for the representation of a band of cloth or bandage used to bundle a sheaf of wheat or arrows together.[28] Finally, the term is used for representations of a metal band, of gold, as a plain crown or as a component of a more elaborate crown.[29] A derivative of this usage, is the use of fillet to describe a design component of some heraldic representations of the fleur-de-lis,[30] such as that seen on the Flag of Quebec or the Flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (see section #Band as design element of fleur-de-lis below).

Coats of arms

See also the Coat of arms of the Harvard Medical School, blazoned as "sustained by a fillet compony".

Fillet in base

Fillet cross and fillet saltire

As component of crosses parted and fretted

As component of fretty variation of the field

On flags

The use of the fillet as diminutive of the chief is, on flags, quite rare.[31][32] However, the fillet as narrow band is used in a similar manner to offset other ordinaries like the base or sides (for examples, see the section #Fillet-adjacent diminutives* below). There are examples of the fillet as narrow band used on its own as a diminutive of charges such as the fess or bend (see same). There are examples of the fillet cross, fillet saltire, and fillet bordure (filière). And there are examples of the fillet used as component of other charges such as the Fret, the Jumelle, and the Tierce.

Fillet-adjacent diminutives*

*In English language vexillology, many of these would likely be blazoned as instances of fimbriation or cottissing.[33] For 'fillet esquarre' as border of canton on two sides, see Esquarre (heraldry).

Fillet cross and saltire

As component of Fret

As component of cross parted and fretted

As component of cross otherwise interlaced

As component of Jumelle and similar

As component of Tierce and other charges parted

As cost or single cottice

Source:[34]

Fillet bordure or filière

Fillet orle or tressure

See also Flag of Athens, Greece

Other uses of term fillet

As headband or diadem

As ribbon tying sheaf

Band as design element of fleur-de-lis

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fillet crosses in heraldry.

Chief (heraldry)
Fimbriation
Esquarre (heraldry)
Ordinary (heraldry)
Charge (heraldry)
Liste de pièces héraldiques

References

  1. ↑ Manual of Heraldry. London: Jeremiah How. 1846. p. 18.
  2. ↑ Elvin, Charles Norton (1889). A dictionary of heraldry : with upwards of two thousand five hundred illustrations. London: Kent and Co. p. xviii.
  3. ↑ Berry, William (1828). Encyclopaedia heraldica; or, Complete dictionary of heraldry. London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper. p. CHI-CHU.
  4. ↑ de Mailhol, Dayre (1895). Dictionnaire historique et héraldique de la noblesse française. Paris: Direction & Redaction [Impr. Ch. Lépice]. p. 90.
  5. ↑ Woodward, John (1896). A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign With English and French Glossaries · Volume 1. Edinburgh and London: W. & A.K. Johnston. p. 473.
  6. ↑ Gough, Henry; Parker, James (1894). A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry (New ed.). Oxford and London: J. Parker and Co. p. 112.
  7. ↑ Owen, W. (1754). A New and Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 2. London. p. 1228.
  8. ↑ Berry, William (1828). Encyclopaedia heraldica; or, Complete dictionary of heraldry. London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper. p. FIG-FIR.
  9. ↑ Gough, Henry; Parker, James (1894). A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry (New ed.). Oxford and London: J. Parker and Co. p. 157.
  10. ↑ Woodward, John; Burnett, George (1892). A treatise on heraldry British and foreign : with English and French glossaries. Edinburgh: W. & A.K. Johnston. p. 133.
  11. ↑ de Mailhol, Dayre (1895). Dictionnaire historique et héraldique de la noblesse française. Paris: Direction & Redaction [Impr. Ch. Lépice]. p. 112.
  12. ↑ Gough, Henry; Parker, James (1894). A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry (New ed.). Oxford and London: J. Parker and Co. p. 157.
  13. ↑ Newton, William (1846). Display of Heraldry. London: William Pickering. p. 61.
  14. ↑ Aveling, S.T. (1892). Heraldry, Ancient and Modern: Including Boutell's Heraldry. London: W. W. Gibbings. p. 40.
  15. ↑ Gheusi, Pierre-Barthélemy (1892). Le blason héraldique: Manuel nouveau de l'art héraldique de la science du blason et de la polychromie féodale d'après les règles du moyen age avec 1300 gravures et un armorial. Paris: Librairie de Firmin Didot et c. p. 56.
  16. ↑ Gheusi, Pierre-Barthélemy (1892). Le blason héraldique: Manuel nouveau de l'art héraldique de la science du blason et de la polychromie féodale d'après les règles du moyen age avec 1300 gravures et un armorial. Paris: Librairie de Firmin Didot et c. p. 151.
  17. ↑ Berry, William (1828). Encyclopaedia heraldica; or, Complete dictionary of heraldry. London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper. p. CRO-CRO.
  18. ↑ Berry, William (1828). Encyclopaedia heraldica; or, Complete dictionary of heraldry. London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper. p. FIG-FIR.
  19. ↑ "Fillet". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
  20. ↑ Guillim, John (1679). A display of heraldry : manifesting a more easie access to the knowledge thereof than hath been hitherto published by any, through the benefit of method. London: R. Blome. p. 21.
  21. ↑ Nisbet, Alexander (1804). A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical: with the True Art of Blazon ... Illustrated with Suitable Examples of Armorial Figures, and Achievements of the Most Considerable Surnames and Families in Scotland (Second ed.). Edinburgh: Alex Lawrie & Co. p. 6.
  22. ↑ Nisbet, Alexander (1804). A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical: with the True Art of Blazon ... Illustrated with Suitable Examples of Armorial Figures, and Achievements of the Most Considerable Surnames and Families in Scotland (Second ed.). Edinburgh: Alex Lawrie & Co. p. 39.
  23. ↑ Berry, William (1828). Encyclopaedia heraldica; or, Complete dictionary of heraldry. London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper. p. FIG-FIR.
  24. ↑ Berry, William (1828). Encyclopaedia heraldica; or, Complete dictionary of heraldry. London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper. p. FIG-FIR.
  25. ↑ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. London and Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack. pp. 402–403.
  26. ↑ Nisbet, Alexander (1804). A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical: with the True Art of Blazon ... Illustrated with Suitable Examples of Armorial Figures, and Achievements of the Most Considerable Surnames and Families in Scotland (Second ed.). Edinburgh: Alex Lawrie & Co. p. 6.
  27. ↑ Nisbet, Alexander (1804). A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical: with the True Art of Blazon ... Illustrated with Suitable Examples of Armorial Figures, and Achievements of the Most Considerable Surnames and Families in Scotland (Second ed.). Edinburgh: Alex Lawrie & Co. p. 37.
  28. ↑ Berry, William (1828). Encyclopaedia heraldica; or, Complete dictionary of heraldry. London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper. p. BAN-BAR.
  29. ↑ Nisbet, Alexander (1804). A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical: with the True Art of Blazon ... Illustrated with Suitable Examples of Armorial Figures, and Achievements of the Most Considerable Surnames and Families in Scotland (Second ed.). Edinburgh: Alex Lawrie & Co. p. 39.
  30. ↑ Rothery, Guy Cadogan (1915). A. B. C. of Heraldry. London: Stanley Paul and Co. pp. 167–174.
  31. ↑ "Dictionary of Vexillology – FILLET". Flags of the World.
  32. ↑ Cussans, John Edwin (1893). Handbook of heraldry : with instructions for tracing pedigrees and deciphering ancient mss., rules for the appointment of liveries, &c. London: Chatto & Windus. p. 57.
  33. ↑ "Dictionary of Vexillology – FIMBRIATION (or FIMBRIATED)". Flags of the World.
  34. ↑ "Dictionary of Vexillology – COTTICE". Flags of the World.
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