ORDINARY

A term of the Civil Law for any judge who has authority to take cognizance of causes in his own right, and not by delegation; used, in English law, with reference to ecclesiastical judges only. Thus, a bishop is ordinary in his own diocese; an archbishop, for the purpose of appeals, in his province. Ordinary. In the Court of Se ion in Scotland, a single judge (by courtesy styled lord), who decides with or without a jury, as the case may be. There are five such judges: their decisions may be brought by appeal under review of the divisions of the court to which they respectively belong. See Se ion, Court of. Ordinary. In the Navy, the establishment of the shipping not in actual service. Ordinary, in Heraldry, is a portion of the escutcheon comprised between straight or other lines. It is the simplest species of charge; and many of the most ancient escutcheons known contain no other bearing, although in others, also of great antiquity, the ordinary itself is charged with other bearings. An ordinary should, it is said, comprise the fifth of the shield. The number of ordinarie* in common use is considerable; among the chief are the pale, fe , bend, bar, saltier, chevron, cro (which see). Each of these is usually bounded by straight lines; but the lines may be also diversified in various manners. Thus, an ordinary bounded hy serrated lines is said to be indented.; bounded by undulating lines, wavy; and there are many other deviations from the straight line, as ingraUedy tnvected, nebuly, raguly, ra~ yonny, dancetty, embattled or crenelly, battled embattled, pali y, angled, levelled, escartely, nowy, dovetail, potency. When an ordinary has two sides, and is only varied on the upper, it is said to be superingr ailed, super invected. Sec.; if only on the lower, sub ing railed, Sec. Ordinary, of New gate. Tlie clergyman who officiates in this prison is so called, whose duties consist in preaching and reading prayers to the prisoners, preparing condemned criminals to meet their fate, and in accompanying such to the place of execution. [s. 867]