THE BEND

The bend is a broad band going from the dexter chief corner to the sinister base (Fig. 65). According to the old theorists this should contain the third part of the field. As a matter of fact it hardly ever does, and seldom did even in the oldest examples. Great latitude is allowed to the artist on this point, in accordance with whether the bend be plain or charged, and more particularly according to the charges which accompany it in the shield and their disposition thereupon. "Azure, a bend or," is the well-known coat concerning which the historic controversy was waged between Scrope and Grosvenor. As every one knows, it was finally adjudged to belong to the former, and a right to it has also been proved by the Cornish family of Carminow. 111 A bend is, of course, subject to the usual variations of the lines of partition (Figs. 66-75). A bend compony (Fig. 76), will be found in the arms of Beaumont, and the difference between this (in which the panes run with the bend) and a bend barry (in which the panes are horizontal, Fig. 77), as in the arms of King, [7] should be noticed. | Fig. 65. —Bend. | Fig. 66. —Bend engrailed. | Fig. 67. —Bend invecked. | | Fig. 68. —Bend embattled. | Fig. 69. —Bend embattled counter-embattled. | Fig. 70. —Bend raguly. | | Fig. 71. —Bend dovetailed. | Fig. 72. —Bend indented. | Fig. 73. —Bend dancetté. | A bend wavy is not very usual, but will be found in the arms of Wallop, De Burton, and Conder. A bend raguly appears in the arms of Strang man. 112 When a bend and a bordure appear upon the same arms, the bend is not continued over the bordure, and similarly it does not surmount a tre ure (Fig. 78), but stops within it. A bend upon a bend is by no means unusual. An example of this will be found in a coat of Waller. Cases where this happens need to be carefully scrutinised to avoid error in blazoning. | Fig. 74. —Bend wavy. | Fig. 75. —Bend nebuly. | Fig. 76. —Bend compony. | | Fig. 77. —Bend barry. | Fig. 78. —Bend within tre ure. | Fig. 79. —Bend lozengy. | A bend lozengy, or of lozenges (Fig. 79), will be found in the arms of Bolding. A bend flory and counter flory will be found in the arms of Fellows, a quartering of Tweedy. A bend chequy will be found in the arms of Menteith, and it should be noticed that the checks run the way of the bend. Ermine spots upon a bend are represented the way of the bend. Occasionally two bends will be found, as in the arms of Lever: Argent, two bends sable, the upper one engrailed ( vide Lyon Register—escutcheon of pretence on the arms of Goldie-Scot of Craig more, 1868); or as in the arms of James Ford, of Montrose, 1804: Gules, two bends vairé argent and sable, on a chief or, a greyhound courant sable between two towers gules. A different form appears in the arms of Zorke or Yorke (see Papworth), which are blazoned: Azure, a bend argent, impaling argent, a bend azure. A solitary instance of three bends (which, however, effectually proves that a bend cannot 113 occupy the third part of the field) occurs in the arms of Penrose, matriculated in Lyon Register in 1795 as a quartering of Cumming-Gordon of Altyre. These arms of Penrose are: Argent, three bends sable, each charged with as many roses of the field. A charge half the width of a bend is a bendlet (Fig. 80), and one half the width of a bendlet is a cottise (Fig. 81), but a cottise cannot exist alone, inasmuch as it has of itself neither direction nor position, but is only found accompanying one of the ordinaries. The arms of Harley are an example of a bend cottised. Bendlets will very seldom be found either in addition to a bend, or charged, but the arms of Vaile show both these peculiarities. IMG:855465476085164071_fig080.png:Fig. 80. Fig. 80. —Bendlets. A bend will usually be found between two charges. Occasionally it will be found between four, but more frequently between six. In none of these cases is it nece ary to specify the position of the subsidiary charges. It is presumed that the bend separates them into even numbers, but their exact position (beyond this) upon the shield is left to the judgment of the artist, and their disposition is governed by the space left available by the shape of the shield. A further presumption is permitted in the case of a bend between three objects, which are presumed to be two in chief and one in base. But even in the case of three the position will be usually found to be specifically stated, as would be the case with any other uneven number. IMG:855465476085164071_fig081.png:Fig. 81. Fig. 81. —Bend cottised. Charges on a bend are placed in the direction of the bend. In such cases it is not nece ary to specify that the charges are bendwise. When a charge or charges occupy the position which a bend would, they are said to be placed "in bend." This is not the same thing as a charge placed "bendwise" (or bendways). In this case the charge itself is slanted into the angle at which the bend cro es the shield, but the position of the charge upon the shield is not governed thereby. When a bend and chief occur together in the same arms, the chief will usually surmount the bend, the latter i uing from the angle between the base of the chief and the side of the shield. An instance to the contrary, however, will be found in the arms of Fitz-Herbert of Swynnerton, in which the bend is continued over the chief. This instance, however (as doubtle all others of the kind), is due to the 114 use of the bend in early times as a mark of difference. The coat of arms, therefore, had an earlier and separate existence without the bend, which has been superimposed as a difference upon a previously existing coat. The use of the bend as a difference will be again referred to when considering more fully the marks and methods of indicating cadency. IMG:855465476085164071_fig082.png:Fig. 82. Fig. 82. —Bend sinister. A curious instance of the use of the sun's rays in bend will be found in the arms of Warde-Aldam. [8] The bend sinister (Fig. 82), is very frequently stated to be the mark of illegitimacy. It certainly has been so used upon some occasions, but these occasions are very few and far between, the charge more frequently made use of being the bendlet or its derivative the baton (Fig. 83). These will be treated more fully in the chapter on the marks of illegitimacy. The bend sinister, which is a band running from the sinister chief corner through the centre of the escutcheon to the dexter base, need not nece arily indicate bastardy. Naturally the popular idea which has originated and become stereotyped concerning it renders its appearance extremely rare, but in at least two cases it occurs without, as far as I am aware, carrying any such meaning. At any rate, in neither case are the coats "bastardised" versions of older arms. These cases are the arms of Shiffner: "Azure, a bend sinister, in chief two estoiles, in like bend or; in base the end and stock of an anchor gold, i uing from waves of the sea proper;" and Burne-Jones: "Azure, on a bend sinister argent, between seven mullets, four in chief and three in base or, three pairs of wings addorsed purpure." IMG:855465476085164071_fig083.png:Fig. 83. Fig. 83. —Baton sinister. No coat with the chief charge a single bendlet occurs in Papworth. A single case, however, is to be found in the Lyon Register in the duly matriculated arms of Porter field of that Ilk: "Or, a bendlet between a stag's head erased in chief and a hunting-horn in base sable, garnished gules." Single bendlets, however, both dexter and sinister, occur as ancient difference marks, and are then sometimes known as ribands. So described, it occurs in blazon of the arms of Abernethy: "Or, a lion rampant gules, debruised of a ribbon sable," quartered by Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and Balcarres; but here again the bendlet is a mark 115 of cadency. In the Gelre Armorial , in this particular coat the ribbon is made "engrailed," which is most unusual, and which does not appear to be the accepted form. In many of the Scottish matriculations of this Abernethy coat in which this riband occurs it is termed a "cost," doubtle another form of the word cottise. When a bend or bendlets (or, in fact, any other charge) are raised above their natural position in the shield they are termed "enhanced" (Fig. 84). An instance of this occurs in the well-known coat of Byron, viz.: "Argent, three bendlets enhanced gules," and in the arms of Manchester, which were based upon this coat. | Fig. 84. —Bendlets enhanced. | Fig. 85. —Pale. | Fig. 86. —Pale engrailed. | When the field is composed of an even number of equal pieces divided by lines following the angle of a bend the field is blazoned "bendy" of so many (Fig. 58). In most cases it will be composed of six or eight pieces, but as there is no diminutive of "bendy," the number must always be stated.