Abatement (heraldry)
An abatement, in heraldry, is a modification of the shield or coat of arms used to denote marks or devices that are less-than honorable Augmentation.[1][2] It is thought that they can be imposed by authority (in England supposedly by the Court of Chivalry) for misconduct. Each abatement is supposed to be a specific charge in a specific "stayn and colour" or stain (tenné, sanguine or murrey) for a specific offence; the charges if themselves charged or of a regular colour, metal or fur (or, in some cases, if the charge in question appeared as multiples, not as a single charge of the kind) were not supposed to symbolise anything dishonourable. Thus, it is probable that the system of abatements never had much if any basis in fact and was simply a theoretical exercise created by heralds. The sole exception to the rarity of abatements is the reversal of the entire shield as a punishment for treason, as the shield was briefly so displayed in England at the time of the execution of the convicted traitor, the arms ceasing to exist after this.[clarification needed]
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The shield of Castelo Rodrigo, Portuguese town, upside-down because of the town's treachery in the 1383-1385 Crisis
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Boutell, Charles & Charles Fox-Davies, Arthur (1914), The handbook to English heraldry, Reeves & Turner, p. 207, http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA207&dq=abatement+heraldry&id=_xdMAAAAMAAJ#v=onepage&q=abatement%20heraldry&f=false, "Abatement is a term which was unknown until it made its appearance in certain heraldic writings of the sixteenth century, when it was used to denote such marks or devices as, by the writers in question, were held to be the reverse of honourable Augmentation—Augmentations of dishonour indeed, and tokens of degradation."
- ^ Boutell, Charles (1864), Heraldry, historical and popular, With 975 Illustrations (3rd ed.), Richard Bentley, p. 77, http://books.google.com/books?pg=PR3&dq=abatement+heraldry&id=w6RAAAAAcAAJ#v=onepage&q=abatement&f=false, "Abatement: - any sign of degradation"
[edit] External links
- "Abatements". http://www.heraldica.org: Heraldica.org. http://www.heraldica.org/topics/abatemt.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-15. "abatements appear to be a pure fiction (albeit a fairly old one)."
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