Use in Heraldry
The broad arrow as a heraldic device has two tapering blades, known as barbs. When these barbs are engrailed on the inside, it is called a pheon. Woodward's A Treatise on Heraldry: British and Foreign with English and French Glossaries, makes the following distinction between the broad arrow and pheon: "A BROAD ARROW and a PHEON are represented similarly, except that the Pheon has its inner edges jagged, or engrailed." Parker's A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry states, "A broad arrow differs somewhat... and resembles a pheon, except in the omission of the jagged edge on the inside of the barbs."
The pheon, the engrailed broad arrow, occurs in heraldry in the arms of the Sidney and Coates families, and hence in the arms of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. The college's newsletter for alumni is also called Pheon. The Pheon also appears in the arms of Hampden-Sydney College.
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