Line (heraldry)
The lines of partition used to divide and vary fields and charges in heraldry are by default straight, but may have many different shapes. Care must sometimes be taken to distinguish these types of lines from the extremely unusual and non-traditional use of lines as charges, and to distinguish these shapes from actual charges, such as "a mount in base," or, particularly in German heraldry, different kinds of embattled from castle walls.
In Scotland, varied lines of partition are often used to modify a bordure (or sometimes another ordinary) to difference the arms of a cadet from the chief of the house.
Read more about Line (heraldry): Indented and Dancetty, Wavy and Nebuly, Engrailed and Invected, Embattled and Variants, Embowed and Nowy, Rarer Lines and Recent Inventions, Gallery of Different Lines of Partition
Famous quotes containing the word line:
“I had crossed de line of which I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but dere was no one to welcome me to de land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land, and my home after all was down in de old cabin quarter, wid de ole folks, and my brudders and sisters. But to dis solemn resolution I came; I was free, and dey should be free also; I would make a home for dem in de North, and de Lord helping me, I would bring dem all dere.”
—Harriet Tubman (c. 1820–1913)