Medieval Glossary

Points of the Escutcheon

In heraldry, in order to facilitate the description of a coat of arms, it is the practice to suppose the shield to be divided into nine points, which are known by the following names: the dexter chief point, the middle chief, the sinister chief, the collar, the honor point, the fess point, the nombril (or navel point), the dexter base point, the middle base point, and the sinister base point. The dexter and sinister sides of a shield are so called, not in relation to the eye of the spectator, but from the right and left sides of the supposed bearer of the shield.

Related term(s): Coat of Arms; Escutcheon; Dexter; Sinister; Base (Heraldry); Arms (Heraldry)
Category: Heraldry
Added: 06.01.06
Source information: Wilhelm, Thomas. A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer. Philadelphia: L.R. Hamersly & Co., 1881. 438.

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