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Divisions of the field is a Heraldic term referring to the pattern on a shield. The Field of a Shield in heraldry can be divided into more than one Tincture (as can the various Charge s). The divisions are (almost without exception) named according to the Ordinary that shares their shape. (It should be noticed that French Heraldry takes a different approach in many cases than the one described in this article.) Common partitions of the field are:
A field cannot be divided ''per bordure'' (as if this did exist it would be indistinguishable from the bordure); only a bordure can. Neither can a field (nor any charge) be divided ''per chief'', for similar reasons. A shield vertically divided into blue (left side) and gold (right side) would be blazoned: ''Per pale azure and Or.'' The arms of the former Republic Of Bophuthatswana were "per fess (at nombril point)" (lower than the regular per fess division; the "nombril point" is halfway between the fess point — the exact middle of the field — and the base point, at the bottom centre of the field). An anomalous, and perhaps not in accordance with the rules of heraldry, example of per fess with the upper part occupying one-sixth of the field, occurs in the arms of Yarumal , Antioquia , Colombia {Link without Title} . The arms of the French department of Côtes D'Armor show ''émanché'', which is shown in this case as equivalent to the English ''per fess dancetty of two full points upwards''. The arms of the State of Wisconsin show a quartered shield in which each of the four quarters has a field of Or. When a field is quartered in a Swastika -like pattern, this is called ''quarterly en equerre''. Use of a swastika-like form in heraldry is called the ''fylfot'' and predates any anti-Semitic associations. {Link without Title} German heraldry, unlike British, acknowledges the form ''per bend... broken in the form of a linden leaf''. The arms of Mpumalanga Province in South Africa show ''per bend sinister, inclined in the flanks per fess''. The arms of the White Workers Union in South Africa are blazoned ''Per chevron inverted extended Argent and Gules, in chief a pile Sable charged with two chevronels respectively Argent and Or.'' {Link without Title} There can also be ''party per chevron reversed'', which is like party per chevron except upside down. Party per chevron reversed throughout (with the point reaching to the very bottom of the shield) is sometimes referred to as ''chaussee''. Although it is alleged that ''per chevron enhanced'' (with the division occurring higher than it normally would) is called ''manteld'' in English, the least that can be said about this is that is a term of far from frequent application. {Link without Title} Shields may also be divided into three parts: this is called ''tierced'', as in ''tierced per pale, azure, argent and gules'' (though in British heraldry this is not done and the foregoing shield would be blazoned the pale is supposed to be one-third of the width of the field and is always so depicted under these circumstances ''per pale azure and gules, a pale argent.'') A particular type of tiercing, resembling a Y in shape (division lines per bend and bend sinister coming down from the chief, meeting at the fess point, and continuing down per pale), is called ''per pall''. Shields may also be divided into three parts by a combination of two methods of division, such as ''party per fess, in chief per pale''. Another example is in the arms of Clive Cheesman : ''per pale and per pall''. {Link without Title} The Coat Of Arms of Pope Benedict XVI is "tierced in mantle" coat of arms of Benedict XVI ]] A field ''pily,'' as in the arms of Michael Marks, 2nd Baron Broughton , is similar to a field ''per fess dancetty'', except that the teeth are much more exaggerated. The division line may be of any of the different Line shapes. Sometimes the division of the field may be ''fimbriated'' or (perhaps less properly) ''edged'' {Link without Title} of another tincture, or ''divided by'' some ordinary or its diminutive. The latter differs from a party field that then bears an ordinary in that if the ordinary is between charges the charges are not overlapped by the ordinary but the ordinary is between them. When the term ''rompu'' is applied to a division of the field, the result will take a number of different forms depending on the manner of division. The arms of the Hon. Lois Hole show ''Per chevron rompu Or and Vert, the centre section heightened of two points''. (Rompu can also sometimes be applied to "common charges.") {Link without Title} One division of the field (though it is described by some as a charge) is restricted to the chief: when the chief is divided by a bow-shaped line, this is called ''chaperonnet''. {Link without Title} SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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