Diminished bordure

Key Characteristics in Castilian Heraldry

Some of the main characteristics of the heraldry of Castile are:

• the rounded shapes, with a semicircle at the base,
• the importance of bordures,
• the inclusion of words and also letters in the coat of arms,
• the 2^nd most common animal, after the lion, is the wolf [Valero de Bernabé, L.; 2010], and, of course,
• our castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable [Valero de Bernabé, L.; 2009a].

The following image shows 4 examples of coats of arms, each of which has some of these characteristics, including one Castilian castle.

Comparing Castilian and English Heraldry

In the United Kingdom, there are several heraldic traditions, one of them being English heraldry.

In the Kingdom of Spain, there are several heraldic traditions, for example, the Castilian tradition.

In my humble opinion, we should compare at the same level, English heraldry with, for example, Castilian heraldry, but not with all Spanish heraldry. We shouldn't do it for the same reason we don't mix Scottish heraldic tradition with English, as they are so different.

In the case of Castilian heraldry, the 8 main differences with English heraldry are:

• The rounded shapes, with a semicircle at the base.
• The importance of bordures and the existence of the diminished bordure, called in Castilian «filiera».
• The inclusion of words and also letters in the coats of arms.
• The wolf is the 2^nd most common animal, after the lion.
• The castle, triple-towered, which is different from the English and French types of castles.
• We can inherit arms from our mother and/or father; for example, the castle in the 1^st quarter of the coat of arms of Castile and the coat of arms of Spain comes from a mother, Queen Berenguela of Castile, mother of King Fernando III, the Saint.
• There are 3 kinds of supporters with their owns heraldic names: «tenantes», human forms; «soportes», animals; and «sostenes», plants and things.
• Our quarterings do not necessarily mean that the arms are marshalled by inheritance. [Williams, N.; 2017; page 135, paragraph 26.02] describing the arms of Éamon de Valera, 1882-1975, President of Ireland, writes «Those arms are Spanish in appearance. The quartering without functions as a means of marshalling, is distinctively Iberian».

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Categories: Criterion, Semi-circular, Bordure, Letter, Lion, Wolf, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Or, Azure, Sable, Diminished bordure, Quarterly, Supporter (human form), Supporter, Supporter (animal) and Supporter (thing).

Alternative coat of arms for the heraldry and its categories.

Quarterly in saltire: 1 Purpure, a crown Or; 2 Vert, a sword point upwards Or; 3 Azure, a crozier Or; 4 Sable, a bezant; an inescutcheon Or charged with a heart Gules; a bordure Argent.

Imaginary coat of arms created by me with the following characteristics: its shape is semicircular; its field is enameled with flat tinctures of Purpure, Vert, Azure, Sable, Or, and Argent; all of its figures are illuminated and enameled in Or, except for the heart, which is Gules; and the whole composition has a metallic finish.

These arms are one of the alternatives created during the process of developing a coat of arms for the categories of heraldry.

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Blazon keywords: Quarterly per saltire, Purpure, Vert, Azure, Sable, Or, Argent, Gules, Crown, Sword, Point upwards, Crozier, Bezant and plate, Inescutcheon and Diminished bordure.

Style keywords: Illuminated, Outlined in sable and Watercolor.

Classification: Created, Imaginary and Coat of arms.

Imaginary bearer: Categories of heraldry.

Party per pale: 1 Gules, in base a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, and masoned Sable; 2 Argent, in base a lion rampant Gules, crowned Or; overall a psi letter sable; a diminished bordure Or.

Coat of arms of Crepsi, military psychology, former Central Military Region, Kingdom of Spain emblazoned by me. These arms were designed by my lieutenant colonel and friend Miguel Angel Nuñez Amador. The image shows three steps of my artwork: a) ratio, b) outlined, and c) plain colors and metals. The Castilian «filiera» is a diminished bordure; its width is usually 1/2 or 1/3 of the width of the bordure. The bordure itself is usually 1/6 of the width of the coat of arms. Therefore, the «filiera» is typically 1/(2×6) = 1/12 or 1/(3×6) = 1/18 of the width of the coat of arms.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Argent, Or, Azure, Sable, Party per pale, In base, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Lion, Rampant, Crowned, Overall, Letter and Diminished bordure.

Style keywords: Ratio, Outlined, Outlined in sable, Plain tincture and Semi-circular.

Classification: Military, Interpreted, Schema, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Crepsi.

Party per pale: 1 Gules, in base a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, and masoned Sable; 2 Argent, in base a lion rampant Gules, crowned Or; overall a psi letter sable; a diminished bordure Or. Crest: A closed royal crown.

Coat of arms emblazoned by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, outlined in Sable, with a semi-circular external shape and with a texturized finishing.

Coat of arms of Crepsi, designed by my lieutenant colonel and friend Miguel Angel Nuñez Amador and emblazoned by me.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Argent, Or, Azure, Sable, Party per pale, In base, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Lion, Rampant, Crowned, Overall, Letter, Diminished bordure, Closed royal crown and Crown.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Illuminated and Semi-circular.

Classification: Military, Interpreted, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Crepsi.

Registered by The International Register of Arms, 1^st of December of 2022, Registration number 0690, Volume 4.

In Spanish heraldry, there are three terms for supporters: «sostenes» for objects or plants, «tenantes» for human figures, and «soportes» for animal forms. The following applies to sostenes, tenantes, and soportes. Unlike other heraldic traditions such as English heraldry, in Spanish heraldry there are no rules for the use of supporters; their use is at the armiger's discretion, without specific restrictions. Supporters are not reserved only for nobility; their use is free for all.

In the words of [Cadenas y Vicent, V. de; 1975; page 173] «there is no rule that determines the use of tenantes, soportes, and sostenes».

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Categories: Armorial roll, Party per fess, Azure, One, Book, Open, Or, Leaved, Argent, Charged, Mullet, Gules, Tree, Erased, Between, Two, Apple, Diminished bordure, Embattled, Crest and mantling, Helm, Fimbriated, Wreath, Mantling, Dexter, Sinister, Crest, Pegasus, Rampant, Nascent, Flame, Supporter (animal), Supporter, Lion, Langued, Quill, Claw, Parchment (scroll), Rolled, Seal, Letter, War cry and Motto.

External link:

• Fernando Marán Bié at The Armorial Register.

Root: The Armorial Register.

Or, a fess chequey Argent, charged with an ermine spot, and Azure, between in chief two cross patty Gules, in base a thistle proper; a diminished bordure Azure.

The coat of arms of Reverend John Stuart, XVIII century, emblazoned by me in 3 approaches: 1) Classic bordure: Using a bordure with a width equal to 1/6 of the coat of arms' base. In the image, this is marked with texts and lines in Vert. Notice that the squares in columns 2 and 8 are split by the inner border of the bordure, which is unfortunate as it disrupts the design. 2) Diminished bordure: Using a narrower bordure with a width equal to 2/3 of the classic bordure, corresponding to 1 square of the fess chequey. In the image, this is marked with texts and lines in Gules. This approach avoids splitting any squares, allows for larger figures, and is my preferred solution. In England, diminished bordures, often simply blazoned as bordure, are more common than in Castile. 3) Without squares splitted: Retaining the classic bordure but shifting the fess chequey 1/2 square to either dexter or sinister to prevent splitting squares. However, this sacrifices the symmetry of the design. This last adjustment was used in the hatchment of Reverend John Stuart in St. George's Cathedral, Kingston, Ontario, 1785.

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Blazon keywords: Or, Argent, Azure, One, Three, Nine, Two, Fess, Chequey, Charged, Ermine spot, Between, In chief, Cross, Patty, In base, Thistle, Proper and Diminished bordure.

Style keywords: Ratio, Outlined in sable, Illuminated, Semi-circular and Freehand.

Classification: Personal, Interpreted, Schema, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Stuart, John.

Proporciones de una bordura y una filiera, una filiera es una bordura con su ancho disminuido en 2/3.

In heraldry, a diminished bordure is a diminished bordure. In the design, it is typically drawn at 2/3 the width of a standard bordure. Since the width of a standard bordure is usually 1/6 of the coat of arms' width, a diminished bordure calculated this way would be 1/9 of the coat of arms' width.

However, diminished bordures can also be found with a width of 1/2 that of a standard bordure, in other words, 1/12 of the coat of arms' width, or 1/3 that of a standard bordure, that is to say, 1/18 of the coat of arms's width.

The so-called bordure of pieces usually has a width of 1/2 that of a standard bordure, which is 1/12 of the coat of arms's width.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Bordure and Diminished bordure.

Style keywords: Semi-circular.

Classification: Schema and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Categories of heraldry.

Or, a fess chequey Argent, charged with an ermine spot, and Azure, between in chief two cross patty Gules, in base a thistle proper; a diminished bordure Azure.

Escudo de oro, una faja ajedrezada de plata, cargada de una cola de armiño, y azur, acompañada en jefe de dos cruces patadas de gules, en base de un cardo al natural; una filiera de azur.

Coat of arms painted by me, highlighted with lights and shadows, outlined in Sable, with a semi-circular outer contour and with a watercolor finish.

Coat of arms of Reverend John Stuart, XVIII century, emblazoned by me.

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Blazon keywords: Or, Argent, Azure, One, Three, Nine, Two, Fess, Chequey, Charged, Ermine spot, Between, In chief, Cross, Patty, In base, Thistle, Proper and Diminished bordure.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Illuminated, Semi-circular and Watercolor.

Classification: Personal, Interpreted, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Stuart, John.