MARSHALLING   (Back to Introduction to Heraldry)

Marshalling refers to how two or more coasts of arms are combined into one shield.

It may be used to express family inheritance, the occupation of a position by a certain person for a certain period of time, or the king’s assertion of claims.

Marshalling is accomplished primarily by these methods:

The principal modes of marshalling are:
-Impalement: the shield is divided into right and left halves
-Quartering: the shield is divided into quadrants of four equal parts
-with an Inescutcheon: a smaller shield appears in front of the main shield

In cases where more than four coats of arms need to be marshaled (and some have been done to the hundreds in rare cases), one simply extends the quartering process beyond four, for example, to two rows of three (a quarterly of six), etc.

Some lineages have a strong opposition to allowing more than four quarters.  They then use sub-quartering as an alternative.

Impaled or quartered shields are read by rows, beginning at the dexter chief, which is the viewer’s top left corner.  The first arms usually represent the highest title claimed, or the paternal inheritance.

Coats of arms can often reveal their country of origin.  Four broad styles are easily recognized; they are German, Gallo-British, Mediterranean, and Eastern.

Chevrons and five-pointed stars are typical in France and Britain, but are rare elsewhere.

Saltires are most common in Spain and Scotland.

A plain field with a charged chief is usually Scottish.

A shield divided into two different coats, with one above the other, is probably Italian.

A shield with a checkerboard of tiny coats, with a single coat on a smaller shield in the center, likely indicates a high-ranking German noble.

A bordure (or border) with letters is often Spanish.

Most Hungarian arms have some animal standing on a green hill against a blue sky.

Mediterranean arms usually display trees.

A completely geometric coat of arms is rarely Mediterranean (except for Or four pallets gules for the County of Barcelona).

Crests are rarely displayed in French and Mediterranean armory, but very important in Germany. Other common German features are as follows: shields with three or more crested helms; and certain types of crests, such a pair of horns or a tall hat in the tinctures of the shield.

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