THE SHAPES OF THE SHIELD

Women in Heraldry Shield and Lozenge

Since women did not normally go to war in the past, they would not have used a traditional shield, but would instead have their coat-of-arms displayed on a lozenge.  A lozenge is a diamond-shaped form standing on one acute corner.

More detail on the use of the lozenge and the rules concerning its usage by British women’s heraldry will be discussed in a separate article.

Today women serve beside men in the military in many countries.  So many women now use a shield for their arms display.

Clergymen and Cartouches: The same issues arose concerning noncombatant clergymen in Europe.   Their arms were sometimes placed on an oval-shaped object called a cartouche.

Specific shapes of shield are specified in the blazon for certain non-European arms, such as the arms of the Nunavet (in Canada), or the former Republic of Bophuthatswana (a former Bantustan homeland), as well as certain Algerian civic heraldry with French colonial origins. 

The specific class of shield is often followed to the extent that its objects function as its charges.  A clear example of this is shown in the “shield thongs” in the Gauteng arms.

Rarely, the shield may be blazoned as being displayed on a cartouche or oval.  When this is done, the tincture (colors used to blazon a coat-of-arms) is then specified.

The meanings of the Tinctures known as Colors and symbols
Modern Heraldry

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