[Ill.u.s.tration: Over all]
EX. Quarterly or and gules, over all a bend vair.
PALE. One of the honourable ordinaries formed by two perpendicular lines drawn from the base to the chief. The pale occupies one third of the shield.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Pale]
EX. Azure, a pale or
PALL. A scarf in the shape of the letter Y, forming part of the vesture of a Roman Catholic prelate. It is introduced as the princ.i.p.al bearing of the archbishops of Canterbury, Armagh, and Dublin.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Pall]
Ex. Azure, on a pall argent, four crosses fitchy sable, in chief a cross pattee of the second.
[Ill.u.s.tration: PALLET]
PALLET. A diminutive of the pale.
PALY. A field divided by perpendicular lines into several equal parts of metal and tincture interchangeably disposed.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Paly]
Ex. Paly of four, argent and gules.
PARTY or PARTED signifies divided, and applies to the several parts of an escutcheon parted by a line, which always runs in the direction of one or more of the honourable ordinaries, as may be seen in the following examples:--
[Ill.u.s.tration: Parted per pale and par bend sinister]
PARTED PER PALE AND PER BEND SINISTER Counterchanged, or and gules.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Parted per pale and per chevron]
PARTED PER PALE AND PER CHEVRON. Gules and or, counter changed.
PARTY PER FESS. A shield parted in the centre by an horizontal line through the fess point.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Party per fess]
Ex. Party per fess, engrailed, argent and gules.
PARTY PER PALE. This signifies a shield parted by a perpendicular line down the centre, so that one shield may contain two coats of arms.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Party per pale]
Ex. Parted per pale, gules and argent.
PASCHAL LAMB, or HOLY LAMB.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Paschal lamb]
Ex. Argent, a lamb pa.s.sant, carrying a banner charged with a cross.
Pa.s.sANT. Pa.s.sing or walking. See LION Pa.s.sANT and Pa.s.sANT GUARDANT.
PATONCE. See CROSS.
PATTE. A cross small in the centre, wide at the ends. See CROSS.
PATRIARCHAL CROSS. Cross used by patriarchs in the Greek church. See CROSS.
PEARL. A precious stone, used by ancient heralds for argent in emblazoning the arms of peers.
PEAN. The name of a fur, the field sable, the tufts or.
PEER. Name given to all persons included in the rank of n.o.bility.
PELLETS. A name given to black roundlets.
PENDANT. A shield suspended or hanging from a branch of a tree, or from a nail. Shields of arms frequently appear drawn thus in architecture, and when described are said to be pendant.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Pennons]
PENNONS. Small flags borne at the end of a lance of an esquire or gentleman bearing his paternal arms. The end of the pennon was cut off upon the person being created a knight banneret. See BANNERET.
Penoncels or Pencils were small flags decorating the helmet or the horse armour. They are now only used at funerals. The large flag in the engraving is a pennon, the smaller, penoncels or pencils.
PHEON. A missile instrument with a barbed head, thrown from a cross bow.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Pheon]
Ex. Argent, a pheon proper.
PIERCED OR PERFORATED. Cut through the centre.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Pierced]
Ex. Argent, a mullet pierced, sable, on a chief azure, three mullets pierced, of the first.
PILE. An angular figure like a wedge, formed by lines running from the dexter and sinister chief to the middle base.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Pile]
Ex. Argent, a pile, purpure.
IN PILE. Arms or other charges that are placed so as to form the shape of a pile are said to be borne in pile.
[Ill.u.s.tration: In pile]
Ex. Argent, three swords in pile, their points towards the base.