150px|thumb|right|"Argent a fess gules"

In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ', Old French ', and Latin ', "band") is a charge on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by a fess or other ordinary, ranging from one-fifth to one-third. The Oxford Guide to Heraldry states that earlier writers including Leigh, Holme, and Guillim favour one-third, while later writers such as Edmondson favour one-fifth "on the grounds that a bend, pale, or chevron occupying one-third of the field makes the coat look clumsy and disagreeable." A fess is likely to be shown narrower if it is uncharged, that is, if it does not have other charges placed on it, and/or if it is to be shown with charges above and below it; and shown wider if charged. The fess or bar, termed in French heraldry, should not be confused with fasces.

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File:Fess cotised demo.svg|Fess cottised

File:Barrulet demo.svg|Two barrulets

File:Bars gemelles demo.svg|Two bars gemelles

File:Armoiries de Kerpen 1.svg|Fess indented

File:Party per fess demo.svg|Party per fess

File:Hungary Arms.svg|Barry of eight

File:Blason-Rochechouart.svg|Barry wavy

File:Heraldique blason ville fr rochechouart.svg|Barry nebuly

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Diminutives

In English heraldry, two or more such charges appearing together on a shield are termed bars, though there are no definitive rules setting the width of the fess, the bar, nor their comparative width. Another diminutive of the fess called a closet is said to be between a bar and barrulet, but this is seldom found.

The arms of Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie provide an example of three Barrulets fracted and there conjoined to a Chevronel.

A flag which has a central horizontal stripe that is half the height of the flag is sometimes said to have a Spanish fess. The name is based on the most well-known example of this style of flag, the flag of Spain.

See also

  • Spanish fess
  • Bar (heraldry)
  • Pale (heraldry)

References

Further reading

  • Boutell, Charles (1890). Heraldry, Ancient and Modern: Including Boutell's Heraldry. London: Frederick Warne.
  • Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. New York: Dodge Pub. Co. .
  • Neubecker, Ottfried (1976). Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning. Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill. .
  • Volborth, Carl-Alexander von (1981). Heraldry: Customs, Rules and Styles. Poole, England: Blandford Press. .
  • Woodcock, Thomas and John Martin Robinson (1988). The Oxford Guide to Heraldry. Oxford: University Press. .
  • Woodward, John and George Burnett (1892). Woodward's a treatise on heraldry, British and foreign. Edinburgh: W. & A. K. Johnson. .