Erasure (heraldry)
Encyclopedia
Erasure, in the language of heraldry
, is the tearing off of part of a charge
, leaving a jagged edge of it remaining. In blazon
s the concept is usually met with in the form of the adjective
erased.
Erased must be distinguished from couped, which is "cut off by a straight line".
John Craig
's dictionary of 1854 says
One writer has referred to "the torn edge of heraldic erasure".
The term is most often used of an animal's head, when the neck is depicted with a ragged edge as if forcibly torn from the body.
, whether couped or erased, in English heraldry the separation is done horizontally under the neck, which is not lost, whereas in Scottish heraldry it is correct for the head to be separated from the body vertically, without a neck.
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
, is the tearing off of part of a charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
, leaving a jagged edge of it remaining. In blazon
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
s the concept is usually met with in the form of the adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
erased.
Erased must be distinguished from couped, which is "cut off by a straight line".
John Craig
John Craig (geologist)
John Craig FGS was a Scottish geologist and lexicographer. He was lecturer in geology at Anderson's University, Glasgow, and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. In 1849 he published a dictionary....
's dictionary of 1854 says
One writer has referred to "the torn edge of heraldic erasure".
The term is most often used of an animal's head, when the neck is depicted with a ragged edge as if forcibly torn from the body.
Forms of erasure
There are different traditions for the erasing of heads. For instance, with the head of a bearBear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
, whether couped or erased, in English heraldry the separation is done horizontally under the neck, which is not lost, whereas in Scottish heraldry it is correct for the head to be separated from the body vertically, without a neck.