A few very simple diagrams will clearly elucidate the principle of Marshalling the arms of Husband and Wife. Suppose B (Baron) to represent the Husband, and F (Femme) the Wife: then, No. 330 B may represent the arms of the Husband, and No. 330 F the arms of the Wife. If F be not an heiress, the arms of B and F, as husband and wife, are borne impaled, as in No. 330 B F; and their son bears No. 330 B only. If F be an heiress, the arms of B and F, as husband and wife, are borne as in No. 331—the arms of the wife on an Escutcheon of Pretence; and, in this case, the son of B and F quarters the arms of both his parents, as No. 332. Now, suppose this son, whose arms are No. 332, to marry a lady, not an heiress, whose arms are No. 330 F F, he would simply impale the arms of his wife, as in No. 333, and his son would bear No. 332 only, as his father bore that quartered shield before his marriage. But if the wife of the bearer of No. 332 were to be an heiress, he would charge the arms of his wife in pretence upon his own hereditary paternal Shield, as in No. 334; and his son, by this heiress, as before, would quarter the arms of both his parents, as in No. 335. It is obvious that Marshalling on this system (of which I here give the general outline) admits of a widely-extended application. Younger sons in all cases place over all the quarterings of their Shield their own distinctive Mark of Cadency, until they inherit some different quartering from those to which the head of their house is entitled, and the quartering itself then forms sufficient difference.
| No. 331. | No. 332. |
| No. 333. | No. 334. | No. 335. |
A Widower who marries again places the arms of both his wives upon any permanent record, but for ordinary purposes of use, e.g. on a seal or carriage, bears only the arms of his living wife.
An Unmarried Lady bears her paternal arms on a lozenge, without any Helmet, Crest, or Motto.
A Widow bears on a lozenge the arms borne by her husband and herself. Should she marry again, a Widow ceases to bear the arms of her former husband.
A Peeress in her own right, if married to a Peer, has both her own arms and those of her husband fully blazoned, and the lozenge and the Shield, with all their accessories, are marshalled to form a single united group, the achievement of the husband having precedence to the dexter. If married to a Commoner, a Peeress in her own right bears her own arms on a lozenge as before, and her husband marshals her arms ensigned with her coronet in pretence on his Shield: and this lozenge and Shield are grouped together, the lozenge yielding precedence.
Prelates bear the arms of their see impaling their own paternal and hereditary arms, the insignia of the see occupying the dexter half of the Shield, this Shield being ensigned with a mitre only. A married Prelate bears also a second Shield, placed to the sinister of the other, on which are marshalled, in accordance with ordinary usage, his own personal arms with those of his wife. The mitre then is placed over the conjoined shields.
The Kings of Arms, in like manner, bear two Shields, disposed to form a single group: on the dexter Shield their official arms impale their personal; and on the sinister Shield their personal arms are marshalled with the arms of their wives.
Again, the same usage obtains in marshalling the arms of Knights of Orders of Knighthood who, when married, bear two Shields grouped together. On the dexter Shield are blazoned the arms of the Knight himself alone; and around this Shield are displayed the insignia of his Order, or Orders, of Knighthood: and on the sinister Shield the arms of the Knight and of his wife are marshalled, but without the knightly insignia. This second Shield is generally environed with decorative foliage. This usage, prevalent in England, is not accepted or adopted by foreign Heralds: nor does it appear to be required by true heraldic principle, or to be strictly in accordance with it. The wife of a Knight shares his knightly title, and takes precedence from her husband’s knightly rank; and a knight, with perfect heraldic consistency, might marshal his own knightly insignia about the Shield which is charged with his own arms and those of his wife, whether united by impalement, or when the latter are borne in pretence: and thus a single Shield would be borne, and there would cease to exist any motive for endeavouring to impart to a second Shield some general resemblance to its companion by wreaths or other unmeaning accessories. There are ancient precedents for the use of a single shield.