No. 344.— Holland, of Kent.
The Bordure, both plain and charged, is a Mark of Cadency borne by Princes and by personages of various ranks. Edmond, youngest son of Edward I., differenced England with a plain silver bordure, as in No. 344: the Hollands, Earls of Kent, did the same: and the same silver bordure also was borne by Thomas, youngest son of Edward III., about the quartered shield of France ancient and England; and about the quartered shield of France modern and England by Humphrey, youngest son of Henry IV. Prince John of Eltham, as I have already shown, and after him the Hollands, Dukes of Exeter, differenced England with a Bordure of France: [No. 24]. Though not so numerous as Labels, Bordures employed to mark Cadency exist in very many early examples, and a variety of devices appear charged upon them for secondary Difference. See [No. 140]. In the Royal Heraldry of our own times the Bordure is not used as a Royal Difference; but its use is retained in Scotland for differencing Shields of less exalted rank.
In some few early Examples a Bendlet is charged upon the paternal shield as a mark of Cadency: and a Barrulet is found to have been also used for the same purpose. Thus, Henry, second son of Edmond the first Earl of Lancaster, during the lifetime of his elder brother, differenced England with an azure Bendlet, as in No. 345: and, in the Seal of Henry de Percy, son and heir of Henry third Baron, the lion is debruised, for Difference, by a Barrulet which crosses the Shield in the honour-point. Possibly, this Barrulet may be a Label without points. A Canton, plain, or more frequently charged, and in many examples of ermine, is also added to Shields to mark Cadency, but more frequently nowadays its use denotes absence of blood descent. See Nos. [128], [129], [130].
No. 345.— Henry of Lancaster.
To mark Cadency by a change of Tinctures was a simple expedient, and such a one as would naturally be practised at an early period. It was effected, first, in the case of the Field: thus (H. 3) the brothers De la Zouche severally bear—Gu., bezantée, and, Az., bezantée; and the brothers Furnival (H. 3) bear—Arg., a bend between six martlets gu., and, Or, a bend between six martlets gu. Secondly, the change is effected in the Charges: thus, two William Bardolfs (H. 3 and E. 2) severally bear—Az., three cinquefoils or, and, Az., three cinquefoils arg. Thirdly, the tinctures are reversed: for example, for two Sir John Harcourts (E. 2)—Gu., two bars or, and, Or, two bars gu. Fourthly, there is a complete change in all the tinctures: and so, while Sir Andrew Loterel (E. 2) bears—Or, a bend between six martlets sa., Sir Geffrey Loterel (E. 2) bears—Az., a bend between six martlets argent. Finally, this system of marking Cadency admits various modifications of the changes already described: thus, in the Arms of Mortimer, [No. 131], gules is substituted for azure; and, again, in the same Shield an inescutcheon ermine takes the place of the inescutcheon argent.
Another and a favourite method of marking Cadency, calculated to exercise a great and decided influence in the development of heraldic blazon, is the addition of secondary Charges of small size (not on a Label or a Bordure but) semée over the field of a Shield, or charged upon an Ordinary, or disposed in orle. In a large number of examples, these small charges are found to have been gradually reduced to six or three, in order to admit of their being blazoned on a somewhat larger scale, and consequently made more distinct. Again: while the number and the tinctures of the secondary differencing charges remain the same, in order to carry out the Cadency still farther the secondary charges themselves are varied: and, once more, in other cases the identity of the original secondary charges is retained, but their number is increased or diminished. I must be content to illustrate these various forms of Cadency with a few examples only. First, a group of shields of the Beauchamps:—Beauchamp of Elmely (H. 3)—Gu., a fesse or, No. 346: Beauchamp at Carlaverock—Gu., crusilée and a fesse or, No. 347: Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick—Gu., a fesse between six crosses crosslets or, No. 348: and Beauchamp of Bletshoe—Gu., a fesse between six martlets or, No. 349. Second, a corresponding group of shields of the Berkeleys:—Maurice de Barkele (or Berkeley)—Gu., a chevron arg. (H. 3): and then for other Berkeleys—Gu., a chevron between ten crosses pattées, six and four, arg.; and the same Ordinary, with either ten cinquefoils of silver, or the same number of white roses. Three Corbets bear severally (E. 2)—Or, a raven sa.; Or, two ravens sa.; and, Or, three ravens sa. And, once more, their original Shield—Gu., a chevron or, is differenced by the Cobhams by charging the Ordinary with three lioncels, three eaglets, three crosslets, three mullets, three estoiles, three crescents, or three fleurs de lys, all of them sable. The particular devices and figures selected thus to mark Cadency, like those charged upon Labels or Bordures, must be considered to have a special significance of their own, though this significance may frequently fail to be discerned in consequence of our being no longer able to trace out their association with the sources from which they were obtained. The alliances and the incidents that give these various Marks of Cadency, when it is possible to ascertain what they may have been, illustrate in a striking manner the motives by which the early Heralds were influenced when they differenced the Arms of Kinsmen.
| No. 346.— Beauchamp of Elmely. | No. 347.— Beauchamp at Carlaverock. |
| No. 348.— Beauchamp of Warwick. | No. 349.— Beauchamp of Bletshoe. |