The Manual of Heraldry Part 21

MARQUIS. The second order of n.o.bility in England, next in rank to a duke.

MARSHAL. A t.i.tle of honour. See EARL MARSHAL.

TO MARSHAL. To place persons in due order, according to their precedency, in public processions, such as coronations, proclamations of peace or war, funerals, &c.

MARSHALLING ARMS. The disposing of several coats of arms belonging to distinct families in the same escutcheon, together with their ornaments, parts, and appurtenances.

MARTLET. An imaginary bird said to be without legs; it is used both as a charge and a difference.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Martlet]

EX. Argent, a martlet, gules.

MASCLE. An open lozenge-shaped figure, one of the subordinate ordinaries.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Mascle]

EX. Argent, a mascle, vert.

MEMBERED. A term used to express the beak and legs of a bird when they are of a different tincture from its body.

MERCURY. The name of the planet, used by ancient heralds to describe purple in blazoning the arms of sovereigns.

METAL. The two metals used in Heraldry are gold and silver, called or and argent. It is against the rules of Heraldry to place metal upon metal, or colour upon colour, unless for special reasons. Therefore, if the field be of any colour, the bearing must be of one of the metals, and on the contrary, if the field be of one of the metals, the bearing must be of some colour.

MILLRIND. The iron placed in the centre of a grindstone to protect the hole in the centre from the action of the axis; it is a charge frequently borne on escutcheons of persons connected with agriculture.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Millrind]

EX. Argent, a millrind, gules.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MITRE.]

MITRE. A sacerdotal ornament for the head, worn by Roman Catholic archbishops and bishops on solemn occasions. Certain English abbots formerly wore mitres, and they are frequently found as charges in the arms of abbeys and monasteries. The annexed is a representation of the mitre of the archbishops and bishops of the church of England, borne as a mark of distinction over the arms of the see, or over their paternal achievements, when impaled with the arms of their see. The prelates of the Protestant Church of England never wear mitres.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MITRE.]

The Bishops of Durham were formerly princes of the Palatinate of Durham, and wore a ducal coronet surmounted by a mitre. They still retain the coronet and mitre as an heraldic distinction, borne over the arms of the bishopric.

MORION. A steel cap or helmet formerly worn by foot soldiers below the rank of gentlemen.

MOTTO. A word or short sentence inserted in a scroll, which is generally placed beneath the escutcheon; in some instances it is placed above the crest. The motto frequently alludes to the name of the bearer of the arms, as the motto of the Right Honourable Lord Fortescue--FORTE SCUTUM SALUS DUc.u.m, a strong shield is the safety of commanders. Sometimes the motto is the watchword or war-cry in the battle where the original bearer won the honours that are retained by his descendants. Generally the motto is founded upon the piety, loyalty, valour, fort.i.tude, &c. of the persons to whom arms were granted.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MOUND.]

MOUND. A globe encircled with a band and surmounted with a cross; it is an ensign of royalty, signifying dominion.

MULLET. From the French word _molette_, the rowel of a spur: it is generally drawn with five points, as in the annexed example: when more points are used they are named.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Mullet]

EX. Azure, a mullet or.

MURAILE. A French term for walled.

MURREY. A word used by ancient armorists instead of sanguine.

NAIANT. A French term for swimming. This term is used in Heraldry when a fish is drawn in an horizontal position.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Naiant]

EX. Argent, a salmon proper, naiant, its head towards the sinister side of the shield.

NAISSANT. A French word signifying coming out. It is used when a lion or any other animal appears to be rising out of the centre of an ordinary.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Naissant]

EX. Or, from the midst of a fess, gules, a lion rampant naissant.

NEBULe, or NEBULY. A French word, signifying cloudy, represented by a curved line, thus--

[Ill.u.s.tration: NEBULe, or NEBULY.]

n.o.bILITY. Under this denomination are comprehended--dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons only. Archbishops and bishops are included in the rank of clergy.

NOMBRIL POINT. That part of the shield below the fess point. See page 6. letter F. [CHAP. II.]

NORROY. The name of one of the Kings-at-Arms. See King-at-Arms.

NOWED. This word signifies tied or knotted, and is applied to serpents, wiverns, or any animals whose tails are twisted and enfolded like a knot.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EX. Argent, a serpent nowed proper.]

OGRESSES. Black roundlets.

OR. The French word for gold. This tincture is denoted in engraving by small points.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EX. Or, a bend gules.]

ORANGES. Roundlets tinctured tenne.

ORDINARY. A term used to denote the simple forms which were first used as heraldic distinctions, and therefore called honourable ordinaries, as conferring more honour than later inventions. They are the chief, pale, bend, bend sinister, fess, bar, chevron, cross, and cross saltier. There are thirteen subordinate ordinaries. The form, size, and place that the honourable and subordinate ordinaries occupy in an achievement are all described in the Manual, and in this Dictionary under their different names.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ORLE.]

ORLE. A subordinate ordinary composed of double lines going round the shield at some distance from its edge; it is half the width of the bordure.

OVER ALL. This expression describes a figure borne over another and obscuring part of it.