Roundel (heraldry)

In some languages, the heraldic roundel has a unique name specific to its tincture, based on the Old French tradition. This is still observed in English-language heraldry, which adopted terms from Old French for specific round items. Thus, while a gold roundel may be blazoned by its tincture, e.g., a roundel or, it is more often described as a bezant, from the Old French term besant for a gold coin, which itself is named for the Byzantine Empire. In modern French-language blazonry, a roundel of any metal (Or or Argent) is a besant (being specified as a "besant d'or" or a "besant d'argent"), and a roundel of any colour is a tourteau (for instance, a blue roundel is a "tourteau d'azur"). However, an alternate naming system is occasionally used, with similar terms as English heraldry (plate for argent, heurte for azure (fr:azur), ogress for sable, pomme for vert (fr:sinople), guse for gules (fr:gueules), and gulpe for purpure (fr:pourpre)). Archaic names for roundels based on the French tradition are sometimes found in other languages, such as Spanish (see ) and Portuguese (see ) In German blazonry, the general word for a roundel is ("ball"); a roundel of silver can also be called , and a roundel of gold . == Special roundels ==

Fountain One special example of a named roundel is the fountain, depicted as a roundel barry wavy argent and azure, that is, containing alternating horizontal wavy bands of blue and silver (or white). Because the fountain consists equally of parts in a light and a dark tincture, its use is not limited by the rule of tincture as are the other roundels. The traditional fountain in heraldry was a barry wavy of six, that is, with six alternating wavy rows of white and blue. One of the most well-known and ancient uses of the fountain is in the arms of the Stourton family. Three fountains appear on the arms of County Leitrim, Ireland. == Semy ==

In their earliest uses, roundels were often strewn or sown as seeds (Latin: semen, -inis, a seed) upon the field of a coat of arms, blazoned as semée/semy, an arrangement with numerous varieties. For example, a field semy of plates (i.e. roundels argent) could be blazoned platy; a field semy of pellets (i.e. roundels sable) could be blazoned pellety. The precise number and placement of the roundels in such cases were usually left to the discretion of the artist. == See also ==