View source for Cadency

'''Cadency marks''' (sometimes called '''brisures,''') were used on family [[arms]] throughout the late [[medieval]] [[period]] as a method of distinguishing the arms of a man from those of his sons, who were also entitiled to carry the family's arms.

Each regional [[heraldry]] had it's own method for determining cadency.  In English heraldry the system (although not mandatory) was often displayed as follows:
* for the first son, a [[label of three points]] (a horizontal strip with three tags hanging down)
* for the second son, a [[crescent]] (the points upward, as is conventional in heraldry)
* for the third son, a [[mullet]] (a five-pointed star)
* for the fourth son, a [[martlet]] (a kind of bird)
* for the fifth son, an [[annulet]] (a ring)
* for the sixth son, a [[fleur-de-lys]]
* for the seventh son, a [[rose]]
* for the eighth son, a [[cross moline]]
* for the ninth son, a double [[quatrefoil]]
Typically brisures were displayed as smaller than other [[charge]]s.

[[Scotland|Scottish]] heraldry used a very different system, often changing [[bordure]]s and [[tincture]] to accomodate changes.

More elaborate systems of cadency were in place for the various sons of sons, all the way down to the ninth son of a ninth son.  Daughters in [[England|English]] heraldry received no cadency marks, as there was no perceived need to distinguish their use of the family arms.

Interestingly, when the holder of the plain arms perished, a general reshuffling of cadency marks was supposed to occur, i.e. the first son inheriting the uncadenced arms, his eldest son inheriting the [[label of three points]], and so on.

== Cadency in the SCA ==
Despite the influence of English heraldry in the SCA, cadency marks are simply not recognized by the [[college of arms]], and any attempt to register a [[device]] with a cadency mark will likely be rejected as having an insufficient number of [[Point_of_difference|points of difference]].

The only exception to this is the use of a [[label of three points]] on the arms of a Kingdom to denote the [[Crown Prince]] and [[Crown Princess|Princess]].


[[category:device heraldry]]