Line (heraldry)

The lines in heraldry used to divide and vary fields and charges are by default straight, but may have many different shapes. Care must be taken to distinguish these types of lines from the use of lines as charges, and to distinguish these shapes from actual charges, such as "a mount [or triple mount] in base," or, particularly in German heraldry, different kinds of embattled from castle walls.

In Scotland, varied lines of partition are often used to modify a bordure (or sometimes another ordinary) to difference the arms of a cadet from the chief of the house.

An ordinary indented is bounded by small zigzags like a triangle wave or the teeth of a saw, with peaks on one side matching peaks on the other. An ordinary dancetty is similar, but with peaks matching troughs, so that the width is constant; it also typically has fewer points than indented. In early armory these were not distinguished. In the arms of the 55th Electronic Combat Group of the United States Air Force the indented is "edged wider on the back angle (sinister) than on the face (dexter) of each angle".

Dentilly is a modern invention, similar to indented, but with one of the sides of the points perpendicular and the other angled, as in a sawtooth wave.^{[citation needed]}

Rayonné (also rayonne, rayonny; from French rayonner) may be considered a variant of indented, but with wavy instead of straight lines, as in the conventional representation of rays of the sun. Rayonne palewise appears in the arms of the 172d Support Battalion of the United States Army. A chief enarched rayonné on a gold field appears in the arms of Sechelt, British Columbia, forming the appearance of a sun.

The arms of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals contain an example of indented acute, a form of indented with higher peaks.

The number of peaks in indented is almost never specified, but an exception is the arms of Arthur D. Stairs: Per bend sinister indented of six steps Gules and Sable, and Westville, Natal, South Africa bears Sable, issuant from behind a fence of spears in base Argent, a fig tree in leaf Or; on a chief indented of four points to base, also Or, three lion's faces Sable.^{[citation needed]}

In South Africa there are a number of examples of dancetty inverted. While the number of peaks in dancetty are three unless otherwise specified, the arms of Wagland show dancetty of two points and the arms of Baz Manning show a chief "dancetty of two full points upwards". The arms of the Matroosberg Transitional Representative Council in South Africa give an example of dancetty… in the shape of a letter W. The arms of the French department of Côtes d'Armor show émanché, which would be equivalent to the English per fess dancetty of two full points upwards. The arms of Baron Griffiths of Fforestfach are Paly of four Vert and Argent per fess enhanced indented of two points upwards each point double barbed throughout issuing in base a pile double barbed throughout all counterchanged. The arms of Alaric John Martin Woodrow show an example of barry dancetty each point double barbed, used to represent a line of fir trees as a play on the surname. The arms of the Free State in South Africa show "a chief dancetty, the peaks terminating in merlons", and so might be called a combination of dancetty and embattled; a similar hybrid can be seen in the arms of the Agricultural Gymnasium. Hoerskool Hangklip provide an example of dancetty with points flattened, and Blouberg of dancetty the peaks couped. It is difficult to know whether to characterise the "wall-like extremity with five merlons and four embrasures" in the arms of the Kurgan Oblast in Russia as a divided field or a charge.[1]