quarter

heraldry

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July 16, 2026

Quick Summary

In heraldry, a quarter refers to one of the divisions of a shield, typically divided into four sections. These sections, or quarters, can display different coats of arms, a practice known as quartering. This arrangement is often used to represent a person's lineage, combining the arms of their father and mother.12

A grand quarter is a more complex division, where a heraldic quarter is itself quartered. This can lead to intricate displays with numerous quarters, sometimes representing many generations of ancestral arms. Heraldry is the art and science of creating and displaying hereditary symbols, which originated as identification marks on shields and flags in the 12th century.324

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heraldry
Ordinaries
The quarter occupies one-fourth of the shield; the canton, smaller than the quarter, is one-third of the chief. Checky, or chequy, describes the field or charge divided into squares of two tinctures, like a checkerboard. Billets are oblong figures. If their number exceeds 10 and they…
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The quarter occupies one-fourth of the shield; the canton, smaller than the quarter, is one-third of the chief. Checky, or chequy, describes the field or charge divided into squares of two tinctures, like a checkerboard. Billets are oblong figures. If their number exceeds 10 and they…
Read More