Dexter and sinister
Dexter and sinister are terms used in
Significance
The dexter side is considered the side of greater
Sinister is used to indicate that an ordinary or other charge is turned to the heraldic left of the shield. A
This division is key to dimidiation, a method of joining two coats of arms by placing the dexter half of one coat of arms alongside the sinister half of the other. In the case of marriage, the dexter half of the husband's arms would be placed alongside the sinister half of the wife's. The practice fell out of use as early as the 14th century and was replaced by impalement. In some cases, it could render the arms that are cut in half unrecognizable[4] and in some cases, it would result in a shield that looked like one coat of arms rather than a combination of two.[citation needed]
The Great Seal of the United States features an eagle clutching an olive branch in its dexter talon and arrows in its sinister talon, indicating the nation's intended inclination to peace. In 1945, one of the changes ordered for the similarly arranged flag of the president of the United States by President Harry S. Truman was having the eagle face towards its right (dexter, the direction of honour) and thus towards the olive branch.[5][6]
Origin
The sides of a shield were originally named for the purpose of military training of knights and soldiers long before heraldry came into use early in the 13th century so the only viewpoint that was relevant was the bearer's. The front of the purely functional shield was originally undecorated.
It is likely that the use of the shield as a defensive and offensive weapon was almost as developed as that of the sword itself and so the various positions or strokes of the shield needed to be described to students of arms. Such usage may indeed have descended directly from Roman training techniques that were spread throughout Roman Europe and then continued during the age of chivalry when heraldry came into use.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Cawley, Kevin; Florin Neumann; Matt Neuberg; Lynn Nelson (2012). "Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid". University of Notre Dame Archives. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
- ^ Cawley, Kevin. "Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid". Latin Word Lookup. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- ISBN 0-906670-44-6.
- ISBN 0-19-211658-4.
- ^ Truman issued Executive Order 9646 on October 25, 1945.
- OCLC 4268298.
In the new Coat of Arms, Seal and Flag, the Eagle not only faces to its right — the direction of honor — but also toward the olive branches of peace which it holds in its right talon. Formerly the eagle faced toward the arrows in its left talon — arrows, symbolic of war.