Editing Cadency (section)

=== England ===

The English system of cadency allows [[nuclear family]] members to personally use the arms of the head of that family 'by courtesy'. This involves the addition of a ''[[brisure]]'', or mark of difference to the original coat of arms. The brisure identifies the bearer's family relationship to the actual bearer of the arms. Although there is some debate over how strictly the system should be followed, the accepted system is shown below:
{|class="wikitable" style="width:90%;text-align:center;"
|-
!
!First son
!Second son
!Third son
!Fourth son
!Fifth son
!Sixth son
!Seventh son
!Eighth son
!Ninth son
|- style="text-align:center"
|rowspan="2" align="center"|'''family member'''
| [[File:Label of three points First son.svg|60x60px]]
| [[File:Crescent Second son.svg|60x60px]]
| [[File:Mullet Third son.svg|60x60px]]
| [[File:Martlet Fourth son.svg|60x60px]]
| [[File:Annulet Fifth son.svg|60x60px]]
| [[File:Fleur-de-lys Sixth son.svg|60x60px]]
| [[File:Rose Seventh son.svg|60x60px]]
| [[File:Cross moline Eighth son.svg|60x60px]]
| [[File:Double quatrefoil Ninth son.svg|60x60px]]
|-
| [[label (heraldry)|label]] of three points
| [[crescent]]
| [[mullet (heraldry)|mullet]]
| [[martlet]]
| [[annulet (ring)|annulet]]
| [[fleur-de-lys]]
| [[Rose (heraldry)|rose]]
| [[cross moline]]
| double [[quatrefoil]]{{efn|also known as an octofoil<ref name="RHSC-Cadency">{{Cite web|url=http://education.heraldry.ca/course_canadian.htm|publisher=Royal Heraldry Society of Canada|title=Heraldry Examination|access-date=30 August 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827052217/http://education.heraldry.ca/course_canadian.htm|archive-date=27 August 2009}}</ref>}}

|}
{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| width     = 150
| image1    = Arms of Byng, Earl of Strafford.svg
| width1    = 150px
| image2    = Arms of Byng, Viscount Byng of Vimy.svg
| width2    = 150px
| footer    = Arms of the [[Earl of Strafford]] from the Byng family (on the left) and of the [[Viscount Byng of Vimy]] (on the right), incorporating a ''crescent'', the mark of cadency for the second son.
}}
{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| width     = 150
| image1    = Russell arms (Earl Russell).svg
| width1    = 150px
| image2    = Russell arms (Baron Ampthill).svg
| width2    = 150px
| footer    =The arms of the first [[Earl Russell]], who was the third son of the sixth [[Duke of Bedford]], were given a ''mullet argent'' over the central escallop to differentiate them from his paternal arms. The arms of the first [[Baron Ampthill]], who was third son of the ninth Duke of Bedford, were also marked with a mullet for difference, but in a different tincture.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fox-Davies|first1=Arthur Charles|title=A Complete Guide to Heraldry – Illustrated by Nine Plates and Nearly 800 Other Designs|date=16 April 2013|publisher=Read Books Ltd|isbn=9781446549032|page=531|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DmV8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT531|access-date=11 October 2017|language=en}}</ref>
}}
{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| width     = 150
| image1    = Lyttelton arms.svg
| width1    = 150px
| image2    = Lyttelton arms (Viscount Chandos).svg
| width2    = 150px
| footer    = Arms of the [[Viscount Cobham]] from the [[Lyttelton family]] (on the left) and of the [[Viscount Chandos]] (on the right), incorporating a ''cross moline'', the mark of cadency for the eighth son.
}}
{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| width     = 150
| image1    = Arms of Edward Howard-Gibbon.svg
| width1    = 150px
| image2    = Arms of Wyndham, Baron Leconfield and Egremont.svg
| width2    = 150px
| footer    = Arms of [[Edward Howard-Gibbon]] and [[George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield]], incorporating a ''bordure wavy'', the mark of an illegitimate child.
}}
Daughters have no special brisures, and normally use their father's arms on a [[Lozenge (heraldry)|lozenge]], which includes any marks of cadency their father may use. This is because English heraldry has no requirement that women's arms be unique. Upon marriage, they [[impalement (heraldry)|impale]] their father's arms to the [[Dexter and sinister|sinister]] with those of their husband to the [[Dexter and sinister|dexter]]. However, if the woman happens to be a [[heraldic heiress]], her father's arms are borne on an [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|inescutcheon]] on her husband's arms.

In England, arms are generally the property of their owner from birth, subject to the use of the appropriate mark of cadency. Therefore, it is not necessary to wait for the death of the previous generation before arms are inherited.

The eldest son of an eldest son uses a [[label (heraldry)|label]] of five points. Other grandchildren combine the brisure of their father with the relevant brisure of their own. This could lead to confusion, as both an uncle and nephew could have the same cadency mark. In a short number of generations, the accumulation of cadency marks—to show, for example, the fifth son of a third son of a second son—could lead to added complexity. In practice, cadency marks are not much used in England, and even when they are, it is rare to see more than one or two on a coat of arms.

At times, arms with a cadency mark may be used on a hereditary basis. For instance, the arms of the [[Earl Russell|Earls Russell]] are those of the [[Duke of Bedford]] differenced by a mullet, as the [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|1st Earl]] was the third son of the [[John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford|6th Duke]].

Although most heraldic texts follow on the English system of cadency set out above, most heraldic examples (whether on old bookplates, church monuments, silver and the like) ignore cadency marks altogether. [[Oswald Barron]] noted:

{{quote|Now and again we see a second son obeying the book-rules and putting a crescent in his shield or a third son displaying a molet, but long before our own times the practice was disregarded, and the most remote kinsman of a gentle house displayed the "whole coat" of the head of his family.<ref>Oswald Barron, s.v. "Heraldry", ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1911</ref>}}

Nor have cadency marks usually been insisted upon by the [[College of Arms]], the heraldic authority for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. For example, a statement on their website refers to the optional nature of cadency marks:

{{quote|The arms of a man pass equally to all his legitimate children, irrespective of their order of birth.

Cadency marks may be used to identify the arms of brothers, in a system said to have been invented by [[John Writhe]], [[Garter Principal King of Arms|Garter]], in about 1500. Small symbols are painted on the shield, usually in a contrasting tincture at the top.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/resources/the-law-of-arms|title=The Descent of Arms |website=www.college-of-arms.gov.uk|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>}}

In correspondence published in the [[The Heraldry Society|Heraldry Society]]'s newsletter, [[Garter King of Arms]] [[Peter Gwynn-Jones]] firmly rejected a suggestion that cadency marks should be strictly enforced.  He said:

{{quote|I have never favoured the system of cadency unless there is a need to mark out distinct branches of a particular family.  To use cadency marks for each and every generation is something of a nonsense as it results in a pile of indecipherable marks set one above the other.  I therefore adhere to the view that they should be used sparingly.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Correspondence |magazine=The Heraldry Gazette |date=December 2007 |number=New Series 106 |pages=8–9}}</ref>}}

In a second letter published at the same time, he wrote:

{{quote|Unfortunately, compulsion is not the way ahead for twenty-first century heraldry.  However, official recognition and certification of any Armorial Bearings can only be effected when the person in whose favour the Arms are being recognized or certified appears in the appropriate book of record at the College of Arms.  I believe it right in England and Wales for a branch to use cadency marks sparingly and only if they wish to do so.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Correspondence  |magazine=The Heraldry Gazette |date=December 2007 |number=New Series 106 |page= 9}}</ref>}}

==== Adopted children ====
[[Clarenceux King of Arms]] [[John Brooke-Little]] wrote that "[[Adoption|adopted]] children may be granted the arms of their adoptive father, but a Royal License must be sought, and the arms, when granted, are differences by the addition of two links of a chain interlaced, either fesswise or palewise..."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brooke-Little |first=J. P. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41294384 |title=An heraldic alphabet |date=1996 |publisher=Robson Books|isbn=1-86105-077-1 |edition=New and rev. |location=London |pages=31 |language=en |oclc=41294384}}</ref>