Recercele

Recercelé

Recercelé: a term which seems to have been inconsistently used by later writers from not understanding its original meaning. It occurs in ancient blazon, as will be seen, applied only to the cross and the bordure. In its application to the cross the early instances have already been given under Cross, §32, and it will be found also referred to under §6 and §24.

In the Roll of Henry III.'s reign, in College of Arms(from which most of the examples with that date quoted in the present work have been taken) the word does not occur at all. In a somewhat later roll, but still ascribed to Henry III.'s reign(viz. that of which a transcript is preserved in Harl. MS. 6589 and by Leland) two examples of the term occur, and both applied to the cross(see §32). In the roll ascribed to Edward II.'s reign three examples occur of the term applied to the cross; two with the word voided added, and one without(see also §32). When we come to the roll, temp. Edward III. there are some four or five examples of a cross recercelée(see §32), and we find recercelé also for the first time applied to the bordure, and as will be seen, in the same arms in which the bordure in the previous reign had been blazoned as indented: possibly recercilé was used in these later instances to signify engrailed, with reference to the half circles which form that line of partition. In the following examples the varieties of the spelling in the roll have been adopted.

Monsire de ECHINGHAM, port d'asur, fret d'argent, a une border recersele d'or--Roll, temp. ED. III. [od la bordure endente de or--Roll, temp. ED. II.]

Monsire TALBOT, de gules, une lyon rampant d'or, une border recercele d'or--Ibid. [od la bordure endente de or--Roll, temp. ED. II.]

Monsire de GLOUCESTRE, argent, a trois lyonceux rampant gules, a une border cersele d'asure--Ibid. [od la bordure endente de azure--Roll, temp. ED. II.]

Monsire William RIDELL, port de gules, a une lyon rampant d'argent a une border cersele d'argent--Ibid. [od la bordure endente de argent--Roll, temp. ED. II.]

Monsire de TETFORD, quarterly, d'argent et gules, a une border sercele sable--Roll, temp. ED. III.

Monsire Thomas WAKE de Blisworth, d'argent, a deux barres, et trois roundels de gules, a une border recersele de sable--Ibid.

Monsire Bartholomew de FANACOURT, port sable, a une crois patey d'argent, une border d'or recercele--Ibid.

Monsire Thomas de GREY, port de gules a une lyon rampant d'argent, a une border cersele d'or--Ibid.

[In the same roll also bordures are borne "recersele" by Walter de PERCENAY, William de PERCY, Rafe de LASCELES, Monsire de TETFORD, John de BAVENT, Monsire de ECHINGHAM, and Monsire BILKEMORE.]

With respect to its application to the Cross, perhaps enough has been said to shew that the probabilities are it was a figure similar to, if not identical with, the cross moline, or the fer-de-moulin, but with the extremities perhaps more bent round, as shew in the illustration of the banner of Bishop BECK of Durham, from the Carlaverock roll under Cross, §24, and again from the brass where a dimidiated coat of the BEKE family is impaled with the arms of HARCOURT, q.v., under Marshalling. It may, however, be further added to this evidence that in Nicolas Charles' transcript of the Roll, from which the above are taken, (the original of which must be attributed to Edward III.'s reign,) one of the headings is "Les Croisées Sercelées et Fer-de-mollyns." One figure at the side serves for both the terms thus employed, and it is drawn similarly to the Cross anchory given ante, under Cross moline, §24.

English heraldic writers seem, however, to have mode two words, recercele and sarcelly, and have implied that they are of different origin and meaning; but there is no agreement as to what those meanings were. The French heralds seem equally at fault. M.Bachelin-Deflorenne, in his "Science des Armoiries" (1880), gives under his list of terms as applied to the cross both recerselé and resarcelée, as two different words; in his glossary he gives only one, spelt resercelé, which he defines thus:--

Terme de blason. Se dit des croix, bandes, fasces, etc., chargées d'un filet qui forme également fasce, bende, ou croix et dont l'émail est particulier.

In M. de Grandmaison's "Dictionaire Héraldique, 1861," the two terms are defined this:--

Recercelée. De la croix ancrée tournée en cerceaux, et de la queue des cochons et liévres.

Resercelée. Des croix qui en ont une autre conduite en filet d'autre email.

What is meant by these descriptions seems to be that while a cross with its ends turned over, or a tail of an animal twisted, might be blazoned recercelée, a cross charged with a filet of the same form being of another tincture would be blazoned resercelée.

As has been pointed out, the probabilities are that the term was derived from the metal-work on the shield added partly for strength and partly for ornament(in the same way as the escarboucle). Applied to a bordure this would, if voided is understood, mean thin bars of iron strengthening the shield, and if not so one thick bar, with the edges engrailed or possibly invected. But the word at this time had not become technical, or received any definite signification. It has been pointed out that is some of the examples given from the roll of Edward III.'s reign, in which a border recersele is used, the bearer's ancestor bore the same indented, but in the earlier blazon probably little distinction would be made between indented, engrailed, or invected. It will be noted also from the same series that the terms recercele, cersele, and sercele seem to be used indiscriminately.

The term is also found applied to the saltire in later times.

Argent, a saltire gules recerselly engrailed azure; a canton chequy erminois and of the last--GREGSON, co. Durham.