Escutcheon

Escutcheon (Fr. écusson, in contradistinction to écu, an ordinary shield), in Heraldry, the shield on which arms are painted; also a small representation of the knightly shield used as an armorial charge, and generally reckoned among the sub-ordinaries. The name inescutcheon in modern heraldry is used where there is more than one such charge. From the escutcheon as a charge must be distinguished the escutcheon en surtout, charged with some particular coat, and placed in the centre of a heraldic shield, which is much used in marshalling of arms in regal, continental, and Scottish heraldry. Such an escutcheon, placed with the arms of an heiress in the centre of her husband's coat, is known under the name of an escutcheon of pretence. The escutcheon of pretence used in this way is unknown out of Britain.