Main character and minor character (heraldry)

An anvil surrounded by four bells ( Nurmo coat of arms )

As a main character in which is Heraldry the larger figure of a plurality of crest figures in the escutcheon respectively. As a rule, it should be arranged in the middle of the field and also be the most important. The smaller heraldic figures surrounding them are called secondary characters .

In the description , the main character is first described before the secondary characters. If there are several fields in the coat of arms, as is the case, for example, with combined coats of arms, the determination can be made for each field. Since there are also other rules for the order of the description, such as "top before bottom", "middle before outside", it cannot be concluded with certainty from the order that the first-named figure is the main figure, just as little as that with the more prominent figure Place is the main character.

The main character can communicate with other minor characters sprinkled , occupied or sullied be, or generally beseitet or accompanied : In a one-sided position (left or right) (beseitet) of the minor characters the protagonist, the page must the situation be reported. Accompanied above is called excessive, otherwise one also reports above or below. The elevated space is for particularly emphasized secondary characters.

It can also be held in the hands or paws of heraldic animals and people, or applied in some other way: German heraldry does not have a common expression for this, a word that is generally understood.

Blazon examples

	Kingdom of Denmark : In gold, three striding lions accompanied by nine red hearts - the field was originally unspecifically heart-strewn , the number has been fixed since 1819, whereby, according to custom, three hearts each accompany a lion, i.e. are explicit secondary characters
	Vöcklamarkt : A silver wave pole , accompanied on both sides by a tower - the main character is the pole, here the blazon also wants to emphasize the message of the coat of arms: a city on both sides of the river (the Vökla). Lech am Arlberg : A silver wave bar splits blue from red. In front a sun , in the back a fir tree - here the two figures of the side fields are equally ranked in a similar picture
	Commentry : An anvil, a mallet and iron above it, a miner's lamp above it - the blazon emphasizes the anvil by primarily naming it Langensendelbach : crossed key and sword, above a flower, below a growing abbot's staff - but here the central figure is the main figure
	Hohentauern : ... a forearm protruding from the lower right edge of the shield, holding a knife with a blade, the point of which protrudes into the middle part of the three-piece mountain, the blade is accompanied by two spruce cones. - because the tenons here expressly accompany the blade, they “inherit” its position of protruding into the three-mountain; because they are two, the symmetrical arrangement is natural (but more precisely: one on each side , see above Vöcklamarkt)

See also

• Fill image

proof

• Gert Oswald : Lexicon of Heraldry. VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1984, p. OA
• Walter Leonhard: The great book of heraldic art. Development, elements, motifs, design. License issue. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 2001, ISBN 3-8289-0768-7 , p. OA