Macle
Ermine a mascle sa betw. two voiders gu
A subordinary in the form of a perforated or voided lozenge, so that the field appears through the opening.
Arms of Emmanuel de Rohan de Polduc, 69th Grandmaster of the Order of Malta
The origins of the mascle is attributed by some writers to the meshes of a net to which the mascles bear a resemblance. It is also said that the Lords of Rohan were the first to bear mascles in their arms, and although descended from the ancient kings and princes of Brittany, they adopted this bearing because in the viscounty of Rohan, afterwards raised to a duchy, there was an abundance of small flints which, when cut in two, present the figure of the mascle within. The carp in that duchy, also have this distinguishing mark upon their scales. These two natural phenomena, being unique and peculiar to that area, were adopted as bearings in their arms, for posterity, and were given the name of macles, from the Latin macula, signifying a spot or blemish. From this in turn some of their descendants took their motto, Sine macula macla, a mascle without a spot.
Mascle-head, as a chevronel with the top fretted over, in the form of a mascle.
or seven mascles conjoined gu arranged 3,3,1
Mascles conjoined, are mascles, the points of which touch each other.
A bend mascle
The bend, fess and pale mascle, which is formed of a single row of mascles placed bendwise, fessways or palewise and should terminate with half mascles. Compare with bend mascled below
A bend mascled
When an ordinary is mascled, the outer form is not altered, but the whole surface formed into mascles.
See Subordinary
