Originally Posted by
MacMillan of Rathdown
Since the blazon is the legal description of the arms, the positioning of all charges must be clearly stated to avoid any possibility of confusion. Hence the use of the terms "in chief" or "in base" when describing charges placed above or below the center point of the shield, in the same way that dexter and sinister are used to describe charges placed to the right or left of the center point.
Although many consider him to be taken far too seriously, I have generally followed the advice of Fox-Davies: "The position of the charges need not be specified when they would naturally fall into a certain position with regard to the ordinaries," in this case, the fess. I also like the old rule concerning blazons using as few words as possible to get the description across. I find there is a certain elegance in brevity. No matter... 
Last edited by FatherWilliam57; 28th June 12 at 07:29 PM.
The Rev. William B. Henry, Jr.
"With Your Shield or On It!"
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