burling iron

It is important that a coat of arms be easily recognised and so everyday objects were frequently used as clearly identifiable charges – tools Boutell’s Heraldry, J.P. Brooke-Little, Warne, (revised Edition) London 1970, P 69 being a common and important example of these, of which the burling iron is typical. Some of these tools are rather obscure to modern eyes, who of us nowadays would recognise a hemp-break A Glossary of Terms used in British Heraldry, J.H. Parker, Oxford, 1847, P163, let alone know what to use it for! Who now for example, nows that the burling iron is actually a tool used in weaving, and hence probably references that trade within the family in question.