orle

Over time the shape of the heraldic shield has become most frequently represented as the rounded triangle known as a heater shape. So pleasing is this shape that it appears in its own right both as an escutcheon (the filled shape) and the orle, which is a broad outline of the shape. A Glossary of Terms used in British Heraldry, J.H. Parker, Oxford, 1894, Entry:Orle. A larger number of small charges may also be described as in orle when they are arranged to mimic the shape of the shield outline. A Complete Guide to Heraldry, A.C. Fox-Davies, Bonanza (re-print of 1909 Edition), New York, 1978, P141