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Symbolism > bars

bars

A bar is the diminutive of a fesse, which is a wide horizontal stripe in the center of a shield. The rules of heraldry strictly state that there cannot be more than one fess on a shield; so if two charges with this character occur they are called bars and a single bar is, naturally, narrower that a fess. Bars are said to be an appropriate device for one "who sets the bars of conscience, religion, and honor against angry passions and evil temptations." The diminutive of the bar is the barrulet, which is almost always born in a pair of two barrulets, placed close together, referred to as one bar gemel. Bars gemel were awarded for acts of particular bravery in times of war. And a field composed of an even number of bars between four and eight is described as ‘barry,’ with the exact number specified; with ten or more it is called ‘barruly.’

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