Escutcheon

“ESCUTCHEON. This word is sometimes used to express the whole coat of arms, sometimes only the field upon which the arms are painted. It more generally denotes the painted shields used at funerals. The field, if the husband is dead and wife survives, is black on the dexter side only; if the wife is deceased, it is black on the sinister side; if both, it is black all over. The example shows that this is the escutcheon of a deceased baron, whose lady survives.” -Hall, 1862

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