For the rockclimbing move, see Mantle (climbing)

Mantle (climbing)

To mantle or mantel in rock climbing is to perform a specific move, typically to get a climber up onto a ledge. The term is derived from the phrase mantel shelf and derives from the shelf above a fireplace. Imagine an old house with high cellings and an open fireplace with a shelf above it at...

In heraldry

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

, mantling or lambrequin is drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. It forms a backdrop for the shield. In paper heraldry it is a depiction of the protective cloth covering (often of linen

Linen

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....

) worn by knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

s from their helmet

Helmet

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...

s to stave off the elements, and, secondarily, to decrease the effects of sword-blows against the helmet in battle, from which it is usually shown tattered or cut to shreds; less often it is shown as an intact drape, principally in those cases where a clergyman uses a helmet and mantling (to symbolise that, despite the perhaps contradictory presence of the helmet, the clergyman has not been involved in combat), although this is usually the artist's discretion and done for decorative rather than symbolic reasons.

Generally, mantling is blazoned mantled x, doubled [lined] y; the cloth has two sides, one of a heraldic colour (the five principal colours being red, blue, green, black, or purple—there are other very rare colours as well) and the other of a heraldic metal (white or yellow). (See tincture (heraldry)

Tincture (heraldry)

In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...

 for more on these tinctures.) The mantling is usually in the main colours of the shield, or else in the livery

Livery

A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...

 colours that symbolize the entity bearing the arms, though there are exceptions, with occasional tinctures differing from these, or occasional examples in which the outside of the mantling is per pale of two colours.http://www.whitelionsociety.org.uk/WLS%20Armorial%20Ppt%20GIF/Slide%20158.gif or both the inside and outside are per pale,http://www.nemzetijelkepek.hu/onkormanyzat-ocsod_en.shtml and even rarer examples of other divisions, and there is a perhaps unique example in which the lining of the mantling is per pale of the two metals or of the entire mantling being of a single tincture. The mantling of the Black Loyalist Heritage Society is a unique example in which the mantling is of two furs (ermines, lined ermine

Ermine

Ermine has several uses:* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...

). The Coat of Arms of Canada

Coat of arms of Canada

The Arms of Canada is, since 1921, the official coat of arms of the Canadian monarch, and thus also of Canada...

 is mantled white and red, or argent doubled gules; furthermore, the current standard rendering of the Canadian arms has mantling in the shape of maple leaves

Maple leaf

The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree, and is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada.-Use in Canada:At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the settlements of New France had attained a population of about 18,000...

. The arms of sovereigns are a common exception. The arms of the United Kingdom

Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom

The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...

 and those of Emperor Akihito

Akihito

is the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In...

 of Japan are both or, lined ermine, such a mantling often being held to be limited to sovereigns.

In the early days of the development of the crest, before the torse

Torse

In heraldry, a torse or wreath is a twisted roll of fabric laid about the top of the helm and the base of the crest, from which the mantling hangs....

 (wreath), crest coronets and chapeau

Chapeau

-Mainland Europe:"Chapeau" is a French term signifying a hat or other covering for the head. In mainland European heraldry, it is used as a mark of ecclesiastical dignity, especially that of cardinals, which is called the red chapeau...

x were developed, the crest often "continued into the mantling" if this was feasible (the clothes worn by a demi- human figure, or the fur of the animal, for instance, allowing or encouraging this). It still holds true frequently in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

There are rare examples where the mantling is blazoned to complement the armiger's coat of arms, mimicking the ordinaries and charges on the escutcheon. When charges occur, they are usually displayed as a semy ,http://www.whitelionsociety.org.uk/WLS%20Armorial%20Ppt%20GIF/Slide%20149.gif.