Heraldic courtesy

For the grape Courtoisie, see Roussanne.

Arms of alliance; the husband's lion, which would normally face dexter, instead faces sinister toward the wife's shield

Arms of the dukes of Guelders and Jülich

Heraldic courtesy or courtoisie (French) is a practice typical of the heraldry of Germany (or more generally the former Holy Roman Empire), in which coats of arms are mirrored if necessary so that helms and animate charges, such as lions, face the center of a composition. This may be done in arms of alliance (displaying the two shields of a married couple), ^{[1] [2]} as in the first illustration here; or within a single shield, such as that of the dukes of Guelders and Jülich in which the gold lion of Guelders turns to face the black lion of Jülich.

It can also be done on the left-hand side of a page of illustrations (such as in an armorial)

Page from an armorial showing the left-hand shields on the page drawn facing to sinister. Note the top left shield which is facing to sinister as shown by the helm despite lacking animate charges.

See also

• Arms of alliance

References

1. Adolf Matthias Hildebrandt (Begr.): Handbuch der Heraldik, 19. Auflage, Neustadt an der Aisch, 1998, S. 153.
2. Peter, Bernhard. "Courtoisie und Wenden: Wann und wie?". Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 6 February 2013.