In [[heraldry]], an '''escutcheon''' ({{IPAc-en|ᵻ|ˈ|s|k|ʌ|tʃ|ən}}) is a [[shield]] that forms the main or focal element in an [[Achievement (heraldry)|achievement of arms]]. The word iscan be used in two related senses. FirstIn the first sense, asan escutcheon is the shield onupon which a [[coat of arms]] is displayed;. In the second sense, aan shieldescutcheon can itself be a [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] within a coat of arms.

Escutcheon shapes are derived from actual shields that were used by [[knight]]s in combat, and thus are varied and developed by region and by era. AsSince thisshields shape hashave been regarded as amilitary war-like deviceequipment appropriate tofor men only, British ladies customarily bear their arms upon a [[Lozenge (heraldry)|lozenge]], or diamond-shape, while clergymen and ladies in continental Europe bear theirstheir onarms upon a [[Cartouche (design)|cartouche]], or oval. Other shapes are also in use, such as the [[roundel (heraldry)|roundel]] commonly used for arms granted to [[Aboriginal Canadians]] by the [[Canadian Heraldic Authority]], or the [[Nguni shield]] used in [[Coats of arms and emblems of Africa|African heraldry]] (likewise, [[Christianity|Christian]] organisations and [[Freemasonry|Masonic]] bodies tend to use the same shape, also known as a [[vesica piscis]]).

ThoughAlthough itan escutcheon can be used as a charge on its own, the most common use of an escutcheon charge is to display another coat of arms as a form of [[Heraldry#Marshalling|marshalling]]. TheseSuch escutcheonsescutcheon charges are usually given the same shape as the main shield. When there is only one suchescutcheon shieldcharge, it is sometimes called an ''[[inescutcheon'']].

The word ''escutcheon'' (late 15th century) is based on Old North French ''escuchon'' "('shield"').{{efn|text=ultimatelyUltimately from [[Vulgar Latin]] ''scūtiōn-'', [[Latin]] ''scūtum'', "'shield"'.<ref>{{Cite web

[[File:William II Longespée.jpg|thumb|upright|Effigy of [[William II Longespée the Younger]] (d.1250) in [[Salisbury Cathedral]], showing an early triangular [[heater shield]], the shape used as the "canvas" for the display of arms during the classical age of heraldry]]

File:CoA sample 260x300.svg|"Square Iberian" or ''Iberian'' style (square top, rounded base), 15th century<ref>[http://bilderserver.at/wappenbuecher/TirolerHandschriftOSPv2_52z2/ ''Codex Figdor''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021013453/http://bilderserver.at/wappenbuecher/TirolerHandschriftOSPv2_52z2/ |date=21 October 2018 }}, Tiroler Landesarchiv, Innsbruck (c. 1400).</ref>

File:CoA modFrench2 260x300.svg|"French" style, 17th century{{efn|text=Used in the ''Armorial général de France'' (1696).<ref>{{cite book |title=Armorial général, ou Registres de la noblesse de France |url=https://archive.org/details/armorialgnralou03hozi/page/406 |last= d'Hozier |first=Louis Pierre |orig-year=1696 |year=1865 |location= Paris |publisher=Firmin Didot |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The "French" shape of the base is found earlier, in French and English heraldry, from c. {{circa|1600}} ("Stuart" type).}}

[[File:Coat of Arms of CatherineKate Middleton.svg|thumb|150px|[[Pippa Middleton]]'s coat of arms (granted 2011), based on those of her father. This lozenge shaped version, supported by a blue ribbon, denotes an unmarried woman.<ref name="Coat of arms1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13127145 |title=Royal wedding: Kate Middleton coat of arms unveiled |work=BBC News |access-date=19 April 2011 |date=19 April 2011 |archive-date=19 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419145449/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13127145 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Coat of arms2">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/apr/19/kate-middleton-coat-of-arms |title=Kate Middleton family gets coat of arms |work=The Guardian |location=UK |access-date=19 April 2011 |first=Stephen |last=Bates |date=19 April 2011 |archive-date=12 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212100952/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/apr/19/kate-middleton-coat-of-arms |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

[[File:Coats of arms at Cardinal's Wharf, Bankside, Southwark - panoramio.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Male (shield-shaped) and female (lozenge-shaped) coats of arms in relief in [[Southwark]], [[London]].]]

In [[English heraldry]], the lozenge has been used by women since the 13th century{{sfnp|Grazebrook|1890|p=[https://archive.org/details/datesofvariously00graz/page/20 20]}} for the display of their coats of arms instead of the escutcheon or shield, which are associated with warfare. In this case the lozenge is shown without [[crest (heraldry)|crest]] or [[Helmet#Heraldry (heraldry)|helm]]. For the practical purpose of categorisation the lozenge may be treated as a variety of heraldic escutcheon.

Traditionally, very limited categories of femaleswomen would have been able to display their own arms, for example a female monarch—who uses an escutcheon as a military commander, not a lozenge—and ''[[suo jure]]'' [[peerage|peeresses]], who may display their own arms alone on a lozenge even if married.{{sfnp|The Arms of Women|2002|loc=paragraph 10}}

In general a femalewoman was represented by her paternal arms [[Impalement (heraldry)|impaled]] by the arms of her husband on an escutcheon as a form of [[Heraldry#Marshalling|marshalling]].

As a result of rulings of the English [[King of Arms|Kings of Arms]] dated 7 April 1995 and 6 November 1997,<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.theheraldrysociety.com/articles/the-arms-of-women-a-decree/ |title=The Arms of Women, a Decree |author1=Garter King of Arms |author2=Clarenceux King of Arms |author3=Norroy and Ulster King of Arms |date=Autumn 2002 |magazine=Coat of Arms |number=199 |ref={{harvid|The Arms of Women|2002}} |publisher=The Heraldry Society |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415003138/https://www.theheraldrysociety.com/articles/the-arms-of-women-a-decree/ |archive-date= Apr 15, 2024 }}</ref> married women in England, Northern Ireland and Wales and in other countries recognising the jurisdiction of the [[College of Arms]] in London (such as New Zealand) also have the option of using their husband's arms alone, marked with a small lozenge as a [[Difference (heraldry)|difference]] to show that the arms are displayed for the wife and not the husband;{{sfnp|The Arms of Women|2002|loc=paragraph 6}} or of using their own personal arms alone, marked with a small shield as a [[Cadency|brisure]] for the same reason.{{sfnp|The Arms of Women|2002|loc=paragraph 3}}

Widowed women normally display a lozenge-shaped shield impaled, unless they are heraldic heiresses, in which case they display a lozenge-shaped shield with the unaltered [[escutcheon of pretence]] in the centre.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fearn |first=Jacqueline|title=Discovering Heraldry|year=1980|publisher=Shire|page=61}}</ref> Women in same-sex marriages may use a shield or banner to combine arms, but can use only a lozenge or banner when one of the spouses dies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/resources/same-sex-marriages |date=29 March 2014 |author1=Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms |author2=Patric Dickinson, Clarenceux King of Arms |author3=H Bedingfeld, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms |title=The Arms of Individuals in Same-Sex Marriages |website=college-of-arms.gov.uk |access-date=31 July 2019 |archive-date=9 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709230551/https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/resources/same-sex-marriages |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{citation needed section |date=September 2019}}

[[File:Armoiries_république_française.svg|thumb|150pxupright|left|[[Pelta]] escutcheon as used in the [[Nationaldiplomatic emblem of France]].]]

The current republican [[Nationaldiplomatic emblem of France|emblem of France]] incorporates the ''[[pelta'']] escutcheon, a wide form of shield (or [[gorget]]) with a small animal head pointing inward at each end.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

A form of pelta appears as a decoration above the head of every official on the [[Austerlitz campaign|Austerlitz]] table, commissioned by [[Napoleon]] for propaganda purposes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/the-austerlitz-or-marechaux-table/|title = The Austerlitz or 'Maréchaux' Table|access-date=27 January 2021|archive-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204111253/https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/the-austerlitz-or-marechaux-table/|url-status=live}}</ref>