Bar (heraldry)

In heraldry, a bar is an ordinary consisting of a horizontal band across the shield. If only one bar appears across the middle of the shield, it is termed a "fess"; if two or more appear, they can only be called bars. Calling the bar a diminutive of the fess is inaccurate, however, because two bars may each be no smaller than a fess. Like the fess, bars too may bear complex lines (such as embattled, indented, nebuly, etc.). The diminutive form of the bar (narrower than a bar yet wider than a cottise) is the barrulet, though these frequently appear in pairs, the pair termed a "bar gemel" rather than "two barrulets".
Common ordinaries.
A single bar placed across the top of the field is called a "chief". A single bar placed over the center of the field is called a "fess". Two to four of these appearing on a shield are called "bars", and more than four are called "barrulets".
Diminutives.
Thin bars are termed "barrulets". A still thinner bar or riband is known as a "cottise". Cottises never appear alone and have no direction of their own, but are borne on each side of an ordinary (such as a fess, pale, bend or chevron). The ordinary thus accompanied by a cottise on each side is then described as "cottised", or these may even be "doubly cottised" (i.e. surrounded by four cottises, two along each side).
The "closet" is described as a band of the thickness between a bar and a barrulet, but is rarely found.
A bar that has been "couped" (cut) at the ends so as not to reach the edges of the field is called a "hamade", "hamaide" or "hummet", after the town of La Hamaide in Hainaut, Belgium. As a charge, it is almost always depicted in threes. The adjective is "hummety".
Barry and barruly.
A field divided by many bars — often six, eight or ten parts with two alternating tinctures — is described as "barry" (of "x", "y" and "z", where "x" is the number of bars, "y" is the first (uppermost) tincture, and "z" is the second tincture). A field divided into five, seven or nine parts with two alternating tinctures is not called "barry", however, but two, three or four "bars". A barry design consisting of ten or more parts is comparatively rare and is called "barruly" rather than "barry".