Pall (heraldry)
A pall (or pairle) is a Y-shaped heraldic charge, normally having its arms in the three corners of the shield. An example of a pall placed horizontally (fesswise) is the green portion of the Flag of South Africa.
A pall that stops short of the shield's edges and that has pointed ends to its three limbs is called a shakefork, although some heraldic sources do not make a distinction between a pall and a shakefork. A pall standing upside down is named pall reversed.
A pall on a shield may indicate a connection with the clergy, particularly archbishoprics, although in these cases the pall's lower limb usually stops short of the bottom of the shield and is fringed. Such a pall is often called an ecclesiastical pall or pallium. This is in reference to the ecclesiastical vestment from which this heraldic charge derives.
If there is symmetry within the arms, its blazon can be simplified in the English language by use of the heraldic term 'between' -- 'in the midst of, so as to make a symmetrical composition'. The coat of Saint-Wandrille-Rançon is an example where the French blasonnement is similar to the traditional English blazon, yet can be described with a simplified English blazon.
Pall
Pall may refer to:
People with the surname Pall:
See also
Altar cloth
An altar cloth is used by various religious groups to cover an altar. It may be used as a sign of respect towards the holiness of the altar, as in the Catholic Church. Because many altars are made of wood and are often ornate and unique, cloth may then be used to protect the altar surface. In other cases, the cloth serves to beautify a rather mundane construction underneath.
Christian altar cloths
Western Churches
Special cloths (not necessarily made of linen) cover the altar in many Christian churches during services and celebrations, and are often left on the altar when it is not in use. At the turn of the 20th century the Roman Catholic Church considered only linen or hemp to be acceptable as material for altar cloths, although in earlier centuries silk or cloth of gold or silver were used. The Anglican Communion had similar rules in that period.
At that time, the Roman Rite required the use of three altar cloths, to which a cere cloth, not classified as an altar cloth, was generally added. This was a piece of heavy linen treated with wax (cera, from which "cere" is derived, is the Latin word for "wax") to protect the altar linens from the dampness of a stone altar, and also to prevent the altar from being stained by any wine that may be spilled. It was exactly the same size as the mensa (the flat rectangular top of the altar).
Pall (funeral)
A pall (also called mortcloth) is a cloth that covers a casket or coffin at funerals. The word comes from the Latin pallium (cloak), through Old English. It is also a stiffened square card covered with white linen, usually embroidered with a cross or some other appropriate symbol. The purpose of the pall is to keep dust and insects from falling into the Eucharistic elements in a chalice. The derivation is the same: the cloth is named after the presumed cloth that covered Jesus.
The use of a rich cloth pall to cover the casket or coffin during the funeral grew during the Middle Ages; initially these were brightly coloured and patterned, only later black, and later still white. They were usually then given to the Church to use for vestments or other decorations.
The rules for the pall's colour and use vary depending on religious and cultural traditions. Commonly today palls are pure white, to symbolize the white clothes worn during baptism and the joyful triumph over death brought about by the Resurrection. The colour is not fixed, though, and may vary with the liturgical season. Traditionally, it is common for the pall, as well as the vestments of the clergy to be black. The pall will often be decorated with a cross, often running the whole length of the cloth from end to end in all four directions, signifying the sovereignty of Christ's triumph over sin and death on the cross.
Podcasts:
