My mind must be melting. The basic idea of bendwise is confusing to me. A swan naint or lion passant placed on a bend would supposedly have its flat bottom edge parallel with the bend. But a leaf on a bend would have its base stem end pointing toward the sinister base. So my question is, "Does the geometry of the charge determine what bendwise means, or is one always suppose to point the base of the charge toward sinister base?" And what does the answer imply for palewise for these two charges?
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/c/ch-fr114.gif
Lion passant on a bend.
But see English Heraldry by Boutell:
So it appears the rule is longest dimension of the charge is parallel with the bend, but no one ever seems to say that.
Your mind is not melting, Michael. I was just thinking about this yesterday as I was rereading the previous Design Award winners. I couldn’t believe that no one had pointed out that the mullets on the arms for the Fog should be blazoned as palewise. Then I realized exactly what you’re talking about here—the inconsistency with more "horizontal" charges—and promptly decided to ignore it. :D
