Pale

A pale is an ordinary in the form of a vertical band running down the center of the shield, usually between a fifth and a third of its width. The name comes from a pale in the old sense of a fence picket, a stake much taller than it is wide.

The Swiss town of Baden bears Argent, a pale sable and a chief gules. Two or more narrow pales on one shield are called pallets, and a field of upright stripes is paly. The phrase in pale means charges stacked in a column, as with the three lions of England, while per pale means the field is split down the middle.

The Shield tab of the coat of arms maker has a Pale ordinary, a Per pale division, a Tierced in pale division in three parts, and the Paly pattern. Each part takes its own tincture. Compare it with the fess, and see the heraldic divisions guide for the full set.