Esquarre (heraldry)

Esquarre (Fr., alternately escarre, esquierre; as Anglo-Norman alternately esquarie, esquire, esquierre, esquerre) is a name for both a heraldic ordinary and a set of related mobile charges. As an ordinary, the Esquarre is defined as a charge that borders a quarter (Fr. franc quartier, or a singular quarter as charge) on its two interior edges abutting the field. The Esquarre isolates the quarter from the rest of the field. De Galway suggested that the Esquarre is employed when both quarter and field are the same tincture. The shape of the ordinary is likened to a carpenter's square, a tool formed of two arms joined perpendicularly. When the two arms are of unequal length, the term potence (Fr.) is also used, a term likening the form of this variant to a joined post and crossbeam, or gallows/scaffold.

This article is about the heraldic charge Esquarre. For the heraldic charge Esquire, see Esquire (heraldry).
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