Semé Patterns

A field or charge is said to be semé, or occasionally powdered, if it is covered with small objects, spaced in a regular pattern. The most common semé pattern if gutté or teardrop shaped objects, patterns of which have specific names based on color.

Other common semé pattern illustrated here include: semé de lis (a pattern of small fleur-de-lis), billetté (a pattern of small rectangles), and crusilly (any pattern of small crosses). In addition to those semé pattern illustrated here, one might encounter the following more rarely seen patterns:

pattern of...   heraldic name
bezants = besanté
castles = chastelé
lions rampant = semé de lioncels
nails = ferreté
roses = semé de rosettes
 

semé de lis

semé de lis

billetté

billetté

crusilly

crusilly

 

gouttes or gutté

argent

gutté d'eau
(water; argent)

or

gutté d'or
(gold; or)

azure

gutté de larmes
(tears; azure)

gules

gutté de sang
(blood; gules)

sable   sable 2

gutté de poix (pitch; sable)

vert

gutté d'huile (oil; vert)