Inheraldry, acanton is acharge placed upon a shield. It is, by default a square in theupper dexter corner, but if in the sinister corner is blazoneda canton sinister. A canton is classed by some heraldic writers as one of thehonorable ordinaries; but, strictly speaking, it is a diminutive of thequarter, being two-thirds the area of that ordinary.[1] However, in the armorial roll ofHenry III, the quarter appears in several coats which in later rolls areblazoned as cantons. The canton, like the quarter, appears in early arms, and is always shown with straight lines.
Thechequer, a pane of the field ofchequy, can be considered a diminutive of the canton, though it cannot be a charge on its own. Acanton sinister is a canton placed on thesinister side of the shield. An "enlarged sinister canton" appears in the arms of William Wilde Lotter.[2][3]
A plain, uncharged canton (sometimes a canton voided is also used this way) can be used as amark of distinction, that is, not a mark of peculiar honour, but a mark denoting that the bearer is a stranger in blood. For example, a groom who does not descend from the bride's family but who adopts the bride's last name after the marriage might, upon receipt of aRoyal Licence permitting this, use the bride's family's coat of arms with an uncharged canton or canton voided.[4]
Special cantons may be added to the coat of arms ofbaronets to indicate their rank anddifference their arms from other members of the family. The canton is typically theRed Hand of Ulster (insinister),[5][6][7] butBaronets of Nova Scotia use theshield of the arms of Nova Scotia as a canton.[5]
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