The bend is one of the original honorable ordinaries in English armory, traditionally occupying one-third of the shield's field when charged, and one-fifth when uncharged. It represents a shoulder-belt or 'baldric' (balteus) worn by the medieval knight to support a sword or shield. In the rigid geometry of the heraldic achievement, the bend is assumed to be 'dexter' unless specified as a 'bend sinister', that is, inclining from the upper left (observer's right) to the lower right (observer's left). By the Tudor period, its presence on a coat of arms symbolized high military rank and noble lineage.
Throughout feudal history, the bend became a vital mechanism for cadency and mark of distinction. Smaller versions, such as the bendlet and the cotise, were employed to differentiate branches of the same family or to signify specific feudal obligations. To be 'in bend' refers to the diagonal placement of charges, reflecting the structural importance of this ordinary in organizing the visual hierarchy of the knightly class under the jurisdiction of the College of Arms.