Matthew Paris in his account of the execution of William de Marisco in 1242 gives the arms of both William and his father Geoffrey de Marisco, the Justiciar of Ireland. Geoffrey’s arms were “gules, a lion rampant argent”. Variations of these arms were used by various family members (including William), and they are straightforward to draw.

However, Paris also gives a second set of arms to Geoffrey de Marisco, possibly used in connection with his position as Justiciar. Can anyone help me work out how to draw them? They are described as:

“Party per fess gules and vert, a fess argent between two plates in chief and a crescent in base of the third”.

My main questions are:

a) Does “Party per fess” indicate the shield was divided into three sections horizontally?
b) If not, what is the purpose of “Party”
c) If so, how were the sections coloured? Was it gules, vert and gules (top to bottom)?
d) How does one draw the “fess argent between two plates” (i.e. how does one draw a “fess” on a shield that has itself been defined as “Party per fess”?

Regards,

Phil