Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Wingfield

 Wingfield

Wingfield, of Shrewsbury, Preston-Brockhurst, & Onslow.

Arms: Argent, on a bend Gules cotticed Sable three pairs of wings in lure points downward of the first, a fleur-di-lis for difference.

Crest of Wingfield, temp. Hen. VIII. two wings displayed Argent united by a cord in fret Or.

The arms of Wingfield, of Shrewsbury, Preston-Brockhurst, & Onslow.

The coat of arms for the surname Wingfield features a classic example of canting heraldry (also known as canting arms or an heraldic pun). The use of wings on the shield is a visual pun that audibly and conceptually alludes to the first syllable of the surname "Wing-field". The "wings in lure" (a term depicting two wings joined together as if in a falconer's lure) are a direct, playful reference to Wing. In heraldry, when blazoning, or describing, a coat of arms, the basic shield is referred to as the "field". Whilst strictly speaking the wings in lure are on the bend, not the field, the heralds would have been quite content to use the fact that on the whole, there are wings (on the) field to make a perfect play on the surname Wingfield. 

The shield is described as: Argent, on a bend Gules cotticed Sable three pairs of wings in lure points downward of the first, a fleur-di-lis for difference. The mention of "a fleur-de-lis for difference" is not part of the primary surname pun. In the historical rules of cadency, this signifies that these specific arms belong to the sixth son of the family (or a cadet branch descending from a sixth son), using the fleur-de-lis to distinguish his line from the main branch.