Maunch
A maunch (from the French manche "sleeve") is a heraldic charge representing a detachable lady's sleeve with a wide pendulous cuff, as was fashionable amongst women in the 13th and 14th centuries. They are found most frequently in English heraldry, occurring to a lesser extent in the heraldry of France, Scotland, and other nations.
In the Middle Ages, it was common for ladies to give their sleeves as favours for knights to wear in tournaments. Thus, heraldic maunches came to symbolise that the armiger was popular with the ladies, or that he loved his wife. Alternatively maunches can occur as canting arms, such as in the arms of the Mohun and Mansel families. In French heraldry, they are referred to as manches mal taillée (meaning "badly cut sleeves") to distinguish them from ordinary sleeves.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sleeves in heraldry. |
- Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909), A complete guide to heraldry New York : Dodge (1909) http://archive.org/details/cu31924029796608.
