Base (Period)

The base is an heraldic ordinary, occupying the bottom one-third to one-fourth of the shield.  It is subject to most of the usual treatments – embattled, indented, &c – but because it has only one edge, a base may not be “dancetty”, nor may it be fimbriated, cotised, or voided.  The base has no diminutives.

Ford (Period)

A “ford proper” is a base wavy barry wavy (azure and argent); it’s azure and argent on a light field, and argent and azure on a dark field.  The ford proper is used to represent water or for canting purposes, as in the canting arms of Oxford, early 15^th Century [DBA1 212].  Other tinctures may not be termed a “ford”, but must be blazoned explicitly; i.e., one would not blazon a “ford vert and Or”, but rather a “base wavy barry wavy vert and Or”.  For related charges, see mount, point.

Jean-Philippe Firmin d’Amiens bears:  Azure, a base Or.

Erik of Northhold bears:  Bendy barry argent and vert, a base rayonny gules.

Philippa Swynford bears:  Or, a boar passant gules and a ford proper.