Bezantee, Bezantie or Bezanty is an heraldic term, for a form of decoration, resembling circular discs, to a division or field contained in a coat of arms.

The word is believed to derive from bezant or byzant a gold or silver coin from the Byzantine Empire, which was in common European use until circa 1250

Bezantée moulding style, showing the use of the disc like forms as a decoration for a Romanesque pier and arcade

Bezantée, according to Encyclopædia Britannica, is an ornamental moulding much used in the Norman period, resembling the coins (bezants) struck in Byzantium.

[edit] References

• Heraldry Dictionary
• MacKinnon of Dunakin, Charles. Heraldry. 1966. London Frederick Warne & Co. (Page 60)
• 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica entry

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

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