An abatement, in heraldry

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

, is a modification of the shield or coat of arms used to denote marks or devices that are less-than honorable Augmentation. It is thought that they can be imposed by authority (in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 supposedly by the Court of Chivalry

Court of Chivalry

Her Majesty's High Court of Chivalry of England and Wales is a civil court in England. It has had jurisdiction in cases of the misuse of heraldic arms since the fourteenth century....

) for misconduct. Each abatement is supposed to be a specific charge in a specific "stayn and colour" or stain (tenné

Tenné

In heraldry, tenné or tawny or tenny is a "stain", a rarely used tincture, an orangish brown colour, at least in Continental European use....

, sanguine

Sanguine

Sanguine is chalk of a reddish color, often called the true colour of blood. tending to brown, used in drawing, The word also describes any drawing done in sanguine.-Technique:...

 or murrey

Murrey

In heraldry, murrey is a "stain", an occasionally used tincture.According to dictionaries, murrey is the colour of mulberries, somewhere between gules and purpure , almost maroon; but examples registered in Canada and Scotland show it as a reddish brown.The Flag of the Second Spanish Republic was...

) for a specific offence; the charges if themselves charged or of a regular colour, metal or fur (or, in some cases, if the charge in question appeared as multiples, not as a single charge of the kind) were not supposed to symbolise anything dishonourable. Thus, it is probable that the system of abatements never had much if any basis in fact and was simply a theoretical exercise created by heralds. The sole exception to the rarity of abatements is the reversal of the entire shield as a punishment for treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

, as the shield was briefly so displayed in England at the time of the execution of the convicted traitor

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

, the arms ceasing to exist after this.