ORLE, in heraldry, an ordinary, in form of a fil-
let, drawn round the shield, near the edge or extre-
mity thereof, leaving the field vacant in the middle.
Its breadth is but half that of the tressure or bordure,
which contains a sixth part of the shield; and the orle
only a twelfth: besides, that the orle is its own breadth
distant from the edge of the shield, whereas the bor-
dure comes the edge itself. The form of the orle is
the same with that of the shield, whence it resembles
an escutcheon. See Plate CXLIV. fig. 1. (A.)