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In heraldry, the term star may refer to any star-shaped charge with any number of rays, which may appear straight or wavy, and may or may not be pierced. While there has been much confusion between the two due to their similar shape, a star with straight-sided rays is usually called a mullet while one with wavy rays is usually called an estoile. While a mullet may have any number of ''points'', it is presumed to have five unless otherwise specified in the blazon, and pierced mullets are common; estoiles, however, are presumed to have six ''rays'' and (as of 1909) had not been found pierced.〔 In Scottish heraldry, an estoile is the same as in English heraldry, but it has been said that ''mullet'' refers only to a mullet pierced (also called a ''spur revel''), while one that is not pierced is called a star.〔 == Terminology == The use of the word ''star'' in blazons, and how that charge appears in coat armory, varies from one jurisdiction to another. In Scots heraldry, both ''star'' and ''mullet'' interchangeably mean a star with five straight rays; the official record from 1673 gives Murray of Ochtertyre ''azur three Starrs argent ...'' (Public Register, vol 1 p 188), while the Ordinary of Arms produced by a late 19th century Lyon King of Arms 'modernizes' the original as ''Az. three mullets arg. ...''. In Canadian heraldry the usual term is ''mullet'', but there is also the occasional six-pointed ''star'' (e.g. in Vol. IV, at p. 274 and in online version of the Canadian Public Register), which is what others would blazon as a six-pointed ''mullet''. The United States Army Institute of Heraldry, the official heraldic authority in the United States, uses the term ''mullet'' in its blazons,〔"(172 Support Battalion )" The Institute of Heraldry〕 but elsewhere, as in US government documents describing the flag of the United States and the Great Seal of the United States, the term ''star'' is constantly used, and these nearly always appear with five straight-sided points. The term ''mullet'' or ''molet'' refers to a star with straight sides, typically having five or six points, but may have any number of points specified in the blazon. If the number of points is not specified, five points are presumed in Gallo-British heraldry, and six points are presumed in German-Nordic heraldry. Unlike estoiles, mullets have straight (rather than wavy) rays and may have originally represented the rowel of a spur, rather than a celestial star. The term is said to be derived from French ''molette'', a spur-rowel,〔 although it was in use in heraldry even before rowel spurs. The term ''estoile'' refers to wavy-sided stars, usually of six points, though they may also be blazoned with a different number of points, often eight (e.g. "Portsmouth County Council" pictured (here )), and many variants feature alternating straight and wavy rays (e.g. "Honford" pictured (here )). The term derives from Old French ''estoile'' 'star', in reference to a celestial star (cf. Modern French ''étoile''), from Latin ''stella'' 'star'. File:Étoile d'or.svg|Mullet (English type) File:Marian star four-tenths.svg| Star (German type) File:Héraldique meuble Molette.svg| Mullet of six points pierced File:Sternberger Stern.png| Mullet of eight points File:Héraldique meuble Estoile.svg| Estoile 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Star (heraldry)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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