In heralry, a fess is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally and centrally across the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the fess, ranging from one-fifth to one-third. A fess is likely to be shown narrower if it is uncharged, that is, if it does not have other charges placed on it, and/or if it is to be shown with charges above and below it; and shown wider if charged.