An archaic or heraldic term for a staff, baton, or cudgel; used in heraldry to describe certain charges or bearing symbols.
From Old French bâton, related to Latin bastum. In heraldic terminology, a baston is a shortened or bendsinister staff used as a symbolic charge in coat-of-arms designs.
In medieval heraldry, the baston appeared as a symbolic charge indicating illegitimacy or junior branches of families—a small staff in a shield told a whole genealogical story to those who could read heraldic language.
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