Allusive Arms--Armes Parlantes.
[Illustration: (Arms of the Family of Dobell.)]
"Non verbis sed _rebus_ loquimur."
Allusive Arms are of two kinds: first, those which contain charges that
relate to the character, office, or history of the original bearer; and,
secondly, those which convey a direct pun upon his name. Of the former
description are the covered cups in the arms of Butler, and the
bugle-horns in those of Forester.[152] Several examples of this species
of bearings are given in the ninth chapter of this volume under the title
of 'Historical Arms.' At present, I shall confine myself to the second
class, which are called, in Latin blazon, Arma Cantantia, in French, Armes
Parlantes, and in English, =Canting Arms=. Of this kind we have examples
in the arms of Camel, a camel; Colt, 3 colts; Blackmore, 3 Moor's heads,
&c.
Dallaway, Porny, and other modern writers condemn this species of
bearings, as of recent origin, and unworthy of a place amongst the
classical devices of antient heraldry. Porny places them in the category
of Assumptive Arms--"such as are taken up by the caprice or fancy of
upstarts, though of never so mean extraction." This notion, with
whomsoever it originated, is decidedly erroneous, for such charges are
found not only in the arms of distinguished nobles and knights in the very
earliest days of hereditary armory, but occur also in those of several of
the sovereign states of Europe. According to some authors the LIS in the
royal arms of France are a play upon the name of Louis, antiently spelt
_Loys_. The arms of Spain exhibit, quarterly, a castle and a lion--a pun
upon the names of the united provinces of Castile and Leon; and after the
conquest of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, a _pomegranate_ was added
in the base of the escocheon. As to canting charges in the arms of
subjects, we may observe that, in the earliest Roll of Arms extant, that
of the time of Henry III,[153] at least nine such occur. To prove this
assertion, as well as to give the reader a sample of antient blazon, I
shall quote them:
Reinold de Moun--de goules ov ung _manche_ d'argent.
Nicholas de Moeles--d'argent a deux barres de goules, a trois _molets_
en le cheif goules.
Geoffrey de Lucy--de goules a trois _lucies_ d'or.
Roger de Merley--barree d'argent et de goulz, a la bordur d'azure, et
_merlots_ d'or en le bordur.
Hugh de Ferrers--_Vairre_, de argent et d'azur.
Robert Quency--de Goules ung _quintefueil_ de hermyne.
Thomas Corbett--d'or deux _corbeaux_ noir.
Adam de Swyneburne--de goules a trois testes de _Senglier_ d'argent.
Odinel Heron--d'azur a trois _herons_ d'argent.
In another Roll, made temp. Edw. II., armes parlantes are still more
abundant.
Sire Peres Corbeht--de or, a ij _corbils_ de sable.
Sire Robert de Eschales--de goules, a vj _eschalops_ de argent.
_Suthsex and Suthreye_:
Sire Johan Heringaud--de azure, crusule de or a vj _harengs_
(herrings) de or.
_Kent_:
Sire Robert de Sevens, de azure, a iij _vans_ de or.
Sire Aumori de Lucy, de azure, crusule de or, a iij _lucys_ de or.
_Barkschire_:
Sire Adam Martel, de sable, a iij _martels_ de argent.
Sire William Videlou, de argent, a iij testes de _lou_, de goules.
_Bokinghamschire_:
Sire Rauf de Cheyndut, de azure, a un _cheyne_ de or, a un label de
goules.
Sire Johan LE LOU, de argent a ij barres de goules, en le chef iij
testes de _lou_ de goules.
_Estsex_:
Sire Johan Passeleu, bende de or e de azure, a un quarter de argent, e
un _lu_pard _pass_-aunt de goules.
Sire Johan Heroun, de azure a iij _herouns_ de argent.
_Suthfolk_:
Sire Guy Ferre, de goules, a un _fer_-de-molin de argent, e un bastoun
de azure.
Sire Richarde de Cokfeld, de azure, a une croix e iij _coks_ de or.
Sire Huge de Morieus, de azure, a iij foiles de _moures_ de or.
_Northfolk_:
Sire ---- Mounpynzon, de argent, a un lion de sable, a un
_pinzon_[154] de or en le espandle.
_Cauntebrugescire_:
Sire Giles de Trompintoun, de azure, crusule de or, a ij _trompes_ de
or.
_Derby et Notingham_:
Sire Johan le Fauconer, de argent a iij _faucouns_ de goules.
Sire Johan Bordoun, de goules a iij _bordons_ de argent.
_Huntingdonschire_:
Sire Johan de Swyneford, d'argent a iij testes de _cenglers_ de
goulys.
_Norehaunton et Rotelonde_:
Sire Geffrey Rossel, de or, a un cheveron azure, e iij roses de
goules.
_Leycestreschire_:
Sire William Bernak, de argent, a une fesse and iij _bernaks_ de
sable.
_Herefordeschire_:
Sire Peres Corbet, de or a un _corbyn_ de sable.
Sire Thomas Corbet, de or a iij _corbyns_ de sable.
_Schropschire_:
Sire Walter Hakelut, de goules, a iij _hackes_ daneys de or, et un
daunce de argent.
_Northumberland and Comberland_:
Sire Odynel Heron, de argent a iij herons de azure.
Sire Johan Malebis, de argent, a iij testes de _bis_ de goules.
In addition to these, I may adduce the following very antient families,
whose arms are not traceable to any grant, but have been borne
immemorially as antient arms. The Pelhams bear three _pel_icans, and their
crest is a _pe_acock. The puns in both instances, it must be confessed,
are very poor; still, few will doubt that puns were intended. The Arundels
bear six swallows, in French _hirondelles_. The Barons D'Aquila, temp.
Henry III, bore _eagles_; the Bourgchiers, water-_bowgets_; the
Heringauds, _herrings_; Lupus, Earl of Chester, a _wolf's_ head;
Shouldham, Abbot of St. Saviour's, _shov_ellers; the Bacons, a _boar_; the
Wingfelds, _wings_; the Rokewoods, chess-_rooks_; the Pigots, _pick_-axes;
the Boleynes, _bulls'_ heads; the Shelleys, _shells_; and an infinity of
others.
Dame Julyan Berners was no stranger to such arms, for she distinctly
mentions the coat of Peter de Roches, bishop of Winchester, who "baar iij
rochys (roaches) after his awne naam." The cross-_corded_, borne by the
_roper_ who became a "nobull man," spoken of by that lady, belongs to the
other class of allusive arms, as conveying a hint at his former menial
occupation.
That this kind of charges became too common in the early part of the
seventeenth century, Dallaway is, perhaps, correct in affirming; but those
were punning days, and quaint conceits often took the place of true wit.
Camden, the correctness of whose heraldric taste none will presume to
question, did not hold _arma cantantia_ in so contemptible a light as some
of his successors in office have done; for among the arms granted by him,
a list of which is given by Morgan,[155] the following, among others,
occur:
DOBELL of Falmer, co. Sussex, Sable, a _doe_ passant between three
_bells_ argent.[156]
BULLOCK of London. Bulls' heads.
FOSTER of London. Bugle-horns.
HAMPSON of Kent. Hemp-breaks.
FISHER of Staffordshire. A Kingfisher.
CONIE of Huntingdonshire. Coneys.
CROWCH.[157] Crosses formee.
LANGHORN. Bugle-horns.
CANNON of Pembrokeshire. Crest. A cannon.
TREHERNE. Three herns.
CROSS of Lincolnshire. A cross-crosslet.
KNIGHTLEY. A lance.[158]
There was a kind of Rebus much in vogue in the fourteenth and following
centuries, which, although not regulated by the laws of blazon, possessed
somewhat of the heraldric character. Many persons, even those of antient
family, who bore regular coats of arms, adopted various figures for the
purpose of expressing their names pictorially; for instance, one John
Eagleshead gave as his seal an _eagle's head_, surrounded by the motto,
"HOC AQUILAE CAPUT EST, SIGNUMQUE FIGURA JOHANNIS."
The Abbot of Ramsay bore, in the same way, _a ram in the sea_, with an
appropriate legend. One Harebottle expressed his name by a _hare_ upon a
_bottle_; while Islip, abbot of Westminster, represented his by a man
slipping out of a tree, and supposed to exclaim, "I slip!" These "painted
poesies," as Camden styles them, occur chiefly in painted glass windows,
in decorated Gothic architecture, and in the title-pages of early printed
books.[159]
One of the most singular rebuses I have seen occurs in a window in the
chapel at Lullingstone, co. Kent, the seat of Sir P. H. Dyke, Bart. It is
that of Sir John Peche. In this instance the arms of the personage are
surrounded by a wreath, composed of two branches of a peach tree bearing
fruit, every peach being marked with an Old English =e=; Peach-e. It is
curious that this device proves the true pronunciation of the name, which
was formerly supposed to be Peche.
The common rebus, although it did not come into general use until after
the introduction of regular heraldry, may boast of a much higher
antiquity, for such devices occur as the representatives of names of no
less eminence than those of Cicero and Caesar; not to mention those of
celebrated sculptors and mint-masters, who, in the palmiest days of Rome,
frequently marked the productions of their genius with a rebus. Taking
into consideration the great antiquity of these "name-devices," and their
early introduction into the armorial shield, I cannot see any good reason
for the strong prejudices which have existed against them in modern times.
To me, indeed, they appear not only 'allowable' but 'commendable' armory;
for arms, like names, are signs of personality, and therefore those which
'speak to the eye' most intelligibly are preferable to those charges which
have in themselves no meaning.[160]
There can be no doubt but that, from the mutations our language has
experienced within the last six centuries, many of the allusions contained
in coats of arms are greatly obscured, while others are totally lost. The
arms of the family of Eschales, now written Scales, exhibit eschalops
(escallops), and those of Sykes, fountains--a _syke_, in the northern
dialects, signifying a spring, or rather that kind of well, which was
formerly sunk within the precincts of a camp.
* * * * *
In order to show how numerous allusive arms are in English armory, I will
here give a list of those occurring in the Baronetage as it stood in
1836,[161] omitting, for the sake of brevity, the details of the blazon.
BACON. (Crest.) A boar.
SHELLEY. Three whelk-_shells_.
BURDETT of Bramcote. Six birds (martlets).
FOULIS. Three leaves (feuilles, Fr.)
PALMER. (Crest.) A demi panther, holding a palm-branch. Motto: "Palma
virtuti."
RIVERS. Two bars dancette. Query: if these were not originally _wavy_,
to represent _rivers_?
MANSELL. Three maunches.
HAZLERIGG. Three hazel-leaves.
GORING. Three annulets (rings!)
WOLSELEY. (Crest.) A wolf's head.
BURGOYNE. Three _birds_ (martlets), and three talbots (_canes_).
HAMPSON. Three hemp-breaks.
SWINBURNE. (Crest.) A demi boar.
ASHBURNHAM. (Crest.) An ash tree.
BROOKE. (Crest.) A _Brock_ (O. E. for badger).
BURDETT of Burthwaite. Three birds (martlets).
HEAD. Three unicorns' heads.
OXENDEN. Three oxen.
PARKER of London. A stag's head.
RAMSDEN. Three ram's heads.
COLT. Three colts.
WARRENDER. (Crest.) A rabbit.
FEATHERSTONHAUGH. Three feathers.
SHEFFIELD. Three garbs (sheaves).
CUNLIFFE. Three conies.
WOLFF. (Crest.) A wolf.
BERNARD-MORLAND. Quarters a bear.
COOTE. Three cootes.
HERON. Three herons.
SYKES. Three fountains (sykes, vide p. 126).
FLETCHER. Four arrow-heads.
BEEVOR. (Crest.) A beaver.
HUNTER-BLAIR. Three hunting horns.
MILLER. A cross moline.
CALL. Three trumpets.
GOULD. _Or_, a griffin segreant.
BARING. A bear's head.
LAMB. Three lambs.
BOUGHEY-FLETCHER. Four arrows.
TROWBRIDGE. An antient bridge.
MILNES. Three windmill-sails.
BALL. A hand-grenade.
BAYNES. Cross bones.
METCALFE. Three calves.
KAY. (Crest.) A griffin's head holding a key.
LETHBRIDGE. A bridge.
HARTWELL. A hart.
SHELLEY. Three whelk shells, as before.
LOCKHART. A heart within a fetter-lock.
FRASER. Three cinquefoils, or rather strawberry-leaves (Fr.
_fraises_).
CORBET. A corby or raven.
WOOD of Gatton. A tree.
BAIRD. A boar.
COCKERELL. Two cocks.
FLETCHER of Carrow. Four arrow-heads.
SHEAFFE. Three garbs (sheaves).
ANDERSON. A saltier or St. Andrew's cross.
BROKE. (Crest.) A brock or badger.
WYLIE. A [_wily_] fox.
GRIFFIES-WILLIAMS. Four griffins.
WALLER. Three walnut leaves. (Crest.) A walnut tree.
OAKES. Three oak branches.
TROTTER. (Crest.) A horse!
BROOKE of Colebrook. A brock again.
DALRYMPLE-HORN (Elphinstone). Three bugle-horns.
KEY. Three keys.
FOSTER (Antiently written Forester). Three bugle-horns.
HOLYOAKE-GOODRICKE. (Crest.) An oak tree with a scroll containing the
words "Sacra Quercus."
PAULETT. Three swords. The sword was the distinctive mark of St. Paul.
ROE. (Crest.) A roebuck.
A more thorough acquaintance with English archaisms and provincialisms
would probably enable one to detect numerous other bearings corresponding
with the surnames of the bearers; but these seventy examples, cited from
one branch of our lesser nobility only, are fully sufficient to prove that
there is nothing mean or disgraceful in canting or allusive arms.
It would be a matter of little difficulty to fill fifty pages with arms of
this description, but a few more, and those of the most remarkable, may be
given. The family of _Still_ bear guttee d'eau, drops of water; STILLA,
Lat. a drop; _Drope_, Lord Mayor of London, also bore guttee; and
_Harbottle_ bore three drops or. _Vere_, Earl of Oxford, gave a boar, in
Latin VERRES.
_Clear_, _Bright_, _Day_, and _St. Clere_ bear a 'sun in splendour;' the
same luminary is also given by Dy_son_ and Pear_son_; while Dela_luna_
bears a crescent, and _Ster_ling stars.
The crest of _Holden-Rose_, as given in Baker's Northamptonshire, may be
briefly described as a hand HOLDING A ROSE!
Harrison bears a hedgehog, in French _herisson_; Pascall, a paschal-lamb;
and Keats three cats!
_And_ bears gules a Roman =&= argent!
Brand, Lord Dacre, bears two _brands_, or antient swords, in saltire;
Hose, three _legs_ couped at the thigh; and Pickering, a _pike_ between
three _annulets_.
* * * * *
"Le meme usage (says Salverte) a ete alternativement cause et effet." We
have already seen that multitudes of armorial ensigns have been borrowed
from the bearers' names--it is asserted by several authors that, in many
cases, _surnames were borrowed from arms_. Salverte[162] thinks that many
of the chiefs who were engaged in the Crusades assumed and handed down to
their posterity names allusive to the charges of their banners. He also
notices, from the history of Poland, the fact that there were in that
country, in the twelfth century, two families called respectively _Rose_
and _Griffon_, and he thinks "we may with probability suppose, that both
took from their arms those names, which no longer subsist, because
hereditary surnames were not yet established in Poland." In Sweden, again,
according to this learned writer, there is _proof_ that the nobles
followed such a practice. "One who bore in his arms the head of an ox
assumed the name of OXENSTIERN (front de boeuf;) and another took the
name of SPARR, on account of the cheveron which formed the principal
feature of his coat."
"A particular instance of the armorial ensign being metonymically put for
the bearer of it, occurs in the history of the Troubadours, the first of
whom was called the Dauphin, or knight of the Dolphin, because he bore
this figure on his shield. In the person of one of his successors, the
name Dauphin became a title of sovereign dignity. Many other surnames were
in this manner taken from arms, as may be inferred from the ordinary
phraseology of romance, where many of the warriors are styled knights of
the lion, of the eagle, of the rose, &c., according to the armorial
figures they bore on their shields."[163] At tournaments the combatants
usually bore the title of Knights of the Swan, Dragon, Star, or whatever
charge was most conspicuous in their arms.[164]
The arms of Trusbut are three water-bowgets, 'Tres boutz.' Mr. Montagu
thinks the name was taken from the bearings.[165]
The royal line of Plantagenet derived their appellation from the _Planta
genesta_, their very antient badge.
There is certainly some probability that a few of our English surnames,
particularly those derived from the animal kingdom, come immediately from
an heraldrical source; though it would be a matter of great difficulty
positively to ascertain whether the names or the arms were adopted first.
Without attempting to decide, therefore, which had the earliest existence,
I shall annex certain surnames of an heraldrical character, which have
found their way into our family nomenclature, and give the more prominent
features of the blazon borne with those names, leaving it to the reader to
form his own conclusions:
1. CROSS. Many families of this name bear crosses and crosslets.
2. SALTIRE bears billets and a bordure, but not the ordinary so
called.
3. CHEVERON bears two cheverons.
4. CANTON. Several families are so designated, but not one of them
bears the canton of heraldry.
5. BILLET. The same remark applies.
6. GORE. In various coats, crosslets, lions and bars, but not one
_gore_, the only hint at the name being _bulls' heads_ in two or three
coats.
7. PILE. A cross and four nails.
8. MASCLE. Some families of _Mascall_ bear barry of eight, others
fleur-de-lis and a bordure, and the family of _Mascule_, a fesse.
9. ROUNDLE. _Roundell_ does not bear this charge.
10. BARRY. Of the many families of this name some bear barry, bars and
barulets; and BARR bears (int. al.) a _bar_.
11. PALY. Two families bear bends; but not one _paly_.
12. DELVES. The family of Delves bear these in several arrangements.
PALE, FESSE, CHIEF, BEND, QUARTER, and an infinity of the names of
charges, do not occur as English surnames.
Of the etymology of the somewhat common name _Crown-in-shield_, I am
entirely ignorant; nor do I find any arms assigned to it.
[Illustration: (Rebus of De Aquila.)]