ANIMAL CHARGES
In dealing with charges of living creatures, we shall observe the
following order: (_a_) "Animals of all sort living on the earth";
(_b_) "such as live above the earth"; (_c_) "watery creatures"; (_d_)
"man."
_First_, amongst the animals, come those with undivided
feet--elephant, horse, ass. _Second_, those with cloven feet--bull,
goat, stag, etc. _Third_, those beasts that have many claws--lions,
tigers, bears, etc.
To blazon animal charges, many special terms are required, describing
their person, limbs, actions, attitudes, etc.
"And as," says Guillim, "these beasts are to explain a history, they
must be represented in that position which will best show it."
[Illustration: FIG. 38.]
[Illustration: FIG. 39.]
Moreover, each beast was to be portrayed in its most characteristic
attitude. Thus, a lion should be drawn erect with wide-open jaws and
claws extended, as if "about to rend or tear." In this posture he
is blazoned _rampant_ (Fig. 38). A leopard must be represented going
"step by step" fitting his natural disposition; he is then _passant_.
A deer or lamb "being both gentle creatures," are said to be
_trippant_ (Fig. 39), and so on; the heraldic term varying, you
understand, to suit the particular animal charge that is being
blazoned. Living charges when represented on a shield must always,
with rare exceptions, appear to be either looking or moving towards
the dexter side of the shield (see Fig. 39). The right foot or claw
is usually placed foremost as being the most honourable limb (see Fig.
38).
The elephant, having solid feet, is mentioned first, although the lion
is really the only animal--if we except the boar's head--which occurs
in the earliest armorial bearings. The Elphinstones charge their
shield with an elephant passant, whilst the Prattes bear three
elephants' heads _erased_. This term implies that they have been torn
off and have ragged edges.
[Illustration: PLATE 4.
THE EARL OF SCARBOROUGH.
_Arms._--Arg: a fesse gu: between 3 parrots vert collared of the
second.
_Crest._--A pelican in her piety.
_Supporters._--Two parrots, wings inverted vert.
_Motto._--Murus a[=e]n[=e]us conscientia sana.
]
After describing this charge, Guillim rather comically gives us this
story:
"An elephant of huge greatness was once carried in a show at Rome, and
as it passed by a little boy pried into its proboscis. Thereupon,
very much enraged, the beast cast the child up to a great height, but
received him again on his snout and laid him gently down, as though he
did consider that for a childish fault a childish fright was revenge
enough."
[Illustration: FIG. 40.]
Horses, of course, figure largely in armorial bearings. One, William
Colt, bears three horses "at full speed" (Fig. 40). So also does Sir
Francis Rush--probably in allusion to his name--whilst horses'
heads _couped_--that is, cut off smoothly--occur very frequently. A
demi-horse was granted as a crest to the Lane family in recognition of
Mistress Jane Lane's heroism in riding from Staffordshire to the South
Coast on a roan horse, with King Charles II. behind her, after the
disastrous Battle of Worcester.
Donkeys were evidently at a discount with heralds. The families of
Askewe and Ayscough bear three asses passant charged on their shield,
and there is an ass's head in the arms of the Hokenhalls of Cheshire.
Oxen occur fairly often in heraldry. The Oxendens bear three oxen;
three bulls occur in the arms of Anne Boleyn's father, the Lord
of Hoo, whilst the same arms were given by Queen Elizabeth to her
clockmaker, Randal Bull of London. The Veitchs bear three cows' heads
erased, a rather uncommon charge, as female beasts were generally
deemed unworthy of the herald's notice. The Veales bear three calves
passant (Fig. 41), anent which Guillim adds: "Should these calves live
to have horns, which differ either in metal or colour from the rest of
their body, there must be special mention made of such difference
in blazoning them." Hereby, he reminds us of the important rule for
blazoning animals with horns and hoofs. Goats and goats' heads are
often used in heraldry. A single goat passant is borne by one, Baker;
three goats _salient_--leaping--occur in the Thorold arms, whilst the
Gotley family--originally Goatley--charge a magnificent goat's head on
their shield.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.]
Bulls, goats, and rams, when their horns differ in tincture from the
rest of their body, are blazoned "armed of their horns," these latter
in their case being regarded as weapons. When, however, special
mention is made of a stag's antlers, he is said to be "attired of his
antlers," _his_ horns being regarded as ornaments. (The branches of
his antlers are termed _tynes_.)
Stags, as you would expect, are highly esteemed by the old heralds,
who employed various terms in blazoning them. Thus, a stag _in
repose_ was "lodged," _looking out of the field_, "at gaze"; _in rapid
motion_, he was "at speed" or "courant"; whilst, when his head was
represented full face and showing only the face, it was blazoned as
"cabossed" from the Spanish word for head. (Many of these terms we
shall find in blazoning other animal charges.) Early heralds make
careful distinction between a hind or calf, brockets, stags and harts.
(A hind, you know, is the female, calf is the infant deer, brocket the
two-year-old deer, stag the five-year-old, and hart the six-year-old
deer.)
The Harthills very properly bear a "hart lodged on a hill;" a single
stag, his back pierced by an arrow, occurs in the Bowen arms, and the
Hynds bear three hinds. Three bucks "in full course" are borne by the
Swifts. Deer's heads are very common charges, generally occurring in
threes. In the coat of arms of the Duke of Wurtemberg and Teck, we
find three antlers charged horizontally across the shield.
A reindeer is drawn in heraldry with double antlers, one pair erect
and one drooping.
The boar was deemed a specially suitable badge for a soldier, who
should rather die valorously upon the field than secure himself by
ignominious flight. Both the Tregarthens and Kellets bear a single
boar, whilst a boar's head, either singly or in threes, occurs very
constantly in coats of arms. A boar is blazoned "armed of his tusk" or
"armed and langued," when his tongue is shown of a different tincture.
Moreover, as Mr. Fox-Davies reminds us in his interesting "Guide to
Heraldry," an English boar's head is described as "couped" or erased
"at the neck," but the Scotch herald would blazon the same charge as
"couped and erased" "close."
The Earl of Vere takes a boar for his crest, in allusion to his name,
_verre_ being the Latin for boar.
The Grice family bear a _wild_ boar, formerly called a "grice."
The Winram family bear a single ram, the Ramsays of Hitcham bear three
rams on their shield.
A very pretty coat of arms belongs to the Rowes of Lamerton in Devon,
"gu: three holy lambs with staff, cross and banner arg:."
Foremost amongst the beasts that have "many claws" is the lion; next
to him come the tiger, leopard, bear, wolf, ranking more or less as
the aristocrats amongst their kind, whilst the cat, fox, hare, etc.,
are placed far beneath them. Of all the animal charges, none is more
popular amongst the heralds of all times and lands than the lion.
Extraordinary care was taken to blazon the king of beasts befittingly.
Fig. 38 has already shown you a "lion rampant," and so indispensable
was this attitude considered by the early heralds to the proper
representation of a lion, that if they were obliged to depict a "lion
passant"--that is, "one that looked about him as he walked"--he was
then blazoned as a _leopard_.
That is why the beasts in our national arms, although they are really
lions and meant for such, are not called so, because their undignified
attitude reduces them to the rank of heraldic leopards! A lion
rampant--and other beasts of prey as well--is generally represented
with tongue and claws of a different tincture from the rest of his
person; he is then blazoned "langued and unguled," the latter term
being derived from the Latin for a claw. A lion _in repose_ is
blazoned "couchant" when _lying down with head erect and forepaws
extended_; he is "sejant"--sitting; _seated with forepaws erect_,
he is "sejant rampant"; _standing on all fours_, he is
"statant"--standing; _standing in act to spring_, he is
"salient"--leaping; _when his tail is forked and raised above his
back_, he is said to have a "queue fourchée"--literally a forked tail.
(This last attitude is not often seen.) But when he is represented
_running across the field and looking back_, then the heralds label
the king of beasts "coward!"
A single lion is a very frequent charge, but two lions are rarer. The
Hanmers of Flintshire, descended from Sir John Hanmer in the reign
of Edward I., have two lions, and we find two lions "rampant
combatant"--that is, clawing each other--"langued armed" in the
Wycombe coat of arms; whilst one, Garrad of London, bears two lions
"counter-rampant"--_i.e._, back to back, and very droll they look.
Demi-lions rampant also occur in armorial bearings.
The different parts of a lion are much used; the head, either erased
or couped, the face cabossed, the paws, borne either singly or in
twos and threes, and lastly, we find the tail represented in various
postures. The Corkes bear three lions' tails.
The tiger follows the lion and has terms of blazon peculiar to
himself. Thus, the single tiger borne by Sir Robert Love is depicted
as "tusked, maned and flasked." In the arms of the De Bardis family, a
tigress is represented gazing into a mirror, which lies beside her
on the ground. This odd charge alludes to the fable that a tigress,
robbed of her whelps, may be appeased by seeing her own reflection in
a glass. A tiger's head is used but seldom as a separate charge.
Apparently the bear stood higher in favour with the old heralds. The
family of Fitzurse charge their shield with a single bear passant,
the Barnards have a bear "rampant and muzzled," whilst the Beresfords'
bear is both "muzzled and collared." The Berwycks bear a bear's head,
"erased and muzzled," and three bears' heads appear in the arms of the
Langham, Brock, and Pennarth families.
A wolf is borne by Sir Edward Lowe of Wilts, Sir Daniel Dun, and by
the Woods of Islington. A wolf's head appears very early in armorial
bearings; Hugh, surnamed Lupus, Earl of Chester and nephew of William
I., used a wolf's head as his badge.