ANIMAL CHARGES (_continued_)
After "ravenous fierce beastes," we come to dogs, foxes, cats,
squirrels, etc. Sporting dogs are very favourite charges, and are
frequently termed _talbots_ in heraldry.[1]
[Footnote 1: Some writers consider that the term "talbot"
was restricted to a mastiff, but sporting dogs--foxhounds,
harriers, beagles, etc.--were certainly occasionally blazoned
as talbots.]
(A mastiff with short ears was termed an _alant_.)
The Carricks and Burgoynes bear one talbot on their shield, whilst the
Talbot family have three talbots passant.
The Earl of Perth has a "sleuthhound, collared and leashed" for his
crest; that of the Biscoe family is a greyhound seizing a hare. A dog
chasing another animal must be blazoned either "in full course" or "in
full chase." A foxhound nosing the ground is described as "a hound on
scent."
The fox rarely figures in heraldry. One Kadrod-Hard of Wales bore two
"reynards counter salient," and "the Wylies do bear that wylie beast,
the fox"; whilst three foxes' heads erased are borne respectively by
the Foxes of Middlesex and one Stephen Fox, of Wilts.
A fox's face is blazoned a "mask."
Cats occur fairly often in heraldry. "Roger Adams and John Hills, both
of the City of London," we are told, "bear cats"; Sir Jonathan Keats
charges three "cats-a-mountain"--wild cats--upon his shield, as also
do the Schives of Scotland; the Dawson-Damer's crest is a tabby cat
with a rat in her mouth. She would be blazoned as _preying_.
The dog, fox, and cat have each their typical meaning in heraldry. The
dog symbolizes courage, fidelity, affection, and sagacity; the fox,
great wit and cunning; the cat, boldness, daring, and extraordinary
foresight, so that whatever happens she always falls on her feet. She
was formerly the emblem of liberty, and was borne on the banners
of the ancient Alans and Burgundians to show that they brooked no
servitude.
The squirrel is rather a favourite charge, notably in the arms of
landed gentry--such as the Holts, Woods, Warrens--because the little
nut-cracker is typical of parks and woodland property. It occurs
either singly or in pairs or trios. It is always represented _sejant_,
and usually cracking nuts, as seen in the arms of the Nuthall family.
A hedgehog usually figures in the arms of the Harris, Harrison,
Herries, and Herrison families, and is undoubtedly borne in allusion
to their surname, _hérisson_ being the French for hedgehog. Lord
Malmesbury--family name Harris--bears a hedgehog in his coat of arms.
It is generally blazoned as an "urcheon" in heraldry. The hare occurs
but rarely in English arms; the Clelands bear one as a single charge,
and the Trussleys charge their shield with three little hares playing
bagpipes, probably in allusion to the hare's traditional love of
music. The rabbit--known to heralds as a coney--is oftener met with
in armorial bearings; the Strodes of Devon bear three conies couchant;
the Conesbies, three conies sejant; the Cunliffes, three conies
courant.
[Illustration: PLATE 5.
BARON HAWKE.
_Arms._--A chevron erminois between three pilgrim's staves purpure.
_Crest._--A hawk, wings displayed and inverted ppr. belled and
charged on the breast with a fleur de lys or.
_Supporters._--Dexter, Neptune, Sinister, a Sea-horse.
_Motto._--Strike.]
Three moles are borne by Sir John Twistledon, of Dartford, Kent--a
mole was sometimes blazoned "moldiwarp"--whilst the Rattons very aptly
bear a rat.
We cannot say much of the toads,[2] tortoises, serpents, grasshoppers,
spiders, and snails which occur in heraldry.
[Footnote 2: The legend which connects toads with the
fleur-de-lys in the arms of France is too well known to need
repetition here.]
The Gandys of Suffolk bear a single tortoise passant, and a tortoise
_erected_ occurs on the Coopers' coat of arms.
Serpents are blazoned in terms peculiar to themselves. Thus, a serpent
coiled, is said to be _nowed_--knotted--from the French _n[oe]ud_,
a knot; when upright on its tail, it is _erect_; gliding, it is
_glissant_ also from the French; when biting its tail, it is blazoned
_embowed_. The Falconers bear a "serpent embowed"; one Natterley has
an "adder nowed"--_natter_ is the German for adder--and Sir Thomas
Couch of London charges an adder "curling and erect" upon his shield.
To the Greek, the grasshopper signified nobility; hence amongst the
Athenians a golden grasshopper worn in the hair was the badge of high
lineage. In later days the heralds considered the grasshopper a type
of patriotism, "because in whatever soil a grasshopper is bred, in
that will he live and die."
Spiders were not only held symbolical of industry, but they were
highly esteemed for their supposed properties of healing.[3]
[Footnote 3: As regards the spider's curative powers, Mr.
Thistleton Dyer, in his "Folklore of Shakespeare," tells us
that only "a few years ago a lady in Ireland was famous for
curing ague with a large house-spider swallowed alive, thickly
coated with treacle."]
One family of Shelleys bears three "house-snails" so termed in
heraldry to imply that they carry their shells. A type of deliberation
in business matters and perseverance is supposed to be furnished by
the common snail.
The "creatures that live above the earth"--_i.e._, having wings--come
next.
[Illustration: FIG. 42.]
Various heraldic terms are in use for blazoning bird charges--viz.:
A bird _flying_ is "volant" (Fig. 42); _preparing to fly_, is "rising"
(Fig. 44); when _its wings are spread open_, they are "displayed";
when _folded_, they are "close (see Fig. 43)." Birds of prey and
barn-door cocks are "armed." Thus, the eagle is blazoned as "armed of
his beak and talons"; the cock as "armed of his beak and spurs"; he is
also blazoned as "combed and jellopped"--that is, with his crest and
wattles. An eagle or any other bird of prey devouring its prey is
described as "preying." In blazoning a very old eagle, the French
heralds use a special term, _pamé_;[4] our English equivalent would
be "exhausted," thereby alluding to the popular notion that with
advancing age an eagle's beak becomes so hooked that it is unable to
take any nourishment, and so dies of inanition. Birds that have web
feet and no talons are usually blazoned "membred." A swan with
her wings raised is said to be "expansed"; a peacock with his tail
displayed is said to be "in his pride" (Fig. 45); with folded tail he
is a peacock "close." A pelican feeding her young is a "pelican in her
piety" (see Plate III.); when wounding her breast, she is said to be
"vulning." The crane is another bird which enjoys a blazoning term
which is all its own--namely, "a crane in its vigilance." It is so
described when, as in the Cranstoun arms, it is represented holding a
stone in its foot. This charge refers to the old myth, that a crane
on duty as a sentinel always holds a stone in its foot, so that in the
event of its dropping asleep the sound of the falling stone may act as
an alarum.
[Footnote 4: The word _pamé_ should be restricted to an
expiring fish.]
Falcons are blazoned "armed, jessed and belled." A falcon is usually
called "goshawk" in heraldry.
Swans, geese, ducks, and other web-footed birds occur rarely in
heraldry. The Moore family bear one swan, the Mellishes two, and three
swans' necks are charged upon the Lacys' shield. One, John Langford,
bears a single wild goose. Three wild duck volant appear in the arms
of the Woolrich family. Three drakes--a very favourite charge--are
borne by the Yeos. The Starkeys bear one stork, the Gibsons three.
Three herons occur in the arms of Heron, one kingfisher in those of
one, Christopher Fisher (Fig. 43). Viscount Cullen, whose family
name is Cockayne, bears three cocks; three capons are borne by the
Caponhursts; whilst, drolly enough, three cocks are borne by the Crow
family. The Alcocks bear three cocks' heads.
[Illustration: FIG. 43.]
Eagles are of such wide and constant occurrence in heraldry that we
cannot attempt to do justice to them here. A single eagle is borne
by the Earls of Dalhousie and Southesk, and by seven families of
Bedingfield. A double-headed eagle was rather a favourite charge, and
coats of arms displaying as many as six eagles are very commonly met
with. But an eagle blazoned "close" is a rare charge.[5] Parts of an
eagle, such as head, wings, talons, and legs often appear in armorial
bearings as separate charges. Ostrich feathers, by the way, are also
introduced into heraldry, but the ostrich itself is of very seldom
occurrence.[6] Its introduction into heraldry, dates from the time
of the Crusaders, when Europeans first saw the bird. An ostrich is
usually represented with a horseshoe in its mouth, because it was a
popular idea that an ostrich could digest iron.[7] In Sir Titus Salt's
arms we find a demi-ostrich holding a horseshoe in its beak. Lord
Churston's shield is supported on the right by an ostrich with a
horseshoe in its beak, as is Lord Carysfort's, but _his_ ostrich is
represented with a key in its beak.
[Footnote 5: The eagle was sometimes called "alerion" by
the early heralds and when blazoned as such was usually
represented with neither legs nor beak.]
[Footnote 6: One Jervis, the principal founder of Exbridge,
in Devon, bore six ostrich feathers, and in the heraldry
of to-day they are occasionally met with as charges. The
Fetherstons bear three ostrich feathers on their shield, and
the Earl of Devon has seven ostrich feathers in his crest.
We are all familiar with the Prince of Wales's plumes, but to
go farther back into history, we find that a plume of ostrich
feathers was often used by King Stephen as his badge, with
the motto of his own making: "_Vi nulla invertitur ordo_"--"No
force alters their fashion"--in allusion to the "fold fall of
the feather," which was neither shaken nor disordered by the
wind, and therefore symbolized the condition of well-ordered
kings and kingdoms.
In bygone times, we are told, "some doubted whether an ostrich
should be reckoned as a beast or a fowl"!]
[Footnote 7: "I'll make thee eat iron like an ostrich."
_King Henry VI._
]
[Illustration: FIG. 44.]
Three hawks are borne by the Hawksworths; the Corbets bear a raven
as a single charge, whilst Dr. Raven, Queen Anne's physician, bears
a raven rising (Fig. 44). The swallow, which is the heraldic martlet
(see No. 4, Fig. 36), occurs repeatedly as a charge in coats of arms,
very often in threes; six is also a favourite number. The Wardes and
Temples bear five; the Chadwicks and Brownlows charge the orle of
their shield with eight martlets. The Pawne family bear three peacocks
"in their pride" (see Fig. 45), and this same charge occurs in the
arms of the Peacocks of Durham. A ph[oe]nix is borne by the Fenwicks.
The dove occurs occasionally in heraldry. A dove with an olive branch
in its beak was added as an augmentation of honour to his paternal
arms by one Walker, when he married the only child of Sir David Gam.
This charge was granted to Sir David after the Battle of Agincourt,
where he took the Duc de Nevers prisoner. It was this same Sir David
who, on being sent by the king to view the French Army before the
battle, brought word to his royal master that "there were men enough
to kill, enough to run away, and enough to make prisoners."
[Illustration: FIG. 45.]
Besides the birds already mentioned, the parrot, turkey, owl, chough,
pheasant, woodcock, and several others occur in heraldry.
Amongst winged insects, we find the bee in the arms of the Bye family,
whilst the Rowes of Cheshire bear a beehive, surrounded by buzzing
bees.[8] The bee was considered an honourable charge, symbolizing
loyalty to the chief, thrift and industry.[9]
[Footnote 8: Lord Lansdowne uses "a beehive beset with bees"
as one of his crests.]
[Footnote 9: In blazoning the bee, Guillim cannot resist
reminding his reader of the old saw:
"The calf, the goose, and the bee,
The world is ruled by these three."
]
The Burninghills bear three gadbees--horseflies--and the Papillons,
very properly, have three butterflies charged on their shield (Fig.
46).
In concluding this chapter let us explain the term _augmentation_ used
above.
By augmentation is meant any addition granted for some special reason,
to a coat of arms. Thus to one, William Compton, who was about
Henry VIII. and in great favour with him, the King actually granted
permission to add a lion passant guardant, taken out of his own royal
device, to his paternal arms, as an "honourable augmentation." "In
rememberance whereof," says Sir William Dugdale, "the said Compton at
his death bequeathed to the king a little chest of ivory, whereof the
lock was gilt, with a chessboard under, and a pair of tables upon it."
[Illustration: FIG. 46.]
The arms of Sir Atwel-King Lake show a curious augmentation--viz.,
a dexter arm embowed--bent--issuing from the sinister side of the
shield, holding in the hand a sword erect, thereto affixed a banner,
bearing a cross between sixteen escutcheons, etc. These sixteen
escutcheons were given to the original bearer of these arms, Dr.
Edward Lake, a devoted adherent of Charles I., to commemorate the
sixteen wounds that Lake received at the Battle of Naseby.
Lord Nelson was granted a very pictorial augmentation of honour.
"Waves or the sea, from which a palm-tree issues between a disabled
ship on the dexter and a battery in ruins on the sinister." Nelson
had also a crest of an "honourable augmentation," which he bore in
addition to that of his family. A naval crown with the chelengk, or
plume of triumph, presented to him by the Grand Sultan, Selim III.
The augmentation of honour granted to the great Duke of Wellington
took the shape of the Union Jack charged upon an inescutcheon, which
was superimposed upon his own shield.