THE HERALDIC LION
Heraldic art without the lion would not amount to very much, for no figure
plays such an important or such an extensive part in armory as the lion, in
one or other of its various positions. These present-day positions are the
results of modern differentiation, arising from the necessity of a larger
number of varying coats of arms; but there can be little doubt that in
early times the majority of these positions did not exist, having been
gradually evolved, and that originally the heraldic animal was just "a
lion." The shape of the shield was largely a governing factor in the manner
in which we find it depicted; the old artists, with a keener artistic sense
than is evidenced in so many later examples of heraldic design, endeavoured
to fill up as large a proportion of the space available as was possible,
and consequently when only one lion was to be depicted upon the shield they
very naturally drew the animal in an upright position, this being the one
most convenient and adaptable for their purpose. Probably their knowledge
of natural history was very limited, and this upright position would seem
to them the most natural, and probably was the only one they knew; at any
rate, at first it is almost the only position to be found. A curious
commentary upon this may be deduced from the head-covering of Geoffrey of
Anjou (Fig. 28), which shows a lion. This lion is identically of the form
and shape of the lions rampant upon the shield, but from the nature of the
space it occupies, is what would now be termed statant; but there is at the
same time no such alteration in the relative position of the limbs as would
now be required. This would seem to indicate very clearly that there was
but the one stereotyped pattern of a lion, which answered all their
purposes, and that our fore-runners applied that one pattern to the spaces
they desired to decorate.
Early heraldry, however, when the various positions came into recognised
use, soon sought to impose this definite distinction, that the lion could
only be depicted erect in the _rampant_ position, and that an animal
represented to be walking must therefore be a _leopard_ from the very
position which it occupied. This, however, was a distinction known only to
the more pedantic heralds, and found greatest favour {173} amongst the
French; but we find in Glover's Roll, which is a copy of a roll originally
drawn up about the year 1250, that whilst he gives lions to six of the
English earls, he commences with "le Roy d'Angleterre porte, Gules, trois
lupards d'or." On the other hand, the monkish chronicler John of
Harmoustier in Touraine (a contemporary writer) relates that when Henry I.
chose Geoffrey, son of Foulk, Earl of Anjou, Touraine, and Main, to be his
son-in-law, by marrying him to his only daughter and heir, Maud the
Empress, and made him knight; after the bathing and other solemnities
(pedes ejus solutaribus in superficie Leonculos aureos habentibus
muniuntur), boots embroidered with golden lions were drawn on his legs, and
also that (Clypeus Leonculos aureos imaginarios habens collo ejus
suspenditur) a shield with lions of gold therein was hung about his neck.
It is, therefore, evident that the refinement of distinction between a lion
and a leopard was not of the beginning; it is a later addition to the
earlier simple term of lion. This distinction having been invented by
French heralds, and we taking so much of our heraldry, our language, and
our customs from France, adopted, and to a certain extent used, this
description of lions passant as "leopards." There can be no doubt, however,
that the lions passant guardant upon the English shield have always been
represented as _lions_, no matter what they may have been called, and the
use of the term leopard in heraldry to signify a certain position for the
lion never received any extensive sanction, and has long since become
obsolete in British armory. In French blazon, however, the old distinction
is still observed, and it is curious to observe that on the coins of the
Channel Islands the shield of arms distinctly shows three leopards. The
French lion is our lion rampant, the French leopard is our lion passant
guardant, whilst they term our lion passant a _léopard-lionné_, and our
lion rampant guardant is their _lion-léopardé_.
A lion rampant and any other beast of prey is usually represented in
heraldry with the tongue and claws of a different colour from the animal.
If it is not itself gules, its tongue and claws are usually represented as
of that colour, unless the lion be on a field of gules. They are then
represented azure, the term being "armed and langued" of such and such a
colour. It is not necessary to mention that a lion is "armed and langued"
in the blazon when tongue and claws are emblazoned in gules, but whenever
any other colour is introduced for the purpose it is better that it should
be specified. Outside British heraldry a lion is always supposed to be
rampant unless otherwise specifically described. The earliest appearance of
the lions in the arms of any member of the Royal Family in England would
appear to be the seal of King John when he was Prince and before he {174}
ascended the throne. This seal shows his arms to be two lions passant. The
English Royal crest, which originated with Richard I., is now always
depicted as a lion statant guardant. There can be no doubt, however, that
this guardant attitude is a subsequent derivation from the position of the
lions on the shield, when heraldry was ceasing to be actual and becoming
solely pictorial. We find in the case of the crest of Edward the Black
Prince, now suspended over his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral, that the lion
upon the chapeau looks straight forward over the front of the helm (see
Fig. 271).
[Illustration: FIG. 272.]
Another ancient rule belonging to the same period as the controversy
between leopards and lions was that there cannot be more than _one lion_
upon a shield, and this was one of the great arguments used to determine
that the charges on the Royal Arms of England must be leopards and not
lions. It was admitted as a rule of British armory to a limited extent,
viz., that when two or more lions rampant appeared upon the same shield,
unless combatant, they were always formerly described as lioncels. Thus the
arms of Bohun are: "Azure, a bend argent, cottised between six lioncels
rampant or." British heraldry has, however, long since disregarded any such
rule (if any definite rule ever really existed upon the point), though
curiously enough in the recent grant of arms to the town of Warrington the
animals are there blazoned six "lioncels."
The artistic evolution of the lion rampant can be readily traced in the
examples and explanations which follow, but, as will be understood, the
employment in the case of some of these models cannot strictly be said to
be confined within a certain number of years, though the details and
periods given are roughly accurate, and sufficiently so to typify the
changes which have occurred.
Until perhaps the second half of the thirteenth century the body of the
lion appears straight upright, so that the head, the trunk, and the left
hind-paw fall into the angle of the shield. The left fore-paw is
horizontal, the right fore- and the right hind-paw are placed diagonally
(or obliquely) upwards (Fig. 272). The paws each end in three knobs,
similar to a clover-leaf, out of which the claws come forth. The fourth or
inferior toes appeared in heraldry somewhat later. The jaws are closed or
only very slightly opened, without the tongue being visible. The tail is
thickened in the middle with a bunch of longer hair and is turned down
towards the body.
[Illustration: FIG. 271.--Shield, helmet, and crest of Edward the Black
Prince, suspended over his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral.]
[Illustration: FIG. 273.]
In the course of the period lasting from the second half of the thirteenth
to the second half of the fourteenth centuries, the right hind-paw sinks
lower until it forms a right angle with the left. The mouth {175} grows
pointed, and in the second half of the period the tongue becomes visible.
The tail also shows a knot near its root (Fig. 273).
[Illustration: FIG. 274.]
In examples taken from the second half of the fourteenth century and the
fifteenth century the lion's body is no longer placed like a pillar, but
lays its head back to the left so that the right fore-paw falls into an
oblique upward line with the trunk. The toes are lengthened, appearing
almost as fingers, and spread out from one another; the tail, adorned with
flame-like bunches of hair, strikes outwards and loses the before-mentioned
knot, which only remains visible in a forked tail (_queue-fourché_). The
jaws grow deep and are widely opened, and the breast rises and expands
under the lower jaw (Fig. 274).
Lions of peculiar virility and beauty appear upon a fourteenth-century
banner which shows the arms of the family of Talbot, Earls of Shrewsbury:
Gules, a lion rampant within a bordure engrailed or, quartered with the
arms of _Strange_: Argent, two lions passant in pale gules, armed and
langued azure. Fig. 275 gives the lower half of the banner which was
published in colours in the Catalogue of the Heraldic Exhibition in London,
1894.
[Illustration: FIG. 275.--Arms of Strange and Talbot. (From a design for a
banner.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 276.]
Fig. 276 is an Italian coat of arms of the fourteenth century, and shows a
lion of almost exactly the same design, except the paws are {176} here
rendered somewhat more heraldically. The painting (azure, a lion rampant
argent) served as an "Ex libris," and bears the inscription "Libe
accusacionum mey p. he ..." (The remainder has been cut away. It is
reproduced from Warnecke's "German Bookplates," 1890.)
When we come to modern examples of lions, it is evident that the artists of
the present day very largely copy lions which are really the creations of,
or adaptations from, the work of their predecessors. The lions of the late
Mr. Forbes Nixon, as shown in Fig. 277, which were specially drawn by him
at my request as typical of his style, are respectively as follows:--
A winged lion passant coward. A lion rampant regardant. A lion rampant
queue-fourché. A lion passant crowned. A lion passant. A lion rampant. A
lion rampant to the sinister. A lion passant guardant, ducally gorged. A
lion statant guardant, ducally crowned. A lion rampant. A lion statant
guardant. A lion sejant guardant erect. Lions drawn by Mr. Scruby will be
found in Figs. 278 and 279, which are respectively: "Argent, a lion rampant
sable," "Sable, a lion passant guardant argent," and "Sable, a lion rampant
argent." These again were specially drawn by Mr. Scruby as typical of his
style.
The lions of Mr. Eve would seem to be entirely original. Their singularly
graceful form and proportions are perhaps best shown by Figs. 280 and 281,
which are taken from his book "Decorative Heraldry."
The lions of Mr. Graham Johnston can be appreciated from the examples in
Figs. 284-9.
Examples of lions drawn by Miss Helard will be found in Figs. 282, 283.
The various positions which modern heraldry has evolved for the lions,
together with the terms of blazon used to describe these positions, are as
follows, and the differences can best be appreciated from a series drawn by
the same artist, in this case Mr. Graham Johnston:--
_Lion rampant._--The animal is here depicted in profile, and erect, resting
upon its sinister hind-paw (see Fig. 284). {177}
_Lion rampant guardant._--In this case the head of the lion is turned to
face the spectator (Fig. 285).
[Illustration: FIG. 277.--Lions. (Drawn by Mr. J. Forbes Nixon.)]
_Lion rampant regardant._--In this case the head is turned completely
round, looking backwards (Fig. 286).
_Lion rampant, double-queued._--In this case the lion is represented as
{178} having two tails (Fig. 287). These must both be apparent from the
base of the tail, otherwise confusion will arise with the next example.
_Lion rampant queue-fourché._--In this case one tail springs from the base,
which is divided or "forked" in the centre (Fig. 288). There is no doubt
that whilst in modern times and with regard to modern arms this distinction
must be adhered to, anciently queue-fourché and double-queued were
interchangeable terms.
[Illustration: FIG. 278.--Lion passant guardant. (By Mr. G. Scruby.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 279.--Lion rampant. (By Mr. G. Scruby.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 280.--Lion rampant and lion statant guardant, by Mr. G.
W. Eve. (From "Decorative Heraldry.")]
[Illustration: FIG. 281.--Lion statant, lion passant guardant, and lion
passant regardant, by Mr. G. W. Eve. (From "Decorative Heraldry.")]
_Lion rampant tail nowed._--The tail is here tied in a knot (Fig. 289). It
is not a term very frequently met with.
_Lion rampant tail elevated and turned over its head._--The only instances
of the existence of this curious variation (Fig. 290) which have come under
my own notice occur in the coats of two families of the name {179} of
Buxton, the one being obviously a modern grant founded upon the other.
[Illustration: FIG. 282.--A lion rampant. (By Miss Helard.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 283.--A lion rampant. (By Miss Helard.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 284.--Lion rampant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 285.--Lion rampant guardant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 286.--Lion rampant regardant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 287.--Lion rampant double queued.]
[Illustration: FIG. 288.--Lion rampant queue-fourché.]
[Illustration: FIG. 289.--Lion rampant, tail nowed.]
_Lion rampant with two heads._--This occurs (Fig. 291) in the coat of arms,
probably founded on an earlier instance, granted in 1739 to {180} Mason of
Greenwich, the arms being: "Per fess ermine and azure, a lion rampant with
two heads counterchanged." This curious charge had been adopted by Mason's
College in Birmingham, and on the foundation of Birmingham University it
was incorporated in its arms.
_Lion rampant guardant bicorporated._--In this case the lion has one head
and two bodies. An instance of this curious creature occurs in the arms of
Attewater, but I am not aware of any modern instance of its use.
[Illustration: FIG. 290.--Lion rampant, tail elevated and turned over its
head.]
[Illustration: FIG. 291.--Lion rampant, with two heads.]
[Illustration: FIG. 292.--Tricorporate lion.]
[Illustration: FIG. 293.--Lion coward.]
_Lion Rampant Tricorporate._--In this case three bodies are united in one
head (Fig. 292). Both this and the preceding variety are most unusual, but
the tricorporate lion occurs in a coat of arms (_temp._ Car. II.)
registered in Ulster's Office: "Or, a tricorporate lion rampant, the bodies
disposed in the dexter and sinister chief points and in base, all meeting
in one head guardant in the fess point sable."
_Lion coward._--In this case the tail of the lion is depressed, passing
between its hind legs (Fig. 293). The exactitude of this term is to some
extent modern. Though a lion cowarded was known in ancient days, there can
be no doubt that formerly an artist felt himself quite at liberty to put
the tail between the legs if this seemed artistically desirable, without
necessarily having interfered with the arms by so doing.
[Illustration: FIG. 294.--Armorial bearings of Alexander Charles Richards
Maitland, Esq.: Or, a lion rampant gules, couped in all his joints of the
field, within a double tressure flory and counterflory azure, a bordure
engrailed ermine. Mantling gules and or. Crest: upon a wreath of his
liveries, a lion sejant erect and affronté gules, holding in his dexter paw
a sword proper, hilted and pommelled gold, and in his sinister a
fleur-de-lis argent. Motto: "Consilio et animis."]
_Lion couped in all its joints_ is a charge which seems peculiar to the
family of Maitland, and it would be interesting to learn to what source its
origin can be traced. It is represented with each of its four paws, its
head and its tail severed from the body, and removed slightly away
therefrom. A Maitland coat of arms exhibiting this peculiarity will be
found in Fig. 294. {181}
_Lions rampant combatant_ are so termed when two are depicted in one shield
facing each other in the attitude of fighting (Fig. 295).
A very curious and unique instance of a lion rampant occurs in the arms of
Williams (matriculated in Lyon Register in 1862, as the second and third
quarterings of the arms of Sir James Williams Drummond of Hawthornden,
Bt.), the coat in question being: Argent, a lion rampant, the body sable,
the head, paws, and tuft of the tail of the field.
_Lion passant._--A lion in this position (Fig. 296) is represented in the
act of walking, the dexter forepaw being raised, but all three others being
upon the ground.
_Lion passant guardant._--This (Fig. 297) is the same as the previous
position, except that the head is turned to face the spectator. The lions
in the quartering for England in the Royal coat of arms are "three lions
passant guardant in pale."
_Lion of England._--This is "a lion passant guardant or," and the term is
only employed for a lion of this description when it occurs as or in an
honourable augmentation, then being usually represented on a field of
gules. A lion passant guardant or, is now never granted to any applicant
except under a specific Royal Warrant to that effect. It occurs in many
augmentations, _e.g._ Wolfe, Camperdown, and many others; and when three
lions passant guardant in pale or upon a canton gules are granted, as in
the arms of Lane (Plate II.), the augmentation is termed a "canton of
England."
_Lion passant regardant_ is as the lion passant, but with the head turned
right round looking behind (Fig. 298). A lion is not often met with in this
position.
_Lions passant dimidiated._--A curious survival of the ancient but now
{182} obsolete practice of dimidiation is found in the arms of several
English seaport towns. Doubtless all can be traced to the "so-called" arms
of the "Cinque Ports," which show three lions passant guardant dimidiated
with the hulks of three ships. There can be no doubt whatever that this
originally came from the dimidiation of two separate coats, viz. the Royal
Arms of England (the three lions passant guardant), and the other "azure,
three ships argent," typical of the Cinque Ports, referring perhaps to the
protection of the coasts for which they were liable, or possibly merely to
their seaboard position. Whilst Sandwich[13] uses the two separate coats
simply dimidiated upon one shield, the arms of Hastings[14] vary slightly,
being: "Party per pale gules and azure, a lion passant guardant or, between
in chief and in base a lion passant guardant of the last dimidiated with
the hulk of a ship argent." From long usage we have grown accustomed to
consider these two conjoined and dimidiated figures as one figure (Fig.
299), and in the recent grant of arms to Ramsgate[15] a figure of this kind
was granted as a simple charge.
[Illustration: FIG. 295.--Two lions rampant combatant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 296.--Lion passant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 297.--Lion passant guardant.]
The arms of Yarmouth[16] afford another instance of a resulting figure of
this class, the three lions passant guardant of England being here
dimidiated with as many herrings naiant.
_Lion statant._--The distinction between a lion passant and a lion statant
is that the lion statant has all four paws resting upon the {183} ground.
The two forepaws are usually placed together (Fig. 300). Whilst but seldom
met with as a charge upon a shield, the lion statant is by no means rare as
a crest.
_Lion statant tail extended._--This term is a curious and, seemingly, a
purposeless refinement, resulting from the perpetuation in certain cases of
one particular method of depicting the crest--originally when a crest a
lion was always so drawn--but it cannot be overlooked, because in the
crests of both Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and Percy, Duke of
Northumberland, the crest is now stereotyped as a lion in this form (Fig.
301) upon a chapeau.
[Illustration: FIG. 298.--Lion passant regardant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 299.--Lion passant guard. dimidiated with the hulk of a
ship.]
[Illustration: FIG. 300.--Lion statant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 301.--Lion statant tail extended.]
[Illustration: FIG. 302.--Lion statant guardant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 303.--Lion salient.]
_Lion statant guardant_ (Fig. 302).--This (crowned) is of course the Royal
crest of England, and examples of it will be found in the arms of the
Sovereign and other descendants, legitimate and illegitimate, of Sovereigns
of this country. An exceptionally fine rendering of it occurs in the
Windsor Castle Bookplates executed by Mr. G. W. Eve.
_Lion salient._--This, which is a very rare position for a lion, represents
it in the act of springing, the _two_ hind legs being on the ground, the
others in the air (Fig. 303). {184}
_Lion salient guardant._--There is no reason why the lion salient may not
be guardant or regardant, though an instance of the use of either does not
come readily to mind.
_Lion sejant._--Very great laxity is found in the terms applied to lions
sejant, consequently care is necessary to distinguish the various forms.
The true lion sejant is represented in profile, seated on its haunches,
with the forepaws resting on the ground (Fig. 304).
[Illustration: FIG. 304.--Lion sejant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 305.--Lion sejant guardant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 306.--Lion sejant regardant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 307.--Lion sejant erect.]
[Illustration: FIG. 308.--Lion sejant guardant erect.]
[Illustration: FIG. 309.--Lion sejant regardant erect.]
_Lion sejant guardant._--This is as the foregoing, but with the face (only)
turned to the spectator (Fig. 305).
_Lion sejant regardant._--In this the head is turned right back to gaze
behind (Fig. 306).
_Lion sejant erect_ (or, as it is sometimes not very happily termed,
sejant-rampant).--In this position the lion is sitting upon its haunches,
but the body is erect, and it has its forepaws raised in the air (Fig.
307).
_Lion sejant guardant erect_ is as the last figure, but the head faces the
spectator (Fig. 308).
_Lion sejant regardant erect_ is as the foregoing, but with the head turned
right round to look backwards (Fig. 309).
_Lion sejant affronté._--In this case the lion is seated on its haunches,
{185} but _the whole body_ is turned to face the spectator, the forepaws
resting upon the ground in front of its body. Ugly as this position is, and
impossible as it might seem, it certainly is to be found in some of the
early rolls.
_Lion sejant erect affronté_ (Fig. 294).--This position is by no means
unusual in Scotland. A lion sejant erect and affronté, &c., is the Royal
crest of Scotland, and it will also be found in the arms of Lyon Office.
A good representation of the lion sejant affronté and erect is shown in
Fig. 310, which is taken from Jost Amman's _Wappen und Stammbuch_ (1589).
It represents the arms of the celebrated Lansquenet Captain Sebastian
Schärtlin (Schertel) von Burtenbach ["Gules, a lion sejant affronté erect,
double-queued, holding in its dexter paw a key argent and in its sinister a
fleur-de-lis"]. His victorious assault on Rome in 1527, and his striking
successes against France in 1532, are strikingly typified in these arms,
which were granted in 1534.
[Illustration: FIG. 310.--Arms of Sebastian Schärtlin von Burtenbach.]
[Illustration: FIG. 311.--Lion couchant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 312.--Lion dormant.]
_Lion Couchant._--In this position the lion is represented lying down, but
the head is erect and alert (Fig. 311).
_Lion dormant._--A lion dormant is in much the same position as a lion
couchant, except that the eyes are closed, and the head rests upon the
extended forepaws (Fig. 312). Lions dormant are seldom met with, but they
occur in the arms of Lloyd, of Stockton Hall, near York.
_Lion morné._--This is a lion without teeth and claws, but no instance of
the use of the term would appear to exist in British armory. Woodward
mentions amongst other Continental examples the arms of the old French
family of De Mornay ["Fascé d'argent et de gueules au lion morné de sable,
couronné d'or brochant sur le tout"].
_Lions as supporters._--Refer to the chapter on Supporters.
_Winged lion._--The winged lion--usually known as the lion of St. Mark--is
not infrequently met with. It will be found both passant {186} and sejant,
but more frequently the latter (Fig. 313). The true lion of St. Mark (that
is, when used as a badge for sacred purposes to typify St. Mark) has a
halo. Winged lions are the supporters of Lord Braye.
_Sea lion_ (or, to use another name for it, a _morse_) is the head,
forepaws, and upper part of a lion conjoined to the tail of a fish. The
most frequent form in which sea lions appear are as supporters, but they
are also met with as crests and charges. When placed horizontally they are
termed naiant. Sea lions, however, will also be found "sejant" and
"sejant-erect" (Fig. 314). When issuing from waves of the sea they are
termed "assurgeant."
_Lion-dragon._--One hesitates to believe that this creature has any
existence outside heraldry books, where it is stated to be of similar form
and construction to the sea lion, the difference being that the lower half
is the body and tail of a wyvern. I know of no actual arms or crest in
which it figures.
[Illustration: FIG. 313.--Winged lion.]
[Illustration: FIG. 314.--Sea lion.]
[Illustration: FIG. 315.--Man-Lion.]
_Man-lion_ or _man-tiger_.--This is as a lion but with a human face. Two of
these are the supporters of Lord Huntingdon, and one was granted to the
late Lord Donington as a supporter, whilst as charges they also occur in
the arms of Radford. This semi-human animal is sometimes termed a "lympago"
(Fig. 315).
_Other terms relating to lions_ occur in many heraldic works--both old and
new--but their use is very limited, if indeed of some, any example at all
could be found in British armory. In addition to this, whilst the fact may
sometimes exist, the _term_ has never been adopted or officially
recognised. Personally I believe most of the terms which follow may for all
practical purposes be entirely disregarded. Amongst such terms are
_contourné_, applied to a lion passant or rampant to the sinister. It
would, however, be found blazoned in these words and not as contourné.
"Dismembered," "Demembré," "Dechaussée," and "Trononnée" are all
"heraldry-book" terms specified to mean the same as "couped in all its
joints," but the uselessness and uncertainty concerning these terms is
exemplified by the fact that the {187} same books state "dismembered" or
"demembré" to mean (when applied to a lion) that the animal is shown
without legs or tail. The term "embrued" is sometimes applied to a lion to
signify that its mouth is bloody and dropping blood; and "vulned" signifies
wounded, heraldically represented by a blotch of gules, from which drops of
blood are falling. A lion "disarmed" is without teeth, tongue, or claws.
A term often found in relation to lions rampant, but by no means peculiar
thereto, is "debruised." This is used when it is partly defaced by another
charge (usually an ordinary) being placed over it.
Another of these guide-book terms is "decollated," which is said to be
employed in the case of a lion which has its head cut off. A lion "defamed"
or "diffamed" is supposed to be rampant to the sinister but looking
backwards, the supposition being that the animal is being (against his
will) chased off the field with infamy. A lion "evire" is supposed to be
emasculated and without signs of sex. In this respect it is interesting to
note that in earlier days, before mock modesty and prudery had become such
prominent features of our national life, the genital organ was always
represented of a pronounced size in a prominent position, and it was as
much a matter of course to paint it gules as it now is to depict the tongue
of that colour. To prevent error I had better add that this is not now the
usual practice.
Lions placed back to back are termed "endorsed" or "addorsed," but when two
lions passant in pale are represented, one passing to the dexter and one to
the sinister, they are termed "counter-passant." This term is, however,
also used sometimes when they are merely passant towards each other. A more
correct description in such cases would be passant "respecting" or
"regarding" each other.
The term _lionné_ is one stated to be used with animals other than lions
when placed in a rampant position. Whilst doubtless of regular acceptation
in French heraldry as applied to a leopard, it is unknown in English, and
the term rampant is indifferently applied; _e.g._ in the case of a leopard,
wolf, or tiger when in the rampant position.
_Lionced_ is a term seldom met with, but it is said to be applied (for
example to a cross) when the arms end in lions' heads. I have yet to find
an authentic example of the use of such a cross.
When a bend or other ordinary issues from the mouths of lions (or other
animals), the heads issuing from the edges or angles of the escutcheon, the
ordinary is said to be "engouled."
A curious term, of the use of which I know only one example, is "fleshed"
or "flayed." This, as doubtless will be readily surmised, means that the
skin is removed, leaving the flesh gules. This was the method by which the
supporters of Wurtemburg were "differenced" for the Duke of Teck, the
forepaws being "fleshed." {188}
Woodward gives the following very curious instances of the lion in
heraldry:--
"Only a single example of the use of the lioness as a heraldic charge is
known to me. The family of COING, in Lorraine, bears: d'Azure, à une lionne
arrêtée d'or.
"The following fourteenth-century examples of the use of the lion as a
heraldic charge are taken from the oft-quoted _Wappenrolle von Zurich_, and
should be of interest to the student of early armory:--
* * * * *
"51: END: Azure, a lion rampant-guardant argent, its feet or.
"305. WILDENVELS: Per pale argent and sable, in the first a demi-lion
statant-guardant issuant from the dividing line.
"408. TANNENVELS: Azure, a lion rampant or, queué argent.
"489. RINACH: Or, a lion rampant gules, headed azure.
"A curious use of the lion as a charge occurs in several ancient coats of
the Low Countries, _e.g._ in that of TRASEGNIES, whose arms are: Bandé d'or
et d'azur, à l'ombre du lion brochant sur le tout, à la bordure engrêlée
d'or. Here the ombre du lion is properly represented by a darker shade of
the tincture (either of or or of azure), but often the artist contents
himself with simply drawing the outline of the animal in a neutral tint.
"Among other curiosities of the use of the lion are the following foreign
coats:--
"BOISSIAU, in France, bears: De gueules, semé de lions d'argent.
"MINUTOLI, of Naples: Gules, a lion rampant vair, the head and feet or.
"LOEN, of Holland: Azure, a decapitated lion rampant argent, three jets of
blood spurting from the neck proper.
"PAPACODA, of Naples: Sable, a lion rampant or, its tail turned over its
head and held by its teeth.
"The Counts REINACH, of Franconia: Or, a lion rampant gules, hooded and
masked azure (see above)."
To these instances the arms of Westbury may well be added, these being:
Quarterly, or and azure, a cross patonce, on a bordure twenty lions rampant
all counter-changed. No doubt the origin of such a curious bordure is to be
found in the "bordure of England," which, either as a mark of cadency or as
an indication of affinity or augmentation, can be found in some number of
instances. Probably one will suffice as an example. This is forthcoming in
Fig. 61, which shows the arms of John de Bretagne, Earl of Richmond. Of a
similar nature is the bordure of Spain (indicative of his maternal descent)
borne by Richard of Conisburgh, Earl of Cambridge, who bore: Quarterly
France and England, a label of three points argent, each charged with {189}
as many torteaux, on a bordure of the same twelve lions rampant purpure
(Fig. 316).
[Illustration: FIG. 317.--Arms of Bohemia, from the "Pulver Turme" at
Prague. (Latter half of the fifteenth century.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 316.--Arms of Richard of Conisburgh, Earl of Cambridge.
(From MS. Cott., Julius C. vii.)]
Before leaving the lion, the hint may perhaps be usefully conveyed that the
temptation to over-elaborate the lion when depicting it heraldically should
be carefully avoided. The only result is confusion--the very contrary of
the essence of heraldic emblazonment, which was, is, and should be, the
method of clear advertisement of identity. Examples of over-elaboration
can, however, be found in the past, as will be seen from Fig. 317. This
example belongs to the latter half of the fifteenth century, and represents
the arms of Bohemia. It is taken from a shield on the "Pulver Turme" at
Prague.
Parts of lions are very frequently to be met with, particularly as crests.
In fact the most common crest in existence is the _demi-lion rampant_ (Fig.
318). This is the upper half of a lion rampant. It is comparatively seldom
found other than rampant and couped, so that the term "a demi-lion," unless
otherwise qualified, may always be assumed to be a demi-lion rampant
couped. As charges upon the shield three will be found in the arms of
Bennet, Earl of Tankerville: "Gules, a bezant between three demi-lions
rampant argent."
The demi-lion may be both guardant and regardant.
_Demi-lions rampant and erased_ are more common as charges than as crests.
They are to be found in several Harrison coats of arms.
[Illustration: FIG. 318.--A demi-lion rampant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 319.--A demi-lion passant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 320.--A lion's head couped.]
_Demi-lions passant_ (Fig. 319) are rather unusual, but in addition to the
seeming cases in which they occur by dimidiation they are sometimes found,
as in the case of the arms of Newman. {190}
_Demi-lion affronté._--The only case which has come under notice would
appear to be the crest of Campbell of Aberuchill.
_Demi-lion issuant._--This term is applied to a demi-lion when it issues
from an ordinary, _e.g._ from the base line of the chief, as in the arms of
Dormer, Markham, and Abney; or from behind a fesse, as in the arms of
Chalmers.
_Demi-lion naissant_ issues from the centre of an ordinary, and not from
behind it.
_Lions' heads_, both couped (Fig. 320) and erased, are very frequently met
with both as charges on the shield and as crests.
[Illustration: FIG. 321.--A lion's face.]
_Lion's gamb._--Many writers make a distinction between the _gamb_ (which
is stated to be the lower part only, couped or erased half-way up the leg)
and the _paw_, but this distinction cannot be said to be always rigidly
observed. In fact some authorities quote the exact reverse as the
definition of the terms. As charges the gamb or paw will be found to occur
in the arms of Lord Lilford ["Or, a lion's gamb erased in bend dexter
between two crosslets fitchée in bend sinister gules"], and in the arms of
Newdigate. This last is a curious example, inasmuch as, without being so
specified in the blazon, the gambs are represented in the position occupied
by the sinister foreleg of a lion passant.
The crest upon the Garter Plate of Edward Cherleton, Lord Cherleton of
Powis, must surely be unique. It consists of two lions' paws embowed, the
outer edge of each being adorned with fleurs-de-lis issuant therefrom.
_A lion's tail_ will sometimes be found as a crest, and it also occurs as a
charge in the arms of Corke, viz.: "Sable, three lions' tails erect and
erased argent."
_A lion's face_ (Fig. 321) should be carefully distinguished from a lion's
head. In the latter case the neck, either couped or erased, must be shown;
but a lion's face is affronté and cut off closely behind the ears. The
distinction between the head and the face can be more appropriately
considered in the case of the leopard. {191}