It will be observable that in the hands of a capable designer imbued with
the true heraldic spirit, all objects, animate and inanimate, conform
after their kind to decorative necessities, and assume shapes more or less
conventional, and, as far as is consistent with effective display of the
charge, are made to accommodate themselves to the space they must occupy.
Fierce and savage beasts are made to look full of energy and angry power,
while gentle-natured creatures are made to retain their harmless traits.
In a monster of the dragon tribe, strong leathern wings add to his
terrors; his jaws are wide, his claws are strong and sharp; he is clothed
in impenetrable armour of plates and scales, his breath is fire and flame,
lightning darts from his eyes, he lashes his tail in fury; and all the
while the artist is most careful so to spread the creature out on shield
or banner that all his powers shall be displayed at once.
Whatever liberty the artist may take in his interpretation of the form of
bird, beast, or monster, there is, however, a limit to his licence beyond
which he may not go. He may not alter the recognised symbolic attitude,
nor change the tincture; he is scarcely at liberty to add a feature. He
may curl the mane of his lion, fancifully develop its tongue and tail,
and display its claws in a manner for which there is little or no
authority in nature; but if he add wings, or endow it with a plurality of
heads or tails, it instantly becomes another creature and a totally
different symbol.[2] A wise reticence in treatment is more to be commended
than such fanciful extravagance.
The early artists and heralds, in their strivings to exaggerate in a
conventional manner the characteristics of animals for their most
effective display, appear to have reached the limits of which their art
was capable, and important lessons may be gained from their works. With
the extended knowledge of natural history, and the advanced state of art
at the present day, decorative and symbolic heraldry should take a leading
place in the twentieth century, as in the words of Ruskin, it has been
"hitherto the most brilliant" and "most effective of the Arts."