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HERALDRY
BRITISH AND FOREIGN
VOL. I.
This Edition is limited to 323 Copies, of which 300 only
will be offered for sale.
W. & A. K. Johnston.
A TREATISE ON
HERALDRY
BRITISH AND FOREIGN
WITH ENGLISH AND FRENCH GLOSSARIES
NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION
BY
JOHN WOODWARD, LL.D.
( RECTO K OF ST. MARY'S i'IIUIICLI, montrosk)
VOL
^•i-*«'-«s*i Ay>
W. & A. K. JOHNSTON
EDINBU R G H A N I ) L O N D O N
i 8 g 6
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INTRODUCTION.
The very favourable reception accorded, both at home
and abroad, to the first issue of these volumes, has led,
after the lapse of four years, to the publication of a new
and considerably extended edition.
The whole work has undergone revision and re-
arrangement ; and, as regards both text and illustra-
tions, a good deal more than a third part of the present
volumes now appears in print for the first time.
The more important Introductory Chapters, which
treat of the origin and development of Systematic
Heraldry, have been carefully re-written and much
enlarged. In them old fallacies and erroneous specula-
tions have been exploded, and the origin of our social
distinctions has been placed, it is hoped, on a firm
historical basis. (In connection with this investigation I
have derived assistance from Bishop Stubbs' excellent
Constitutional History of England, which I desire now to
acknowledge.) In order to effect a saving of space, my
dissertation on the use of the Particule Nobiliaire has
been removed to the Appendix, which also contains
some interesting and important additions.
Room has been made for Chapters dealing more fully
with National Arms, and treating of Orders of Knight-
hood, Mottoes, Liveries, etc.
Large additions have been made to the illuminated,
and other, illustrations ; and in the case of the arms
( viii )
selected as examples many of those borne by families of
comparatively little consequence have been replaced,
both in the plates and in the text, by those of greater
importance ; thus, so far as it goes, the book has become
a libro cToro of the great European families.
In the Introduction to the first edition, I frankly ex-
plained the circumstances under which the name of the
late Dr Burnett came to be coupled with mine as its
joint author, and certain contributions by him (not
amounting to one-fifth of the whole) included in the
book, and duly marked with his initials. But for the
present book I am alone responsible. I do not at all
desire to minimise any advantages which may have
accrued to the work from a collaboration which neither
of us intended or desired ; but, whatever they were, they
were more than counterbalanced by disadvantages which
there is no reason at all for perpetuating. One only
need be referred to now. The piecing together of por-
tions of two separate treatises, written with different
objects, and dealing with the subject matter from entirely
different stand-points, though effected with as much skill
as I knew how to employ, was not, and could not be
entirely satisfactory. My friend had never intended
anything more than a treatise on Scottish Armory — in
fact an abridgement of NlSBET — while I had been en-
couraged by him to deal with the subject of Heraldry on
much wider lines. 1 In the exercise, therefore, of the
same right of judgment which caused the inclusion in
the first issue of those portions of the work for which my
collaborateur was, either entirely or in the main, re-
sponsible, I have decided now to omit them. Care has,
of course, been taken that the book shall not suffer by
the exclusion of any matter which is of real importance
He had written to me— "A good book on Comparative Heraldry,
English and Foreign, is much needed, and I know no one so quali-
fied to write it as yourself."
( i* )
to the general student ; and I do not think that there has
even been any sensible diminution of national flavour.
I had intended to include in the present issue some
chapters on the College of Arms, the Lyon-Office, and
other Heraldic institutions of authority, existingor defunct,
at home and abroad. But I have found the subject too im-
portant, and the materials on hand too considerable, to
admit of the treatment proposed ; and I .must therefore
postpone the consideration of this part of the subject to a
future opportunity, and to a separate work, in which I hope
to do for the " Law and Practice of Arms " in general that
which was done so ably for Scotland in the well-known
work of Mr Seton. I may say here that though I have
ventured to criticise certain things which have been done
by " authority," this does not imply any disregard for
the authority itself, properly exercised ; or the smallest
disrespect for the amiable, and in some cases undoubtedly
well-qualified gentlemen who administer it. But the
doings of public officials are legitimate subjects for
reasonable criticism, and it would be quite unfair to impute
to me in consequence a position of hostility, which on
very special grounds I should be almost the last person
alive to take up.
My grateful thanks are due to my critics, who, in
answer to my invitation, either publicly or privately
directed my attention to mistakes, or misprints in the
first issue, which were not the less vexatious because they
were for the most part both obvious and trivial. In this
connection my thanks are specially due to my friends,
Rev. J. M. DANSON, D.D., of Aberdeen ; and P. J.
ANDERSON, Esq., M.A., LL.B., the Librarian of the
University of the same city. L. L. KROPF, Esq. (who is
a mine of learning with regard to the history of the States
of Eastern Europe) most kindly allowed me the use of his
copy of Nyary's Heraldika, a work of much value to those
who can surmount the difficulties of the Magyar tongue.
( x )
As in former publications, the excellent Index is the
patient work of George Harvey Johnston, Esq. ;
its merits are so evident as to need no commendations
from me, but an expression of sincere thanks, on behalf
both of my readers and myself, is not the less due to
him.
JOHN WOODWARD.
Montrose,
December rSpj.
SYNOPSIS.
VOL. I.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Definition of Heraldry, or Armory — The duties of a Herald —
Social rank in feudal and earlier times — Germanic institutions
the origin of the feudal system — Land-tenure, and class
distinctions — Primitive nobility — Rise of the Monarchical
authority — Establishment of feudalism— Nobility and Military
service — Adoption of heraldic insignia — Letters of nobility —
British and Continental use of the term "noble" — Gentleman
— Esquires — Knights pp. I — 1 5
CHAPTER II.
ORIGIN OF ARMORY.
Origin of Armorial insignia — Personal emblems on Etruscan and
Grecian vases, etc. — Speculations of ancient writers — Assyrian
and Egyptian standards — Greek poets — Roman standards
and cohort ensigns — Charlemagne and his paladins — Henry
the Fowler — Heraldry really of gradual growth — Totemism —
Japanese Armory — Mexican Heraldry under the Astec
princes — Personal and tribal emblems of Scandinavia and
Germany — The sculptured stones of Scotland — Evidence of the
Bayeux Tapestry against the early use of personal arms— Nisbet
traces armory to thejtis imaginum! — More enlightened views
of Menestrier and others — Planche's conclusions — Ellis
opposition based chiefly on the fictitious Leges Hastiludiales
— Opinion of the present writer.
( xii )
CHAPTER III.
DEVELOPMENT OF COAT-ARMOUR.
Materials on which to base enquiry — Changes in defensive armour
— Influence of the Crusades in converting personal into
hereditary insignia — Fabulous assumptions — Saracenic Armory
— Oriental origin of heraldic terms — Saracenic renouk merely
personal — The Fleur-de-lis — Influence of tournaments and
jousts — These, originating in Germany, were regulated in
France — RuXNER'S Thurnier Buck, an elaborate fiction —
The Leges Hastiludiales of late origin — The negative evidence
of seals, coins, tombs — Arms of the Popes — Tombs of William
of Flanders and Geoffrey Plantagenet — Early tombs
with arms in Britain — Shields without arms — Early foreign
seals— Transition of personal devices into hereditary Arms —
Use of Arms in Scotland, the Low Countries, France, Spain,
Italy, Sweden — The writer's conclusions confirmed by the
British Museum Collection of Seals . . . pp. 33 — 57.
CHAPTER IV.
SHAPE OF SHIELD — TINCTURES — PARTED COATS.
Primary use of Armorial Insignia — The shield — Its shape and size
affected by the character of armour — The Bayeux Tapestry
armour and shield — Type at the commencement of 13th century
— Later forms — The Spanish shield — Oval shields — d bouche —
Ecu en palette— Ecu en bannicre— Circular escucheons — Ecu en
lozange — Points of the Escucheon — Tinctures— Metals — Furs —
Exceptional use of other colours — Cendree — Brundtre — Bleic-
celeste—Amaranthe—Eisen-farbe— Carnation- Proper— Purpure
— Nonsensical ideas as toarmsbeing indicativeof moral qualities
— Furs — Ermine — Vair — Curious examples — Cinderella's
slipper — Modes of indicating colours by hachitres — Tricking —
Absurd pedantries of blazon — Fields of a single metal, tincture,
or fur — The Blut-fahne or Regalien quarter— Varieties of
Ermine — Varieties of Vair — Bcffroi — Menu-vair — Potent —
Vaire, or Verrey — Plumete — Papelonne — Fur an naturel —
Arms of Bregenz— Parted Coats — Partition lines — Modes of
partition — Ecartele en cquerre — Gyronny — The Campbell coat
( xiii )
— Tierced fields — German and other Continental partitions —
Chape — Chansse — Chaperonne — Rebattements — Paly — Barry
— Bendy — Fretty — Chevrony — Chequy — Lozengy — Rules of
Blazon — Armes fansscs — Semi — Diaper . . pp. 57—124
CHAPTER V.
ORDINARIES.
Classification simply for convenience— Origin of the Ordinaries —
The Chief — Double Chiefs— Chiefs of Augmentation, and
Religion — Chefs abaisst ( s—Gue\ph\c and Ghibelline Chiefs —
The fillet— The divise— The Chief-pale— The Champagne— The
Pale — Tierced in pale — Pallets — Endorse — Pallets retraits.
The FESS — The Stuart arms — Variations of the fess — The Bar —
Bars Gemels — Cotices — Tierced in fess.
The Bend — The bend Engoulie — The Krcintzlein, or Crancelin —
Bendlets — Bendlets enhanced — The Cotice.
The Bend-Sinister — No certain mark of illegitimacy — Arrange-
ment of arms in Churches — The Chapel of the Golden Fleece
at Dijon — The Cathedral at Haarlem— St. George's Chapel,
Windsor.
The Chevron — Different modes of drawing — Chevron ploye —
Chevron ecimi — Chevrons rompus, brise's, fail lis — Chevronels
— Couple-closes.
The Cross as an Ordinary — The Saltire — The saltire and Chief
— Flanchis — The Pile — Emanche — Pointe — Ente en pointe —
The Pairle, or Pall. pp. 151— 160
The Cross as a Charge— Varieties of — The Passion, or Long Cross
— Cross Calvary — Cross Patriarchal— Cross of Lorraine—
Greek Cross, or Cross Couped — Cross Patty, or Formy — The
Otelle— The Maltese Cross— The Victoria Cross— The Cross
Patty-fitchy— The Cross Potent— The Cross of Jerusalem—
The Cross Patonce — The Cross Flory, or Fleury — The Cross
Floretty, or Fleur-de-lise'e — The Cross of Calatrava— The
Cross Ana-ee, or Moline — The Cross Sarcelly, or Recercelee —
The Cross Botonny — The Cross Pommetty — The Cross
Clechee — The Cross of TOULOUSE — The Cross fonrche'e — The
Cross Tau — The Cross Giiivri, or Gringolee — The Cross
Urde'e — The Cross Avellane — The Cross Aiguisee — Crosslets
—The Cross of S. Julian pp. 160—173
( xiv )
CHAPTER VI.
THE SUB-ORDINARIES.
The Quarter — The Canton— The Canton Indented— Double
Cantons — The Canton and Fess.
The Giron— Arms of Giron, Mortimer, and Pressigny.
The Inescucheon, or Escucheon p. 179
The Bordure — The Bordure Compony — Double Bordures — A
Bordure circular — Vetu en rond, et en ovale — The Orle — Un
faux ecusson . . . . . . . . p. 1 80
The Tressure — The Royal Tressure of Scotland — Its origin —
Its early use — As an Augmentation — Grant of to Foreigners —
Variously floriated — Foreign use of the Tressure . p. 186
The Fret — The Lozenge — The Lozenge-throughout. . p. 192
The Fusil — Mascle — Rustre p. 194
The Flaunche — Flanque en rond — Flasque — Voider — The Billet,
and Delve p. 196
The Label — Labels of unusual number of points — Labels in
unusual positions — Curious Labels.
Roundles — Noms bizarres— The Arms of the Medici — Roundles
charged — Besans-tourteaicx, and Tonrteanx-besans — Foun-
tains, and Gurges • pp. 198 — 205
CHAPTER VII.
ANIMATE CHARGES— I. THE HUMAN FIGURE.
Arms of the See of Chichester, and other ecclesiastical foundations
— Saints — Biblical personages — Mythological — Nude figures —
Savages — Knights — Dancers — Parts of the human body-
Moor's heads — Hungarian memorials of Turkish fights — Heads
of Gerion, Janus, Argus, Boreas, Midas, etc.— Cherubim
and Seraphim — The human eye — The heart — Valentine coats
— Beards, lips, teeth — Piratical coats — The skeleton — Arms
and hands — University of Paris — Dextrocheres, etc. — The
Foi — Arms of Isle of Man, and of Sicily — Human legs and
feet ... ...... pp. 205 — 220
( xv )
CHAPTER VIII.
ANIMATE CHARGES— II. BEASTS.
I.— The Lion— The Lions of England— Leopards in French and
English blazon— Different attitudes —Parts of the Lion— Early
and curious examples of the Lion in Axms—L'Otnbre du
Lion pp. 221—237
II.— Other Beasts.— The Tiger— Its vanity !— The Leopard-
Leopard's heads— Jessant de lis — The ferocious Musion — The
Lynx, and Panther— The Catamount— The wild Boar— The
domestic Pig — Wolves — Ravissant—Tte Bear — The Polar
Bear— The Bear's head— The Fox— The Elephant— The
Camel— Stags— Reindeer, and Moose-deer— Holyrood Abbey
— Stags' Horns — Massacre — Bulls — Calves — Heads— Goats
and Goat's Heads— Sheep— The Paschal Lamb— The Ante-
lope—The Horse and Ass — The Hare — Seals — Otters-
Beavers — Urchins — Moles — Squirrels —Apes— Rats — Dogs,
etc PP. 237—253
CHAPTER IX.
animate charges. — III. BIRDS.
A. The Eagle.— The Eagle of the Holy Roman Empire— Its
origin and development — The single-headed Eagle — The
double-headed Eagle — The Heiligenscheine — The Eagle in
other princely and Royal coats — The Eagle of the Emperors
of the East — The Eagle of the German Empire — The
Allerion — The Eagle of the French Empire — Parts of the
Eagle pp. 254—272
B. Other Birds. — The Vulture — The Falcon — Owls — The Swan
— Heron — Stork — Crane — The Ostrich — Ostrich feathers —
Pelican — Ravens and Choughs — The Popinjay — Cocks and
Hens — Swallows and Martins— Peacocks, and Birds of
Paradise — Other Birds pp. 272 — 280
( xvi )
CHAPTER X.
ANIMATE CHARGES. — IV. FISH, REPTILES, INSECTS.
I. Fish.— The Dolphin— The Dauphins of France— The Barbel
— The Salmon and Pike — The Whale — The Eel — Shell-fish
pp. 280 — 287
II. Reptiles. — Serpents — Couleuvre — Lizards — Crocodiles —
Scorpions — Tortoises — Frogs and Toads— Johnnie Crapaad —
Leeches, Worms, and Snails . . . pp. 289 — 293
III. INSECTS. — The Butterfly — The House-fly— Spiders — Wasps
— The Bees of the French Empire — Ants— Grasshoppers —
Wood-lice — Fleas pp. 293 — 298
CHAPTER XI.
ANIMATE CHARGES. — V. MONSTERS.
The Griffin — The Sea-Griffin — The Dragon — Le Dragon M071-
strueux — Wyverns — The Cockatrice and Basilisk — Archi-
tectural Monsters — The Salamander — L'Amphiptere — The
Sphinx, Harpy, and Hydra — The Unicorn — The Sea-Unicorn
— The Phcenix — The Pegasus — The Centaur — Le Centaur
Sagittaire — The Sea-Horse — The Sea-Stag — The Sea-Hare —
The Cock-Fish — The Sea-Lion — The Sea-Dog — The Mer-
maid or Siren — The Faun, Devil, and Cerberus pp. 299 — 320
CHAPTER XII.
INANIMATE CHARGES. — I. ASTRONOMICAL.
The Sun — The Moon — The Crescent — The Star, Estoile, and
Mullet — Constellations — Planetary Symbols— Comets — Rain-
bows—Thunderbolts — Storms — The Wind — Champagne —
Mount — Terrace — Water — River — Volcanoes — Fire — Flames
pp. 321—332
( xvii )
CHAPTER XIII.
INANIMATE CHARGES.— II. THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
I. Trees, and Flowers.— Groves — Forests — Trees — Branches
—The Crequier— Palms— Leaves— The Trefoil— Klee-Stengeln
— The Nenuphar — Leaf— Quatrefoils — Cinquefoils — Fraises —
The Rose of England— The Fleur-de-lis of France— The
Lily of Florence— The Natural Lily— The Thistle of Scot-
land— Wreaths and Chaplets — Other Flowers — Tobacco
PP- 333—357
I I. Fruits. — Pomegranates — Grapes — Oranges — Garbs —
Vegetables PP- 357— 361
CHAPTER XIV.
INANIMATE CHARGES. — III. MISCELLANEOUS.
I. MILITARY. — Sword — Spears — Cronels — Axes — Helmets — Bows
— Arrows — Quarrels — Scythes (Polish) — Shields — Tents-
Banners — Battering - Rams — Beacons — Caltraps — Chains
(Navarre)— Water-Budgets — Horse-shoes — Polish Coats —
Breys — Barnacles — Stirrups — Lists— Castles — Towers — Pan
de Mur — Bridges — Walls — Houses — Brog — Columns —
Ladders— Catapults — Slings — Portcullis — Cannon — Needle-
gun PP- 362—382
II. Nautical.— Ships — Lymphads — Boats— Anchor— Noah's
Ark PP- 382—389
III. Ecclesiastical Charges. — Keys — Crozier — Tiara — Chalice
—Candlestick — Censers — The Gonfa?ion— Bell— Scourges-
Ecclesiastical Hat — Pallium — Pilgrims' Scrips and Staves
PP- 387—391
IV. Domestic. — Maunch — Buckles — Cushions — Crowns — Sceptre
— Orb — Cups — Musical Instruments — Harp of Ireland —
Horns — The Clarion, or Rest — Dice— Cards— Chess-rook—
Money — Cauldron — Eatables — Mirrors — Combs— Wearing
Apparel — Agricultural Instruments — Mallets — Letters and
Words pp. 391— 411
English Glossary pp. 415— 449
Glossary of French Terms of Blazon . pp. 450—489
PLATES IN VOLUME I.
Platk
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.
XXXI.
Ancient Shields .
Shields and Armour
Emblazoned Tinctures
Furs
Modes of Partition
Modes of Partition
Modes of Partition
Modes of Partition
Modes of Partition
Rules of Blazon .
Arms containing Chief and Pale
Arms containing Fess
Arms containing Bend
Arms containing Chevron
Arms containing Cross
Arms containing Cross and Saltirc
Arms containing Pile and Pall
Arms containing Canton, Orlc, Giirons,
etc.
Arms containing Quarter, Canton
Gyron, Flanks, Lozenge, Muscle, and
Fusil
Arms containing Bordure, Orlc, and
Tressure ....
Arms containing Foreign Partitions
Arms containing Billet, Bcsants
Roundles, Annulet, etc.
Aims containing Human Figure and
parts thereof
Arms containing Lions
Arms containing Lions, Tiger, parts of
Lions and Leopards
Arms containing Boar, Wolf, Bear, and
Stag ....
Arms containing Bull, Goat, Lamb
Antelope, Horse, Hare, Otter, Talbot
Hedgehog, Mole, and Monkey .
Arms containing Eagle, Falcon, Owl
Swan, Stork, and Pelican
Aims containing Chough, Parrot, Cock
Martlet, Bream, Salmon, Dolphin
Trout, and Escallop
Arms containing Adder, Serpents
Griffin, Dragon, Wyvern, Cockatrice
Unicorn, Seahorse, and Mermaid
Arms containing Sun, Crescents, Rain
bow, Stars, Comets, Mullets, Estoiles
Hill, River, and Clouds .
facing page 44
50
66
70
88
94
98
100
106
116
128
134
140
146
152
154
156
158
176
180
188
196
206
224
234
240
250
256
278
30 1
322
( xx )
Plate
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
Emblazoned Arms containing Trees, Forest, and
Leaves .... facing page 336
,, Arms containing Flowers, Fleur-de-lis,
Thistle, Chaplet, Pomegranate, Rye,
and Garb . . . „ 352
,, Arms containing Sword, Spear, Battle-
axe, Helmet, Bow, Arrow, Pheon,
Battering-Earn, Caltrap, Chains, and
"Water-Budget . . . 364
,, Arms containing Barnacle, Stirrup,
Castle, Tower, Column, Ladder, Stair,
and Lymphad . . . „ 376
,, Arms containing Escarbuncle, Scythes,
Crossbows, Castle, Bridge, Brog, Lists,
Orb, Cremaillitre, and Foi . . ,, 380
,, Arms containing Maunch, Buckles,
Crowns, Keys, Cups, Cap, Cushions,
Horns, Clarion, and Words . . ,, 394
ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT.
VOL. I.
Fig.
Paoe
Fig.
Page
1. From Etruscan Vases .
16
45. The Bend .
. 125
2.
16
46. ,, Bend-Sinister
. 125
3.
16
47.
, Chevron
. 125
4.
16
48.
, Saltire .
. 125
5. Mikado's Badge
22
49.
, Pile .
. 125
6. }, ))
22
50.
, Gyron .
. 125
7. Tokugawa Clan Badge
23
51.
, Lozenge
. 125
8. Cohort Ensigns .
33
52.
, Fusil .
. 125
9.
33
53. Cross, Passion
. 173
10. Helmet ".
34
54. ,, Greek
. 173
11. Arab Fleur-de-lis
39
55. ,, Calvary .
. 173
12. Norman Warriors
51
56. ,, Patriarchal
. 173
13. Shield, Oval
58
57. „ Potent
. 173
14. ,, « louche .
58
58. ,, Lorraine .
. 173
15. ,, German .
58
59. ,, Patty
. 173
16. ,, Spanish .
58
60. „ Patty-Fitchy
. 173
17. ,, Lozenge .
58
61. ,, Maltese .
. 173
18. ,, 16th Century .
58
62. ,, Patonce .
. 173
19. ,, ,, ,, (German
) 58
63. ,, Fleur-de-lisee
. 173
w. , , , , |3 , ,
58
64. „ Flory
. 173
21. English Points of Escucheoi
i 65
65. ,, Fourchy .
. 173
22. French ,, „
. 65
66. ,, Aiguisee .
. 173
23. Line, Engrailed .
. 85
67. „ Tau .
. 173
24. ,, Embattled
85
68. The Eagle of German;
f . 254
25. ,, Indented .
. 85
69. Crown of the Eegencj
. 345
26. ,, Invecked .
85
70. From the Seal of St. 1
liouis 346
27. ,, Wavy, or Undy
85
71. Fleur-de-lis.
. 350
28. ,, Nebuly
85
72. „ . .
'. 350
29. ,, Dancetty .
85
73. „ . .
. 350
30. ,, Raguly
85
74. „ . .
. 350
31. ,, Potente .
85
75. „ . .
. 350
32. ,, Dovetailed
85
76. ,, . .
. 350
33. „ Urdy.
85
77. „ . .
350
34. Per Pale .
87
78.
. 350
35. ,, Fess
87
79. Early Swedish Coat
. 352
36. Quarterly .
87
80. Arms of Crequy .
. 361
37. Per Bend .
87
81. Helmet from Worsaae
. 362
38. ,, Bend-Sinister
87
O^-* 1) J J 1)
. 362
39. „ Saltire .
87
83. Helmet
. 366
40. ,, Chevron
87
84.
. 366
41. Ente en point
87
85. „
. 366
42. Champagne
87
86. Lymphad .
. 3S3
43. The Pale .
125
87. „
. 383
44. ., Fess
125
ERRATA
Vol. I. — Page 15, line 17, for Brief-bores read Bore-brieves.
128, „ 12, for Mauleverier read Maulevrier.
180, „ 6, for Marice read MAURICE.
281, „ 2, for III., read IV.
Vol. II.— Page 146, line 9, for Nesbit read NlSBET.
>J
11
))
11
11
>J
HERALDRY:
BRITISH AND FOREIGN.
CHAPTER I.
ETYMOLOGICALLY a treatise on Heraldry should be an
explanation of the duties of a Herald. Though an
analogy has been drawn between the Greek ki)/w£, or
Latin fecialis, and the herald of later times, the latter
was essentially a mediaeval officer, the derivation of
whose name is uncertain. DEMMIN says it is derived
from the German Herold, noble crier. Others deduce
it from Heer, a host, and Held, a champion. Spener
says: ''Alii in posteriori nominis parte putant latere
vocem hold, ab Heer et hold, q.d. exercitui gratiosus.
Vel si pro Heer legas Hers, Domino vel principi fidelis."
Skeat derives herald from the old High German Hart,
an army, and wait, strength ; and thinks the limitation
of the name to this officer may have been due to a
confusion with the old German equivalent, foraharo.
ixomforharcn, to proclaim.
He was in the first place the messenger of war or
peace between sovereigns ; and of courtesy or defiance
between knights. His functions further included the
superintendence of trials by battle, jousts, tournaments,
and public ceremonies generally. When the bearing of
hereditary armorial insignia became an established
usage its supervision was in most European countries
VOL. I. B
( 2 )
added to the other duties of the herald. The office
survives in our own, and in some other countries, but
with duties greatly curtailed ; and with this narrowing
of the Herald's functions the term " Heraldry" has come
to signify, not a knowledge of the multifarious duties of
a herald of former times, but chiefly the study of that
part of them which relates to family and national
insignia, including also subsidiarily such kindred topics
as precedence, hereditary and personal titles and dignities,
and the insignia which are attached to them.
The " science " or rather art, which teaches us the
language, and instructs us in the origin and development,
of these symbols, should with greater propriety be
termed Armory. This is the designation applied to it
by the earliest writers on the subject, both in England
and in France, but it is one which for more than two
and a half centuries, has greatly fallen into disuse ;
and the better understood name of Heraldry conse-
quently appears in the title of the present work.
Before entering on the consideration of armorial dis-
tinctions, it may be advisable to make a few preliminary
observations on a subject intimately connected with them :
differences of social rank.
We find in the feudal system, and in the Germanic
institutions of which that system was the natural out-
come, the true origin of our own social distinctions, and,
as will be hereafter shown, of the armorial insignia which
were used to denote them. It is to Julius C/ESAR that
we owe our first glimpses into the social and political
life of the Teutonic race of the great Aryan family, and
the description given in his Commentaries of the warlike
Suevi, and other tribes bordering on Gaul, — who appear
to have been when C^SAR wrote in a state transitional
between the nomadic life and settled civilisation — though
imperfect and indistinct, is still full of lively interest.
A century and a half later, the historian TACITUS,. in his
( 3 )
Germania, gives us the means of filling in C/ESAR's in-
distinct outlines with full and abundant details. In his
time Germany was inhabited by a great agglomeration
of tribes, having a common origin, speaking virtually the
same language, and employing similar institutions, but
having no collective or national name, or central organisa-
tion.
While the military spirit of these tribes had in-
creased since CESAR'S time, as a natural consequence
of the continuous struggle which the Germans had to
wage against the attempted encroachments of Imperial
Rome, the love of the chase had somewhat declined
with the reduced opportunities of following it ; tracts of
forest land had been cleared, and the pursuit of agriculture
had become general. The tribes were no longer nomadic,
but had settled homesteads. Their wealth, as in the
early history of all civilised people, consisted in the
flocks and herds, which pastured in the still extensive
forests, or on the common lands. Great cities had not
yet arisen, but their village settlements were already
permanent and extensive. Generally the arable land
was held in common, and appropriated annually by lot
among the freemen, who formed the bulk of the
population and were trained to the use of arms. Still
private property in land was not unknown. Each
freeman had at least his own homestead, and the space
of ground contiguous to it, as his fixed possession, as
well as a definite share in the arable land annually
allotted, and he had also a proportionate right to the use
of the forest lands and pastures.
But this absolute equality in the tenure of land, and
in their political status, did not preclude the exist-
ence of social differences. Some men were naturally
more industrious and prosperous than others, or more
fortunate in the circumstances of their settlement, and
so there arose, inevitably, distinctions of wealth. But
( 4 )
there were also distinctions of blood ; some were nobiles,
some were not. Though, and especially somewhat
later, the classification differed in different tribes, and
some classes were subject to subdivision, we see that
the population fell into three or four great divisions :
nobiles, ingenui, liberti, and servi. (There were also
existing official ranks : sacerdotes, duces, principes, etc.)
The nobiles appear to have been the descendants of the
ancient chiefs, or leaders of the race, under whose
guidance the original immigration had been effected,
or who had been their generals in their conflicts with
the aboriginal populations. The nobiles seem to have
been at first without any distinct political privilege ; the
ingenui, or simple free-born, were their equals in every
respect except in this accident of descent.
The homestead of the original settler, with its share
of the common lands of the tribe, was known as Odal
or Edhel, and the same word Adal or Ethel was used
among the Saxons to signify nobility of descent.
Primitive nobility and primitive proprietorship of land
thus bore the same name. The land was held by these
Edelings by no other service but that of personal
attendance in the host and in the council. The liberti,
or freedmen, had personal freedom, but apparently no
political rights.
The servile class seems to have been divided into two
grades, of whom the upper, the litiox lazzi, cultivated the
lands of others ; they were perhaps the remains of an
earlier and conquered race, and in some degree corres-
ponded to, though they had no historical connection
with, the coloni of Roman civilisation.
When, in later times, a domain was reserved for the
maintenance of the dignity of the princeps, it was this
class which were cultivators. They were, indeed,
adscripti glebes, and to their lord whose land they culti-
vated, and to whom they paid a definite proportion of
( 5 )
the fruits of the ground, and of the increase of their flocks
and herds ; but beyond this their lot was not a hard one
and they were practically personally free. It has been
said that this class probably originated in the inhabitants
of lands subjugated by other tribes in the frequent con-
flicts of early days ; but there is nothing to show that
they were of a different race from their conquerors, and
they may even have been recruited from the families of
the poorer and less fortunate freemen. But the other
class of servi were slaves indeed, they had no vestige of
freedom. Many had gambled away the freedom they
had inherited by birth. (TACITUS speaks of this vice of
gambling, to which many of the German tribes were
passionately addicted, and of an increasing tendency to
intemperance and self indulgence, as showing a moral
declension from the purer healthier days in which Caesar
wrote in their praise.) Besides these the ranks of the
servi would be augmented by prisoners of war ; and,
though there is no distinct trace of it, possibly by those
who had incurred punishment for crime.
As concerns official ranks, the principes were elected by
the freemen in the tribal assemblies. Their chief, and at
first their only privilege was the right to entertain a
comitatus, a body of military companions, generally the
sons of nobles, who voluntarily attached themselves to
the princeps, who provided their equipment and main-
tained them while under his leadership they perfected
their military education. The tribes were not uniform
in their administrative constitutions. In some there was
a king with a kindred nobility, and a personal comitatus.
The king was king by election not by hereditary right.
His powers were strictly limited, and he was not even,
necessarily, the dux or war-leader. TACITUS says :
" Reges summit ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute" {Ger-
mania, lib. xi.). Often, under the pressure of some
common danger, several tribes would unite under a
( 6 )
chosen military leader, but the danger past each tribe
resumed its autonomy. In later times the king
gathered other principes into a comitatus of his own, and
gradually appropriated their honours and authority.
It is evident that here we have the germ of the feudal
system. An ambitious and able princeps had only to
subdue a district in an inter-tribal war to be provided
with the means of attaching to himself permanently, by
the subdivision of the lands thus acquired, chiefs who
would form a personal comitatus, and be ready enough
to extend his authority over his neighbours.
This occurred frequently. The Roman invasions
naturally drew the threatened peoples more closely to-
gether, and confederations were formed which welded
together for military purposes the independent tribes.
Of these the most important to us were the Franks,
among whom the hereditary monarchy appears to
have been established before the middle of the fifth
century. But the prince was the king of the people,
not of the land. His officers formed the high nobility,
and his comites administered the gaits or provinces.
From the Kings of the Salian Franks descended the
dynasty of the Merwings, or Merovingian princes.
Under their King CHLODWIG (Clovis) not only were
the Romans driven from Gaul, but the hitherto inde-
pendent confederation of the Alemanni were brought
under Frankish rule. But in Germany under the
Merovingian kings a new aristocracy arose which
undermined the royal power. It was composed of
the great feudatories who, while continuing to acknow-
ledge Frankish supremacy, became gradually inde-
pendent under their own dukes. Chief of these were
the Dukes of FRANCONIA and SAXONY. Later on
CHARLEMAGNE conquered Saxony, and destroyed the
last vestiges of independence in Bavaria. These vast
conquests placed at his disposal immense tracts of land
( 7 )
which he employed for the reward of those who submitted
to become his vassals, and thus the feudal system
became firmly established. Nithard, grandson of
Charlemagne, who wrote about the middle of the
ninth century, tells us that among the Saxons the whole
race fell under one or other of these classes : the nobiles
or ede/ings ; the ingenui or fn 'lings, and the serviles, the
lazzi or liti. " Saxones . . . qui ab initio tarn nobiles
quam et ad bella promptissimi multis indiciis saepe
claruerunt. Quae gens omnis in tribus ordinibus divisa
consistit ; sunt enim inter illos qui edhilingi, sunt qui
frilingi, sunt qui lazzi, illorum lingua dicuntur ; Latina
vero lingua hoc sunt, nobiles, ingenuiles atque serviles.
Nithard, Historia iv., 2. Rudolph, who wrote a little
later, makes the classes four : noble, free, freedmen, and
slaves.
By the Saxon law no intermarriages were allowed be-
tween the various classes, at first under pain of death, as in
the Lex Burgund. Novum, (tit. xxxv., § 2): " Si ingenua
puella voluntarie se servo conjuxerit, utrumque jubemus
occidi;" later, as by the Lex Salica (tit. xiv., cap. 6),
under the more merciful penalty of servitude : " Si quis
ingenuus ancillam alienam in conjugium acceperit, ipse
cum ea in servitium implicetur."
In later times, in all cases the children of mixed
marriages derived their political status from the lower
in grade of their parents. It was this strictness of law
which enabled the Germans to pride themselves on the
purity of their descent, and to boast that their blood was
without servile commixture.
As in Ireland under the old Brehon laws, we find the
gradations of rank kept distinct by the difference of the
fines exacted in punishment of crime. The murder of a
noble, or adding, could only be atoned for by a fine
twice or three times that required in the case of the
death of a freeman ; and in the case of compurgation
( 8 )
the oath of a noble outweighed that of two or even three
of the frilings, or free men. Among the Burgundian
Franks, even the tooth of a noble was worth five times
as much as that of a man of the lower classes ; thus the
Burgundian law provides : " Si quis, quolibet casu,
dentem optimati Burgundioni frangit, vel Romano nobili,
solidos xxv cogatur exsolvere ; de mediocribus personis
ingenuis y turn Burgundionibus quam Romanis, si dens
excussus fuerit x solidis componatur ; de inferioribus
personis v solidis.
I may be permitted here to quote a passage already
printed in my work on Ecclesiastical Heraldry, p. 473.
" Under the feudal system in Germany and Gaul
nobility was attached to the possession of the soil.
Besides the possessors of large districts held from the
Crown by the nobles who were the comites, or
companions of the Sovereign (hence the title of count),
other lands of less extent were held immediately from
the Crown, and were the rewards of military service in
the past, as their possession was the condition of
military service in the future. The holders of all these
fiefs had their tenants who held lands from them, and
not from the Crown immediately, by payment of rent,
etc. ; and there were also besides these the burghers of
towns, and in the country large masses of population
who were serfs adscripti glebae. Originally only a man
who could prove his nobility of descent from noble and
free ancestor could hold a noble or knightly fief ; in later
times the purchase of such a fief by a man free, but not
noble, was held to confer nobility. But the original
nobility of Germany and Gaul was distinctly military
in its character, and the military insignia of arms and
crest were the outward and visible signs of noblemen.
These only were admitted to take part in the chivalric
exercises, the tournaments and jousts, which were the
delight of the populace, and the opportunities for the
( 9 )
exhibition of the personal prowess of the nobles in times
of peace. Before a knight could take part in them his
shield of arms and crest were exposed for days to official
and to a not less stringent public criticism, and any one
who should offer himself as a combatant without being
able to prove his descent from four ' noble ' ancestors,
that is from four grandparents entitled to bear coat-
armour, was made to ride the barriers of the lists amid
the jeers and hisses of the populace — sometimes was in
danger of fine and imprisonment as a fit reward for his
presumption. The arms of these four grandparents were
exposed in a quartered shield, and hence came the
technical heraldic term of 'quarters.' In later times,
when the Sovereign had no longer knightly fiefs to
bestow, those who distinguished themselves in war or
in the councils of the state were rewarded by being
raised to noble rank independently of their possessions."
Under the feudal system wherever established, the
broadly marked difference between the nobleman or
gentleman, and the rest of the community, is one of the
most prominent features of mediaeval life ; and the
source from which the less abrupt generations of rank
in modern society have been gradually developed.
According to feudal ideas the whole land was, in the
first instance, the property of the Sovereign, from whom
it was held under the obligation of rendering stated
military service ; with or without the further obligation
of attendance at his court and council. The immediate
vassals of the Crown, who were in the first instance
called Barons (as emphatically the King's men), enjoyed
in some cases the office of Comes, or Dux, and had
vassals who held their lands from them by a like
military tenure ; and with obligations of attendance at
the courts of their superiors similar to those by which
the latter held their lands from the Sovereign. By a
constitution of this kind, but with variations in detail,
( io )
society was held together in the different parts of Europe.
The landholder was the nobleman or gentleman ; and
the smallest tenant of land held by military tenure
participated in the privileges of nobility. The gentry of
England had many privileges recognised by law. If a
churl, or peasant, defamed the honour of a gentleman,
the latter had his remedy in law ; but if one gentleman
defamed another the combat was allowed. For similar
offences a gentleman was punishable with less severity
than a churl, unless the crime was heresy, treason, or
excessive contumacy. A gentleman, in his examination,
was not subjected to torture ; and, if condemned to
death, he was beheaded and not ignominiously hanged.
A churl might not challenge a gentleman to combat,
" quia conditiones impares?
Side by side with feudalism grew up the use of
distinctive devices, by which on banner or shield the
performers of military service were distinguished. Like
the jus imaginum of classic times, the right to bear
insignia gentilitia became in the Middle Ages the dis-
tinctive privilege of the nobly born. " Nobiles," says
Sir EDWARD COKE, "sunt qui arma gentilitia anteces-
sorum suorum proferre possunt." To use the words of
Camden, " Nobiles dividuntur in minores et majores.
Nobiles minores sunt equites-aurati, armigeri, et qui
vulgo generosi et gentlemen vocantur." A prince
judging an individual worthy of notice gave him patent
letters of nobility. In these letters were blazoned the
arms which were to distinguish his shield. By this
shield he was to be known, or nobilis. " A plebeian had
no blazonry on his shield, because he was ignobilis, or
unworthy of notice . . . Hence arms are the criterion
of nobility. Every nobleman must have a shield of arms.
Whoever has a shield of arms is a nobleman."
CHASSANEUS says: " Certum est quod nobiles ex
origine sunt qui longa serie et prosapia predecessorum
( II )
habent sua arma et insignia, et communiter tali tempore,
cujus initii memoria non exstat in contrarium."
Le ROQUE, in his Traite de Noblesse (4to, Rouen,
1734), says: " Le Roy par ses lettres patentes con-
cernant les Armoiries, les a non seulement confirmees
dans la non-derogeance : il annoblit tacitement ceux
qui ne sont pas nobles, puisqu'il leur accorde ou con-
firme des armoiries."
At page 59 he adds : " Quand un souverain permet
par ses lettres a un non noble d'avoir des armoiries il
l'annoblit tacitement, pourvu que la concession n'ait
point quelque cause contraire ; car puisqu'on ne peut
porter des armoiries nobles sans etre noble ou anobli, le
prince donnant pouvoir a quelqu'un d'en porter, il lui
accorde en meme temps la Noblesse, puisque sans cela
la concession serait inutile : Concesso uno conceduntur
omnia sine quibus explicari non potest."
PHILIPPE le Hardi was the first king of France who
gave letters of nobility to a man not of gentle birth.
He thus ennobled RAOUL, his goldsmith.
As illustrating the usage of letters of nobility existing
in our own country reference may be made to two
examples of the reign of HENRY VI. (printed from the
Rxcerpta Historica in the Herald and Genealogist, i., p.
135), one to Nicholas Cloos, the other to Roger
Keys, clerk, and Thomas his brother. CLOOS had been
engaged in the works of King's College, Cambridge, and
KEYS in those of Eton College ; and in reward for their
services each had a grant of nobility containing the
express words "nobilitamus nobilemque facimus et
creamus," these being followed by others showing that
armorial ensigns were regarded as the usual tokens of
nobility : "in signum hujus nobilitatis arma et armorum
signa damus et concedamus." As further English
examples of the Sovereign conferring rank by a personal
act, we need hardly allude to the accolade in knight-
( « )
hood, and the creation of an esquire by the imposition
of a collar of livery.
Out of Great Britain the term " noble " is still habitu-
ally used in its original sense, and the prerogative of
raising persons to noble rank is continually exercised
by Continental Sovereigns. The practice which has
gradually established itself in England of restricting
the words "noble" and "nobility" to members of the
Peerage, has perhaps been partly brought about by the
devolution by the Sovereign of his right to concede
armorial ensigns to the Kings of Arms ; the Sovereign's
prerogative being only directly exercised in creating
Peerages, in advancing to the rank of Baronet, in con-
ferring simple Knighthood (which has fallen into disuse
on the Continent) and in nominating to the several
chivalric orders. The difference of usage in this matter
between Britain and the Continent has not unfrequently
been the source of a strange confusion of ideas on the
other side of the Channel, particularly at the minor
courts of Germany, where we have heard of a member
of the British aristocracy, of the most ancient and dis-
tinguished lineage, in respect that he was not himself
a peer or " noble " in the popular English acceptation,
having to give the pas to a " Baron " or " Herr Von "
who had newly received his patent of nobility along
with his commission in the army.
While the stricter meaning of the word is retained to
the present day in the expression "gentleman by birth,"
it has often come to be difficult for one who is not a
genealogical expert to know who is, or who is not, a
gentleman of coat-armour, the less abrupt gradation of
ranks and the courtesy of society having caused the
word gentleman to be .applied in a somewhat loose
sense to any one whose education, profession, perhaps
whose income, raises him above ordinary trade or menial
service ; or to a man of polite and refined manners and
( 13 )
ideas. A gentleman is, properly, not merely a noble-
man but something more. The King can ennoble a man,
but descent alone can make him into a gentleman.
A cognate word to gentleman, whose popular accepta-
tion has come to differ much from its original meaning,
is esquire. It originally meant the armour-bearer or
shield-bearer of a knight. Later, but not until the
commencement of the fifteenth century, it was attributed
to all gentlemen ; up to that time it denoted a person of
ancient descent. Barons, and even Princes, were so
designated until they had been formerly knighted. In
1789 it was the legal designation of all untitled nobles
in France.
" L'Ecuyer etait dans le principe le serviteur. Noble
qui assistait le Chevalier et portait son Ecu ou ses armes
quand il allait a la guerre ; plus tard, le droit de porter
un Ecu peint des armoiries et de devises fut le droit
particulier a ceux qui etaient Nobles de race ancienne,
de la l'origine du nom d'Ecuyer (armiger) qualification
que prirent tous les gentilshommes dans la suite des
temps. Un arret du Parlement de Paris, du 30 Octobre
1554, avait proclame le titre d'Ecuyer: ' Caracter-
istique de la Noblesse, jusqu'a preuve du contraire.'
Noble et Ecuyer sont deux expressions qui marchaient
toujours ensemble dans le langage legal d'autrefois." —
Le Heraut d' Amies, p. 1 1 1, Paris, 1863.
A knight fully equipped in the days of chivalry was
attended by two esquires, whose spurs were not of gold,
like the knight's, but of silver. An esquire was created
by the king by placing spurs on his heels and a collar
about his neck. It is difficult to say who in strict law
is now entitled to be designed an esquire. Every gentle-
man of coat-armour is not an esquire. BLACKSTONE
quotes with approval Camden's definition of four classes
of esquires. These are : " r. The eldest sons of knights,
and their eldest sons in perpetual succession. 2. The
( 14 )
eldest sons of the younger sons of peers, and their
eldest sons in perpetual succession ; both which species
of esquires Sir Henry Spelman entitles armigeri nata-
litii. 3. Esquires created by the King's letters patent,
and their eldest sons. 4. Esquires in virtue of their
offices ; justices of the peace, and others, who bear any
office under the crown." " To these," continues BLACK-
STONE, " may be added the esquires of Knights of the
Bath, each of whom constitutes three at his installation,
and all foreign, nay Irish peers." BLACKSTONE'S men-
tion of Irish peers is accounted for by the fact that before
the Union of 1801 peers of Ireland were in law foreigners.
CAMDEN'S third class of esquires can hardly be said to
exist, though a creation by patent is said to have taken
place in the present reign. CHRISTIAN, in his Notes to
Blackstone, would limit the official title of esquire to
holders of offices of trust under the crown who are
styled esquires in their commissions ; and he remarks
on BLACKSTONE'S omission of barristers, who have been
decided by the Court of King's Bench to be esquires by
office. No Esquires of the Bath have been appointed
since 18 12 ; and by the statutes of the Order in 1847,
the Knights have no longer the power to nominate any.
In the common usage of this country, at the present
day, the designation " esquire " is habitually placed after
the names of all persons supposed to be in comfort-
able circumstances ; and its use is considered almost
essential in addressing a letter to anyone who, in the
looser sense of the word, would be called a " gentleman."
In connection with the same subject I have printed as
an Appendix to Vol. II. some remarks on the use of the
proposition de in French, or von in German, the presence
or absence of which as a prefix to the surname is often
supposed by foreigners to be an absolute test as to
whether a person is, or is not, " noble " in the Con-
tinental sense, i.e., as having, or not having, the right to
( i 5 )
use armorial bearings. The absence of the "Particule
Nobiliaire" from the surnames of the majority of the
noblesse and gentry of Britain has been a cause of much
of that foreign confusion of ideas with regard to the
nobility of our untitled families which has been already
adverted to.
A subject of the British Empire, if he be a gentleman
of coat-armour, and resident abroad, ought always to
assert his nobility. He is legally a noble in the conti-
nental sense of the term, and he does wrong not only to
himself, but to others similarly situated, if through a
false idea of modesty, or through ignorance, he repudi-
ates that nobility to which he is fully and legally
entitled. This was better understood in Scotland in
former days. The cadets of many "gentle" families
took service in the armies of the Continent, and fre-
quently obtained from the Lyon Office the Brief-bores,
or certificates, more or less authentic, of their " noble "
descent, without which they would not have been eligible
for commissions in the army, or offices at court. For
example, Jacob TAIT, a cadet of Tait of Pirn, was
private secretary to King ERIC XIV. of Sweden, and in
1632, thus made proof of his descent, and was formally
recognised as "noble" (STODART, Scottish Arms, ii.,
169.) A British gentleman of coat-armour is usually
at least the equal, and in nine cases out of ten the
social superior, of the Counts and Barons whom he
meets with at home or abroad, even if they happen
to be the heads of their families, and not (as is much
more frequently the case) cadets more or less remote,
who are careful to retain their courtesy title and the
use of the coronet.
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
From ETRUSCAN VASES, Vide p. 2P.
CHAPTER II.
When, or how, did the bearing of armorial insignia
originate? In the attempt to answer this question
volumes sufficient in number and size to form a con-
siderable library have been written ; and much ingenuity
has been employed in the endeavour to trace back the
mediaeval system of armory far enough to connect it
directly with those systems of symbolism which from
the earliest times known to history have found favour
with nearly all races of mankind. In the course of these
investigations all ages, and nearly all the nations of
antiquity have found partisans who were willing to
accord to them the honour of inventing Heraldry.
Those, indeed, who are willing to confound the use of
emblems which were merely personal, having no regular
and hereditary character: such for example as those
( 17 )
which are described by yEsCHYLUS and other Greek
writers, as appearing on the shields borne in warfare by
their heroes ; or as we still see depicted on the ancient
vases from Etruria or Greece which are preserved in
our Museums (Figs. 1-4) : these have had no difficulty in
finding what they are pleased to consider its traces among
even earlier nations, and amid less advanced stages of
civilisation. Many of the devices which appear upon the
coins, the engraved gems, and the sepulchral vases of
ancient times have, indeed, an appropriateness which
lends to them a heraldic character ; but, so far as they
are employed as the property of individuals, the bearings
are altogether wanting in that fixity and hereditary
quality which are essential characteristics of the system
of armory which has descended to us from ancient
times, and with which we in these volumes are con-
cerned.
The same personage, historical or mythical, may be
depicted over and over again on a series of Grecian
vases, but we may not expect to find that a person so
depicted will bear upon his shield the same emblems
in more than one instance ; and even if, as is possible,
the bearings chosen had a reference to certain distinct
achievements of the wearer, there was no symbol, or
combination of symbols, which as in modern armory
were exclusively the property of a certain family.
The treatises of the earliest heraldic writers were full
of fancies, but their vain imaginings are entirely
without authority, and are worse than useless for the
purposes of our investigation. They are full of curious
speculations, but there is little independent research, and
the ability to make use even of the limited materials
which were then at hand is for the most part con-
spicuously absent. Except in the way of speculation
there was for the most part little attempt at originality ;
it was sufficient if a writer on heraldry servilely followed
vol 1. c
( iS )
in the footsteps of his predecessors, and reiterated their
errors. Still their various speculations are not devoid of
interest, and, without going so far back as the authoress
of the Boke of St. Albans who deduces the origin
of armorial bearings from the " cote armoris " worn in
"hevyn" by the "V orderis of anngelis " we may here
give a brief summary of the different opinions which
have been advanced by writers on the subject at home
and abroad, as to the date and circumstances of their
origin. ANDREW Favyn, whose quarto volumes,
entitled Le Theatre (THonneur ct de Chevalerie, were
published in Paris in 1620, and contain much valuable
information, was yet of the opinion that Adam was the
first herald, and assumed that the original use of armory
was to distinguish the posterity of Seth from the
descendants of Cain. SEGOING, in his Traite de
VAntiquiti des Amies, written perhaps twenty years
later, agrees with Favyn that the origin of arms dated
from antediluvian days, but that after the Deluge they
had a far wider scope. He can tell us what arms
Japhet used ; and what was the device on a certain
ring which Judah unwisely gave to his daughter-in-law
Tamar !
DlODORUS SlCULUS is quoted in support of the
theory that Heraldry originated with the ancient
Egyptians, whose standards were often formed of the
figures of birds or beasts set upon poles {see WILKIN-
SON, The Ancient Egyptians, vol. i., pp. 342-3) ; and our
own Sir H.ENRY SPELMAN, in his Aspilogia, gives it as
his opinion that from them the Israelites adopted the
standards under which they marched (NUMBERS ii. 52.)
The Rabbins suppose that the standards of the Jewish
tribes were flags bearing figures derived from the
comparisons used by JACOB in his final prophetic
blessing on his sons. Thus they have Judah represented
by a lion ; Dan by a serpent ; BENJAMIN by a wolf, etc.
I ] 9 )
But, as was long since observed by Sir Thomas Browne
( Vulgar Errors, Book V., Chap, x.), the escucheons
of the tribes as determined by these ingenious triflers,
do not in every instance correspond with any possible
interpretation of Jacob's prophecy ; nor with the
analogous prophecy of Moses, when about to die.
{See also BlSSE, Notes to Upton, p. 38 ; and Mene-
TRIER, de rOrigine des Armoiries et du Blason, pp. 4-10.
Paris, 1680.) Petra Sancta (with LlMNCEUS, Hoe-
PING, SPELMAN, and others) desires to trace the origin
of arms to heroic times. Some consider NlMROD
and the Assyrians the first inventors ; and it may be
noted that standards, somewhat similar to those already
referred to as being employed by the Egyptians, were
also used by the Assyrians, as is evident from the bassi
relie'vi discovered at Nimroud, etc. {see BONOMI, Nineveh
and its Palaces, figs, no, 112, 217, etc.). Others again
seek the origin of armorial bearings in what are termed
classical times, and quote HOMER'S description {Iliad
i., 21) of the arms of AGAMEMNON, who bore three
serpents on his cuirass, and a Gorgon's head on his
buckler. Or they turn to the description given by
yEsCHYLUS of the devices borne by the seven heroes at
the siege of Thebes, which, however, have nothing in
common with those which EURIPIDES attributes to
them. These descriptions are obviously purely poetical,
and in such enquiries as the present as little importance
really attaches to them as to the arms which ARIOSTO
and TASSO attribute to their heroes. In these latter the
anachronisms are obvious to the student of Heraldry.
ARIOSTO for instance gives to LlONELLO —
" Del Re nipote e cluca di Lancastro,"
a Duke of LANCASTER in the times of CHARLE-
MAGNE (!) the quartered arms of FRANCE and
ENGLAND, borne indeed at the time of his writing,
( 20 )
but which were only assumed centuries after the sup-
posed date of the action of his poem.
" Tu vedi ben quella bandiera grande
Ch' insieme pon la Fiordeligi e i Pardi."
So again PHILOSTRATUS, XENOPHON, and OuiNTUS
C-URTIUS are cited as proving not only the use of
standards and devices by the Medes and Persians, but
as authorities for the personal insignia asserted to
have been adopted by CYRUS, CAMBYSES, DARIUS,
Xerxes, etc
The earliest printed heraldic treatise, that of SlCILE
LE HERAULT, entitled " Le Blason des Couleurs" attributes
the regulation of arms to ALEXANDER THE Great with
the assistance and advice of ARISTOTLE !
Others, again, have seen in the standards of the Roman
Legions, and the figures stamped on their shields, at least
the germ of regular armory. It was natural enough
that mediaeval writers should make systematic Heraldry
date from the times of CHARLEMAGNE ; and the old
chroniclers and writers of romance, who wrote about the
time of the Crusades, and who endeavoured to excite the
martial ardour of their contemporaries by the recitation
of the fictitious achievements of that Emperor and his
twelve peers (the origin and model probably of our own
Arthurian romances) had no difficulty in assigning arms
to their heroes. Those attributed to the Knights oi the
Round Table in our own early heraldic treatises are
just as authentic as those conferred by them upon
Alexander the Great, and Judas Maccabeus, or
the rest of the Nine Worthies ! Even so serious a
historian as DE JOINVILLE in his Vie de St. Louis
(Chap, xxxii.) assigns the origin of the arms of
COMMENGES, (v.i. p. 162) to the grant made by CHARLE-
MAGNE to one of his paladins !
It has been the custom in modern times to give a
( « )
general assent to this derivation of Heraldry, and to
suppose that what CHARLEMAGNE and his immediate
successors originated was reduced to a system by his
descendant HENRY the Fowler.
Thus Welser says (Rer. August. Vindel. Coming :
" Legum quae hodie opinione et certo jure insignia
circumscribunt, antiquissimae Carolum Magnum non
praevertunt, a quo primum adumbratas sub Henrico
demum Aucupe et posteris perpolitas arbitror. For-
tissimi Imperatores militarem virtutem cui toto pectore
incumbebant hoc ornamento honestatem voluere ; unde
clypei et cassidis nata species nomen quoque, nam ver-
naculis quibusque Unguis arma appellamus. A militibus
ad reliqua postea hominum fluxere.
This diversity of opinion as to its origin seems to
make it clear that, as in the case of the other arts,
Heraldry was not a thing which sprang into existence
all at once at a certain place and at a definite period.
It was surely rather the gradual outcome of a feeling
natural to men from times immemorial. Apart from
what is known as Totemism, the love of marks of
distinction has always existed in the hearts of men, and
we accordingly find among all nations, and especially
among warlike ones, the disposition to assume ensigns
which should distinguish them from their fellows, and
commemorate their prowess. But there was a great
difference between such figures, and the armorial system
of mediaeval times. In the former, whatever were the
symbols thus assumed they were merely personal ;
subject to change from time to time at the will and
pleasure of their assumer, and to all appearance adopted
without regulation or restriction. With regard to the
existence of the institution of Totemism over the greater
part if not the whole of the world — in ancient Egypt as
in modern Australia and Polynesia ; in Bengal as in the
Americas — it is sufficient to say here that in its most
( 22 )
important aspect it was simply tribal ; and that though
other kinds of Totemism, sexual and individual, existed,
in the last-named they began and ended with the indi-
vidual, and were not, like the clan totem, transmitted by
inheritance. As an exception Mr FRASER tells us
{Totemism, Edinburgh, 1887, p. 56) that "in one Central
American tribe the son of a chief was free to choose
whether he would accept the ancestral totem or adopt
a new one, but a son who did not adopt his father's totem
was always hateful to his father during his life."
The totems were usually, though not invariably,
chosen from the animal world, and were tattooed or
painted on the persons of the tribesmen ; and painted or
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
carved on their defensive and offensive arms and other
property, as well as set up on poles as standards in their
villages. In the personal tattooing of the North American
Indians, and of the Hindus, as in the cicatrices which
served as its equivalent in Australia, conventional repre-
sentations of the totem in the shape of lines, dots, or
circlets took the place of the actual totem.
A regular system of armory exists (most probably is
the outcome of original totemism) in Japan. So far as
my limited knowledge of it goes it is chiefly, if not
( 23 )
exclusively, tribal. The badge of the daimio is the badge
of his clan. The open chrysanthemum, and another
floral one, the badges of the Mikado, are represented in
Figures 5 and 6. While the arms of the Empire are
on a white ground a red ball, representing the rising
sun, the Imperial standard of the Empire bears the
chrysanthemum of silver
and gold on a crimson
ground.
Fig. 7 is the leafy
badge of the ToKUGAWA
clan.
Passing to America it
appears that the Astec
princes of Mexico before
the Spanish conquest
had established a series
of grades as the reward
of military prowess, each
having its peculiar privileges and insignia. Until the
youthful warrior had attained the lowest of these grades
he was excluded from the use of ornamented arms and
garments. He fought in the coarse white garment of aloe
threads called nequeu r and bore a round unfigured shield.
But the shields borne in warfare, and on ceremonial
occasions, the totopchimalli, of the proved warriors were
charged with certain devices, often of animals, or bore
phonetic symbols which expressed the owner's name and
rank, and recorded after a definite system their deeds of
valour. The leader of the Tlaxcallan forces which
escorted CORTEZ on his march to Tetzcoco bore a shield
which is depicted in a contemporary native chronicle as
charged with amies parlantes, — a monstrous face accom-
panied with eyes borne on the palms of severed hands.
The name of the Tlaxcallan leader Maxixcatl is
expressed by an eye charged on the palm of a human
Fig. 7.
( 2 4 )
hand, and accompanied by the hieroglyphic denoting
water. In the Aztec language these symbols give the
elements ma, ix, it/, from maitl a hand, ixtli the eye, and
atl water.
The helmets of the warriors were often fashioned like
the heads of wild beasts (a custom of which examples
exist also among the Runic monuments of Scandinavia,
and of which a notable example remained in Germany
in the ox-head helm of the Counts of MARK). ( V. Plate
in Vol. II.) This is noticed in the MS. of a com-
panion of CORTEZ, quoted by PRESCOTT as follows :
" Portano in testa per difesa una cosa come teste de'
serpen ti 6 di tigri, 6 di leoni, o di lupi, che ha le
mascelle, et e la testa dell' huomo messa nella testa
di questo animate como se lo volesse diuorare ; sono di
legno," etc.
Besides the national standard, each of the great
chiefs appears to have had his personal, perhaps his
hereditary, banner. PRESCOTT tells us {History of the
Conquest of Mexico, vol. i., p. 398) that " the rear of the
mighty host was dark with the shadows of banners, on
which were emblazoned the armorial bearings of the
great Tlascalan and Otomie chieftains. Among these
the white heron on the rock, the cognisance of the house
of XlCOTENCATL, was conspicuous."
The American historian, BANCROFT, says that
MONTEZUMA carried into battle an azure banner bear-
ing the device of an eagle, with beak and claws of gold,
devouring a serpent. This was emblematic of the myth
relating to the foundation of the pueblo of Tenochtitlan
in the Valley of Mexico. Such an eagle, perched
on the broad leaves of a cactus-shrub rising out of the
midst of water, is still the heraldic device of the
Mexican Republic.
Mrs NuTTALL, an accomplished American writer, in
an interesting memoir " On Ancient Mexican Shields,"
( 25 )
contributed to the Internationales Archiv. filr EtJino-
graphie, in 1892, gives coloured illustrations of their
quasi-htvaXdic devices, derived from various native MSS.
and other sources. Similar ones are figured in Lord
KlNGSBOROUGH's great work on the Antiquities of
Mexico, and some of these are reproduced in the plates
of Mr ELLIS' Antiquities of Heraldry. Mrs NUTTALL
also discovered in the old armory at Schloss Ambras
near Innsbruck, in Tyrol, a shield which she supposes,
with reason, to have been that of MONTEZUMA himself.
Its device is probably intended for the blue oceolotl,
accompanied by the hieroglyphs of fire and water (see
Miss Crane's able review in Science, September 1892).
PRESCOTT tells us that on the facade of MONTEZUMA'S
palace in Mexico, the device of an eagle bearing an
ocelot in its talons was sculptured. Clavigero con-
siders a golden spread-eagle the general device of the
republic.
Even in Europe, Totemism may not improbably have
had an influence in preparing the way for the adoption
of national and tribal ensigns. The adoption of these,
again, may very probably have had considerable in-
fluence in the wider and much later adoption of family
insignia. But to the present writer it appears impos-
sible to trace at all satisfactorily the connection which
some writers assert to exist between these and the figures
of animals which TACITUS says were used on the shields
of Celtic tribes, or those which PLUTARCH tells us were
similarly employed by the savage hordes of Scandinavia
and Northern Germany. But the omission of all such
devices on what representations and descriptions have
been handed down to us of the shields of the early
Middle Ages, shows that the bulls, boars, wolves, and
horses of Tacitus, and the more conventional symbols
of the cohort ensigns, if any traditional memory of them
had been assured, played no prominent part in the
( 26 )
life of these ages, and certainly had no hereditary
character. As little can we trace any connection between
the language of arms and the mysterious symbols found
sculptured on stone in Wales, Norway, Denmark, and
more extensively in Scotland, of whose significance
archaeologists have as yet been unable to give a plaus-
ible explanation. {See Dr Stuart's splendid work on
the Sculptured Stones of Scotland, published by the
Spalding Club.)
The evidence afforded by the famous tapestry pre-
served in the public library of Bayeux, a series of views
in sewed work representing the invasion and conquest of
England by WILLIAM the Norman, has been appealed
to on both sides of this controversy, and has certainly
an important bearing on the question of the antiquity of
coat-armour. This panorama of seventy-two scenes is
on probable grounds believed to have been the work of
the Conqueror's Queen, MATILDA, and her maidens ;
though the French historian Thierry and others ascribe
it to the Empress Maud, daughter of Henry III. The
latest authorities suggest the likelihood of its having been
wrought as a decoration for the Cathedral of Bayeux,
when rebuilt by WILLIAM'S uterine brother ODO, Bishop
of that See, in 1077. In this remarkable piece of work
we have figures of more than six hundred persons, and
seven hundred animals, besides thirty-seven buildings,
and forty-one ships or boats: There are of course also
numerous shields of warriors, of which some are round,
others kite-shaped, and on some of the latter are rude
figures of dragons or other imaginary animals, as well
as crosses of different forms, and spots. , (Plate I., figs.
1, 2, 3.) On one hand it requires little imagination to find
the cross patee and the cross botonnee of heraldry pre-
figured on two of these shields. But there are several
fatal objections to regarding these figures as incipient
armory, namely, that while the most prominent persons
( 2 7 )
of the time are depicted, most of them repeatedly, none
of these is ever represented twice as bearing the same
device; nor is there one instance of any resemblance in
the rude designs described to the bearings actually used
by the descendants of the persons in question. If a
personage so important and so often depicted as the
Conqueror had borne arms, they could not fail to
have had a place in a nearly contemporary work,
and more especially if it proceeded from the needle
of his wife.
LOWER acutely remarks as to the absence from the
shields of the simple heraldic figures known as the Ordi-
naries. " Nothing but disappointment awaits the curious
armorist who seeks in this venerable memorial the pale,
the bend, and other early elements of arms. As these
would have been much more easily imitated with the
needle than the grotesque figures before alluded to, we
may safely conclude that personal arms had not yet
been introduced." — Curiosities of Heraldry, p. 19.
The Second Crusade took place in 1 147 ; and in
MoNTFAUCON'S plates of the no longer extant windows
of the Abbey of St. Denis, representing that historical
episode, there is not a trace of an armorial ensign on any
of the shields. That window was probably executed at
a date when the memory of that event was fresh ; but in
M ON TFAU CON'S time, the beginning of the eighteenth
century, the Science Heroique was a matter of such
moment in France that it is not to be believed that the
armorial figures on the shields, had there been any,
would have been left out.
Sufficient has probably been said above as to the specu-
lations of our own and early French writers as to the origin
and antiquity of armorial bearings, but we may see that.
De LA COLOMBIERE in his Science Heroique, published
in 1699, was probably the last who expresses belief in the
primeval antiquity of Heraldry. From that time various
( 28 )
writers abroad and in our own country began to be less
credulous, and were content to deduce the origin of
armorial insignia from ancient mythology, or the usages
of classical times. Among these may be numbered the
learned Scottish Herald NlSBET, who traces arms to the
Roman Jus imaginum, and whose elaborate work is still
regarded as a standard authority on Scottish armory.
By and by a few enlightened armorialists began to
remark the absence of armorial bearings from early
seals and monuments, and to doubt if their introduction
was not the invention of a much later age.
Among these was the learned French Jesuit Pere
MENESTRIER who flourished towards the close of the
seventeenth century, and whose heraldic works are of
the highest interest and of great authority.
His Origine des Armoiries appeared in 1680, and his
opinion as briefly summed up (and one which he had
already expressed in his rare little duodecimo volume
Abrege Methodique des Principes Heraldiques ; ou du
Veritable Art du Blason, published in 1661, and of which
there are several later editions, some of great rarity) is
that hereditary arms originated in tournaments, and are
consequently of German origin. This is an opinion with
which I shall deal later on.
EDMONDSON in his Complete Body of Heraldry (1780),
a work in which he was greatly aided by Sir JOSEPH
AYLOFFE, had a glimpse of the truth in this matter, but
more erudition is displayed in the Inquiry into the Origin
and Progress of Heraldry in England, by the Rev.
JAMES Dallaway, who, rejecting the mythological
theory, still clung to the idea that the coins of the
Anglo-Saxon kings bore heraldic devices.
The levelling principles of the French Revolution
were naturally hostile to the study of armory, but long
before that event the conceits of the old heralds had
helped to bring into disrepute what had once been an
( 2 9 )
essential branch of a liberal education. Armorial art,
too, had declined with the general decline of the arts :
the symbols had lost their beauty, and it was but natural
that the philosophers of the eighteenth century, who
could see nothing but folly in the life of the ages that
had gone before them, held heraldry in little respect.
It is now more than fifty years since a revival of
interest began in heraldry and in the kindred subject
of genealogy. The value of heraldry to the historical
student began to be recognised, and its true origin and
history to be made the subject of serious criticism.
Mr J. A. MONTAGU'S Guide to the Study of Heraldry
(1840), and Mr M. A. Lower's Curiosities of Heraldry
(1845), are works of real value, and at least equally
so, a work called The Pursuivant of Arms by the late
Mr PLANCHE, Somerset Herald, first published in 1851.
Mr PlanchE's conclusions have been very much acqui-
esced in by most later writers on the subject. Two of
these as expressed in the author's own words are —
i: 1. That heraldry appears as a science at the com-
mencement of the thirteenth century ; and that, although
armorial bearings had then been in existence un-
doubtedly for some time previous, no precise date has
yet been discovered for their first assumption. 2. That
in their assumption the object of the assumer was not,
as it has been generally asserted and believed, to sym-
bolise any virtue or qualification, but simply to distin-
guish their persons and properties, to display their
pretensions to certain honours or estates, attest their
alliances, or acknowledge their feudal tenures." In
support of his views Mr PLANCHE appealed to the
entire absence of any indication of the existence of
armorial bearings in the shields and banners verbally
described and pictorially represented in the centuries
preceding the twelfth. For example, Anna Comnena
in her biography of her father the Greek Emperor
( 3° )
Alexius I., written in the beginning of the twelfth
century, gives a minute account of the convex shields
of the French knights of that date, with a surface of
highly polished metal and a boss in the centre ; and in a
Spanish manuscript of the year 1109 in the British
Museum, we have circular shields ornamented as well as
plain, but destitute of any approach to an armorial
device. While, from the date of the Norman Conquest
of England onwards, sealing became a necessary form
for the validity of writs, and the arms on a seal are the
most important evidence of the bearing of the owner,
the earliest authentic instance of an armorial shield on a
seal is on that of Philip I., Count of Flanders, appended
to a charter of date 1 164.
The chief representative of an opposite position is
Mr W. S. ELLIS, who in his Antiquities of Heraldry
(1869) has collected a mass of interesting matter relating
to what he calls the heraldry of ancient times, and of
all nations of the world, and he certainly succeeds in
showing to how great an extent pictorial symbols, which
had originally a meaning, have been in use among all
nations of mankind, civilised and savage. The crescent,
the mullet, the lozenge, the quatrefoil, and the fleur de
lis are traced by him to counterparts existing among
Egyptian, Chinese, Indian and Japanese emblems, and
among the figures on Etruscan vases he shows us what
in heraldic language would be called a bull's head
caboshed, and a not unheraldic looking demi-boar. We
have also on the Greek vases two dolphins naiant in
pale, a demi-wolf, three roundles in pale, a single dolphin
naiant, and three legs conjoined in pairle as in the well-
known arms of the Isle of Man. (Figs. 1,2, 3, and 4,
p. 16.)
The Roman cohort ensigns which appear on Trajan's
column at Rome, devices which occasionally bear a
resemblance to the designs of later ages, are assumed to
( 3i )
be the family insignia of the commander of the cohort ;
and with other devices of tribes and clans are considered
by Mr ELLIS to have descended through the dark ages
until they appeared in the eleventh century as hereditary
coat-armour. {See Figs. 8 and 9.)
But the argument on which the ingenious author
most relies is the recognition of hereditary ensigns as
not only being, but having been for generations, the
badge of gentility, in the Leges Hastiludiales of HENRY
the Fowler, of the date 938. These laws contain not
only specific directions regulating the use of " insignia
gentilitia," and their registration by the heralds, but
regard them as the exclusive privilege of the nobly born,
and exclude from participation in the tournaments all
whose ancestors had not borne them for at least four
generations.
Cap. XII. De hominibus novis.
" Quisquis recentioris et notae nobilis et non talis ut
a stirpe nobilitatem suam et origine quatuor saltern
generis auctorum proximorum gentilibus insignibus pro-
bare possit is quoque ludis his exesto."
Cap. XIII. imposes penalties for the breach of
other articles, and concludes with the alternative " aut
nobilitatis famae insignium gentilitiorum denique amis-
sionem incurrat." (ELLIS, Antiquities of Heraldry,
pp. 149-150.)
Mr Ellis considers that these Leges Hastiludiales
quite outweigh the negative evidence against the intro-
duction of hereditary arms which Mr BLANCHE and
others found in their absence from seals, and sepulchral
monuments before the eleventh or twelfth century. But
it seems never to have occurred to Mr Ellis, or even to
his critics and opponents, including the late Dr Burnett,
that an examination into the authenticity of the Leges
Hastiludiales was needful, or that the story of their
promulgation by HENRY the Fowler might turn out to
( 32 )
be as purely fictitious as the many wondrous stories
recorded in our own ancient writers on armory. This
is, however, the case, and evidence to that effect will be
found in the next chapter.
It will be remembered that in the preceding chapter I
have indicated my opinion that the present system of
armory did originate in German)', and was the natural
outcome of those national institutions which resulted in
the feudal system. I have there shown how greatly the
Germans prided themselves on a descent pure from all
contamination with the blood of the servile ; and how
admission to military service, and, later, to the jousts
and tournaments, was the privilege of the noble and
free-born.
But I must repeat that there is no evidence whatever
that a system of heraldry had been developed at anything
like so early a date as that assigned to it when CHAR-
LEMAGNE is considered its founder, and Henry the
Fowler- its extender and organiser into, virtually, its
present shape. In fact I give my entire adherence to
the conclusions formulated by Mr PLANCHE ; and
declare that every accession to our knowledge, every
piece of authentic contemporary evidence by which since
his time our materials for forming a satisfactory con-
clusion have been so vastly increased, are all confirmatory
of this position.
Fig. 8. Fio. 9.
COHORT ENSIGNS, Vide p. 30.
CHAPTER III.
It has been seen that the works of the old armorialists
will not afford us help in tracing the origin and develop-
ment of armory. But we are not without the needful
materials, in seals, monuments, painted windows, and
(more especially in England) in Rolls of Anns.
The influence exerted by the Crusades upon the
adoption of heraldic insignia appears to me to have been
exaggerated by some writers, but we need not deny that
the influence was considerable. In armies composed of
people of diverse languages the use of banners with
definite and familiar devices, under which the members
of different followings might rally, and of some dis-
tinctive insignia by which the leaders might be easily
recognised, appears a matter of necessity ; a necessity
probably greater in the time of the Third Crusade
(1189-1192) when the hosts of England, France, and
Germany were combined, than at any other ; and a period
which coincides remarkably with the general adoption
of armorial bearings.
The substitution which took place at this period of
the cylindrical helmet (which covered the whole visage
of the wearer, leaving him only small apertures through
which to see and breathe), for the old open Norman
conical helmet, with its nasal guard, must have had a very
vol. 1. D
( 34 )
Fig. 1 0.
considerable effect in the same direction. {See Plate II.)
On its adoption it became no longer possible for soldiers
to recognise their leader by his face. The date of the
commencement of this substi-
tution is about n8o, at which
time (as we see by the seal of
Philippe d'Alsace, Comte
de Flandre), the conical
helmet which had already
become cylindrical with a
domed covering was replaced
by the cylindrical helm with
a flattened top ; and to this
was added a few years later
the plate which completely
covered the face with the exception of small slits
(ccillieres) to enable the wearer to see, and still smaller
holes through which he breathed. (Figs, io, 78, 79, and
Plate II., figs. 3 and 5.)
On two seals of RICHARD Cceur de Lion the prince
is represented ; on that of the date 1 189 {BritisJi Museum
Catalogue, No. 80) he is shown as wearing the old conical
Norman helmet, but on that of 1198 (No. 87) the helmet
has the flat top, and this is the case on the seal of King
JOHN in the following year {Brit. Mus. Cat., No. 91).
The flat-topped helmet worn by Richard I. on his
second great seal (of 1 198) is remarkable as being the
most ancient helmet bearing a crest with which we are
acquainted ; it bears the lion of England in the centre
of a fan-shaped crest. The next known example is that
of M athieu 1 1, de Montmorency, Constable of France,
in 1224, on which the head and neck of a peacock rise
from the flat-topped helm.
The Crusades must also have had considerable effect
in causing arms, which had previously been assumed
and changed at pleasure, to become hereditary. The
( 35 )
descendants of a knight who had fought with distinction
under certain ensigns in the Holy Wars, would feel a
very natural pride in preserving and handing down to
posterity the banner or the shield with the blazonings
which recalled their ancestor's prowess. On this point
EYSENBACH says, on the whole with justice : — " Les
croisades rendirent l'usage des armoiries plus general
et leur pratique invariable ; elles les regulariserent tout
a fait, puisqu'elles devinrent des lors des recompenses
accordees aux chevaliers et aux villes qui s'etaient
distingues dans les guerres saintes. Ce fut aussi depuis
les croisades que les armoiries devinrent hereditaires.
On concoit aisement que les fils de ceux qui s'etaient
approprie des symboles pour ces pieuses expeditions,
se firent un point de religion et d'honneur de transmettre
a leurs descendants l'ecu de leurs peres comme un
monument de leur valeur et de leur piete.
Au retour de la croisade, en effet, cette enseigne qui
avait ete plantee sur la breche d'Antioche, ou de Jerusa-
lem, qui avait ete benite par le legat du pape sur le tom-
beau de Jesus Christ, etait reveree comme une sainte re-
lique et precieusement gardee comme une gloirede famille.
" Flottant sur la plus haute des tours du manoir, elle
signalait au loin la demeure d'un champion et peut-etre
d'un confesseur de la foi. Bien plus, les signes qu'on
y voyait etaient reproduits par l'armurier sur le bouclier
du croise ; par le peintre sur les vitraux de la chapelle
seigneuriale ; par 1'imagier sur le chene des portes du
chateau ; par la chatelaine elle meme 'sur la nappe de
l'autel, ou Etaient deposees les saintes reliques que le
croise avait pieusement enlevees de quelque eglise
schismatique de l'Orient (!)... Ces enseignes et ces
symboles durent naturellement passer, je le repete,
comme la plus precieuse partie de l'heritage, au fils aine
du defunt, qui en adoptait les emblemes sans y rien
changer, les transmettait a son tour a ses enfants comme
( 36 )
une signe de suprematie, de commandement ; comme la
preuve de leur descendance d'un homme illustre, en un
mot, comme une marque de noblesse." — Histoire du
Blason et Science des Armoiries, pp. 70, 71. Tours, 1848.
It may be suspected not only from this passage, but
from others in the work, that the writer from whom are
borrowed the above eloquent sentences, attached a larger
amount of credence than would generally be conceded
at the present day, or at all events by the present writer,
to the stories which account for many existing armorial
bearings by declaring that they were special rewards for
special prowess in the Crusades ; or that the Saracen's
heads, crescents, crosses, escallop-shells, and other
charges which figure in them, had direct reference to the
part the ancestors of the present bearers played in those
stirring events. Mr ELLIS (A?itiquities of Heraldry, p.
237) well points out that in the Salle des Crois^s at
Versailles less than one-tenth of the arms of known
Crusaders contain any of these symbols. Nor is the
choice of such symbols at all implied in the passage I
quote below from MEZERAY. Still there is no doubt
that, as stated above, the Crusades had an appreciable
effect in the extension, consolidation, and systematising
of Heraldry which the student must not overlook.
" Dans ces expeditions de la Terre Sainte, ceux qui
avoient deja de ces Symboles se les rendirent plus
propres ; et ceux qui n'en avoient, en choisirent, tant
pour se faire remarquer, dans les combats (leur armure
de tete empechant qu'on ne conniit leur visage) que pour
etre distinguez des autres." — MEZERAY, VAbrege Chrono-
logique de V Histoire de France, torn, ii., p. 515.
Some writers have suggested that the influence was
more direct and that the Crusaders may have borrowed
largely from a heraldic system existing among the
Arabs, and they make much of the fact that the names
of some of the heraldic tinctures have an Oriental origin.
( 37 )
This indeed cannot be denied. The tincture azure is
certainly derived from the Persian word for blue, lazurd,
in Arabic lazouzd, in Greek Xafatpiov, which in late Latin
became lazulum, or azurrum, the lapis-lazuli or ultra-
marine brought by returning Crusaders from beyond the
sea.
Similarly gules was derived from gill, the Persian word
for red, or rose colour. It is possible that the term
Sinople may take its name from the port of Sinope on
the Black Sea, whence a green dye is said to have been
imported. MENETRIER, however, derives it from the
Greek irpd<rwa "oir\a — which seems to me far-fetched. But
there is little reason to believe that in this respect the
Crusades had any appreciable effect on the develop-
ment of systematic armory. As in the case of other
nations, the Oriental badges were almost invariably
of a personal character only, and differed from the
armorials of the West in regard to two of the essential
characteristics of the latter, viz. : permanence, and
hereditary transmission. Like almost all other nations,
the Arabs fought under flags, or standards, which were
necessary to distinguish their troops from those of their
enemies. Under a black flag made from MOHAMMEDS'
cloke the prophet and his successors led their troops to
victory, and this continued to be the special colour
affected by the Abasside Khalifs of Bagdad. In 1171,
on the acknowledgement of their supremacy by Salah-
ED-DIN, they sent to that Sultan a robe or cloke of this
colour wherewith to cover his throne. On the other
hand the Fatimite Khalifs used white. It was only in
1 37 1 that green was assumed to be, as at present, the
distinctive colour of the descendants of the prophet.
But beyond this natural use of coloured standards, and
in violation of the injunctions of the Koran against the
sculptured representations by " the faithful " of living
creatures, — a prohibition extended later so as to forbid
( 38 )
any pictorial representations of animate beings — the
Moslem chiefs frequently assumed them as personal
badges. In the ninth century the Sultan TOLOUN sculp-
tured his badge, a lion, on his palace gate. The Sultan
BEi'BARS-EL-BONDOUKDARY (1260- 1 277) similarly put
his lion-passant on his coins and public buildings.
Later, among the Mamelukes the corps were distin-
guished from each other by their ensigns, and by an easy
step the corps-commanders assumed personal badges.
But by this time armorial bearings had been long
systematised and had become hereditary in Europe, and
it is absurd to look to the Saracens and Mamelukes for
the origin of a system which centuries before had
become firmly established and widely diffused.
Nevertheless there is much that is curious in Oriental
armory, though it never passed beyond the elementary
stage of personal bearings. The renk, or blason, assumed
was usually the badge of some official rank-, and was
constructed with obvious reference to the special charge
or office. The cup-bearer, or butler, bore a goblet on
his escucheon ; the chamberlain a key ; the esquire
or constable (salahdar) a sword, and so forth. On
promotion from one charge to another a corresponding
change w r as made in the renk ; the bearings were in fact
official rather than personal, and even those of the
Sultans were subject to change from time to time, as in
consequence of some victory or other important event
they assumed new titles. At Cairo in the magnificent
mosque of Kait Bey, (1466) nineteenth Sultan of the
Bordjite branch, his original reitk consists of a fess
charged with a cup, and placed between a lozenge in
chief, and another cup in the base. Later, on assuming
the title of el-sefy-ed-din, he charged the fess gules with
a sabre azure garnished or, retaining the lozenge in chief,
but placing the red cup in base on a field vert, and
between two cornucopia argent. The interesting
( 39 )
communications on this subject, entitled " Le Blason chez
les Princes Musulmanes de VEgypte et de la Syrie " which
were contributed to the Bulletin de V Institut Egyptien by
Mr RODGERS and ARTIN PASHA, contain a con-
siderable number of examples of the use of these renouk,
none however are of earlier date than the fourteenth
century. But as early as the twelfth century the
Orthokides had adopted as their device the double-
headed eagle. This appears on the shield of the attabek,
or governor, Imad-ED-DiN ZANGI in 1190. Still
earlier, in 1 171, the Sultan SALAH-ED-DIN, better
known perhaps as SALADIN, used an eagle displayed
au vol abaisse. An Arabian historian tells us that
the Emir AMIK used for his renk a circular shield
argent thereon a bend vert charged with a sword gules,
garnished or.
The almost universal fleur-de-lis appears in the renouk
of the Sultan Kalaoun and of three of his descendants,
El Melek el Achraf Chaaban, El Malek el
Mansour Ali, and El Malek es Seleh Hagi.
At Bagdad the fleur-de-lis is
carved on the gate of Mare-
stan, and on the Bab el Haded
— the Iron Gate. {See fig. 10,
from VArt Arabe of M. GAYET,
Paris 1894.)
Among the decorations of the
lovely Alhambra at Granada, I
remarked (notably in the Sala
de la Berkah, and the Hall of
Justice) the frequent employ-
ment of the shield of its founder MOHAMMED Ibn-el-
AHMAR. It is Or, a bend gules, thereon in Cufic
characters the motto, " Wd Id ghalib Mali Allah"
"There is no conqueror but God." M. Gayet says,
p. 284, that this devise is borne en chevron, but this is
Fig. 11. — Arab Fleur-de-lis.
( 40 )
certainly a mistake ; nowhere in the Alhambra have I
so seen it, or indeed anywhere else.
The tournaments which became general in the
thirteenth and following centuries, had probably a very
much larger influence upon armory than can be
attributed to the Crusades ; and they certainly con-
tributed very greatly to the conversion of personal
into hereditary insignia.
Military exercises and sham fights may be traced
back to classical times with much greater probability
than hereditary insignia {see VlRGIL, lib. vii.), but it
would be difficult to say whether tournaments, in the
usual sense of the term, originated in Germany or
in France. Under the Carlovingian kings military
exercises, analogous to the jousts of later times,
certainly took place. The historian NlTHARD gives
some details of a joust which was held on the occasion
of the interview between the brother princes, Louis THE
German, and Charles the Bald in 842. Du Cange
attributes the origin of tourneys to the French ; and
quotes the CJiro7iicon Turonense which thus records the
death in 1066 of GEOFFREY DE PREUILLY (of the
family of the Counts de VENDOME). "Gaufridus de
Pruliaco, qui tomeamenta invenit, apud Andegavum
occiditur." A similar entry appears in the Chronicon S.
Martini Turon : — " fuit proditio apud Andegavum, ubi
Gaufridus de Pruliaco, et alii Barones, occisi sunt.
Hie Gaufridus de Pruliaco torneamentum invenit" But
these entries probably only mean that GEOFFREY
DE PREUILLY was the first who formulated the rules
under which these military exercises were to be held.
Du CANGE (VI. Dissertation sur Vhistoire de S. Louis,
par de Joinville) remarks, that tourneys are considered
by the writers of the Middle Ages as sports essentially
French: and Matthew Paris in 1 179 calls them
"joutes franchises " — " confiictus galiici." There is
( 41 )
abundant evidence that these tourneys were no child's
play. In 1 1 86 GEOFFREY PLANTAGENET, Duke of
Brittany, son of Henry II. of England, was slain in
a tourney at Paris. FLORIS, Count of HOLLAND, was
killed, in 1234, at a joust at Corbie in Picardy. JOHN,
Markgrave of BRANDENBURG, thus lost his life in 1269.
FREDERICK II., Count Palatine, fractured his spine by a
fall from his horse in one of these encounters. In the
twelfth century the Popes INNOCENT II., EUGENIUS
III., and ALEXANDER III., fulminated their bulls
against them, as later did INNOCENT III., and other
popes. Philippe le Bel and Philippe le Long
issued Ordonnances against them (v. DU CANGE), but it
was only the unfortunate death, in 1559, of HENRI II.
of France, who was killed in a tourney by a splinter
from the lance of DE MONTMORENCY, which caused
their discontinuance.
We may reasonably conclude that the tournaments,
which probably originated in Germany, were introduced
into England from the neighbouring kingdom of France;
in which kingdom they were first systematised and
regulated. The earliest regular tournament of which
we can find a record in the old German chroniclers
appears to be that which was held at Nlirnberg in 11 27,
under the Emperor LOTHAIR (BRUNNER, Annales Bo/a,
torn, iii., p. 283). The date of the tourney at Gottingen,
which I find quoted from the BraunscJiweiger Chronicle
as 1119, is probably a mistake for 11 29, as LOTHAIR
was only elected King of the Romans at Mainz in the
year 1125. In the tournament held at Liege in 1148,
under THEODORE of HOLLAND, fourteen princes and
dukes, ninety- one counts, eighty- four barons, one
hundred and thirty-three knights, and three hundred
nobles took part. Such a gathering must have had
great influence upon the extension of systematic armory.
GEORGE Ruxner, Jerusalem Herald, published his
( 42 )
TJiurnier Buck in 1522, but it is pretty clear, both from
the entire lack of outside corroboration, and from
internal evidence, some points of which are hereafter
noticed, that it was not derived, as he asserted, from an
ancient MS., but is an elaborate fiction, so far as it
relates to the tourneys which he describes as being held
antecedently to the twelfth or thirteenth centuries. No
credence whatever is to be attached to the. long lists of
members of later noble families whose pride RuxNER
flattered by declaring that persons of their names were
recorded to have taken part in these early tourneys ; or
to their blazons ; or to those Leges Hastilndiales, which,
by requiring from those who desired to participate in
these sports four generations of noble descent, would have
carried back systematic and hereditary armory at least a
century even beyond their supposed promulgation by
HENRY the Fowler in 937.
Even with regard to tournaments which we know
with certainty really took place, RtJXNER's list is
seriously inaccurate. He omits any mention of that
which was held at Neuss in 1 175 ; and which was
worthy of remembrance, since in it forty-two knights
and their esquires lost their lives in the melee.
According to the Chronicum Belgicum Magnum there
was held near Cologne, in the year 1240, a tourney in
which sixty knights and esquires were slain. Neither
of this, nor of the one held at Niirnberg in 1433, does
RUXNER make any mention. With regard to the Thur-
nier-Ordnung, it can be shown that, instead of dating from
the tenth century, they were first drawn up at Heidelberg
in 148 1, and at Heilbronn in 1484. Some other respects
in which RtJXNER trips are set forth, and the whole matter
is well summed up, in Dr Michael Praun'S treatise
Von dem Adeliclien Eur op a, und denen Heerschilden des
Teutsehen Adels, 1688, of which the following passage
as given in RuDOLPHl, Heraldica Curiosa, p. 16 (Niirn-
( 43 )
berg, 1698), is a summary: " Wiewol diese Meinung
schon etliche Anstosse leiden miissen, indem einige dem
Rixner in seinen Thurnier-Buch, wo er diesen Thurnier,
und alle damals anwesende Personen beschrieben und
genennet, wenig trauen wollen, sowol, weil solches bey
keinen andern Scribenten zu finden ist, als auch, weil er
selbsten zu seiner Beglaubigung nichtsanders vorbringt
als dasz er solches bey einem Pfarrer in Sachsen in einem
geschriebenen Buch gelesen, und abgeschrieben habe,
welches dem Goldasto in Rational, ad lib. der ReicJis-
Satz, pag. 305, gar verdachtig ist, weilen er hinzu setzt,
es habe gedachter Pfarrer gleich nach solcher Abschrifft
sein Manuscript verbrennt ; da doch solches su grund-
lichern Beweiss hatte billig sollen aufbewahret werden.
Ferner konnen sie das reine Teutsche in der Thurnier-
Ordnung, welche Rixner dem HENRICO Aucupi zu-
schreibt, mit der damaligen Redens-Art nicht zusammen
reimen, wie ingleichen, wan er sagt, dass diese Thurnier-
Ordnung, mit Zuziehung der ' vier ReicJis-Herzogen^
nahmlich Pfaltzgraf Conrad bey Rhein; Herman, Hertzog
in Schwaben ; Bernhard, Hertzog in Bayern ; und Conrad,
Herzog in Francken, etc., gemacht worden ; da doch
damalen der Hertzog in Francken und Pfaltzgraf eins
gewesen ; wozu noch kommen die unnothige Wieder-
holungen in den meisten Articuln, und die Unterschrifft
welche einige Dignitaten bemerckt, woran doch zu
zweiffeln, ob sie damals schon gewesen ; wie auch der
ubelangebrachte Titel, der Edlen, als welcher in densel-
bigen Zeiten nicht den Rittern, sondern Fiirsten und
Herren geblihret habe; von dem IX. und XI. Articul,
wollen sie ebenfalls zweiffeln, ob sie sich zu besagten
Zeiten schicken. Endlich will ihnen auch unglaublich
scheinen, dass, da man vor Zeiten die Bischoffe in
Teutschland nicht einmal ordentlich aufgezeichnet hat,
man gleichwol alle die Alte vom Adel, so auf jedem
Thurnier erschienen, sollte so fieissig zusammen gesch-
( 44 )
rieben haben, indem es auch kaum zu thun moglich
gewesen ware, weil man vor HENRICI IV. Zeiten, nicht
einmal die Flirsten, Hertzogen, Grafen, und Herren mit
ihren Zunamen, in den alten Diplomatibus aufgezeicb.net
finde, und nicht eigentlich gewust, wie sie geheissen
haben ; wie vielweniger hatte man solches also von der
Ritterschafft wissen konnen." {See PRAUN, von dem
Adelidien Enropa, pp. 806-10.)
I may also refer any who would wish to pursue
further this matter of the authenticity, or the reverse,
of Ruxner's Thumier Buck, to Bernd's Allgemeine
Schriftenkunde der gesammten Wappenwissenschaft.
Erster Theil, 8vo. Bonn. 1830. At p. 430 he gives
references to a considerable amount of literature on
both sides of the question. He says : " Eigene schriften
dartiber sind : Das Urtheil beruhmter Geschicht-
schreiber von der Glaubwlirdigkeit der teutschen
Thurnier-Biicher, 1728, 4to, und Jo. Mullers griindlich
ausgetiihrter Discurs, ob Geo. Rixner gewesenen Bay-
rischen Herolds, teutsches Thurnier-buch pro scripto
authentico zu halten, und wie weit demselben Glauben
zuzustellen sei ? mit dreyen extracten aus dem Thur-
nier Buch und zweyen noch nie gedruckten Anhangen
begleitet, etc. Schwabach, in Jahre 1766, 4to."
Having thus disposed of Mr ELLIS'S cheval de bataille,
we may proceed to consider the evidence which is trust-
worthy with regard to the date at which armorial bear-
ings were adopted into general use, and finally became
hereditary ensigns of noble descent.
This evidence we should expect to find on sepulchral
monuments ; on coins, and seals ; and in any lists, or
documents descriptive of events in the course of which
armorial bearings would be likely to be borne. MENE-
TRIER (in his Traite' de VOrigine des Armoiries, p. 54)
assures us that there is no tomb of an earlier date than
the eleventh century on which armorial insignia are
PLATE I.
ANCIENT SHIELDS.
Explanation of Figures.
1, 2, 3. From Bayeux Tapestry. 4. Jourdain de Tesson, 12th century.
5. (From Demmin). 6. From 12th century Chessman. 7. From a 12th
century MS. at the Hague. 8. De Vitre (Morvce). 9. Berchtold von
Zahrirujen, 1177. 10. From Champleve Enamel of Geoffrey Plantagenet
at le Mans, 1157.
( 45 )
depicted. The earliest instance Menetrier could find
of a coat of arms on a sepulchral monument in France,
Germany, Italy, or the Low Countries, was on the tomb
of a Count VON WASSERBURG in the church of St.
Emmeran at Ratisbon bearing the date ioio, and the
learned father expressed his conviction that the arms
had been added on some subsequent occasion when the
monument had undergone a restoration. MENETRIER
seems to me to have understated the matter by at least
a century. Clement IV., who reigned 1265-8, is the
first of the Popes on whose tomb in the church of San
Francesco at Viterbo, armorial bearings are depicted.
The tombstone of WILLIAM, Count of FLANDERS,
who died in 1 127, bears his effigy [VrEe, de SegJielen
der Graven van Vlaendren, plate 9. Te Brugghe
(Bruges), 1640] ; the long oval shield which covers the
greater part of the body has no armorial bearings, but is
ornamented and strengthened by the usual floriated
boss, or escarbuncle of the period. " The Counts of
TOULOUSE used their cross" (an adaptation of the early
floriated boss) "in the twelfth century, but no other arms,
VAISSETTE tells us, can be traced in Languedoc so far
back, tome iii., p. 514." (Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. i.,
p. 206.)
The splendid plaque in cliampleve enamel which was
formerly an ornament of the tomb of GEOFFROI PLAN-
TAGENET, Count d'ANJOU, who died in 1151, and was
father of our HENRY II., is preserved in the Museum at
Le-Mans, and is one of the earliest examples of armorial
bearings upon a monumental memorial which exist. I
have engraved the shield on Plate II., fig. 3.
I do not-know of any sepulchral monument in England
which has armorial bearings of an earlier date than the
thirteenth century. One of the earliest is the slab of
Sir William de Staunton at Staunton, Notts, of the
year 1226; which bears his arms (arg.) two chevrons
( 46 )
{sable) within a bordure (BoUTELL, Christian Monuments,
p. 140). The slab of Ethelmar de Valence, Bishop
of Winchester, 1261, bears thebarruly shield of Valence
(BOUTELL, ibid., p. 118). Other early instances are
afforded by the incised slab of JOHN, Baron of GREY-
STOCK, summoned to Parliament by writ in 1295, which
remains at Greystock, though in a mutilated condition
(BOUTELL, ibid., p. 75). The slab of Sir RICHARD DE
BOSELVNGTHORPE, c. 1280, bears a small shield charged
with a chevron {ibid., p. 146).
The splendid work of Hefner-Alteneck gives
some good examples of armorial grave stones in
Germany ; the earliest is of about the year 1280.
Armorial bearings are still less ancient upon coins.
MENETRIER tells us that the earliest French coins upon
which they appear are the deniers d'or of Philippe de
VALOIS, struck in 1336. It was not until the reign of
Henry VJII., that arms appeared on our own silver
coins. Mr ELLIS indeed finds arms in the unheraldic
device of a plain cross between four radiating doves,
which appears on a coin of Edward the Confessor,
and out of which the Heralds evolved the coat of arms
{Azure, a cross flory between five martlets or) which was
at a much later date, in the thirteenth century, attributed
to that prince. {See p. 166, and Vol. II., Chapter XVI.).
But I quite agree with Mr SETON {Law and Practice
of Heraldry in Scotland, p. 189), in considering that seals
form the most authentic, as well as the earliest, record
of heraldic bearings. On these the effigy of the owner
was represented as in life ; clad in the armour of the
period, with shield and sword or lance. Sometimes,
indeed, in very early instances, as upon the seals of the
early Counts of Flanders {see Vrle, de Segkelen, plates
5, 6, 7), only the inside of the large curved shield is seen,
but on the later seals the shield is so turned that if any
armorial bearings had been depicted they would be
( 47 )
visible. When we remember that the very object of the
adoption of armorial bearings was to distinguish the
bearer in war from other persons, we may be quite sure
that had the user of the seal possessed such armorial
bearings, such clear indications of the personality of the
proprietor would not have been omitted from the seal
which authenticated his charters and formal documents.
Let us then see what light comes to us from these con-
temporary witnesses. Some early shields are repre-
sented in Plate I., these bear no heraldic devices ; the
long curved oval shield is often strengthened by a
border ; by bands of metal nailed upon the wood ; and
most frequently, by a metal floriated boss, the arms of
which extended to the edges of the shield ; and from
which in later times some varieties of the Cross, and the
heraldic charge known as the escarbuncle, were pretty
certainly derived. That this latter was not originally a
heraldic distinction may be proved by the fact inter alia
that on the shield of GEOFFREY PLANTAGENET, alluded
to in a preceding page, the floriated boss appears, irre-
spective of the rampant lions which formed his armorial
bearings. (Plate I., fig. 10.)
So also on the recumbent effigy on the floor of the
Temple Church so long, but erroneously, attributed to
Geoffrey de Magnaville, Earl of Essex, and which
may possibly date from about the close of the twelfth
century, the. shield, which bears three bars dancetty, is
strengthened by an escarbuncle, or floriated cross, in
relief, which passes over the charges. {See Mr J. GOUGH
NICHOLS* valuable and most interesting paper on this
effigy in the Herald and Genealogist, vol. iii., pp. 97-112.)
Similarly, the seal of Eon DE PONTCHASTNEAU in
1200, is charged with three crescents and a chief, over
all the floriated boss. Even as late as 1231 the seal of
EON/Zy le comte has a shield with an escarbuncle which
is evidently constructional. {See MORICE, Memoircs pour
( 48 )
servir de Prenvcs a V Histoire Ecclc'siastique et Civile de
B re tagne, Paris 1742, tome i., seals xxviii., xxi.) From
the same work is taken the shield engraved on Plate I.,
fig. 8, of ROBERT de Vitre, 1172, whose long pavoise
has an escarbuncle of fourteen rays. (The shield,
Plate I., fig. 5, is from Demmin, Weapons of War, p. 174.)
EYSENBACH, in his Histoire du Blason, gives a list
of very early seals upon which armorial bearings appear,
but which are, in my opinion, of very doubtful
authenticity. To the contract of marriage of SANCHO,
Infant of CASTILLE, with GUILLELMINE, daughter of
Centulus Gaston II., Viscount of Bearn, of the
year 1000, are appended seven seals of which two remain
entire ; one has a shield charged with a greyhound, the
other has a shield bendy. The former is supposed to
have been that used by Garcia Arnaud, Comte
d'AuCE et de MAGNOAC, who lived at the time, and
whose descendants bore a greyhound as their armorial
charge. But I believe this whole document to be a
fabrication of a much later date. A like doubt attaches
to two seals of Adelbert of Lorraine affixed to
charters of the years 1030, 1037, which have on them
shields charged with an eagle au vol abaisse. A charter
of RAYMOND de St. Gilles, dated 1088, is said to bear
a seal on which is the cross which formed the bearing of
the Counts of TOULOUSE, and was called by their name,
the cross vide'e, clechee, et pommettee (Plate XV., fig. 10),
and which I believe was simply developed out of the
constructional boss of the older shields. The seal of
Thierry II., Count of Bar and Montbeliard,
appended to a deed dated 1093, ls sa 'd to bear two
barbel addorsed, as in the later arms. HUGH II., Duke
of BURGUNDY, in 1102, bears on his seal a shield,
Bendy of six within a bordure, the well-known arms of
Burgundy-ancient. Raoul de Beaugency, a
follower of GODFREY DE BOUILLON in the First
( 49 )
Crusade, in a deed dated 1104, seals with a shield
Chequy and a fess. In the same year a seal of SlMON
DE BROYES has a shield bearing the canting arms of
the broyes which later formed part of the coat of Join-
VILLE, or DE Geneville. The seal of GUIRAND DE
SlMlANE, in 1 1 13 and later, bears the ram which is
the charge of the coat of that family.
The earliest seal of a Count of FLANDERS, which bears
a shield charged with the lion of FLANDERS, given by
VrEe, in his work De Seghelen der Graven van Vlaendren,
is that of Count ROBERT on plate 4, attached to a charter
of 1072. But of this MABILLON has demonstrated the
falsity ; and on that ground, and not (as Mr ELLIS
rather unworthily suspects) because it " conflicts with a
cherished theory," Mr PLANCHE passes it over entirely
in his Heraldry Founded on Facts ; and says of the seal
of Philip I., Count of Flanders, in 1 164 (?) that it is
the earliest unquestionable example in the collection of
UREDIUS {i.e. Wree, or VrEe, as before mentioned) on
which the lion appears as a heraldic bearing. But I am
pretty sure that Sir Charles Meyrick also expressed
a doubt as to the authenticity of the seal attributed to
Count ROBERT not because the use of the arms "conflicts
with a cherished theory," but on account of some
peculiarities of the armour. On the seal of Philip I.,
Count of Flanders, we have then the first certainly
authentic use of arms upon a seal towards the close of
the twelfth century. Other seals which M. Demay
adduces corroborate very strikingly the now generall}/
received idea that it was only after the middle of the
twelfth century that regular armorial bearings came into
general use. The seal of Mathieu I. DE MONT-
MORENCY, in 1 160, has no arms ; that of Mathieu II.,
in 1 177, bears a shield with the older form of the
Montmorency coat, a cross between four alerions. No
arms are visible on the seal of CONON, Count of
vol. 1. E
( 5° )
SoiSSONS in 1 172 ; but in 1178 and 1 180 his shield bears
a lion passant. MATHIEU II., Count of BEAUMONT
SUR OlSE, in 1 173 has no arms, but his successor
MATHIEU III. in 1 177 seals with a shield charged with
a lion rampant. The COUCY seal in 11 50 has no
armorial bearings ; but the well-known coat, Barry of
six vair and gules, appears on the seal of 11 90. The
lion borne by the family of GARLANDE does not appear
on the seal of Gui DE Garland in 1 170, but is engraved
on that used in 1 192. In 1 185 Gerard de St. Aubert
bears no arms ; but in 1 194 his buckler is charged with
CJievronny and a bordure. On the seal of BALDWIN,
Count of HAINAULT, of the date of 1 182, the well-known
arms : Chevronne of six, or and sable, do not appear, but
they are represented on his counter-seal in 1282. The
Counts of CHAMPAGNE in 1 180 and 1 186 are represented
as bearing the plain shield with an ornamented boss ;
but before 1 197 Henri II. had assumed the coticed
bend. ROTROU III., Count of Perche, in 1190 uses no
arms ; but in 1 197 his son Geoffroi bears the shield
with the three chevrons (Demay, Le Costume, etc., pp.
189-192). So also in Scotland the seal of ALAN
Stewart in 11 70 had apparently no arms upon the
shield borne by his mounted effigies; but in 1190 the
shield of the same Alan bears for the first time the fess
chequy (LAING, Scottish Seals, i., pp. 772-773).
As might be expected the case was the same in
England. The seal of Gilbert de Clare (either
Strongbow, Earl of PEMBROKE, who died in 1 148; or the
Earl of Clare who died in 1 1 52) bears the long kite-
shaped convex shield on which are faint traces of
chevronny, the original bearings of de Clare (Cat. of
Seals in Brit. Mus., ii., No. 5803). But about the year
1 147 the effigy of SlMON DE St. Liz, Earl of
NORTHAMPTON bears only the long convex shield
apparently diapered with a lozengy ornament (Ibid., No.
PLATE II
ANCIENT SHIELDS, Etc.
Explanation of Figures.
1. Maire de Soissons, 13th century (Dcmay). 2. From Seal of Abbey of
S. Victor at Marseilles, 12th century {Dcmay). 3. Eudes de Kourgogne,
Comte de Nevers, 1259 (Demay). 4. Dragon, from the Psaltcrmm
Aureum of St. Gall. 5. From Seal of Robert d'Artois, 1237 {Derna.y)
( 5* )
6406). The seal of ROGER DE NEWBURGH, Earl of
WARWICK (1123-1153) is similarly ornamented (No.
6262), but on that of WALERAN DE NEWBURGH, (Earl,
1 184-1205), only the plain convex shield appears (No.
6263). About 1 1 80 the shield borne by the effigy of
William d'Albini, Earl of Sussex, is of the usual
shape but is charged with a lion rampant. The seal of
HENRY the Lion, in 1169, has a constructional
escarbuncle on his shield (HARENBERG, Historia Ecclesice
Gandersheimensis, tab. xxv., folio. Hannoverae, 1734).
The tomb of Helie, Comte du
Maine (which, if I remember
correctly, is in the church of N. D.
de la Couture at Le Mans) bears a
shield of the date 1 109 whereon is
a cross fleur -de - lis£e which
appears to be only construc-
tional. In the south transept of
the basilica of S. Paolo fuori le
Mure at Rome, is a fine Paschal
candelabrum of the twelfth
century in alabaster. On it are
represented knights in chain mail,
and having the pointed Norman Fig. 12.— Norman Warriors,
, , ~ r . , , . , from (Stephens' Runic
helm. One of these bears the Monuments).
long kite-shaped shield on which are a bordufe, and an
escarbuncle, both being evidently constructional {cf.
fig. 12).
In Scotland the adoption of arms did not commence
earlier than the reign of WILLIAM the Lion (1165-1214).
" Even during that reign the practice was by no means
general. William himself and some persons of great
distinction, Saxon and Norman, though evidently
following the knightly customs of the age, had not yet
adopted fixed family arms." (INNES, Sketches of Early
Scottish History, p. 113). Walter FlTZALAN, Steward
( 52 )
of Scotland ; Philip de Valoines, Great Chamberlain ;
and the Constable de MOREVIL do not charge the shields
borne by their effigies on their seals with any arms.
We need not however suppose, and M. Demay warns
us against so doing, that " le blason fait son apparition
dans les dernieres annees du douzieme siecle brusque-
ment, sans transition." On the contrary he adduces some
interesting examples of earlier date which enable us to
see how the transition was effected. Passing by for the
present the development of the fleur-de-lis in the arms
of France, which will be referred to in another section,
we may cite the following instances. On a seal of
ENGUERRAN, Count de St. POL, anterior to the year
1 150, the mounted knight bears a long uncharged shield,
but the base of the seal is seme with garbs. These garbs
later became true heraldic charges ; and, to the number
of five, were the blazon of the family of the Candavene,
to which ENGUERRAN belonged. The seal of H ELLIN
DE WAVRIN, in 1177, bears an eagle volant holding a
serpent in its claws ; in 1 193 the eagle displayed appears
as the charge of the seal of Robert de Wavrin,
Seneschal of Flanders. In 1 195, the seal of ROGER DE
MEULAN has a lion passant ; two years later the lion,
but rampant, is enclosed in a shield on the seal of Jean
DE MEULAN ; and ROGER DE MEULAN is represented
holding this escutcheon on his seal of 1204. JULIENNE,
Dame de ROSOY, is represented in 1195 between two
roses; in 1201 the roses have become heraldic, and the
shield of Roger de Rosov in 1201 bears three. (Demay,
loc. cit. } pp. 193-194.)
A like process went on elsewhere ; the seal of John
DE MUNDEGUMBRI of Eagleshame, probably a descend-
ant of Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury,
a companion and kinsman of WILLIAM of NORMANDY,
about 1 170, bears a single fleur-de-lis (LAING, Scottish
Seals, i., No. 590) ; and three fleurs-de-lis became later
( 53 )
the arms of the family of MONTGOMERY. The seal of
WlLLlAxM DE I NAYS, appended to the instrument of
fealty by which certain Scottish magnates did homage to
Edward I. in 1296, bears only a single six-pointed
mullet, or star (heraldic bearings at that time not having
become generally adopted in Scotland) ; in later times
the INNES coat was charged with three mullets {Am
Account of the Familie of Innes. Spalding Club, 1864,
p. 56). Similarly, the seal of RICHARD FALCONER
of Hawkerston, in 1*170 bears a fleur-de-lis supporting
two falcons (LAING, i., 323). In the same year the seals
of Robert, Patrick, and Walter Corbet {Ibid., I,
201-3) have corbies perched upon the branches of a tree ;
while, in 1292, Gilbert and William Connisburgh
have on their seals {Ibid., i., 199-200) conies in the midst
of foliage. In all these cases, as in many others, the
device assumed in reference to the name became the
foundation of the regular heraldic bearings of the family.
The seal of William Lindsay, Lord of Ercildoun
and CRAWFORD, in 1 170, is not armorial ; that of SlMON of
LINDSAY of the same date has an eagle displayed — the
heraldic charge of the Norman family of the LlMESAYS — ■
which in 1345 becomes the (single) heraldic supporter of
the family arms {Gules, a fess chequy argent and azure)
upon the seal of Sir DAVID LINDSAY, Lord of CRAWFORD
(Laing, Scottish 5m/j,i.,Nos. 503,504,509,and ii.,629, 630.
See also Lives of the Lindsays, vol. i., pp. 3-5 and 440).
LACROIX {Science and Literature in the Middle Ages,
etc., London, 1878) says: "Here and there, in the
chronicles of the Middle Ages, are to be found traces
of the cognisances, but at the epoch when they first
appear in history these different signs, all of a very
simple kind, were not used to form the special com-
binations which afterwards became the exclusive
appanage of such and such a family, and which fixed
the principles of heraldic science. They were, so to
( 54 )
speak, public property, and any one who chose could
appropriate them. Master Jean de Garlande, who wrote
in 1080 a very curious description of Paris, relates that
the ' dealers in bucklers, who supplied their goods to
all the towns of France, sold to the chevaliers shields
covered with cloth, leather, and pinchbeck, upon which
were painted lions and fleur-de-lis.' Thus, as late as
the cloSe of the eleventh century, the Kings of France
had no regular coat-of-arms, and the shields, embellished
with lions and the fleur-de-lis, belonged by right of
purchase to any one who chose to buy them, upon his
showing, that as a chevalier he had the right to use them."
BUTKENS, in his TropJiees de Brabant (Lib. 4., cap. 3),
attributes the rise of armorial bearings in the Low
Countries to about the middle of the twelfth century.
He says';; — " Certes il nous seroit bien difficile de trouver
quelles armoiries les Princes mesmes portoient en ce
temps, la, — puisque dans leurs Sceaux Ton ne trouve
aucune marque du Blason ; et veritablement le port des
armes n'est si ancien, n'y les armes si hereditaires, comme
on les imagine maintenant, et ou ce qu'on peut juger des
Sceaux,, le Blason en nos quartiers n'a este en usage que
peu devant l'an MCLX."
Even in the thirteenth century arms had not become
definitely hereditary. In 1223 Aymar DE SASSENAGE
bore abend. In 1251 GuiLLAUME DE SASSENAGE bore
two swans accostes by two cotices fretty. In 1249
GUILLAUME, Seigneur de BEAUVOIR, bore Quarterly,
and a cotice in bend ; in 1279 a GuiLLAUME DE
Beauvoir (who, as Menetrier thinks, may have been
the same person) bore a lion. EUDES Alleman, Seig-
neur des Champs, in 1265, bore a bend between six
fleurs-de-lis ; AYMAR ALLEMAN, a griffon passant ; ODO
Alleman, a single fleur-de-lis. Gui Alleman in 1307
bore four fleurs-de-lis and a label. The branch of this
family at Uriage bore an eagle, and that at Arbent in
( 55 )
Bresse, a lion. Finally, SlBOUD ALLEMAN, Bishop of
GRENOBLE, in the year 1455, having assembled in his
Episcopal Palace all his relations of the name, to the
number of twenty-three, they resolved that for the future
all should bear exclusively the arms of the ALLEMANS
of Vaubonnois, namely : Gules fleury or, over all a cotice
argent. (MENETRIER, De POrigine des Armoiries et du
Blason, pp. 88, 89.) MENETRIER declares that he had
himself seen the formal document drawn up on this
occasion ; and he adds, " Je pourrois alleguer cent autres
exemples semblables de diverses maisons de Normandie,
de Champagne, de Bourgogne, et des Pays Bas."
In Spain the introduction of hereditary arms doe's not
appear to have been earlier than the commencement of
the thirteenth century. In Italy the case was the same.
MURATORI says : " Si sa di certo, anche da chi non fa
professione di dotto e pratico antiquario, che tanto i
cognomi, quanto l'Armi gentilizie non ebbero la loro
origine prima della fine del decimo secolo, ne la loro
consistenza fuorche nel duodecimo." Jovius, Bishop
of NOCERA, in 1556, writes: — " Al tempo di Friderico
Barbarossa vennero in uso l'insegne delle Famiglie,
chiamate de noi ' Arme,' donate de principi per merito
dell' honorate imprese fatte in guerra, ad affeto di
nobilitare i vallorosi Cavallieri, ne nacquero bizarrisime
inventioni ne' cimieri et pitture ne gli scudi.
In Sweden the earliest known example of an armorial
shield is of the year 12 19. {See HiLDEBRAND, Det
Svenska Riksvapnet ; in the Antiqvarisk Tidskrift for
Sverige ; 1883.) The shield is engraved on p. 352, fig. 73.
Since the appearance of the first issue of this book,
the publication of the second and third volumes of the
Catalogue of Seals in the King's Library at the British
Museum has made available for the use of the student of
early heraldry a mass of authentic information which
had hitherto been practically inaccessible. It is pleasan
( 56 )
to the writer to be able to add that this information is
in all points confirmatory of the statements made by
him in the corresponding chapter of the first edition with
regard to the circumstances of the adoption in England
of armorial bearings.
Although the long pointed convex shield is in some
cases turned from the spectator, and armorial bear-
ings if depicted upon it would thus be invisible — yet in
the great majority of nearly a thousand examples re-
corded in the British Museum Catalogue of Equestrian
Seals the shield is not so turned. Up to the close of the
thirteenth century, and even later, the shield rarely bears
any design of an armorial character. Usually it is furni-
shed with a boss, or spike, in its centre. Often the shield
is strengthened by a bordure, and occasionally by bands
which are clearly constructional. But the instances in
which the boss or spike forms the centre of the arrange-
ment alluded to above as an escarbuncle, are as numerous
as, from the quality of the wearers, they are important.
Thus the seal of William de ROiMARE (No. 6375) late in
the twelfth century, shows the knight's long convex shield
adorned and strengthened with the escarbuncle, or star-
like bearing, within a constructional bordure. That of
Roger de Mowbray (No. 6219) also of the twelfth
century, has a convex shield, with a large central boss.
A little later in the same century his successor NlGEL
has a shield with a bordure and a central spike. Be-
tween 1 170 and 1 178, Robert de Bellomonte, after-
wards Earl of LEICESTER, has on his seal (No. 5672) the
same convex shield with central spike and radiating
escarbuncle. The seal of Hugh, Earl of Chester
(1163-1185), bears the escarbuncle (No. 5809), but that
of Earl Ranulf in 12 16 is charged with the well-known
bearings of the three garbs (No. 5813).
Many, nay most, of the twelfth century seals show no
arms at all ; but as affording further contemporary
( 57 )
evidence of the date at which armorial bearings came
into general use in England, the following examples
are of interest and value. On a seal (No. 5916) of
William Ferrars, 6th Earl of Derby (11 91-1246),
are no arms ; but on that of his son WILLIAM, 7th
Earl (1246- 1 254), the counter-seal bears Vaire . . .
on a bordure . . . eight horse shoes . . . (No. 5920).
A twelfth century seal of ROBERT FlTZ ROGER
bears : Quarterly . . . and ... a bend . . . (No. 6005.)
About 1 180 William de Hummety, Constable of
Normandy, has on the shield borne by his mounted effigy,
bezanty, a bordure (?) (No. 6129). The seal of John,
Count of MORTAIGNE, afterwards King of ENGLAND,
has, circa 1188, a shield charged with two lions passant
in pale (No. 6323). SlMON DE KYME, about 1200, has
on his shield the chevron of his arms (No. 6154).
We may therefore regard the latter half of the twelfth
century as the earliest period to which we can trace the
use of arms in the proper sense. Early in the thirteenth
century the practice began of embroidering the family
ensigns in their proper colours on the surcoat worn over
the hauberk or coat of mail, whence originated the
expression "coat of arms." De JoiNVILLE in his
Memoirs of St. Louis (IX.), speaks of the use of
embroidered coats of arms, as one that had recently
become common, being unknown in the earlier Crusades.
Arms were similarly embroidered on the jupon, cyclas,
and tabard, which succeeded the surcoat ; and displayed
on the banners and pennons of knights, or floated from
the shafts of their lances ; they were also enamelled or
otherwise represented on furniture, personal ornaments,
and weapons, and before long the ownership of a
distinctive shield of arms (usually assumed proprio wotu),
became essential to the dignity of a baron, knight, or
gentleman.
Fig. 13.
Fig. 14.
Fig. 15.
Fig. 16.
Fig. 17.
Fig. 18.
Fig. 19.
Fig. 20.
CHAPTER IV.
As the primary use of Armorial Ensigns was to
distinguish warriors by the devices on their shields,
so when these bearings came to be depicted on seals or
monuments, or in Rolls of Arms, they continued to be
represented upon a shield or escucheon. These shields
varied in form at different times, following the modifica-
tions which took place in the equipment of the warrior ;
the size and shape of the shield being materially affected
by the quality of the armour.
At the time of the Norman Conquest this was com-
posed of links interlaced ; or of scales, rings, and other
small pieces of steel, sewn upon the linen or leather
hauberk, which was usually quilted in diamond-shaped
spaces. While this rude armour, which is depicted in
the Bayeux Tapestry {see also Plate II., fig. i), was
usually sufficient to turn an arrow shot from a distance,
it was utterly inadequate to resist the thrusts of a spear, or
sword, at close quarters : and the defence of the warrior
( 59 )
against these was provided for by a shield of large dimen-
sions, sufficient to cover the whole of the body. On
the Bayeux Tapestry this appears of a kite -shaped
form, but, as is evident from ancient seals, it was really
curved round the warrior's body, and was adorned and
strengthened by a metal border and intersecting bands,
or by a boss with a projecting spike and floriations,
which afterwards became the foundation of the heraldic
charge known as the escarbuncle (Plates I., II., and
XXXV.). The large collection of equestrian seals in
the King's Library of the British Museum shows that
this spike and fioriation continued to be borne in
England upon the long curved shield, not as yet
generally charged with armorial bearings, as late as the
early part of the thirteenth century. In France perhaps
the latest instance of the unfioriated boss is afforded by
the armorial seal of Riciiarde DE VERNON in 1195.
(DEMAY, Le Costume d'apres les Sceaux, p. 141.)
As the texture of the coat of mail became closer, and
the pieces of which it was composed more continuous,
its powers of resistance were greatly increased, and a
large, heavy, cumbersome shield was no longer needed.
Accordingly the shield, though still somewhat curved, and
sufficiently large to protect the vital organs, underwent a
considerable diminution in size, as well as a modification
in shape (Plate II., figs. 2, 3). Upon the early seals where
the warrior is represented on horseback, the curvature of
the shield which he bears often prevents us from having
a full view of the bearings depicted upon it ; but on the
counter-seal, or secretum, which contained only, or chiefly,
the representation of the owner's shield of arms, this is
represented flat, or with only a slight incurvation. The
form given to it varied considerably at various times.
On the earliest armorial seals the shield is of a heart
shape, with rounded top and sides as in the seal
of Henri de Ferrieres in 1205 (Demay, Le Costume
( 6o )
d'apres les Sceaux, fig. 252, engraved below at vol. ii.
p. 64 ; cf. the secretum of EUSTACIA DE CHATILLON,
1 2 18 ; Vree, Gen. Com. Fland., plate vi.). The secretum
of Philippe de Maldeghem in 1207 (Vree, Gencalogie
des Comtes de Flandre, plate 4), shows that the lines of
the shield, both at the top and the sides were beginning
to lose something of their convexity, though the top
angles were still rounded off. {See also the seal and
secretum of Robert II., Comte de DREUX, circa 1202,
in VrEe, Genealogie des Comtes de Flandre, plate 7.) A
little later the shield becomes slightly elongated, and
all its lines flatter ; the top line joins the side ones
at a distinct angle, instead of being rounded off as
formerly. Both types occur on the seal and the secretum
of Pierre de Dreux, son of Robert II., and husband
of Alice, Duchess of Bretagne, c. 12 12. On his
seal the shield borne by the Count was of the elon-
gated triangular shape ; the heart-shaped shield appears
on the secretum. (Vri^e, Gencalogie des Comtes de
Flandre, plate 8.)
To this type succeeded the regular " heater-shaped "
shield which prevailed in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries ; it had a straight line at the top, with the
sides gently curved and meeting in a point. Later,
especially after the introduction of the custom of
quartering arms, there was an increasing tendency to
give greater width to the base of the shield. About the
middle of the fourteenth century we find the shield
penche or couche (that is placed at an angle instead of
being droit, or in a vertical position), and supporting on
its upper angle the crested helm, with its mantling or lam-
brequins. In this form the shield was suspended above
the pavilions at the tournaments. {See plates xi.-xv.
in vol. ii. from the Armorial de Geldre ; and the Zurich
Wappenrolle.) Towards the end of the fifteenth century
appeared such forms as that represented in fig. 14, p. 58.
( 6i )
This shield is said to be a bouche, and the notch at its
dexter angle was contrived as a rest for the lance of the
wearer.
In southern countries, especially in Spain, the shield
assumed a distinctly rounded shape in the base, which
has been retained in the Peninsula to the present day,
and of which examples are found in the mediaeval
seals of the Counts of Foix, BEarn, Toulouse, etc.
An oval shield was also in use in southern countries,
especially in Italy, where it is still greatly employed ;
and it is the form almost invariably used there, and
elsewhere, for the arms of Ecclesiastics. On the seals
of ENGUERRAN DE COUCY, in 1380, and of OLIVIER
DE CLISSON, Constable of France, in 1397, the oval
shield has the notch a bouche which converts it into
the Ecu en palette (Demay, Le Costume, etc., p. 230).
The prevailing forms became more florid in the six-
teenth century, particularly in Germany {see figs. 18,
19, and 20.).
The "vair-shaped " shield was much in vogue in Britain
in the eighteenth, and early part of the present century ;
as were other still more untasteful forms ; but within
the last fifty years there has been, along with a revived
knowledge of, and taste for, Art, a reversion to the earlier
and simpler types of the shield. The " heater-shaped "
shield is now very generally employed for single coats ;
while for those which contain quarterings, or many
charges, the shield with straight top and sides and ogee
curves in base, which finds favour in France ; or the
Spanish shield (which is the same, except that the base
is formed by a segment of a circle) are much used. {See
p. 58, fig. 16.)
In Great Britain the Royal Arms are very generally
represented (or misrepresented) in an oval, sometimes
even in a circular shield. This has arisen from the
circumstance that the shield is encircled by the Garter
( 62 )
which forms the principal ensign of the Most Noble Order
of that name. In imitation of this, oval shields, which are
surrounded by the collars, or by garters or bands bearing
the mottos of the Orders, are sometimes, but without any
propriety, employed by the Knights of the THISTLE,
BATH, etc. (On the use of the oval shield abroad, see
P- 63.)
There are a few early examples of shields of circular
shape. The seal of JOHN DE BRADEFELD in 1 329 contains
a circular shield charged with two coats impaled. {Cat.
of Seals in Brit. Mus., vol. ii., No. 7725.) [See the seal
of Jean, Due de Berry, 1408 (Plate of Seals, No. 1,
infra) ; and those of LOUIS I. and LOUIS II., Dues de
BOURBON, in 1331, 1394.] Circles charged with arms
are occasionally met with surrounding the principal
escucheon on early seals, being used to denote the
ancestry of the bearer before quartering was invented.
See the seals of Elizabeth de Clare, Lady Bardolf,
and her husband in 1337. A monumental slab at
Chetwynd in Shropshire has a circular shield charged
with arms (GOUGH, Monuments, vol. i., p. cviii., quoted
in BOUTELL, Christian Monuments, note on p. 74). The
arms of Savoy were often borne on a circular escucheon
on the breast of an eagle {vide post, Chapter on
Supporters, in Vol. II.).
The Ecu en banniere, a shield of a square shape, has
from very early times been used by Knights Bannerets ;
and in France it is still employed by certain families
which descend from persons who have held the dignity
of Chevaliers Bannerets. Thus the Poitevin family of
Barlot bear : de Sable, a trois croix pate'es d' argent.
LVcu en banniere. The BEAUMANOIRS, Marquises de
Lavardin (whose arms are : d'Azur, a onze billettes
d'argent, 4, 3, 4) do the same. The arms of the
ARCHAMBAULTS, who descend from the first House of
BOURBON, are often borne en banniere, they are : d'Or,
( 6 3 )
au lion de gueules, accompagne de huit coquilles d'azur
rangees en orle.
Instances of this use are not frequent in England, but
the seal of Arnulf de Munteny (or Mounteney)
late in the thirteenth century, has the arms — a bend
between six martlets — on a shield en banniere. The
seal of Thomas Chaworth in 1419 bears his quartered
arms en banniere, the shield supported by an angel
standing behind it. {Cat. of Seals in Brit. Mils., Nos.
8515, and 12032.)
But in the fourteenth, and commencement of the
fifteenth centuries the ecu en banniere was not un fre-
quently used by great ladies. M. Demay, in his Costume
d'apres les Sceaux, engraves (fig. 284) an instance ; in
it the arms of JEANNE, Dame de PLASNES, are impaled
with those of her husband. ANNE DE Beauveau-
Craon, widow of Pierre Charles de LEvis, Due de
Mirepoix, married in 1739, stamped her books with two
escucheons accoles beneath the ducal coronet and mantle,
one an oval of the arms of LEVIS: Or, tliree chevrons
sable ; the other of the arms of Beauvau : Argent, four
lions rampant, two and two, gules, crowned and armed or,
this latter coat being en banniere. (GuiGARD, Armorial
du Bibliophile, -p. 82. The arms of Margaret of Bavaria,
Countess of HOLLAND, afterwards Duchess of BUR-
GUNDY, which offer another example, are given below in
vol. ii., pp. 77-79.) Two seals of Alfonzo of Spain
in 1324, and 1325, have the arms on an ecu en banniere.
The ancient but very inconvenient custom still prevails
by which the arms of an unmarried lady, or a widow, are
placed upon a lozenge-shaped shield. On the Continent,
and especially for widows, this usage has had many
exceptions ; and an oval shield, which obviates the
mutilations so frequently necessitated by the adoption
of the lozenge, is increasingly in use. In the great work
of FLACCHIO, La Genealogie de la Maison de la Tour,
( 64 )
several hundred examples of ladies' arms are given
in oval shields. So are they also in MAURICE, Le Blason
des Chevaliers de VOrdre de la Toison d'or.
The employment of the Ecu en lozange goes back to
the thirteenth century. An early instance is engraved
by DEMAY (fig. 283), it is of the date 1262, and in it
ISABELLE DE Saint Vrain bears in a lozenge her arms,
a double-headed eagle displayed. But in these early
times, the lozenge was occasionally, if rarely, used by
men also. PIERRE DE LA FAUCHE thus sealed in 1270 ;
and JEAN, Comte d'ARMAGNAC, in 1369. In 1332,
AMADEUS of SAVOY bore the arms of his Duchy on a
lozenge.
The Brit. Mus. Catalogue of Seals contains several
examples. The seal of JOHN AviNEL in 1337 bears on
a lozenge his arms ... a fess . . . between six annulets
. . . (No. 7029.) The seal of Patrick de Chaworth
in 1284 has a lozenge shield, thereon Barruly . . . and
four martlets . . . (No. 8512); and that of THOMAS DE
FURNIVAL, temp. Henry III., has his arms . . . a bend
between six martlets ... on a similar escucheon. The
seal appended by William de Paynel to the Baron's
letter to the Pope in 1301 also has his arms on a lozenge
shield. A much later example, but curious as being
that of an ecclesiastic, is afforded by the seal of Ferdi-
nand of Spain, Cardinal, and Governor of the Low
Countries for his brother PHILIP IV.
In VrEe, Gencalogie des Comtes de Flandre, plate 58,
are engraved two seals of Margaret, Countess of
Hainault, Holland, etc., wife of the Emperor Louis
(of BAVARIA), in which her arms are borne in a lozenge on
the breast of the Imperial eagle (single-headed). The
shield is not quartered according to modern usage, but
bears four lions rampant, 1,2, 1. The two in chief and
base are the red lion of HOLLAND; the two in flanks, the
black lion of FLANDERS. As in the coat of her grand-
( 6 5 )
daughter, MARGUERITE DE Baviere, Duchess of
BURGUNDY, there is no division of the quarters by a
pourfilar line; (these coats are referred to in the Chapter
on Marshalling, Vol. II., pp. 77-79).
POINTS OF THE ESCUCHEON.
To facilitate the description, or, as it is technically
Fig. 21.
Fig. 22.
called, " blazoning " of arms, the surface or " field " of the
escucheon has been mapped out into nine, or sometimes
(and more conveniently), into eleven points, represented
in the woodcuts above, each point being known by its
special name.
ENGLISH.
A. Fess point, .
B. Middle chief,.
C. Middle base, .
D. Dexter chief, .
E. Sinister chief,
F. Dexter flank,
G. Sinister flank,
H. Dexter base, .
I. Sinister base, .
K. Honour point,
L. Nombril point,
FRENCH.
le centre (abime) ; "en cceur."
le point du chef.
la pointe de l'ecu.
le canton dextre du chef.
le canton senestre du chef.
le flanc dextre.
le flanc senestre.
le canton dextre de la pointe.
le canton senestre de la pointe.
le point d'honneur.
le nombril de l'ecu.
It will be observed that the dexter and sinister sides
of the shield are so called from their position in relation
vol. 1.
( 66 )
to the right or left side of the supposed bearer of the
shield, and not to the eye of the spectator. D B E is
the chief of the shield ; H C I, its base ; D F H the
dexter flank ; E G I, the sinister flank ; and in each
case the centre letter marks the " point " of that particular
region.
TINCTURES.
Armorial insignia consist for the most part of one or
more objects called "charges," depicted on afield, i.e. on
the escutcheon which represents the knightly shield, and
whose points have been already explained. One coat of
arms differs from another, not by the differences of the
charges only, but by differences of tincture, both in the
charges and in the field. But there are coats which
consist of a field only, a single metal, tincture, or fur
being alone employed. The field may be of one, or of
more than one tincture, divided by the partition lines
hereafter to be explained, which are represented on
p. 85. The tinctures used in British Heraldry are
nine in number ; and comprise two metals, five colours,
and two furs. Of these furs there are several variations
to be noted presently.
The metals are Or, that is gold, Plate III., fig. 1 ; and
Argent, that is silver, fig. 2 ; these are often represented
by the colours yellow and white ; but the actual metals
are to be preferred.
The colours are red, known as gules ; blue, known as
azure; black, as sable; green, as vert; purple, as purpure.
The French equivalents are, de gueules, d'azur, de sable,
de sinople, de purpure.
Besides these are two other colours mentioned in old
heraldic treatises — orange, known as tenny or tenne, and
blood-colour, termed sanguine. These last occur so
rarely in British Heraldry as to be scarcely worthy of
enumeration with the other five. They were intended
PLATE III,
1. Or.
2. Argent.
3. Gules.
A. Azure.
5. Sable.
G. Vert
r —
7. Purpura
8. Tenny.
'.). Sanguine.
( 67 )
by the old heralds to be used in the system of "abate-
ments" which they had invented. Practically these
abatements (" Sottises anglaises" is the severe, but not
unjust estimate of the learned French writer on blazon,
le Pere MENETRIER) were never in use, and the colours
were, therefore, not needed. Sanguine, a lion rampant
argent, is the coat attributed to WYMBISH, in Bar/. MS.
6829, p. 57. There is, also, in the Lyon Register, one
instance of the use of sanguine as the tincture employed
in an honourable coat. The arms of the family of
CLAYHILLS of Invergowrie, are : — Per bend sanguine and
vert, two greyhounds courant bendivays argent. It is at
least possible that this coat was intended to "cant" on
the name of the bearers ; the sanguine or brick colour,
in combination with the green field, may have been
thought by some brilliant genius quite a fit hieroglyphic
for clay-hills. I have also met with a few foreign
instances of the use of tenne ; the Prussian Counts of
BOSE bear as their first quarter, Azure, a Latin cross
patee-alesee tenny.
Besides the metals, tinctures, and furs which have been
already described, other tinctures are occasionally found
in the Heraldry of Continental nations ; but are of such
rarity as that they may be counted among the curiosities
of Blazon. That of which I have collected most
instances is Cendree, or ash colour ; which is borne by
the Bavarian family of ASCHAU as its amies parlantes:—
Cendre'e, a mount of three coupeaux in base, or.
Brundtre, a brown colour, is even more rare as a
tincture of the field ; the MlEROSZEWSKY, in Silesia,
bear : de Brundtre, a cross-patee argent, supporting a raven
rising sable, and holding in its beak a horse- shoe proper,
its points towards the chief.
Bleu-cdeste, or bleu du ciel, a lighter shade of azure,
appears occasionally, apart from what we may term
" landscape coats." The Florentine ClNTl (now ClNl),
( 68 )
bear a coat which would be numbered among the armes
fausses, or a enquerir: Per pale azure and bleu-celeste, an
cstoile counter-changed.
AmarantJi, or Columbine, is the field of a coat which
was granted to a Bohemian knight in 1701.
The use of the term "proper" of course covers every
shade which can be found in an artist's palette ; it is
indicated in German hachures by indented lines in the
direction of purpure. Eisen-farbe seems to have an
independent existence in some modern coats.
Carnation is the technical French term for the colour
of naked flesh, and is often employed in blazon.
Of the regular tinctures purpure is much less used in
British armory than any other. In France heralds dis-
puted as to whether it was a separate tincture at all.
The lion of LEON is often blazoned purpure, but was
not intended to be of a tincture distinct from gules. {See
my paper in Notes and Queries, 3rd Series, vol. i., p. 471.)
With regard to the tincture sable it must be noticed
that the modern idea (traceable to a French writer of no
great authority) that it may be counted as a fur, and so
used indifferently with metal or colour, is a mere fad
without any solid foundation. There is, of course, a fur
of the name in common use ; but this sable of commerce
has not the smallest connection with the heraldic tinc-
ture, and indeed the two words are etymologically of
entirely different derivation.
The old armorists covered their ignorance of the
history of the subject on which they wrote, and filled
their treatises, by assigning to each metal and colour
special attributes, varying according to their combinations
with others. Into these absurdities we need not enter ;
they were quite incompatible with the long prevalent
system of differencing the coats of members of the same
family by change of tincture ; and as a matter of fact at
no time, and in no country, were the moral qualities of
( 69 )
the bearer indicated by the tinctures or charges of the
shield. Tinctures which were supposed appropriate to
represent the moral qualities of one member of a family
would obviously often have been quite inappropriate to
indicate those of his brothers, or of his sons. Still, an
idea prevails that one colour or metal is more honourable
than another, as gold is a more precious metal than
silver ; and the colours have usually been ranked in the
order in which they are here placed. Gules and azure
have each the first place assigned to them by various
heralds, on the ground that the tinctures of the arms of
the Sovereign must be the most honourable. According
to this reasoning azure would hold the first place in
France, and gules in England. {Cf. Vol. II., p. 13.)
FURS. — The only furs in use in the early days of
heraldry were ermine and vair. The former, of white with
black spots of special shape, was supposed to represent
the white skin and the black tail of the animal so called.
Ermine is often thus represented, as was originally always
the case, by a white field with black spots. But in the
Middle Ages the field was often of silver {argent) as on
the Stall Plates of the Knights of the Garter in St.
George's Chapel at Windsor. {See Mr Hope's paper on
these, read before the Society of Antiquaries of London;
Archceologia, vol. li.) Ermines, Erminois, and Pean, are
really only variations of ermine, and have no more right
to be separately enumerated as furs than have the
varieties of ermine and vair hereafter to be noticed. A
black fur with white spots, the reverse of ermine, is
known as ermines (in French, contre-hermine). In
erminois the fur is gold colour with black spots, or tails ;
Pean is the reverse, black with gold spots. These latter
are not known by a special name in foreign heraldry,
but the field is said to be of such or such a colour seme
d'/iermines. Thus, erminois would be in French blazon ; —
a" Or, seme 1 d'hermines de sable ; Pean would be de Sable,
( 7° )
sei7ie dliermines d'or. Other variations are noted further
on in this Chapter ; and see Plate IV.
Vair represents the fur of a species of squirrel, much
used for lining cloaks and mantles according to the
sumptuary laws of olden times. Of this use there are
abundant contemporary examples still existing. In the
fresco paintings outside the basilica of San Lorenzo
fuori le Mure at Rome, a royal personage is frequently
represented who wears a mantle the lining and tippet of
which are of vair in its early conventional undy form,
and her cap is similarly edged. In the north aisle of
the Church of the Ara Cceli an incised stone bears the
effigy of a Canon who wears a cappa clausa with a lining
and tippet of vair in the later conventional form of
heater-shaped escucheons. (With this we may compare
the lining of the amesses of the Canons at Verona as
given from their grave-stones in Plate V. of my recent
work on Ecclesiastical Heraldry i) The slipper of
Cinderella in the well-known fairy tale was originally of
the fur vair, transformed in course of time into verre, glass.
The old vair-lined cloak is well shown in a picture of the
fourteenth century in the corridor of the Uffizi gallery at
Florence (No. 35) which represents St. Martin dividing
his cloak with the beggar. Vair in its modern heraldic
form appears very distinctly in the linings of the mantles
in which Perrenelle de Maubuisson (1247) and
Yolande DE Bretagne (1259) are represented on
their seals (Demay, Le Costume d'apres les Sceaux, figs.
42, 43). The variations of this fur are treated later
at p. 77.
Drawings, engravings, and sculptures in which colour
was unattainable, laboured under the disadvantage of
giving ver)^ imperfect information regarding the coats
which they were designed to represent ; and in the
seventeenth century it first occurred to heralds that by
an arrangement of lines and points, it might be possible,
PLATE IV
£i^ zfo* -^ ^> J^fc»
1. Ermine.
2. Ermines.
4. Pean.
5. Vair.
— .
V
6. Vair.
7. Countervail
8. Vair in pale.
9. Vair undy.
12. Fur au naturel.
( 7i )
even without the use of colour, to indicate heraldic
tinctures in sculpture or engraving.
There has been much controversy as to the person to
whom the credit of this useful invention should be
ascribed. The claims put forth for VULSON DE LA
Colombiere, Petra-Sancta, and others have been
loudly advocated. But in the invaluable Notes and Queries
(3rd Series, viii., 160) Mr Weale pointed out the fact that
on an Armorial Chart of the Duchy of Brabant, published
at Louvain in 1600, by Jo. Baptista Langrius, the
tinctures are indicated in exact accordance with the
system employed by VULSON and PETRA Sancta
nearly forty years later, and twenty-three before
FRANCQUART (to whom in the first edition of this book
I attributed the honour) had published his work. An
oval figure on the title page is divided into compartments
with an explanation of the system. It was succeeded
by those of FRANCQUART, in Belgium, c. 1623 ;
BUTKENS, 1626; LOBKOWITZ, 1639 ; GELENIUS ; and
DE ROUCK, 1645 ; but all these systems differed from
each other, and were for a time the cause of confusion,
and not of order. Eventually, however, the system of
Petra Sancta superseded all the others, and has
remained in use up to the present time.
By it, Or is represented in engravings by dots ; argent
is left plain ; gules is denoted by perpendicular; azure
by horizontal lines ; sable by the conjunction of both.
Vert is indicated by diagonal lines from the dexter to
the sinister ; purpure by diagonal lines from the sinister
to the dexter.
By the side of each metal and colour in Plate III. is
placed its representation by lines and points.
Another device for indicating the tinctures in engrav-
ings and sketches was that called "tricking;" in it
letters and abbreviations were used to mark the tinctures,
and a numeral the repetition of a charge. The arms
( 72 )
in SlEBMACHER's Wappenbuch, Niirnberg (ist edition in
1605, later edition 1734), have the tinctures thus indi-
cated, as have those in Magnenev's Recueil des Amies ;
Paris, 1633.
One of the absurd pedantries affected by English
armorialists was the substitution of planets for the ordi-
nary names of the tinctures in the blazons of Sovereign
Princes ; and of precious stones in those of peers. As
this mode of blazoning, though now happily discarded,
was adhered to by writers as late in date as GuiLLlM, it
is needful to give here the respective synonyms of the
different metals and colours.
Tinctures.
Princes.
Peers.
Or.
Sol.
Topaz.
Argent.
Luna.
Pearl.
Gules.
Mars.
Ruby.
Azure.
Jupiter.
Sapphire.
Sable.
Saturn.
Diamond.
Vert.
Venus.
Emerald.
Purpura
Mercury.
Amethyst.
Sanguine.
Dragon's head.
Jacinth.
Tenne.
Dragon's tail.
Sardonyx.
Coats which consist only of a field (a single metal,
tincture, or fur being alone employed) are comparatively
rarely met with, though in foreign heraldry their fre-
quency has been much underrated by previous writers ;
and there is a very large number of coats, in which the
field is simply divided by partition lines into surfaces of
two or more colours without the addition of any charge.
Many of these simple coats are of great antiquity.
( 73 )
FIELDS OF A SINGLE METAL, TINCTURE, OR FUR.
I have been able to collect examples in which each of
the heraldic tinctures, furs, and metals has been used as
the sole bearing of the shield. A plain golden coat
(d'Or pleiri) is borne in France by the families of BlSE,
Bordeaux, de Puy-Paulin, and Paernon ; in Spain
by MENESEZ of Andalucia ; in Germany and Switzerland
by BOSSENSTEIN (if we may credit SlEBMACHER,
Wappenbuch, Hi., 1 1 8 ; Or, an eagle displayed gules, being
the more usual coat) ; and by VON LAHR of Rhenish
Prussia. It is also the coat of the Italian family of
BANDINELLI, to which Pope ALEXANDER III. belonged.
In this case (as upon his monument in the church
of St. John Lateran at Rome) I have noticed that the
plain gold field is diapered. Other coats hereafter
blazoned were similarly treated.
U Argent plein : — The plain silver shield which we
have been accustomed to think of as an ecu d'attente,
borne by the youthful esquire who had as yet performed
no deeds of valour entitling him to the knightly rank
and emblazoned shield, turns out to be the ordinary
bearing of the French families of Maigret, or MEGRET ;
of BOCQUET, or BOQUET ; of PELLEZAY ; and of the
Polish Zgraia. The city of Elvas in Portugal also
bears an uncharged silver shield {Nobiliarchia Portugueza,
P- 35 0-
The plain coat of Azure {cTAzur plein) is attributed to
Berington of Chester, in Harl. MS., 1535 ; to DE la
BARGE DE VlLLE, in Lorraine ; to FlZEAUX of France
and Holland ; to the Swiss family of Maienthal ; and
to the CONTRIZAKIS of Greece.
Plain Gules {de Gueules plein) occurs more frequently ;
it is the well-known coat of the house of d'Albret, of
the Kings of NAVARRE ; and of the Dues de NARBONNE.
( 74 )
It was borne as a canting coat by Bonvino, and by
the Florentine Rossr, and RUBEI ; by the French
Sarrante ; DU Vivier DE LANSAC ; and the Mar-
CHANDS of Liege. The Fortunati of Trieste (possibly
as a canting reminiscence of " rouge et noir" ?), and
the German Counts von Hertenstein, XlMENEZ in
Spain, and CzERWNIA of Poland, all bore de Gueules
plein.
There is another use of a plain red shield which must
not be omitted. In the full quartered coat of some
high sovereign princes of Germany- — SAXONY (duchies),
Brandenburg (Prussia), Bavaria, An halt — appears
a plain red quartering ; this is known as the Blut-Fahne,
or Regalien quarter, and is considered to indicate the
possession of royal prerogatives. It usually occupies
the base of the shield, and is often diapered. It
probably indicates that the holders of these fiefs
received personal investiture from the hands of the
Emperor himself by the latter placing in their hands
a red banner, the Blut Fahne, for their Fahnen Lehen.
Describing the arms of the Dukes of WuRTEMBERG,
PRAUN, in his treatise von des A dels Heerschilden,% 17,
says of the Regalien quarter — " Vexillum Imperii
militare dess Reich et Blut Fahnen bedeutend, das
Recht uber das Blut zurichten, womit alle Fursten
belehnet werden."
The sombre sable shield (de Sable plein) is borne, not
only by the "unknown knight" of the mediaeval tales of
chivalry, but by the families of DESGABETS d'Ombale,
and by a branch of the Norman and English house of
GOURNAY.
The French families of BARBOTTE, PUPELLIN, and
Trible, all bear de Sinople plein ; and even the com-
paratively rarely used tincture Purpure is also the plain
coat of the French AUBERTS.
There is probably no subject on which so many books
( 75 )
have been and continue to be published with so little
original research as Heraldry ; and I may be allowed to
express a hope that the list above given, which is much
fuller than any which has appeared in preceding Heraldic
treatises, may be useful as saving future freebooting
compilers from repeating nonsense as to coats of a single
metal or colour being "almost unknown." If to the forty,
or thereby, coats of plain metal or colour given above
there be added the many coats in which a single fur
{ermine or vair, with their variations) is the sole charge,
there will be I dare to say at least a hundred examples
of a use which is certainly infrequent but which is
not of such extreme rarity as is often ignorantly asserted.
Even NiSBET (System of Heraldry, 1816, vol. i., pp. 16
and 169) lays "it down as a principle that a shield of
one of the foresaid tinctures only, without any figure,
cannot be called a coat of arms, or an armorial bearing,
no more than a red coat or a black hat, arms!"
A parallel, but even worse case, is that of " amies fausses."
(See Appendix G, Vol. II.)
Furs are generally found combined with colours ; their
use with metals is rather exceptional, and " fur upon fur"
has been stigmatised as being as bad heraldry as colour
on colour. Nevertheless there are many examples : —
SYMONDS bears : Or, a canton ermine ; DANNETT, Ermines,
a canton ermine; WlLLINGHAM, Ermine, a chevron
ermines ; TESTART of France, Quarterly, ermine and
vair. Ermine, a cinquefoil ermines, is the coat of
DOWER. Other examples are given below.
ERMINE plain (d' Hermine) is not, I think, the coat of
any family of Great Britain or Ireland. It was borne on
the Continent by the Dukes of BRITTANY, and by the
families of Le Bret, Coign e, Guillaud, Pierrefort,
St. Martin, Quinson, etc.
Ermines plain (Contre-hermine) is borne in France by
Laval, Roux, Maublanc, and Rousselet.
( 76 )
Of the use of Erminois {tVOr seme de moucJictures d'her-
mine de sable), without a charge, I only remember one
instance, that of Van DER Eze of Guelders. It is also
infrequent as a field bearing a charge. Erminois, three
leopard's heads guardant sable collared or, is borne
by MEGGOTT. Erminois, on a pile sable, a gauntlet
or, lined gules, is the coat of HANCOCK.
Other foreign variations are : Azure, seme of ermine
spots argent, over all an eagle displayed or, armed gides,
which is the coat of Roux.
Gtdes, seme of ermine spots or, are the arms of Van
Leefvelt.
Gules, seme of ermine spots argent, with a fleur-de-lis of
the same, are those of BEUVILLE ; the same, but with
the charges or, is borne for Chilly.
Azure, seme' of ermine spots or, over all a lion argent, is
the coat of SCHLEIDEN, in Prussia.
Besides these variations of tincture ermine spots are
not unfrequently borne as distinct charges, thus : —
Argent, a single spot of ermine {d' Argent, a u?ie inou-
cJieturC determine) is borne by the families of BOEUVRES,
Bois, Druays, etc.
Argent, three ermine spots sable, is used by FlRMAS,
LA BARTELLE-LA MOIGNON, and the Barons DUROY ;
d Argent, au clievron d'azur, accompagnc de trois mouche-
tures d'hermine de sable, are the arms of COLLONGUE ;
Argent, a fess gules between tliree ermine spots sable, is
the coat of KlLVINGTON. LE REVEREND DU MESNIL
bears : Ecartele, aux I and 4 ; de Sinople, a trois mouche-
tures d' hen nine d'or ; aux 2 and 3 ; de Gueules. {Vert,
three ermine spots or ; quartering Gules plain?)
Gules, six ermine spots or, is the coat of BAYSSE.
Pean is not very frequently used. Ermine, a
cross pean, is the coat of Bridges ; and Lozengy
argent and pean, that of CROFTS. Pean occurs as the
field of the arms of Dottin, charged with two lions
( 77 )
passant in pale, per pale or and argent. Pean, a
cross quarter-pierced erminois, is borne by GROIN of
Norfolk.
Erminites is a rare variation of ermine, from which
it only differs by the addition of a red hair on each side
of the tail. I only know of one example; GLOVER is
said to bear : Sable, a/ess erminites between tliree crescents
argent.
Vair is usually represented as composed of alternate
cups, or panes, of argent and azure, arranged in
horizontal rows (as in Plate IV., fig. 6). In early
Heraldry the panes were formed by undulating lines,
as in Plate IV., fig. 5, and Vair is usually thus repre-
sented in our early Rolls of Anns. It is usual to describe
this form as Vair ancient. (The Vairln the Wappenrolle
von Zurich of the fourteenth century, is thus drawn.
See also the armorial tombstone of Schepperman
in I 3S7 ■ . . a saltire vair. Engraved in Hefner
ALTENECK, vol. iii.)
This form is still occasionally met with in foreign
heraldry, where it is emblazoned as Vair ond<!, or Vair
ancie?i. The family of MARGENS in Spain bears : Vair
onde\ on a bend gules tliree griffons or ; and TARRAGONE
of Spain : Vaire onde', or and gules. In a later form of
vair each pane of azure was shield of heater shape {ante
p. 63). The modern form of Vair undy is shown on
Plate IV., fig. 9.
In modern times the white panes are generally
depicted as of silver, not (as they should be) of white fur.
The verbal blazon nearly always commences with the
metal, but in the arrangement of the panes there is a
difference between Continental and English usage. In
the former the white panes are generally (and I think
correctly) represented as forming the first, or upper,
line ; in British Heraldry the reverse is often the case.
The Vair of Heraldry, as of commerce, was formerly of
( 73 )
three sizes, and the distinction is continued in foreign
armory. The middle, or ordinary size, is known as
Vair ; a smaller size as Menu-vair (whence our word
miniver) ; the largest as Beffroi, a term derived from the
bell-shaped cups, or panes. In French armory, Beffroi
should consist of three horizontal rows ; Vair, of four ;
Menu-vair, of six ; this rule is not strictly observed, but
in French blazon if the rows are more than four it is
usual to specify the number ; thus VARROUX bears : de
Vair de cinq traits. In ancient seals in England the
number of rows varies considerably. On the seal of
Robert de Ferrers, Earl of Derby (1254- 1278) the
vaire is of no less than fourteen rows {Cat. of Seals in
Brit. Mus., No. 5908). Menu-vair is still the blazon of
some families ; Banville de Trutemne bears : de
Menuvair de six tires ; the Barons van HOUTHEM bore :
de Menu-vair, au franc quartier de gueules charge de trois
maillets d'or.
In British armory Vair is only of one size, but
from the bell-shaped cups or panes the English
families of BELSCHES and BELCHER use Vair as part
of their arms {Paly of six or and gules, a chief vair).
The great family of the Dues de BEAUFFREMONT
in France use : Vaire' d'or et de gueules, for a like
reason.
When the Vair is so arranged that, in two horizontal
rows taken together, either the points or the bases of
two panes of the same tincture are in apposition, the fur
is known as COUNTER Vair {Contre Vair), Plate IV.,
fig. 7. M. GOURDON DE GENOUILLAC in his work on
PArt Heraldique, Paris, 1890, tells us at p. 17, " Le
vair est bleu et blanc, le contrevair blanc et bleu," a
definition quite inadequate and misleading. Vaire contre
vaire, de sable et d' argent, is the coat of Vai in Tuscany.
Another variation, but so infrequent that I know of no
examples in England, is known as Vair IN PALE ( Vair
( 79 )
appointe, or Vair en pal ; but if of other colours than the
usual ones V aire en pal). In this all panes of the same
colour are arranged in vertical, or palar, rows (Plate IV.,
fig. 8). Vair IN BEND (or in bend-sinister) is
occasionally met with in foreign coats ; thus MlGNIA-
NELLI in Italy bears : Vaire de six pieces d'or et d'azur
en bande ; while Vaire en barre (that is, in bend-
sinister) d'or et de sable, is the coat of PlCHON of
Geneva.
POTENT, and its less common variant COUNTER
POTENT, are usually ranked in British Heraldic works
as separate furs. This has arisen from the writers being
ignorant that in early times Vair was frequently
depicted in the form now known as Potent. (By many
heraldic writers Potent is styled Potent-counter-potent ;
but in my opinion tautologically. When drawn in the
ordinary way, as in Plate IV., fig. u, Potent alone
suffices.) An example of Vair in the form now known
as Potent (or, as above, Potent-counter-potenf) is afforded
by the seal of JEANNE DE FLANDRE, wife of ENGUER-
RAND IV. DE COUCY ; here the well-known arms of
COUCY, Barry of six vair and gules, are depicted as if the
bars of vair were composed of a row of potent. ' (VrEe,
Genealogie des Comtes de Flandre, plate 1 1 2.) In the Roll
of Arms of the time of Edward I. the Vair resembles
Potent (-counter-potent), which Dr PERCEVAL errone-
ously terms an "invention of later date." (See ArclicEologia,
xxx ix., p. 390.) In the First Nobility Roll, of the year
1297, the arms of No. 8, ROBERT DE Bruis, Baron of
Brecknock, are : Barry of six, Vaire ermine and gules,
and azure. Here the vair is potent ; so is it also in
No. 19, where the coat of Ingelram de GHISNES,
or Gynes, is Gules, a chief vair. The same coat
is thus drawn in the Second Nobility Roll, in 1299,
No. 57.
POTENT (-counter-potent) does not occur with
( 8o )
any frequency in modern British armory. Like
its original Vair, it is always of argent and azure,
unless other tinctures are specified in the blazon.
AMES bears it of gules and argent with a chevron
or over all.
A considerable number of British and foreign families
bear Vairon\y; such are Varano, Dukes de CAMERINO ;
Vaire, and VAIRIERE, in France ; VERET, in Switzer-
land ; GOUVIS, (Brittany) ; DE Vera, in Spain ; LohEac
(Brittany) ; and Varenchon (Savoy). Counter-vair is
borne by LOFFREDO of Naples ; by BOUCHAGE, and
BROTIN, of France
When the panes of Vair are not of argent and azure
but of different tinctures the fur is known as Verry,
vairy, or vaire of such colours, as in the arms of DE
BEAUFFREMONT, and MlGNIANELLI, given above,
p. 79. In England Vaire Or and gules, is the canting
coat of FERRERS, Earls of Derby ; and by connection
with them, Vaire gules and ermine, was borne by
GRESLEY ; and Vaire argent and sable, by MEYNELL.
Nicholls however says {Herald and Genealogist, iii.,
14) that MEYNELL bore this coat as heir of DE
LA Warde (See Roll of Edward TIL). Abroad :
Vairy or and azure, was the coat of the Counts of
GUINES ; of Bonnieres, Dues de GuiNES ; and of
ROCHEFORT (Salle des Croises). Vaire 1 d'argent et de
pourpre, is borne by Grutel ; Vaire de sinople et
a" argent, by Pavie in France.
Two curious forms of Vair occasionally met with in
Italian and French coats are known as Plumete and
Papelonne.
In PlumetE the field is apparently covered with
feathers. Plumete d' argent et d'azur, is the coat of Ceba
(note that these are the tinctures of Vair). Soldonieri
of Udine, Plumete a.u naturel (but the SOLDANIERI of
Florence bore : Vaire, argent and sable with a bordure
( 8i )
chequy or and azure), TENREMONDE of Brabant: Plumed
or and sable. (Plate IX., fig. 7.) In the arms of the
SCALTENIGHI of Padua, Gules, a bend plumete argent;
and of the Giolfini, Catanei, and Nuvoloni of
Verona, each feather of the plumete is said to be charged
with an ermine spot sable. Perhaps the most curious and
instructive set of examples is afforded b)' the arms of
the families of BENZONI. Those of Cremona bear: Vair,
on a chief azure, a lion passant-gardant or. Those of
Milan, Per /ess, (a) Or a dog passant sable, (b) Plumete',
argent, each feather charged with an ermine spot sable (/)
Those of Rovigo, Argent, papelonne sable, on a chief or, a
lion passant-gardant of the second. Those of Venice, Per
fess : (a) Azure, a greyhound courant argent; (b) Plumete
argent, each feather charged with an ermine spot sable.
(Another Venetian variety is Ermine, on a chief or, a lion
passant gardant sable.) Most curious of all is the form
which the coat takes at Rome : Argent, three pallets
between sixteen crescents sable ranged in four pales ; on a
chief or, a greyhound courant sable collared gold. Any-
one who will be at the trouble to draw these examples
will see that all are simply variations of the coat of the
Cremona family.
In PAPELONNE the field is covered with what appear to
be scales ; the heraldic term is derived from a supposed
resemblance of these scales to the wings of butterflies.
This bearing is used more frequently than plumete, and
I have collected a good many French and Italian
examples, of which a few are here blazoned. Plate IX.,
fig. 6 is the coat of MONTI, Gules, papelonne argent.
DONZEL at Besancon bears : Papelonne d'or et de sable.
(It is worthy of note that DONZE of Lorraine used :
Gules, three bars zvavy or. The two families, in fact,
both bore variations of Vair, or Vaire.) The Fran-
CONIS of Lausanne are said to bear : de Gueules, papelonne
d' argent, on a chief of the last a rose of the first, but
vol. 1. G
( 82 )
the coat is otherwise blazoned : Vairt gules and or, etc.
The coat of ARQU1NVILLIERS, or Hargenvillers, in
Picardy is : a" Her mine, papelonne de gueules (not being
understood, this has been blazoned " seme of caltraps ").
So also the coat of CHEMILLE appears in French books
of Blazon indifferently as: d' Or, papelonne de gueules ; and
d' Or, seme de diaussetrapes de gueules. Gu ETTEV ILLE DE
GuENONVlLLE is said to bear : d' Argent, seme de cliausse-
trapes de sable, which I believe to be simply, d Argent,
papelonne de sable. The BARISONI of Padua bear : Or,
a bend of scales bendways argent, on each scale an ermine
spot sable, the bend bordered sable ; this again is only a
roundabout way of saying, Or, a bend argent, bordered
and papelonne sable.
THE ALBERICI of Bologna bear : Papelonne of seven
rows, four of argent, three of or; but the ALBERGHI of
the same city, Papelonne of six rows, tJiree of argent, as
many of gules. The connection with voire is much
clearer in the latter than in the former. Cambi (called
FlGLlAMBUCHl), at Florence, carried d' Argent, pape-
lonne de gueules; MONTI of Florence and Sicily,
and RONQUERROLES of France, the reverse. In the
Armorial du Heraut Berry (No. 385, p. 93), Ronque-
ROLLES is said to bear d' Argent, seme' de croisants de
gueules !
No one who is familiar with the licence given to them-
selves by armorial painters and sculptors in Italy, who
were often quite ignorant of the meaning of the blazons
they depicted, will doubt for a moment the statement
that Plumete and Papelonne are simply ill-drawn
Vair. I saw recently in the Church of Sta. Maria
Novella, in Florence, a curious example of the licence
referred to ; in it a shield of the year 1430 has each
pane of vair carved to represent the flower of the
campanula.
As to mistakes arising from ill-drawn vair a
( 8 3 )
curious illustration of the fact is to be found in the
arms of DE La Fayette ; these were originally : —
Gules, a bend or, and a bordure vair {see the Armorial
du Heraut Berry, p. 82, No. 251). In modern times
the bordure has been converted into d 1 Argent, seine de
cceurs !
The seal of Michael DE CANTELU, circa 1200, is an
ancient example in which Vair is represented in the
manner now known as Papelonne. (ELLIS, Antiquities of
Heraldry, plate xvii. taken from Archaologia Cantiana,
vi., 216.)
Besides the conventional representations of the fur of
animals, their actual fur, or skin, is occasionally found
represented in the wide range of Continental armory,
though such examples are of the greatest rarity. (Plate
IV., fig. 12.)
One of the most interesting of these examples is
afforded by the arms of BREGENZ. In the fourteenth
century MS. the Wappenrolle von ZiiricJi, No. 127, the
coat is evidently Vair, a pale ermine, both being au
naturel ; but in a modern German blazon of the Austrian
arms it is said that the quarter " enthalt im blauen, mit
einem goldenen Gitter bedeckten Felde einen Pfahl von
Hermelin mit drei ubereinander stehenden schwarzen
Hermelinflammen — wegen der Graffschaft Bregenz."
(Schmidt, Die Wappen aller Fiirsten und Staaten, 1869.)
This writer was evidently ignorant of the fact that the
whole bearings are of fur.
The arms of SECKAU are Gules, a c/iief of fur au
naturel.
In SlEBMACHER's VVappenbuch, ii., plate 44, the coat
of STORCK VON PLANCKENBERG in Styria is, Fur au
naturel, a pale gules. This is almost papelonne in appear-
ance. The Counts of NEUBURG bear: Per f ess gules and
fur au naturel. The Franconian family of Jarsdorff
bears : Quarterly, 1 and 4. Fur au naturel in the form of
( 84 )
scales (vair-shaped pieces) ; 2 and 3. Gules plain.
Vert, an ox skin stretched out, paleways proper is the coat
of DE LA NAYE of Liege ; and SCHEURLER of the
Hague bears Gules, a similar skin or (sometimes, but
mistakenly, blazoned an escucheon or).
Furs are common in the armory of England, Nor-
mandy, and naturally in Brittany, Ermine plain being
the arms of the ancient Sovereigns of that land. Con-
trary to ordinary expectation the furs are not used with
any frequency in the arms of the more northern nations
of Europe ; on the contrary, the}' are there seldom met
with. For example, I do not remember a single instance
in the Heraldry of Poland, while on the other hand they
are frequently found in the blazons of Spain and Italy.
PARTED COATS, ETC.
Having now seen what colours and furs are
employed in armory, the next matter which requires
our consideration is the division of the shield by
partition lines. Under this subject there falls to be
considered : —
1. The Species of Partition Line; which is either
id) straight ; or ib) composed of curves, or
indentations.
2. The Mode of Partition, i.e., the various directions in
which the field is divided by these partition lines.
The chief forms of these lines are given in the
accompanying cut, and it will be shown later by
examples (Chapter V.) that these lines have a
further use as the boundaries of the class of
charges which are known as the Ordinaries (see
p. 1 12). The straight line is of course that most
commonly employed, but of the other forms of
line, engrailed, indented, and wavy, are the most
in use, as well as the oldest ; the others, the last
four of which are seldom seen, belong to the later
( 85 )
developments of armory.
English Terms, infra.)
{See the Glossary of
Engrailed. Fig. 23.
Embattled. Fig. 24. — \_
Indented. Fig. 25. /VvVvVvVvV\
Invecked. Fig. 26.
Wavy, or Undy. Fig. 27. •
.AAAAAAA
Nebuly. Fig. 28. S2SZS2SZSZ
Dancetty. Fig. 29.
Raguly. Fig. 30.
Potente. Fig. 31. 5^_5~2_5~2_5~2_S~2.
Dovetailed. Fig. 32. V~7 V~7 V7 V7 V"7
Partition Lines.
PARTITION LINES.
Engrailed {engrilf) ; this line is formed by a row of
small semi-circles, or concave indentations, the
points being turned outwards. (The French use
the term echancre to denote a larger form of
engrailure consisting of only three or four con-
Cave indentations.) (Fig. 23.)
Embattled ; having the form of rectangular embattle-
( 86 )
merits. For this term the French have two
equivalents ; cre'nele' and bretesse'. (Fig. 24).
INDENTED (dentele', danche, denche, or endentc) with regu-
lar indentations like the teeth of a saw. (Fig. 25.)
INVECKED {cannele) is the converse of engrailed, the
only difference being that the convex part of the
indentation is turned outwards. (Fig. 26.)
This line is not nearly so commonly used in
English armory as the converse one, though it
has been used in some modern grants ; but it is
not so infrequent in Scottish coats.
Wavy, Undv ; {ondt { ) formed by a wavy line. (Fig. 27.)
NEBULY (nebulee, or nuage'). The wavy conventional
representation of clouds has been rather fre-
quently used in modern grants. (The old nebuly
was like the second line of No. 5. In French
this is known as enti.) (Fig. 28.)
DANCETTY {yivre'). This is similar in character to
indented, but there is a real distinction between
them as the teeth in dancetty are much broader,
much less acute, and are usually not more than
three in number. Boutell (in his Heraldry,
Historical and Popular, p. 80), indeed says : " Dan-
cettee: — deeply indented," but this definition is
not in accord with his cut. (Fig. 29.)
RAGULY {e'eote), with inclined battlements or crenelures ;
now regular in form but originally suggestive of
the trunk of a tree from which the branches had
been lopped off. (Fig. 30.)
Ordinaries, other than the cross and saltire, are
not often formed by this line. Exceptionally the
coat of KNOTS HULL is : Azure, gutty d'eau, a
chevron raguly between three crescents argent. In
the arms of JESSEL, Baronet, the fess is raguly.
There is also a modern use of the raguly line as
a partition in the coat of Sir FREDERICK LEIGH-
( 8? )
TON, Bart., P.R.A. : Quarterly per f ess raguly Or
and gules, in the second and third quarters a
wyvern of the first (cfi p. 92).
PotentE (potence), in the form of potences, crutches, or
of the panes in the fur potent (Plate IV., fig. 1 1).
(Fig. 31.)
DOVETAILED or Bevily {mortaise), requires no explana-
tion. (Fig. 32.) NlSBET calls it path. It is
seldom used as the border line of an ordinary,
but BEVERLEY bears : Argent, a chief bevily vert.
URDY (palisse), is very rarely seen. (Fig. 33.) In
French blazon the pieces are taller, like palisades,
and there is no indentation at the bottom.
NlSBET curiously calls this " Champagne."
11.
1
Fig. 34. Per pale.
Fig. 35. Per fess.
Fig. 36. Quarterly.
Fig. 37. Per bend. Fig. 38. Per bend-sinister. Fig. 39. Per saltire.
Fig. 40. Per chevron. Fig. 41. Ente en point. Fie. 42. Champagne.
Modes of Paetiti >n ; or Divisions of the Shield.
( 8S )
THE MODES OF PARTITION.
The modes of partition fall next to be considered, and
will be best understood by reference to the examples
given. These are taken by preference from the class
of uncharged coats whose simplicity is usually an
indication of their antiquity. As the nomenclature of
this part of the subject is, particularly in English blazon,
greatly connected with some of the charges which are
known as the Ordinaries and Sub-Ordinaries,
it is desirable that the student should have such a
knowledge of these as may be needful for his under-
standing of what a pale, bend, /ess, clievron, etc., are,
these will be fully explained in the succeeding chapter,
and are set out in the accompanying figures (p. 125).
The simplest forms of partition are those in which the
field is divided into two equal parts by a perpendicular,
horizontal, or diagonal line. Usually one of these parts is
occupied by a metal or fur, the other by a colour; though
there are exceptional cases {vide infra, p. 89). When the
dividing line is perpendicular, the field is said to be Parted
per pale ; or more succinctly, Per pale. The French denote
this by the one word Parti. The tincture first named
is that on the dexter side of the shield. The families of
WALDEGRAVE (Plate V., fig. 1); the Counts Rantzau
in Denmark ; the Principality, formerly Bishopric, of
Halbertstadt ; the Counts von Julbach, and
ROCKENHAUS in Germany all bear : Per pale argent
and gules. {Parti d' argent et de gueules.) The like coat,
but with reversed tinctures, is borne for the Bishopric,
now Principality, of HlLDESHEIM ; by the Barons VON
Urbach, anciently Auerbach ; the families of Wan-
GELIN of Mecklenburg, and BONI of Venice. The
ancient family of BAILLEUL in France bears : Parti
d'hermine et de gueules, and the Venetian family of Nani :
Per pale argent and vert. Per pale argent and sable is
PLATE V.
1. Per pale.
( Waldeyrave.
2. Per pale indented.
(Hickman.)
3. Per f ess.
(Lomcllini.)
4. Per bend embattled. 5. Per bend embattled a plomb. 6. Per bend sinister.
(Boyle.) (Scheldorfcr.) (Lbwel.)
7. Per bend nebulee.
( Wolel<onstoin )
8. Per chevron.
(Aston.)
9. Quarterly.
(Stanhope.)
10. Quarterly per fess indented. 11. Per pale and saltire
( Leighton. ) ( Waeljntt )
12. Per saltire.
(Hartzhcim.)
( 89 )
the coat of the Counts of Traun ; Per pale or and gules
is that of the Barons DORNBERG DE HERTZBERG.
Per pale azure and or is borne by the Counts VON
PLETTENBERG. Exceptional coats are those of the
Counts VON WRATISLAW (Bohemia), Per pale gules and
sable ; and CHANAC, Parti de gueules et d'azur. So are
those of BONVILLE, Per pale argent and or ; and FOR-
TIGUIERRE, Parti d'or et de vair (a combination of
metal and fur, which is not frequent).
But in view of a theory advanced by some writers
that in the infancy of armory the shields first used
were painted of a single colour, then by development of
two or more, forming parted coats, it is worthy of
remark that such coats of partition appear with very
great rarity in the collection of ancient armorials
depicted in the Salle des Croises at Versailles. There
is not, I think, a single example of per pale, per bend,
per chevron, or per saltire, and there is but one or two
of per fess. Quarterly, otherwise known as per cross,
occurs somewhat more frequently.
An examination of the fourteenth century manuscript,
known as the Wappenrolle von Zurich, affords somewhat
similar evidence. Parted coats certainly do appear, but
not nearly in such numbers as coats bearing a charge,
and certainly not in sufficient numbers to validate the
theory referred to above.
The division of the shield may be composed of any of
the lines of partition described above, but instances of
their use in this manner are much less frequently found
abroad than among ourselves. Per pale indented argent
and azure (Plate V., fig. 2) is the coat of the HlCKMANS,
Earls of PLYMOUTH; and Per pale dancetty argent and
gules, that of AMAURI d'Evreux, Earl of GLOUCESTER,
temp. Henry III.
When the dividing line is horizontal, the shield is said
to be Parted per fess {i.e. in the direction of the
( 90 )
ordinary called a /ess). This division, which is not so
frequent at home as it is abroad, is known in French
blazon by the single word Coupe'. In Florence, families
of the Guelphic faction took Coupe coats. The coat of
the Venetian families of GlUSTi and TROTTI is, Per /ess
or and azure {Coupe' d'or et d'azur; or d' Or, coupe d'azur).
The families of DONATI at Florence ; Franchi at
Genoa ; LANFRANCHI at Pisa ; Popel in Bohemia ;
and the Prussian Duchy, formerly Bishopric, of Madge-
BURG ; all bear: Per /ess gules and argent {de Gueules,
coupe d' argent). Prendiparti of Bologna, uses the
reverse. The County of SCHWERIN (in the surlout of the
arms of the Princes of MECKLENBURG); the County of
Stargard ; the Counts of Stockau ; the Counts of
MUNTZENBERG ; and the LOMELLINI, at Genoa; all
bear: Per /ess gules and or {Coupe de gueules et d'or).
(Plate V., fig. 3.) It will be noticed that the tincture
first mentioned is that which stands in the chief, or
upper, part of the shield.
Per /ess wavy or and gules, is the coat of DRUMMOND
of Concraig; and Per /ess embattled gides and argent, that
of Von Preysing (the Barons of the name bear or and
azure). Per /ess dancetty argent and gules, is borne by
Anguis.SOLA. Per /ess dancetty argent and sable, is the
original coat of the great Neapolitan family of RUFFO.
The Princes of this name in Calabria difference by the
addition of three escallops, two and one, counter-changed.
When the partition is made by a line drawn from the
dexter point in chief to the sinister base, the shield is
said to be divided Per bend (for which the French
equivalent is Tranche). Per bend Or and vert, is the
coat of HAWLEV. The Venetian family of NANI bear :
Per bend Or and gules {Tranche d'or et de gueules;
otherwise, d'Or tranche de gueules ; or Tranche' d'or sur
gueules). The Florentine CAPPONI use : Per bend sable
and argent ( TrancJic de sable sur argent).
( 9i )
In Plate V., figs. 4, 5 and 7 are instances where the
dividing line is not the straight one. Fig. 4, Per bend
embattled argent and gules (in French, Tranche enclave
d' argent sur gueules) are the arms of the Irish family of
BOYLE. Here the sides of the embattlements are drawn
at right angles to the line of partition, but in foreign
heraldry they are often drawn parallel to the sides of
the escucheon {a plomb); thus the Von SCHELDORFER
of Bavaria bear : Per bend embattled a plomb argent and
gules {Tranche enclavJ a plomb de deux pieces a" argent sur
gueules) (Plate V., fig. 5).
Per bend nebuly gules and argent is the coat of the
Counts ZU WOLCKENSTEIN (Plate V., fig. 7).
If the partition line run from the sinister chief to the
dexter base, the division is known as Per bend-sinister,
in French blazon Taille. Per bend-sinister or and argent
{Taille' d'or sur argent), are the arms of LOWEL in
Bavaria (Plate V., fig. 6); while the GRIFFONI of Rome
bear the reverse : Per bend-sinister argent and or. These
last are examples of coats which are exceptional, as being
composed of metal only {vide pp. 89 and 140). The arms
of the Swiss canton of ZURICH are : Taille d'argent et
d'azur. The curious coat of the Counts VON KtJNIGL
in Tirol is given in Plate XVIII., fig. 4, Per bend-sinister
argent and gules, the gules fitche'e in the argent { Taille
d" argent sur gueules, le gueules fiche sur l' argent). In
modern blazons this coat is as frequently drawn per
bend, as per bend-sinister.
If the field is divided into two parts by two diagonal
lines, drawn from near the dexter and sinister base, and
meeting like a gable in the fess point, or in the honour
point of the escucheon, it is said to be Parted per chev-
ron. Thus ASTON bears : Per chevron sable and argent
{Divise' en chevron de sable et d'argent), Plate V., fig. 8.
Per chevron nebuly gules and argent is the coat of
COVERDALE. This is not a common partition abroad.
( 92 )
The French Chape, though somewhat similar, is not the
same {see that word, p. 98).
A coat divided by two lines, the one per pale, and the
other per /ess, is blazoned Quarterly {Ecartele). The
Stanhopes, Earls of Chesterfield, bear : Quarterly
ermine and gules {Ecartele' d'kennine et de gueules), Plate
V., fig. 9- Quarterly vert and or, is the coat of the
OMODEI of Italy, Quarterly or and vert, is that of
BERNERS. The families of CALDORA of Naples ;
MANFREDI of Faenza ; and the Marquises de Can-
DOLLE in France, all bear : Quarterly or and azure
{Ecartele d'or et d'aznr). The house of HOHENZOL-
LERN bears: Quarterly argent and sable {Ecartele d' Argent
et de sable). The arms of the Princes of COLLALTO, and
of the Lords HOO, are the reverse. Gontaut, Due de
BlRON in France ; and the Lords Say in England (by
descent from the Mandevilles, Earls of Essex),
bear : Quarterly or and gules. The same coat is that
of the Counts WALDERSEE in Prussia, and of Le
BOUTEILLER DE Senlis. The families of CREVANT,
Marquis d'HUMlERES in France; the families of COUR-
CELLES in France ; LUCIANO in Italy ; and the Counts
WoRACZlCSKY-BlSINGEN in Bohemia, all bear: Quarterly
argent and azure {d' Argent ecartele d'azur). The Mar-
quises de SEVIGNE used Quarterly sable and argent.
Quarterly indented (both lines) argent and sable ; argent
and gules ; gules and ermine; are all FlTZ-WARINE
coats. Quarterly wavy or and sable is the coat of SAND0N.
FONTENAY bears : Quarterly engrailed argent and gules.
As an example in which the quartering is affected
by a straight line in combination with one of the more
complicated ones, we may take the arms of the family of
LEIGHTON, which are (Plate V., fig. 10) Quarterly per
fess indented or and gules {cf. p. 86). Quarterly per pale
dove-tail gules and or, are the arms of BROMLEY, Barons
MONTFORD.
( 93 )
A shield divided into four by the intersection of the
bend and the bend-sinister is said to be : Quarterly per
saltire, but the first word is usually omitted in English
blazon. Per saltire gules and argent, is the coat of VON
PAULSDORF, and of VON ESENDORF, and BENSTEDT.
So also the VON HARTZHEIM in Westphalia, bear : Per
saltire gules and or (Plate V., fig. 12); while the coat of
the GANGALANDI in Tuscany, and Langen in West-
phalia, is, Per saltire sable and argent {Ecartele' en sautoir
de sable et de argent. Per saltire wavy gules and argent,
is borne by ELTERSHOFEN.
Continental Heraldry has other modes of quartering
unknown to English blazon. Of these one of the most
curious is shown in Plate XVIII., fig. 7. It is the coat of
VON Tale in Brunswick. Here each piece takes the
form of the .mystic fylfot or gammadion. This coat is
blazoned by the French Heralds : Ecartele en c'querre
de gueules el d" argent ; because the shape of the pieces
suggests the carpenter's square.
Per pale and per saltire gules and or, is the coat of
WALLPUT, otherwise blazoned Per pale gules and or, per
saltire counter-changed. (Plate V, fig. 11.) (Cf. Wald-
POT below.)
GYRONNY.
When the field is divided into eight sections by a
vertical, a horizontal, and the two diagonal lines (the
bend, and the bend-sinister) all intersecting in the fess
point, the coat is blazoned Gyronny {gironne') ; because
each of the eight pieces has the form of the figure known
as a gyron, or giron {see p. 177). Gyronny of eight is the
device on the coins of Himera in Sicily as far back as
the fifth century before Christ, on them a square figure is
thus divided. We sometimes meet with coats in which
the girons number six, ten, twelve, or sixteen, equal
pieces. Thus the Counts of Waldpot bear : Gyronny
of twelve argent and gules. In such cases, i.e. when
( 94 )
the number is not eight, it must be specified of how
many pieces the Gyronny consists.
The well-known coat of the Clan Campbell (whose
chief is the Duke of ARGYLL) is represented on Plate
VI., fig. i. It is blazoned : Gyronny or and sable. Well
known as this coat is, and one than which it would seem
few could be easier to draw correctly, it is surprising to
find how frequently it is inaccurately represented, and
how great a diversity of opinion has existed among
Heraldic authorities as to which is its correct form.
The question is, — Which is to be accounted the first
gyron? — or, the coat being drawn in outline, which is
the first segment to be coloured or, that which is partly
formed by the dexter half of the top line of the shield ;
or that which lies immediately below it, and is formed
by the upper half of the bend, and the dexter half of the
fess line? This is a point on which in Scotland itself
there is no general consensus of opinion. It is not
needful here to enter into the matter at length; it will be
sufficient to say that the weight of authority appears to
me very decidedly in favour of the arrangement figured
in Plate VI., fig. i, and I am fortified in my opinion by
the fact that the French and German Heralds are unani-
mous in counting the first gyron to be that which occupies
the first and most honourable position, depending from
the dexter half of the uppermost edge of the shield, and
bounded by it, by the upper half of the palar line, and
the upper half of the bend.
The Campbells, Earls of Loudoun, bore: Gyronny
ermine and gules, and in this case the ermine should
occupy that which we have indicated as the first gyron of
the shield. (Cf. Stodart, Scottish Arms, vol. ii., plate 5.)
SPENCE bears : Gyronny argent and azure.
The coat of the French DE BELLEVILLES is : Gyronny
of six gules and vair {Gironne de gueules et de vair de
six pieces).
PLATE 17.
t W5f
1. Gyronny of eight. 2. Gyronny of twelve.
(Campbell.) (Bassingbourne.)
3. Gyronny of six.
(Maugiron. )
4. Tierced in fess.
(Vendramini.)
5. Tierced in bend.
(Nmnpar.)
6. Tierced in pairle.
(Briescn. )
7. Tierced in pairle reversed.
(Haldermansteten. )
8. Chape.
(Hwutin.)
9. Chausse-ploye.
(Slauffer.)
10. Chape-ploye.
( A bsperg. )
11. Vetu counterchanged.
( Correr. or Corra.ro.)
12. Embrasse".
(Rtichstein.)
( 95 )
The Maugirons of Dauphiny bear : Gyronny of six-
argent and sable {Gironne a" argent et de sable de six pieces').
These are amies parlantes inasmuch as being of only six
pieces, instead of eight, the coat is mal-gironne ; and, more-
over, in this coat the division is made by the palar line,
and by two diagonal lines which do not start as in the
preceding instance from the extremities of the top line of
the shield, but commence some way lower down (Plate
VI., fig. 3)-
A similar instance of a coat mal-gironne is afforded
by the arms of the MONTANGONS which are : Mal-
gironne d'or et d'azur. In the coat of MUDERSBACH
the dividing lines are indented: — Gironne -dendie de
gueulcs et d' argent. The gyrons are sometimes charged,
as in the coat of SuiROT (Plate XVI II., fig. 8) which is
gyronny, gules and argent, the second and sixth girons being
charged with three bars ; the fourth and eighth with as
many pallets, all of the first.
A variation of the ordinary gyronny of eight is that
of BERANGER which is : Gironne en croix d'or et de
gucules (the four gyrons of gules taking the form of a
cross, patee-throughout). Mazinghem has the same,
but of or and azure. The seal of Jeanne, Dame dc
CAROUGES, of the twelfth century, has a shield with this
bearing. (ELLIS, Antiquities of Heraldry, Plate XV.,
p. 189.) D'Enghien bears: Gyronny of ten argent and
sable, each piece of the last charged with three crosslets
fitchees of the first. (Vol. II., Plate XIII., fig. 2.)
The BASSINGBOURNE coat (Plate VI., fig. 2) is Gyronny
of twelve, vair and gules, this is a differenced coat the
usual tinctures being or and azure.
Gyronny is sometimes composed of more than two
tinctures, thus a branch of the Milanese family of ORIGO
bears : Gyronny, sable, argent, vert, sable, argent, vert,
sable, vert. This is an arrangement which appears more
curious than commendable.
( 96 )
A curious form of gyrons is found in German armory
in it the gyrons are formed, not by straight lines but
by curves. The family Von ALDENBURG bear : Gyronny-
curved of eight, sable and argent {Gironne de sable et
d' argent de Jiuit pieces gironnantes) ; and the family of
ROCKHAUSEN have a similar coat of six pieces gules
and argent (Mal-gironn/ de six pieces gironnantes de
gueules et d'argenf) ; for other curved gyrons see p. 97.
In Continental Heraldry, and especially in that of
Germany and Italy, we frequently meet with a tripartite
division of the shield. This is most commonly effected
by two horizontal lines ; but very frequently by two
lines in pale, or in bend, or bend-sinister. In these cases
the shield is said to be Tierced {tierce') in fess, pale, bend,
or bend-sinister, as the case may be. In Plate VI., fig. 4
is the coat of the Venetian family of Vendramini :
Tierced in fess, azure, or, and gules. The POLANI, also
of Venice, bear: Tierce" en fasce d'or, d'azur, et d' argent.
Other POLANI coats have the tinctures vert, or, argent ;
and, azure, or, argent. These tierced coats are sometimes
blazoned as Per fess over all a fess ; thus the last coat
might be, Per fess azure and argent, over all a fess or.
Tierced in fess, gules, sable, and argent, is borne by the
Counts von SCHWEDNITZ in Prussia; of argent, gules, and
sable, by the Counts von Zedtwitz of Bohemia. Tierced
in fess, sable, argent, and gules, is the coat of ELTER-
SHOFEN ; Or, argent, and gules of R.ECHTHALER ; Sable,
azure, and or, of the Counts von WESTERREICH ; Or,
gules, and argent of SATTELBOGEN.
Tierced in bend or, gules, and azure, are the canting
arms of the family of NOMPAR in Guyenne ; here the
arms are allusive to the name the divisions being non
pair, unequal in number. (Plate VI., fig. 5.) The Italian
family of Amici bear: Tierced in bend, or, gules, and argent
( Tierce en bande d'or, de gueules, et d'argent). The
GlUDTCI have the same coat but tinctured azure, argent,
( 97 )
and gules ; while the Barons von Dornberg reverse
these tinctures. By the German family of TURLING is
borne the coat : Tierccd in bend {sinister}, or, sable, and
argent. {Tierce en bar re d'or, de sable, et d' argent.)
Tierced in bend or, argent, or ; in the second a bend coticed
sable, is the coat of the Neapolitan family of Capoua.
Coats tierced in bend are sometimes blazoned as Per
bend . . . over all a bend . . .
A very curious German partition is that of Tierced in
gyron gyronnant ; in it the whole field is occupied by
three spiral gyrons ; VON MEGENTZER bears this gules,
sable, and argent. (Plate XVI II., fig. 16.) A variation of
the same is, Tierced in pale gironnant ; which (with the
same tinctures) is borne by the VON Teuffel.
Parted coats are much more used among the Germans
than among ourselves.
Another tripartite division is made in the form of the
letter Y, or the same reversed ; this is known as Tierce en
pairle, or Tierce en pairle renvers^e ; examples of both are
given in Plate VI. Fig. 6 is the coat of the Saxon family
of VON BRIESEN, Tierced in pairle sable, argent, and gules.
Fig. 7 is that of the Von HALDERMANSTETEN : Tierced
in pairle reversed, argent, or, and azure.
Other German partitions are unknown to British or
French armory, and, though formed by straight lines
are difficult to blazon succinctly in the heraldic phrase-
ology of either country. One is the partition per fess
with a right or left step (" mit einer rechten stufe, or mit
einer lincken stufe"). In Plate XVIII., fig. 6 represents
the Bavarian coat of AuRBERG. By Reitstap this
coat is blazoned : Mi-coupe, failli en partant, et recoupe
vers senestre, d' argent sur sable.
There are also certain other bipartite, or tripartite,
divisions used in Continental heraldry in which the field
is described as "mantled" {mantele) "coped" {chape) or
" shod " {chausse). These are partitions not charges ;
VOL. I. H
( 93 )
but they differ from other parted fields in this respect
that any charges which appear on the field are confined
to it ; and do not usually extend beyond its unmantled,
or unshod, portion.
Mantele nearly corresponds to our partition Parti per
chevron. The Venetian GHISI bear: Argent, mantele
gules. The field is, according to rule, named first, the
mantele, which descends from the chief, follows.
Chape' is formed by two lines which start from the
centre of the top line of the shield and descend to the
dexter and sinister base. We might blazon it " per pile
reversed throughout." Plate VI., fig. 8 cV Argent, chape
de powpre, is the coat of the Burgundian family DE
HAUTIN.
Another Burgundian family, DE Montbar, bears :
Quarterly argent and gules chape' counterchanged.
Chausse is the reverse of chape. When the chape', or
chausse', is formed by arched or concave lines it is said
to beploye', as in the Bavarian coat of Stauffer (Plate
VI., fig. 9) ; d'Asur, chaussc'-ploye d* argent.
When a shield is chausse'ploye, or mantele', three
tinctures are sometimes employed ; the field being of
one, and each of the side pieces of the enchaussure, or
mantle, being of another. The Danish family of MOST
bore : Argent, chape of sable to the dexter, and of gules to
the sinister ; and in Plate VI., fig. 10 the coat of the
Franconian VON ABSPERG is, d Argent, chape-ploye a
dextre de gueules, et a senestre d'azur.
Chaperonne is the term applied to a reduced form of
chape, which does not extend below the fess line. See
the coat of Stauffeneck, Plate VII., fig. 4. Gules,
three bai's argent chaperonne' of the last.
When both chape and chausse are found in one field
the size of each is somewhat restricted ; and the shield,
of which the four corners are cut off by diagonal lines,
has the appearance of being charged with a lozenge-
PLATE VII.
PARTITIONS, Etc.
►♦♦♦<
►♦♦♦<
1. Lang V Langenau. 2. Rosdorff.
3. Eyfelsberg.
4. Stauffeneck. 5. Marschalck.
♦ ♦
♦ ♦
♦ ♦♦
♦ ♦ ♦♦
6. Polman.
7. Goldegger.
8. Schrot.
9. Kirmreitter.
10. Altorff. 11. Helchner. 12. Leuberstorf.
( 99 )
throughout {i.e. one whose points touch the border of
the escucheon) as in the coat of the Venetian CoRRARO,
(Plate VI., fig. n). The French equivalent for chape-
chausse is vetu. Gules, vetu argent, is the coat of EtJBING.
The Spanish Abaria bear: Argent, a letter B sable, the
field vetu gules.
The coat of the Sicilian family of Santapau, Princes
de Butera, Gules, three bars argent, chape 1 and chausse
a" or, is, however, drawn differently in MAURICE, Le Blason
des Chevaliers de la Toison d'Or, No. cclxxix., here,
as none of the pieces of the chape or chausse come into
contact with each other, the central space of the field is
not a lozenge-throughout but a lozenge-truncated. A
single enchaussure is very rare. VON ROSDORFF bears :
Lozengy argent and gules, an enchaussure to the sinister of
the last (Plate VII., fig. 2). There are a few German coats
in which this enchaussure is conjoined with a large fleur-
de-lis in bend, or in bend-sinister. The Augsburg VON
SCHROT bear : Sable, a fieur-de-lis conjoined ivith an
enchaussure or (Plate VII., fig. 8). When the chape
or chausse, is placed in a horizontal instead of in a
vertical direction (that is when the apex of the pile
is on either the dexter or the sinister flank of the
escucheon) the field is said to be embrassc ! (a dextre
or a senestre). Thus the VON V6LCKER of Frankfurt
bear: Argent, a rose gules {sometimes azure), the field
embrasse a senestre of the second. We should blazon
this : Gules, a pile-througliout issuing from the dexter
flank, charged with a rose of the field. Exceptionally
the embrasse is formed by a compound line, thus the
Austrian Barons von RUCHSTEIN bear : de Gueules,
embrasse-vivre' a dextre d 'argent. (Plate VI., fig. 12.)
A large class of parted fields, often classed by French
writers under the general term of Rebattements, consist
of regular divisions of alternate tinctures formed by
parallel lines, either arranged to follow one direction
( IO ° )
only, or intersecting another set of lines which are
parallel in another direction. We must notice that there
are often irregularities in depicting this class of coats;
the number of pales, bars, etc., depending on the amount
of space to be occupied. The order of the tinctures also
varies.
PALY (palle or pale) is the term used when the field is
divided into an even number of equal stripes by palar,
or perpendicular lines. If the number of divisions is not
specified it is understood to be of six pieces, but it is
better to specify the number. The feudal coat of the
Earldom of ATHOLE would be blazoned : Paly or and
sable; or Paly of six or and sable.
Paly of four is seldom met with in English armory,
but is more frequent in Germany. Paly of four argent
and vair, was borne by William DE LONGCHAMP,
Bishop of ELY (ii 89-1 197). Paly of four sable and
argent, was the coat of the old Counts von CAPLENDORF
(SlEBMACHER, Wappenbuch, ii., 22). Paly of four gules
and argent, was borne by the Barons von Starcken-
BERG (Wappenbuch, ii., 32); of Argent and azure, by
VON BERCHTOLSHOFEN of Bavaria; and the reverse
by GUNDRICHING of Tirol.
Paly of five, argent and sable, is the same as Argent,
two pallets sable, but would be thought a shockingly
incorrect blazon by heraldic purists. The REGOLI of
Bologna bear: Paly of five, azure, gules, or, gules, azure.
Paly of six is a frequent bearing at home and abroad.
Paly of six, argent and azure, was the original coat of
ANNESLEY (now borne with a bend gules over all); it
was the coat of the Marquises of ROSMADEC, and of
BERTRAND ; ESTISSAC ; FONTENAI ; and others.
Paly of six or and gules, was the coat of AMBOISE
(Plate VIII., fig. 1) ; of FAUCIGNY, Princes de
LUCINGE ; of BRIQUEVILLE, in the First Crusade ; of
TURRETTINI of Lucca, etc.
PLATE VIII.
1. Paly.
(Amboise.)
2. Barry.
(Couci.)
.s \ y< j \_f
3. Barry nebuly.
(Baxsctt.)
\
4. Bendy.
(Zeiw.)
5. Chevronny.
(Egmond. )
'». Checquy.
( Warren, )
7. Checquy.
(Portocarrero.)
J
™
/
8. Equipollc
( Ob7J-&»0..)
♦ ♦♦♦
9. Lozengy.
(Fitzwilliam.)
Mi
10. Fusilly.
( GrirruUdi. )
11. Fusilly in bend,
(ifararia.)
12. Paly bendy.
(Jftwifc.)
( ioi )
Paly of six ermine and vair, is the canting coat, of fur
only, borne by Palvert in France.
The city of RENNES bears : Paly of six argent and
sable, but adds thereto a chief of BRETAGNE ; Ermine
plain. STANGA, Counts of CASTELNUOVO, bear: Paly or
and sable.
Paly of six or and vert, is now borne by ERQUERRER
of Spain, and by the Italian TRIVULZI (originally these
bore Or, three pallets vert).
Occasionally the paly is formed by compound {i.e., not
straight) lines. Paly wavy of six argent and gules, is
one form of the coat of VALOINES (de VALONIIS).
Pale onde d'or et de gueules is that of MOULINS.
Paly of seven is thought an incorrect blazon ; the coat
should be blazoned as a field charged with three pallets.
Paly of eight is not a frequent bearing. Paly of eight
argent and azure, is, however, borne by the Princes of
SCHWARZENBERG, in Austria. Paly of eight or and
gules, is used by Lima of Portugal ; and of azure and
argent by Juya of Spain. Paly of eight gules and argent,
is the coat of Von GOTSCHEN, or G6SCHEN, in Silesia
(SlEBMACHER, Wappenbuch, i., 161), and of WALLEN-
STEIN of Hesse.
If in addition to the pales the shield is cut by a line
per f ess, ox per bend, the tinctures are so arranged that in
the lower part of the shield the metal corresponds with
the tincture in the upper, and the coat is then said to
be : Paly per fess counter-changed [Pale contre-pale).
ROSENBERG in Franconia bears : Pale contre-pale dc
gueules et d* argent de six pieces ; DE Revest in France,
Pah ! contre-pale d 'argent et d'azur de Jmit pieces.
Barry {Fasce). This is the term used when the field
is divided by horizontal lines into an even number of
equal portions, as in the coat of the " Sires " or Sieurs
de COUCY (Plate VIII., fig. 2), Barry of six vair and
gules ; Fasce de vair et de gueules. To this great family
( I° 2 )
belonged Queen Marie (de Coucy), second wife of
King Alexander II. of Scotland. She was the
daughter of INGELRAM de COUCY, who died in 1242.
The old boastful motto of the family is well known : —
Je ne suis roi, ni due, ni compte aussi ; fe suis le Sire de
Coucy. (French heralds, as in the corresponding case of
Paly, do not express the number if the bars are six.) The
Barry may be formed of compound lines. Barry of four
is not often seen in English or French blazons, but is not
unusual in Germany. Barry of four, vert and argent,
is the coat of the Counts Maniago of Venice ; Barry of
four or and gules, of SlGlNOLFl of Sicily. Barry of four
or and azwe, was borne by the Counts von Spitzen-
BERG in Austria.
Barry of six is one of the most common of parted
coats, being found, both with straight and compound
lines, in the armory of all countries. It is borne by
many great houses.
Barry of six argent and azure, is the coat of the
Greys, Earls of Stamford. It was also the coat of
the Counts von TRUHENDIN (SlEBMACHER, Wappenbuch,
ii., 12), the Barons von Lamer in Austria ; the families
of ALTSTETEN {Ziirich Wappenrolle, 276); CASTANEDA ;
VAUDETARE; Micheli of Venice; GRIENENSTEIN, etc.
Barry wavy of six argent and azure, was one of the
BASSETT coats ; and was also used by SANDFORD and
Browning, at home ; and abroad by Borolla, Le
Gal, etc. (this coat was often drawn nebuly in early
Rolls of A rms). Barry of six argent and gules, were the
arms of the Barrys, Earls of BARRYMORE in Ireland ;
the Counts von BEUCHLINGEN ; the Princes of POLIG-
NAC ; the Counts of BOULAINVILLIERS, the families of
BARONCELLI ; ASLOWSKI (Poland), YOENS of Ghent ;
MALEMORT {Salle des Croises, 1096); the ARMANES,
Marquises of Blacons, etc. • -
Barry nebuly of six argent and gules, {Fasce nebule
( i°3 )
cT argent et de gueules) (Plate VIII., fig. 3). is the coat of
Bassett, Blount, and d'Amori, in England ; of
ROCHECHOUART Due de MORTEMAR, in France (early
coats are Fasce onde). Barry nebuly of or and sable,
is the coat of Blount, Earl of Devon. Barry of six
argent and sable ', is borne by RtJDBERG (Zurich Wappen-
rolle, No. 316); and RAAPHORST, of the Netherlands;
LOUVILLE ; ORTELART of France. Barry of six ermine
and gules, is the coat of HUSSEY. Barry of six or and
azure, was borne by the CONSTABLES of England ; the
Counts of Slawata (Poland) ; Reinfelden ; RODE-
MACHERN ; and CHAMBON, Marquis d'ARBOUVILLE.
Barry of six or and gules, by the Princes of LOOS-
CORSWAREN ; CAMPORELLS ; and AMPURIAS of Spain ;
ODENKIRCHEN; RUFFELAERT ; KERLECH, etc. Barry
nebuly or and gules, was another BASSET coat. Barry or
arid sable, {Fasce ' d'oret de sable) is the coat of PEMBRIDGE ;
the Barons Ceva (Piedmont); COETIVY, Princes de MOR-
TAGNE ; FLECHIN, Marquis de WAMIN ; Van-DER Aa.
Van P ALLAN dt bears the reverse. Fasce d'or et de
sinople, is the coat of CRUSSOL, Due d'USEZ, and
Barry vert and argent is borne by the Barons von
Fleckenstein.
Barry of seven is usually blazoned as a field charged
with three bars.
Barry of eight is not nearly as frequently found as
Barry of six. Barry of eight or and sable, is the coat of
the GONZAGAS, Dukes of Mantua. Barry of eight or
and gules, that of Fitz-Alan ; and POYNTZ ; the
Comtes de Grand-PrE ; the Roman RlNALDl ; the
Counts of REINECK, etc. Barry of nine only exists
exceptionally, the usual blazon being a field charged
with four bars ; but the coat of DE Bart of France is
properly : — Barry of nine or, azure, and argent ; each
tincture being thrice repeated.
Barry of tenor more pieces (French burele) is occasion-
( 104 )
ally found. Burele d'argent et de sable, VAUDEMONT
{Salle des Croises, 1 147), CLERAMBAULT, etc. The follow-
ing use Burele d'or et de sable, THYNNE, Marquess
of Bath ; Botville ; Counts von Ballenstedt {I.e.,
BALCKENSTADT, armes parlantes). Burele argent and
azure, is carried sometimes by DE Valence and Lu-
SIGNAN ; of argent and gules, by ESTOUTEVILLE, or
STUTEVILLE, etc. Burele or and gules is the coat of
TOMASI of Naples. Sometimes this coat is varied by
counter-changing, the field being divided by a palar line;
Barry of eight per pale counter-changed argent and gules,
is borne by the Barons von Erdenfels of Austria
(Plate IX., fig. 4).
Bendy {Baude). This is similarly formed, but by
diagonal lines from the dexter chief to the sinister base,
dividing the shield into (usually) six bends, or pieces of
equal width. If the number be six it is often not
expressed.
Bendy of four is a not uncommon Continental bearing.
Bande de gueules et d'argent de quatre pieces, is the coat
of the Venetian family of Emo ; the Austrian Princes of
SCHONBURG ; the families of SCHLEGEL ; and Barons
Van Wyl. The reverse is borne by Barons von
AUTENRIED ; and by the Counts von Landau. The
Princes of Calergi in Greece bear : Bendy of four azure
and argent ; the Italian Alamani, the reverse.
Bendy (of six) is much more common. Bendy of six or
and azure, is the coat of St. PHILIBERT in England ; of
the Tuscan BlANCHETTl ; of the Genoese FlESCHI, and
the Marquises Bonelli. The arms of Playter of
Suffolk are, Bendy -wavy of six argent and azure.
Bande d'argent et de gueules, is borne by Berg, Counts
von Schelklingen ; and by the family of COETQUEN
(Counts d'UZEL, and COMBOURG; Marquises de ROISIN,
and DE COETQUEN). Bendy wavy gules and argent, is
the coat of the Venetian SALONISI.
( io 5 )
Bande d'or et de gueules, is used by the Lombard
Counts MlLLESIMO ; (the Neapolitan family of
AQUINO, Dues de CASOLI, quarter with it : Per fess
gules and argent, a lion rampant counter-changed}. The
LONGUEVAL, Counts de BUCQUOY, formerly Princes of
LONGUEVAL, use Bendy of six vair and gules.
Bendy-sinister of six is occasionally found. Bendy-
sinister argent and gules, was used by DAMIGLIA of Italy;
the same of azure and argent, by the Austrian Barons
BarrE de Barey, where it is of course an instance of
amies parlantes ; as also when borne by the family of
Barruel de St. Vincent (Bar re d'or et d'azur).
Bendy of seven occurs once; the family of ESCHEL-
BACH in Bavaria bears it : azure, argent, gules, argent,
gules, argent, azure.
Bendy-sinister of eight gules and argent, was the coat of
Von Seubersdorff (Siebmacher, Wappenbuch, \., 82).
The bends are now usually borne dexter.
Bendy of eight azure and argent is used by the Vene-
tian family of Zeno (Plate VIII., fig. 4), and is also borne
by the Ataides of Portugal.
Bendy of nine would not usually be a proper blazon for
a field charged with four bendlets, but there is an excep-
tional case in which it is correct. The French family of
BORSAN bear Bendy of nine, composed of three tinctures
or, gules and argent, each three times repeated.
Bendy of ten (Cotice) or and azure, was the coat of
the MONTFORTS, or MOUNTFORDS ; or and gules was
borne by the Vicomtes de TURENNE {Salle des Croises,
1096).
When the coat is divided by a palar line, the bends on
either side are counter-changed and the coat is blazoned,
Bendy per pale counter-changed ; as in the coat of KOR-
BLER of Styria, in which the tinctures are gules and or.
When the field is covered by an interlacement of
small bendlets and bendlets-sinister, it is said to be
( io6 )
fretty. The fretwork is supposed to be in relief on the
field, and is shaded accordingly. Or, fretty azure, is the
coat of the family of WlLLOUGHBY in England ; and of
La MOUSSAYE, Vicomtes de St. Denoual in France.
BETHISY, Marquis de Mezieres, bore the reverse.
Azure, fretty argent is borne by Cave (Plate IX.,
fig. 5) ; ETCHINGHAM (or ICHINGHAM) in early Rolls
of Arms ; and as canting arms by Frestel. FRETEL
of Normandy bore: cT Argent frette de gueules ; which
is also the coat of St. DlDlER ; DOMAIGNE ; and
MARCHALCK VON BlBERSTElN. Argent, fretty sable, is
an old coat of TOLLEMACHE in England ; and of
HUMIERES in France. Sable, fretty or, is borne by
BELLEW; BRACKENBURY; and MALTRAVERS ; LlNIERES
DE MOTTEROUGE, etc. Gules, fretty vair, is the coat
of SURGERES, and MAINGOT in France. Gules, fretty or,
is the well-known coat of AUDELEY ; and its reverse,
Or, fretty gules, is borne by the Counts of DAUN ; by
Villa in Italy ; and Neufville in France ; as well as
by VERDON in England ; with a canton ermine it is the
coat of NOEL, Earls of GAINSBOROUGH, etc. The fretty
is rarely formed by a compound line, but Gules, fretty
engrailed ermine, is a coat of GlFFARD,and of VALOYNES ;
and Azure, fretty of eight pieces raguly or, is borne by
BRODHURST. Some coats originally fretty were after-
wards represented as bearing a simple fret, eg., AUDELEY,
DESPENSER, etc. (v. Cat. of Seals, Brit. Mus., Nos.
7016-7028).
In Continental armory the number of pieces of which
the fretty is composed is usually limited to six ; three
in bend, as many in bend-sinister. The intermediate
spaces, through which the field appears, are called claire-
voies, and these are frequently charged, so that the field
is both seme and fretty.
Gules, fretty and fiory or, is the coat of HAMELYN in
England ; and of Alzon in Auvergne. Occasionally
PLATE IX.
1. Lozengy couped.
(Gise.)
2. Barry pily.
(Holland.)
3. Pile from dexter Hank.
(Althusin.)
4. Barry per pale counterchanged. 5. Fretty.
(Erdenfels. ) ( Cave. )
6. Papelonn^.
(Monti. )
7. Plumete.
( Tenremonde. )
is »? w
8. Seme of fleurs de lis.
(France, ancient.)
9. Seme of hearts.
(Denmark. )
# a #
S3 45 f±
10. Seme.
(Simiane. )
11. Billetty.
* Mii'.* U
I -■/i-4-i * i t i
12. Gutted'eau.
( CornwaUis. )
( i°7 )
the fretty itself is found charged, usually with roundles ;
of these the best known example is the coat of TRUSSELL,
Argent, fretty gules besanty : here the besants are placed
at the intersection of the pieces of the fretty. A similar
coat, Or, fretty gules platy, is an old coat of VERDON ;
and Or, fretty sable platy is the canting coat of FLATT.
These coats should be carefully distinguished from
those which have the analogous bearing of a trellis,
which is properly composed of bendlets dexter and
sinister, not interlaced, but usually nailed {clones) at
the crossings. In these cases the head of the nail is very
much smaller than the bezant, or plate, which appears in
the coats blazoned above.
In Sir JOHN Ferne's Blason of Gentrie, there is an
amusing passage in which the distinction between a. fret
and a trellis is pointed out ; and of which Sir Walter
SCOTT makes use in Quentin Durward. The coat is
Sable, a musion {i.e. a mouser, or domestic cat) or,
oppressed with a trellis gules nailed argent ; which
has been wrongly described by one of the interlocutors
as a fret. (The comic man of the company describes it
as " a cat in the dairy window.") But the Herald inquires
"Did you ever see a fret thus formed before (I mean
nayled)? To correct your blazon learne by this : Hee
beareth Sable, a Musion Or, oppressed with a Troillis
G. cloue dargent ; for this which you call a fret, is a
lattice, a thing well known to poor prisoners," etc.
(The passage is given at length in Lower's Curiosities
of Heraldry, pp. 254, 255.)
A grillage in which the interlacements are composed
of pallets and barrulets, in other words of vertical and
horizontal pieces, is occasionally met with, as in the coat
of the Lombard family of the Genicei, who use : Gules,
a grille, or lattice, composed of four vertical pieces, inter-
laced with as many horizontal ones, argent.
CHEVRONNY {Clievronnc), that is the field divided into
( io8 )
equal portions by lines in the direction of a chevron,
occurs but rarely in armory of Britain.
CJuvronny of four argent and gules, is attributed to
WHITHORSE, and is I believe a solitary British instance
of this division. The reverse is borne by Von Werden-
STEIN ( Wappenbuch, i., 1 1 1), and VON SPARNECK {ibid., i.,
105). Chevronny of four azure and or, is the coat of
GRIESENBERG (in the Wappenrolle von Zurich, No. 144) ;
the reverse was borne by the Barons von BUSSNANG. The
coat is rarely seen reversed so that the points of the
chevrons are to the base. The coat of the Barons von
WlTZLEBEN is, Chevronny reversed of four pieces argent
and gules. Chevronny of six argent and gules, are the
arms of the Counts of EPTSTEIN (now quartered by the
Counts zu Stolberg), and are borne also by the
Genoese family of FORNARA. Chevronny of six or a?id
sable is the early coat of the Counts of Hainault.
Chevronny of 'tzvelve pieces, or and gules (Plate VIII., fig.
5) is the coat of the Counts of EGMOND, or Egmont,
in the Netherlands. The full arms of LAMORAL, Count
EGMOND, executed with the Count of HORN by order of
the Duke of Alva, are as follows : —
Quarterly; I. and IV. Per pale (a) EGMOND, as above :
(b) Argent, tivo bars counter-embattled gules (ARKEL).
II. and III. Per pale (a) Azure, a lion rampant-con-
tourne crowned or (Duchy of Gu ELDERS) ; if) Or, a lion
rampant sable (County of JULIERS).
Over all an escucheon en surtout, Quarterly 1 and 4.
Argent, a lion rampant sable (FlENNES) ; 2 and 3. Gules
an estoile of eiglit rays argent (Baux).
CHEQUY {Echiquete), — When the field is divided by
horizontal and perpendicular lines into at least twenty
square or oblong pieces, the bearing is known as cJiequy ;
if there are fewer panes, the number must be expressed ;
if more, the number of rows is stated.
Plate VIII., fig. 6 is the ancient coat of the WARRENS,
( T0 9 )
Earls of SURREY (still quartered by the Dukes of
NORFOLK), Chequy or and azure. Chequy argent and
azure, was the coat of the family of PlCO, Princes de la
MlRANDOLA.
Chequy of nine panes only, occurs in some important
foreign coats, as in that of Van DEN HECKE which is
thus blazoned, de Cinq points d'or equipolles a quatre
de sable (sometimes azure and ermine). The Counts
of GENEVA bore : Cinq points d'or equipolles a quatre
d'azur ; (Plate VIII., fig. 8), BUSSY-RABUTIN, Chequy of
nine or and gules.
Cinq points d' argent equipolles a quatre de gueules, was
the coat of the Portuguese navigator Magalhaens ;
and the Venetian Cetracini. The same, but of Or
and sable, is the coat of the Italian Grifoni.
In Spanish Heraldry, Chequy of fifteen panes (arranged
in five horizontal and three vertical rows) is often met
with. Plate VIII., fig. 7 is the coat of PORTOCARRERO,
Chequy of fifteen or and azure. ALVAREZ DE TOLEDO,
Duke of Alva, so celebrated in the history of the
Netherlands, bore: Chequy of fifteen, azure and argent.
The arms of the Portuguese discoverer VASCO DA
Gam A were : Chequy of fifteen, Or and gules, on each
point of the last two bars genicls argent. On an escueheon
en surtout the Royal Arms of PORTUGAL, as an augmen-
tation. {See Vol. II., Plate X., fig. 2.)
LOZENGY (losange). If the field is divided into panes
of a diamond shape by lines in bend and bend-sinister,
it is said to be Lozengy (an early term in the Rolls of
Arms was Masculy, now used for seine of Mascles).
Plate VIII., fig. 9, Lozengy argent and gules, belongs to
the Fitzwilliams, Earls of Southampton and Fitz-
WILLIAM ; and to the family of DU BeC-Creitn ; as
well as to the SALOMONI of Venice.
A considerable number of foreign families bear
Lozengy. Lozengy gules and or, is the coat of Cen-
( no )
TELLES in Spain ; and the reverse was the coat of
CRAON in France. (In blazoning foreign coats, begin
with the tincture of the first whole lozenge.)
Lozengy in bend-sinister or and gules is the coat of the
Counts of KONIGSECK (cf TECK, Vol. II., Plate XV.,
fig. ii).
FUSILLY {fusele). When the lozenges are elongated the
term used is Fusilly. Fusilly argent and gules, is the coat
of the Grimaldi, Sovereign-Princes of MONACO, and
Dukes of VALENTINOIS in France. (Plate VIII., fig. 10.)
The arms of BAVARIA are generally drawn as Fusilly
in bend argent and azure, though they are often blazoned
Lozengy in bend. It will be seen from Plate VIII., fig. 1 1 ,
that the-lozenges, or fusils, do not stand vertically over
each other, but are in bend. {See also Vol. II., Plate XL,
fig. 6.)
Analogous to this coat are the variations known
as Paly-bendy and Barry-bendy, these are composed
respectively of lines in pale intersecting lines in bend ;
and of lines in fess intersecting those in bend.
Paly-bendy or and azure, a canton ermine (Plate VIII.,
fig. 12) is the coat of BUCK, Baronets of Lincolnshire.
With this section we may group the French Triangle,
in which the field is divided into triangles by three series
of parallel lines. Plate IX., fig. 1 represents the coat
of the family of GlSE in Gloucestershire ; which is
blazoned Lozengy coupcd in fess argent and sable (other-
wise Barry of six 'mdented). The Counts SCHIZZI, of
Cremona, bear : Triangle de gueules et d'argent. The
Swedish family of Carl.SSON bear Triangle' azure and
or_; the shield being divided by two lines fessways, and
by three in bend and bend-sinister. In the coat of VON
TOLNZ, the partition is made by two horizontal, two
palar, and five diagonal lines, so that, as RlETSTAP
observes, the coat might be blazoned : Cheqtiy of nine
panes, each per bend sable and argent.
( III )
Barry-pily is the name given to the field when it is
divided by long, narrow, pile-shaped indentations lying
horizontally, or barwise, across it. It does not greatly
differ from the French e'manche en pal. Plate IX., fig. 2
is the coat of HOLLAND of Lincoln, Barry-pily of eight
gules and or. (Cf. HENDERSON, Plate XVII., fig. 5.)
The French e'manche is formed by two or three
wedge-shaped pieces united at their base and issuing
from one or other of the flanks of the shield. The
number of its points requires to be specified as well,
whether it issues from the dexter or the sinister flank.
The arms of RlGEL, Plate XVII., fig. 8, are : Argent, an
e'manche of three points gules, issuing from the dexter flank.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF CHARGES.
RULES OF BLAZON, ETC.
Armorial Charges are supposed to stand out some-
what in relief upon the field. It is therefore usual,
particularly in uncoloured drawings, to make the out-
line a little thicker on the lower and sinister sides of an
" Ordinary," or other charge. Charges are of two kinds :
I. Those of simple outline and geometrical form, which
have predominated since the earliest ages of coat-
armour, and in the oldest coats are often the only
charge on the shield. These are called by the French —
Pieces heraldiques ; and are usually, but quite unneces-
sarily, subdivided by us into ORDINARIES and Sub-ORDI-
NARIES. II. COMMON Charges, which are the represen-
tations of objects of all kinds, including animals, flowers,
and the whole range of things natural or artificial.
All these charges may be depicted of any of the recog-
nised metals, colours, or fur. COMMON CHARGES, such as
birds, beasts, and fishes, flowers, trees, and many other
things, are frequently depicted of their natural colours,
and are then blazoned "proper." The blazon, " a fir tree
proper;" or "a salmon nai ant proper" would imply that
( H2 )
the fir tree or the salmon were to be depicted, not by the
heraldic colours, but by those which belong to them in
nature. In the case of roses, which might be red or
white, and yet " proper," it is usual to specify the tincture,
in order that ambiguity may be avoided.
Formerly, the charges in French coats varied greatly
with the provinces of the bearers. In Franche-Comte,
billets were frequent ; in Normandy, escallops ; in Bur-
gundy, saltires ; and in Picardy, crosses. In Languedoc,
pales and bordures frequently occur. Ermine, mascles,
and billets are characteristic of many Breton coats ; the
ermine from the arms of the sovereign, the mascles
probably from the ROHANS. In Guienne and Normandy
there are similarly many coats bearing lions. {Cf. Mene-
STRIER, Pratique des Armoiries, pp. 271-273.)
In Italy, especially among the Florentines, the
Ordinaries were used to indicate political tendencies ;
the Ghibellines assumed pales, the Guelphs, bends. The
ORDINARIES may be composed and divided by partition
lines of the same kind as those which are used to divide
the field {ante p. 85).
It is a primary canon of Heraldry that metal is not
to be placed upon metal, or colour on colour. This is
the one heraldic rule with which all persons seem to be
acquainted, and which has become almost a proverbial
saying : " Metal on metal is false heraldry," etc. This
rule no doubt originated in the necessity for securing
distinctness in the days when arms were actually borne
on the military shield, surcoat, and banner ; and when
it was of the utmost importance that they should be
easily distinguishable from afar off. But the interdic-
tion is far from absolute. The arms of the KINGDOM
OF JERUSALEM (Plate X., fig. 1), which are: Argent,
a cross potent between four crosses or, are the best known
instance (sometimes even it is asserted the only instance)
of a permitted violation of the rule. In this, and a few
( H3 )
other cases, the arms are styled anna inquirendum or
armes pour enquerir, and it is asserted that they were
originally composed for the express purpose of causing
the beholder to enquire the reason of such an infraction
of heraldic usage, and so to stamp them on his memory.
When a limited view is taken of Heraldry, and the
investigation is confined to the armory of a single
country, such assertions seem capable of easy justifica-
tion. In our own country, for instance, distinct viola-
tions of the law in question are of great rarity. But
when the student extends his view over the much larger
field of Continental Heraldry, he finds that such asser-
tions are quite unwarrantable. The general law, indeed,
remains in force ; but the exceptions which the present
writer has collected may be counted by the. hundred
rather than by the dozen ; and, in the great majority of
these cases, the idea that they were intended as armes
pour enque'rir is one which cannot be entertained. The
families are often of no very special note, and the arms
do not commemorate any special circumstance, as is
asserted in the case of the arms of Jerusalem. They
are simply coats assumed either anterior to the formu-
lation of the law, or in disregard of it when formulated.
A sufficient number of such coats will be noted as we
proceed.
There are some coats in which an apparent violation
of the law has arisen from the fact that the metals
employed in depicting them have become tarnished.
What was supposed to be fine gold has become dim.
Or has become purpure ; and argent deteriorated into
sable ! Errors have thus arisen, and have been perpetu-
ated by the ignorance of painters, although the cases I
have referred to above are not So to be accounted for.
There are recognised exceptions to the general rule :
when the "field "is a composite one, of metal (or fur)
and colour, it is not considered an infraction of the law
VOL. I. I
( H4 )
if the charge is of either metal, or colour, or fur. For
instance, the old arms of the Counts of Vendome are:
Gules, a chief 'argent, over all a lion rampant azure crowned
or. (See L 'Armorial de Geldre ; and Planche's Roll.
Their later coat was : Argent, a chief gules, etc.) Here,
though the greater part of the azure lion appears on the
red field, the fact that the field is a composite one of
metal and of colour was thought to save it from
the imputation of violating the law.
Again, the rule does not apply to the mere accessories
of a charge. For instance, in the arms of LEON the red
lion rampant is crowned or, a golden crown upon a silver
ground, without this being considered any violation of
the law. So also when teeth, tongue, claws, etc., are
specified to be of another tincture than the animal to
which they belong, it is no breach of the law if, for
example, the lion's red tongue is projected on an azure
field.
Again, bordures and the other marks of cadency, are
legitimate exceptions to the rule. Thus, the earlier
Dues d'ANJOU differenced by placing a bordure gules
around the arms of France {Azure, three fleurs-de-lis
07') and, though the red colour impinges on the blue,
the law is not considered to be broken thereby.
There are also many instances in which chiefs, can-
tons, etc., have been added to a coat by way of augmen-
tation, as in the cases referred to later in the Chapters
on Marshalling and Augmentations. These are
also counted lawful exceptions. A chief of this descrip-
tion is by no means infrequent in Foreign Heraldry ;
and is known in French blazon as a chef cousu, sewed,
or tacked on, to the original coat.
( u5 )
RULES OF BLAZON.
To " blazon " a coat of arms is to describe it in
heraldic phraseology so exactly that any one acquainted
with the language of armory may be able accurately to
depict it from its concise description. The probable
derivation of the word " blazon " is from the German
blasen, to blow a horn. A flourish of trumpets was used
to attract the attention of the bystanders when before a
tournament the heralds made a formal announcement of
the armorial coat of each combatant. Glossaries of the
technical terms of British and of French armory are
contained in Chapters towards the close of this volume.
It is desirable at this stage to lay down with more
precision than has yet been done the principal rules of
blazon.
I. The field should be first named, whether it be of
one tincture, or a composite one (either by reason of
the division of the field, or by being seme or strewn
with small charges).
II. After the field the charges follow, beginning with
those which are of most, importance, or which occupy
the centre of the field. If the charge is an Ordinary
or its diminutive (unless it be a chief, bordure, or
canton), it usually claims precedence over other charges
in the field ; as in the blazon of Plate X., fig. 5, the
coat of Haig of Bemersyde, Azure, a saltire between
two stars in chief and base and a decrescent and crescent
in the flanks argent.
An exception to the rule above stated as to an Ordi-
nary being first mentioned after the field, occurs when
that Ordinary debruises, or surmounts {i.e., is placed
upon), another charge, as in the Scottish coat of ABER-
NETHY (Plate X., fig. 6), Or, a lion rampant gules,
debruised by a ribbon, or bendlet, sable.
( n6 )
III. If the Ordinary itself be charged, its charges are
named next.
Thus in Plate X., fig. 4, the arms of WlLMOT,
Earl of ROCHESTER, are thus blazoned : Argent, on a
fess gules between three eagle's heads erased sable, as many
escallops or. (Here according to the previous rules, we
name — 1st, the field ; 2nd, the charges, beginning with
the ordinary; then 3rd, the charges placed upon the
ordinary. The French custom is a little different : the
charges upon the ordinary are named before those on
the field. Thus the arms of the poet CORNEILLE are :
d'Asur, a la fasce d'or, chargee de trois tctes de lion de
gueules, et accompagnee de trois etoiles d "argent posees deux
en chef et une en pointe). In both the British examples it
will be noticed that the words " as many " are used to
avoid the repetition of the number two.
In the Haig coat given above the blazon also illus-
trates the usage by which when two or more charges of
the same tincture are named consecutively, the tincture
applying to them all is only named once. The terms
used to denote the position of a charge in chief, base,
or flanks, are also here to be observed. It is scarcely
needful to point out the distinction between " in chief,"
and " on a chief."
The words " over all " are sometimes used to express
the fact that a charge is placed upon other charges. As
in Plate X., fig. 7 FAIRFAX bears : Argent, three bars
gemels gules, over all a lion rampant sable crowned or.
IV. If the coat also contain a chief, canton, or bordure,
it with its charges should be mentioned last. In some
overloaded coats, most of which are posterior to the
times of Henry VII., the term "charged with" is
applied to the Ordinary, instead of the charges being
blazoned as "on" it.
In Plate X., fig. 8 Russell, Duke of BEDFORD,
bears : Argent, a lion rampant gules, on a chief sable
PLATE X.
1. Jerusalem.
2. De Vere.
3. De Grey.
5. Haig.
(j. Abernethy.
DQ-0
n n n
7. Fairfax.
8. Russell.
9. Malestroit.
>
10. Northcote.
11. Alexander.
12. Cketwode.
( "7 )
three escallops of the field. Here the last three words
exemplify that avoidance of needless repetition which is
a characteristic feature of the language of blazon. It is
a rule that the same tincture should not be twice named
in the description of a coat. To avoid this the phrases
"of the field," "of the same," "of the second," "of the
third," "of the last," are made use of; while, as has been
already pointed out, the name of a tincture coming after
several charges applies to all. So also, as in the above
blazoned coat of WlLMOT, the use of the expression "as
many " obviates the repetition of the name of the same
number. A chief used as an augmentation, or an
escucheon en surtout, is however blazoned as if it were
a distinct coat. It must never be forgotten that, while
succinctness in blazon is to be aimed at, and tautology
.to be avoided, it is far better to err on the safe side.
The avoidance of ambiguity is far more important than
the avoidance of tautology. Foreign heralds are more
sensible than our pedants in this respect.
There are, however, many things practically taken for
granted in modern blazon. For instance, when the
coats contain two repetitions of the same charge it is
understood that, unless otherwise specified, the two
charges are placed in pale; i.e., one above the other; —
thus DE MONTESQUIOU bears : Or, two torteaux. Here
we should understand, what the French blazon expresses,
" d'Or, a deux torteaux de gueules, Fun sur V autre en pall'
Or again, in the case of three repetitions of the same
charge, either with or without an Ordinary interposed,
it is understood that, unless otherwise expressed, two
are placed in the upper part of the shield, and one in the
lower part. (If the number be six they will usually be
arranged 3, 2, 1.) In other cases the disposition of the
charges requires specification ; they may be " in chief,"
" in pale," " in bend," or " in cross," "in saltire," " in orle,"
etc. Thus MALESTROIT (Plate X., fig. 9) bears : Azure,
( "8 )
ten plates ; but it is desirable to add that they are
arranged 4, 3, 2, 1, or " in pile."
In connection with this subject it is needful to point
out the difference between the expressions " paleways,"
" fessways," " bendways," etc. ; and the expressions " in
pale," "in fess," "in bend;" — phrases sometimes used
loosely as synonymous with them.
" Paleways," " bendways," etc. mean that the charge or
charges are individually placed in the direction of a pale,
bend, etc. Thus a sword erect is " a sword paleways."
Three such erect swords would still be " paleways " if
they were placed two and one ; or in fess ; in bend, etc. ;
these latter words only explain the relation in which two
or more charges stand to each other.
The three lions passant-gardant in the arms of
ENGLAND are blazoned "in pale;" else they might be
arranged two and one. On Plate X., fig. 10, is the coat
of NORTHCOTE, Lord IDDESLEIGH : Argent, three crosses
botonne {or trefle) in bend sable. Here the three crosses
are relatively to each other "in bend," though each is pale-
ways, or upright, if correctly drawn.
The arms of Neilson are : Argent, three sinister
hands bend-smisterways couped at the wrist gules. Here
each hand is placed diagonally in the direction of a
bend-sinister ; while, agreeably to the rule as understood,
they are ranged 2 and 1, in the shield.
The expression "counter-changed," of frequent use in
blazon, requires explanation. When the field is of a
metal and colour separated by any partition line, the
charge or charges are said to be counter-changed when
the charge, or portion of a charge, which lies on the
metal is of the colour, and vice versa. Thus in Plate X.,
fig. ii, for Alexander, Earl of Stirling, Per pale
aigent and sable, a chevron, and in base a crescent, all
counter-changed. Here on the argent the charges are
sable; on the sable they are argent. Again in Plate X.,
( H9 )
fig. 12, CHETWODE bears: Quarterly argent and gules
four crosses patee counter-changed. The French blazon
of these coats is, of ALEXANDER, Parti d'argent et de
sable, au chevron accompagne en pointe d'un croissant,
le tout de Vun en V autre ; and of CllETWODE, Ecartele
d'argent et de gueules, a quatre croisettes pattees de Pun a
Vautre.
It will be seen by the examples just given that French
blazon differs in some prominent respects from our own.
The preposition de is prefixed to the tincture, or tinctures
of the field, while the preposition a as invariably pre-
cedes the charges. Where we should say that an
Ordinary is "between" such and such charges, the
French say that it is accompanied by them; "accom-
pagne de" etc. (But see the Glossary of French terms
for the distinction between accompagne' and accosted)
For counter-changed, as in the CHETWODE and ALEX-
ANDER coats given above, the French say, Vun a V autre,
or de Vun en V autre. In many of the French coats
which I have used as examples in the pages following,
I have thought it might be useful to the student who
wishes to extend his studies beyond the Heraldry of
his own country, to find here the French blazon of the
coat cited ; by attention to these, and with the aid of
a Glossary of French terms of blazon hereafter to be
given in these pages, I think the student will have no
difficulty in acquiring such a knowledge of French
blazon as will enable him to use with facility the many
valuable Armorials and Heraldic treatises which exist in
the French language.
There used to be much looseness, variety, and unskil-
fulness in the printing and punctuation of English
armorial blazon. Some writers loaded it with unneces-
sary commas and semicolons, some left out points
altogether, and there was often an embarrassing mixture
of Roman and Italic characters, and no rule was
( 120 )
observed as to where figures and where letters should be
used. In 1863 the late Mr J. Gough Nichols in Vol.
I. of the Herald and Genealogist laid down, after much
consideration of the subject, the following rules, whose
excellence is so patent that they have since come into
very general use, though few heraldic writers have learnt
to be thoroughly consistent. They are here reproduced
almost in his words : —
1. Begin the blazon of every coat or quartering with
a capital letter.
2. Use no other capitals except on the occurrence
of a proper name.
3. Introduce no more points than are absolutely
necessary, and seldom any stronger than a comma,
unless in very long and complicated coats. [A comma
in Mr NICHOLS'S practice always follows the tincture of
the field, and this is also the case in the blazons of this
book.] Exception. — A comma (not otherwise required)
may be employed after the metal " or," if there is any
danger of its being mistaken for the conjunction.
4. The metals and tinctures may be either .printed at
length ; or abbreviated, (as arg., az., sa., etc.,) being equally
clear either way if not encumbered with commas.
5. Print always " three wolf's heads, three lion's jambs,
three palmer s staves," etc., not " three wolves heads,
three lions' jambs, and three palmers' staves ; " the
charges being each the head of one wolf, the jamb of one
lion, the staff of one palmer, etc. ; and it is grammatically
sufficient that the nominative cases "heads," etc., should
agree with the numeral three.
6. In stating the arrangement of charges use the
words three, two, one, instead of numerals, at least in
quartered coats, otherwise the figures may produce con-
fusion with the numbering of the quarterings.
7. Where there are complicated quarterings, the
term "Grand Quarter" is sometimes employed, and
( 121 )
then numerals of different characters may be used to
distinguish the grand and the subordinate quarterings.
To this rule of Mr NICHOLS we may add that, in very
complicated coats of Grand Quarterings, as well as in
impaled or coupe coats, letters of the alphabet are often
employed instead. of, or in addition to, the numerals he
recommends ; as thus : —
Quarterly of Four Gra?id Quarters : —
I. Quarterly : I and 4, Or, a pale gules.
2 and 3, Azure, a cross argent.
II. Ermi7ie, a pale vert.
III. Per pale : (a) Gules, a chief ermine.
(b) Vert, a lion rampant or.
IV. Per f ess : (a) Argent, a cross sable.
(b) Azure, afess argent.
SEME.
When the field is strewed with an indefinite number
of small charges, such as fleurs-de-lis, or crosslets, it is
said to be seme, or powdered, with the charge. Small
charges, as will be shown elsewhere, were thus used in
early times as a mode of " gerating," or "differencing,"
the arms of persons of the same family.
A field thus seme appears as if it were cut out of a
larger surface, the external rows of the charges being
divided by the outline of the escucheon.
In some ancient coats there are no other charges in
the escucheon but those with which the field is seme.
Azure seme of fleurs-de-lis or is the early form of the
Royal Arms of France ; and is blazoned as " France-
Ancient" (Plate IX., fig. 8). The term Fleury, or flory,
is often used instead of Seme' of fletirs-de-lis. Thus,
Azure, fieuiy argent, is the coat of Harlewin ; of
Malapert de Neufville ; of Hervilly de Mala-
pert; Montauban, etc. Argent, fleiiry gules, was borne
( 122 )
by MONTJOY in England ; the Barons de HAUTPENNE ;
and the Low Country families of OUPEY, and KERCKEM,
Barons de WljER. Or, fleury azure, was used in
England by MORTIMER. Gules, fleury or, are the arms
of CHATEAUBRIAND ; and are the original coat of
ALEGRE, Marquis de TOURZEL.
Billetty and crusily are, similarly, terms used for seine
of billets or cross-crosslets. Or, billetty azure, is found
for the coat of GASCELIN ; and Gules, billetty or, for that
of COWDREY, in early Rolls of Arms; so also, Or,
crusily azure, is borne by PETMORE ; and Gules, crusily
or, by Fern land.
In foreign armory charges not so employed in British
Heraldry are frequently met with as powderings.
The Spanish family of Claver bears the canting
coat, Or, seme of keys azure. The Florentine FORA-
BOSCHI use : Sable, seme of balls argent. The French
GODEFROI bear: Azure, seme of acorns or ; and GuiLLOU
DE LA Lardals, Argent, seme' of sage leaves vert. Or,
trefle vert, is the coat of Hoetima. Sometimes the field
is seme with more than one charge. Thus the arms of
the French Marquises de SlMlANE (Plate IX., fig. 10)
are Or, seme alternately of castles and fleurs-de-lis azure ;
and those of Anglure, Counts de BOURLEMONT and
ESTOGES, Princes d'AMBLISE, Dues d'ABRY, etc. : are,
Or, seme of hawk's bells, each supported by a crescent gules
(d'Or, seme' de grelots d 'argent, soutenus cJiacun d'un
croissant de gueules). These crescents were originally
"angles." Usually a field seme' of small charges also
bears a more important one. Or, seme of hearts gules,
over all tliree lions passant-gardant in pale azure, crowned
of the field, are the arms of DENMARK (Plate IX.,
fig. 9). The coat of the Duchy of LuNEBURG, which
forms the second quartering in the arms of our
Hanoverian Sovereigns, has a similar seme field, but it is
charged with a lion rampant azure, crowned gold. Plate
( i2 3 )
IX., fig. ii, is the coat of the House of NASSAU
Princes of Orange, which appeared en surtout on the
Royal Escucheon during the reigns of William III.
and Mary II. ; it is, Azure, billetty and a lion rampant
or. A field or a charge bestrewed with an indefinite
number of drops, or " gouttes," is said to be goutte, or
gutty ; in French blazon goutte d'argcnt, d'azur, etc. ;
but the usual pedantry of English heralds has invented
a specific name for the drops of each metal or tincture,
except gold, which remains goutte d'or. Accordingly
seme' of drops argent has become goutte d'eau; of gules,
goutte de sang; of azure, goutte de larmes ; of sable,
goutte de poix ; and of vert, goutte de Vhuile! Sable,
goutte' d'eau, on a fess argent three CornisJi-chouglis
proper (Plate IX., fig. 12) was the canting coat of the
Marquesses of CORNWALLIS. The choughs are legiti-
mate enough as charges of amies parlantes, but the
tears, or wails, are surely far-fetched !
Diapering is a mode of ornamenting the surface of
the field and its Ordinaries with arabesque patterns,
and was early practised. Many beautiful and tasteful
examples of it remain on early glass, sculptures, and
enamels. There are some fine instances of it in West-
minster Abbey, among the most remarkable of which is
the enamelled shield of William DE Valence, Earl of
PEMBROKE, and the monument of EDMUND Crouch-
back, Earl of LANCASTER. Early specimens of diaper
are also to be seen at Beverley Minster and at Hatfield.
Diaper was largely used in the armorial glass of Germany
in the fourteenth and later centuries. Often the patterns,
which are usually indicated by lighter or darker shades
of the tincture employed, are exceedingly tasteful and
artistic.
In the tasteless times of the eighteenth century, German
Heraldic engravings suffered much from a profusion
of diaper, which obscured the actual bearings. The
( »4 )
coats added in the later editions of Siebmacher's great
Wappenbuch will show the decadence of true artistic
feeling in this respect, as well as in the general treat-
ment of the escucheons and of the charges delineated.
An example of early English diaper is to be found
on the shield of the sepulchral effigy in the Temple
Church, which was for so long a time erroneously
attributed to Geoffrey de Magnaville, and to which
allusion has already been made at p. 46.
In a few foreign coats diaper was so constantly and
uniformly used that in process of time it has become
a regular charge, and appears as an integral part of the
blazon, as in the arms of the Norman family of TESSON.
{See Mr WATSON'S notes on PLANCHE's Roll, s. v., in
the Herald and Genealogist, vol. viii.)
Fig. 43. Fig. 44. Fig. 45. Fig. 46. Fig. 47.
The Pale. The Fess. The Bend. The Bend-Sinister. The Chevron.
Fig. 48. Fig. 49. Fig. 50. Fig. 51. Fig. 52.
The Saltire. The Pile. The Gyron. The Lozenge. The Fusil.
CHAPTER V.
ORDINARIES.
The mystical number nine was to be found everywhere
in the fanciful works of the old heraldic writers, and
notably in Gerard LEGH. Nine being held the number
of perfection everything was to be referred to, and
arranged by, it. There were to be nine degrees of rank,
nine colours and metals, nine furs, nine partition lines,
nine honourable-ordinaries, nine sub-ordinaries, and nine
abatements corresponding to nine ungentlemanly acts !
And so it comes that the Conventional figures of
Heraldry were divided, (without any other reason than
to make them square with this fanciful arrangement)
into two classes, Honourable-Ordinaries, and Subordinate
or Sub-Ordinaries, though the old heralds were not at all
agreed as to whether some should be placed in the first
or in the second class. (As an instance of their lack of
consistency we may mention that the bar, which is a
diminutive of the fess, is included as a separate honour-
able-Ordinary to make up the mystic number of nine,
while the diminutives of the pale, saltire, chevron, etc.,
are not so included because they would have swelled the
number beyond the stated nine.) As a matter of fact all
( 126 )
the Ordinaries and Sub-Ordinaries are equally "honour-
able," and their arrangement in one class or the other is
a matter of not the slightest practical consequence. The
Chief, and the Quarter or Canton, may seem to be
respectively entitled to some precedence over the others
of their class, as being those which have been most
frequently employed for the reception of Honourable
Augmentations to the shield, but beyond this there is
really no fixed order of precedency ; and their arrange-
ment and classification is simply a matter of taste and
convenience. (NlSBET, vol. i., chap, xviii., is only
partially correct.)
The Ordinaries most in use are : the Chief ; the
Pale ; the Fess ; the Bend (and the Bend-Sinister) ;
the Chevron ; the Cross ; and the Saltire ; all these
have diminutives of the same general shape.
Those less frequently used (and in that sense only are
they here termed Sub-Ordinaries), are the Quarter ;
the Canton ; the Gyron ; the INESCUCHEON ; the
BORDURE ; the Orle ; the TRESSURE ; the Fret ; the
Pall, or Pairle ; the Pile ; the Lozenge (with its
variations the FUSIL, MASCLE, and RUSTRE) ; the
Flaunch and Flasque ; the Billet ; and the Label.
The CHAMPAGNE, though notfrequentin British Heraldry,
is so on the Continent, and has as good a right to inclu-
sion in one class or the other as any of the rest.
Various explanations are given of the origin of the
Ordinaries, by heraldic writers. LOWER is inclined to
derive those most frequently used from the stripes, and
bands, or belts, of military costume. PLANCHE with
greater probability, traces them to the various bands of
wood, or metal, by which the shield was strengthened.
This derivation would seem to me almost certain did we
not remember that, as a matter of fact, these Ordinaries
do not figure to any very great extent in early Heraldry ;
certainly they are not so frequently found as we should
( "7 )
expect to be the case if they had taken their rise from
the bands and borders which appeared on so many of
the early shields before the rise of systematic heraldry.
We should expect, then, that a multitude, perhaps the
majority, of the earliest coats would bear a fess, or bor-
dure, a cross, or bars, or pales. Yet an examination
of a list of early arms, for example those given in the
earliest Rolls of Arms, or exposed in the Salle des Crois-
ades at Versailles, will show how far this is from being
the case. The Ordinaries are there, indeed ; but there is
no preponderance of them over other charges, animate
or inanimate. Any preponderance is in the other direc-
tion. Some have sought the origin of the Ordinaries
in the strips of wood of which the barriers, or lists, for
tournaments were compcsed. The Cross is really the
only ordinary of whose origin we can be quite certain.
I propose now to take these Ordinaries singly ; pre-
mising that each of them may be formed not only by the
right line but by any of the varying lines which have been
described and figured under PARTITIONS. Occasionally
more than one of these lines is thus employed in the
formation of one of the Ordinaries, e.g., see the coat of
WlGMUR, p. 142, infra.
All the Ordinaries are frequently charged ; and two
or more may be combined in a coat of arms.
The CHIEF (French Chef) is a charge formed by a hori-
zontal line, which includes in theory the upper third part
of the shield. This may be the case when the chief is
itself charged ; but, practically, the rule has never been
strictly observed either with regard to this or to the
theoretical allotments of space in the case of other
Ordinaries. The chief is much more frequently depicted
as including about a fourth part of the shield.
In Germany the chief is little used as an original
charge. Its main use is for augmentations.
The following examples of early coats bearing chiefs
( 128 )
as the sole charge are from the Salle des Croises at
Versailles.
(2) EUSTACHE d'Agrain, Prince of SlDON and
C/ESAREA (1 100) Azure, a chief or (d'Azur, au cJief d'or).
(10) Garnier, Comte de Gray (iioo); and {yy),
BAUDOIN DE Gand, Seigneur d'ALOST (1096) Sable, a
chief argent {de Sable, au chef d' argent).
(95) Raymond II., Comte de Substantion et de
MELGUEIL (i 109) Argent, a chief sable {d 'Argent, au chef
de sable).
(157) GuiLLAUME D'AUNOY (1204) Or, a chief gules
(d'Or, au chef de gueules). Borne by MAULEVERIER
(1270).
Argent, a chief gules, is the coat of the Duchy of
MONTFERRAT, and of the families of D'AvAUGOUR ;
SOLIGNAC ; CHAUMONT (Burgundy) ; MENZIES in Scot-
land ; and WORSLEY in England. Argent, a chief azure
was borne by the Marquises of Gamaches in France ;
and SALUGES, Princes of SALUZZO (Piedmont), as well as
by the families of FlTZALAN ; CLUN, etc.
In Plate XI., fig. 1, Vair, a chief or {de Vair, au chef
d'or) is the coat of the TlCHBORNE family ; while fig. 2
is an example of a chief formed by a different partition
line and charged. Ermine, on a chief indented gules three
escallops argent (d'hennine, au chef endente de gueules,
charge de trois coquilles d'argent) the arms of the family
of ROUS. Or, a chief indented azure, is the well-known
coat of the great Irish family of Butler.
The Ordinary of the Chief has been very generally
used as an " Augmentation," or addition granted by a
Sovereign as a reward for services {see Chapter XVI.) ;
and it was also customary for Cardinals, and other mem-
bers of Ecclesiastical Regular Orders ; as well as the
members of certain Military and Religious Orders, e.g.,
St. John of Jerusalem, St. Stefano in Tuscany, etc.,
to place the arms of the Order to which they belonged,
PLATE XI.
1. Chief.
(Tichborne.)
♦ ^d
'■MWWv
2. Chief indented.
(Rous. )
3. Napoleonic Ducal Chief.
(Lannes).
4. Kt. of Order of St. John.
(Carvajal.)
5. Chief arched.
( Von Dienheim. )
6. Divise.
(Orsini, or Ursins.)
7. Pale.
(Erskine.)
8. Pale rayonne.
(O'Hara.)
9. Pallets.
(Arragon.)
10. Pallets.
(Keith.)
11. Pale cotised.
(.Brfasyse.)
12. Pals retraits.
(Fan#</rA\)
( I2 9 )
on a chief above their personal arms, which might also
possibly themselves contain a chief among their charges.
In Plate XL, fig. 4, are the arms of the Chevalier
de Carvajal of Spain a Knight of the Order OF St.
JOHN, who bears his paternal coat : Or, a bend sable,
on a chief of the first a poinds diarged with a cross gold ;
the whole abaisse under another chief of the arms of
the Order OF St. JOHN, Gules, a cross argent.
There are a few instances in Continental Heraldry in
which for other reasons two chiefs are borne in the same
coat, one abaisse' beneath the other. The chiefs
assumed respectively by the partisans of the Guelphic
and Ghibelline factions in Italy were sometimes added
to coats which already had a chief. Thus the BoNVICINl
of Bologna used : Gules, a tree eradicated argent, on a
chief cousu azure three letters B of the second ; the chief
abaisse beneath the Imperial, or Ghibelline, chief ; — Or,
an eagle displayed sable crowned or. The Tardini of
Bologna bore: Or, three bends azure a chief of the first,
surmounted by a chief of the Guelphic or Angevin
faction, viz.: Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or, between the
four points of a label-throughout gules, derived from
the arms of the Angevin Kings of Naples. The
Marquises RANGONI bear : Barry argent and azure, on a
chief gules an escallop argent ; the chief abaisse' under
another : A rgent, thereon an eagle displayed gules crowned
or. The Barons von HAEFTEN bear : Gules, three pallets
vair, a chief or, charged with a label sable, and abaisse
under another chief: Or, thereon a crane sable.
In many foreign coats the chief is said to be cousu,
" tacked on," to an original coat, a phrase supposed to
obviate a breach of the law forbidding metal on metal
or colour on colour. But even so the chief cousu is rarely
of the same tincture as the main coat except in the case
of the two partisan chiefs referred to above. There are,
however a few instances, among which is the coat of
vol. 1. k
( *3° )
CARVAJAL given above, in which the chief cousu is of
the same tincture as the rest of the field, from which it
is only separated by the pourfilar line.
Some writers assign to the chief a diminutive called a
" fillet." Of this charge there are few, if any, certain
examples in English armory. Two modern instances
are recorded in Mr BALFOUR Paul's Ordinary of Arms
in the Lyon Register, as borne respectively by SCOTT of
Craignurie, and Ramsay of Barnton. I have depicted the
latter on Vol. 1 1., Plate XVI II., fig. 5, as a curious if not alto-
gether meritorious attempt at Marshalling. The fillet in
French armory is called a divise, and should rather be re-
garded as a barrulet hausse, or elevated, above its ordinary
position. The arms of DE PoiSlEU DE St. Georges in
Dauphine, are : Gules, two chevrons argent, in chief a divise
of the last {de Gueules, a deux chevrons d* argent, somme's
d'une divise du mime). Sometimes the divise is placed
immediately beneath a chief, which is then said to be
" supported " (souteuu) thereby, as in the case of the arms
of the ORSINI family in Rome, who bore : Bendy of six
argent and gules, on a chief of the first supported by a
divise or, a rose of the second (Banded' argent et de gueules,
de six pieces, au chef d' argent charge d'ujie rose de gueules
et soutenu d'une divise d'or). Of this family were the
French DES Ursins, Marquises of Trainel, etc. The
Roman family charge the divise with an eel (une anguillc
naiante or ondoyante) azure for ANGUILLARA. (Plate XI.,
fig. 6.)
A Chief is sometimes used united to another Ordinary ;
Thus, the Barons von MUNZINGEN use, Gules, a chief-
pale argent ; that is, the charge is a chief and pale united.
ESQUIROU DE PARIEU, in France, bore : Sable, a pairle
and chief argent. Occasionally the chief is formed by a
concave line, and is then called a chefvoute; as in the coat
of DlENHEIM in Bavaria : Gules, a lion rampant argent
crowned or, a chief voute of the second. (Plate XI., fig. 5.)
( I3« )
Corresponding to the Chief, but occupying the lowest
part of the shield is the Champagne {see p. 87, fig. 42)
which is often found in foreign coats, and of which
examples will be given as we proceed.
The Pale (French pal) is a vertical band in the
middle of the shield ; its capacity was fixed by old
writers at one-third of the field, but it is usually some-
what smaller, even when charged.
Argent, a pale sable {a" Argent, au pal de sable), are the
well-known arms of the ERSKINES, Earls of Mar
(Plate XL, fig. 7). The same coat is borne by the
Counts Kreytsen in Prussia ; the Barons SKRBEN-
SKY DE HRZISTIE (Silesia) ; the Danish family of
Andersen ; Richterswyl {Zurich Wappenrolle, No.
259); Spanofsky de Lissauj Von Kettenheim ; etc,
etc. The Swedish family of Brahe bears the reverse.
Azure, a pale argent, {d'Azur, au pal d' argent) is the
coat of the family of Leyen, Counts and Princes of the
Holy Roman Empire ; and of the Florentine Abbati.
The following families bear : Gules, a pale a?gent {de
Gueules, au pal d'argent) ; the Venetian VlARO ;
Canabri ; the Counts Haag ; Barons Fraunberg ;
and FRAUNHOFEN ; the family of BtJLOW in Denmark ;
and the Barons MlTTROWSKl in Austrian Silesia.
The Dues des Cars, Princes de Carency ; and the
Italian PlTTI, both bear: Gules a pale vair.
Gules, a pale or, were the arms of the family of GRANT-
MESNIL, Lord High Steward of England temp. Henry
I. Or, a pale azure, is borne by SCHONSTEIN of Bavaria ;
Or, a pale gules, by BlEDMA of Spain ; Sable, a pale or^
by VON DER Alm, or Albm.
The Pale has the usual variations, being formed
with the external lines indented, engrailed, etc. Argent
(sometimes Or), a pale dancetty (sometimes indented) gules,
is the coat of Stransham, or Straynsham, of Kent.
Argent, a pale wavy sable, is borne by Boton. Azure,
( *3 2 )
a pale rayonne or, by LlGHTFORD. This last bearing
(which is very rarely seen) is also used by the Irish
O'HARAS, Lords TYRAWLEV ; Vert, on a pale radiant or,
a lion rampant sable (Plate XI., fig. 8). The " chef -pal"
has already been noticed on p. 130, ante. Occasionally
the pale, or rather a portion of it, is combined with
another Ordinary. Kethel in Holland uses, Azure, a
pale retrait in chief {i.e., a demi-pal) soutenu by a chevron
between three cauldrons or. {See also Plate XXL, fig. 1,
and p. 149.)
If there be given to the Pale its stated size of one-
third of the field the following coats may be blazoned
either " Per pale . . . and ... a pale ... ; "
or (which avoids any mistake) " Tierced in pale " (vide
pp. 86-87 for Tierced Coats).
Per pale sable and azure, a pale vair ; is borne by
DAGUET DE BEAUVOIR, and is the same as Tierce en
pal de sable, d'azur, et de vair. Tierced in pale gules,
argent, and azure is the coat of RAINIER : and, with the
colours inverted, of Von Pondorffer.
The English blazon only allows one pale in the shield ;
though of its diminutive the pallet several may be borne.
French blazon has no distinctive name for this
diminutive.
The coat borne by ELEANOR of Provence, Queen of
HENRY III. of England, given on Plate XI., fig. 9, Or,
four pallets gules (d'Or, a quatre pals de gueules), are the
arms of PROVENCE, and of the Counts of BARCELONA,
and Kings of Arragon. At the time of their assump-
tion the barras longas made a fitting coat, canting or
allusive to the name of BARCELONA. Argent, on a
chief gules three pallets or, are the arms of the KEITHS,
Earls Marischal of Scotland. (Plate XL, fig. 10.)
A family of the name settled in Prussia, bore
the same but with the field vert. Argent, two pallets
sable {d' Argent a deux pals de sable) ; are the coat of the
( *33 )
Counts von WITTGENSTEIN, and of the English family
of Harley. Sable, two pallets wavy ermine, are the arms
of Clarke of Kent.
A coat charged with three pallets is a frequent bearing
both at home and abroad. Or, three pallets gules, are
the well-known arms of the Counts of Foix (later they
quartered therewith those of the County of BEarn ;
Or, two cows in pale gules, collared, homed, and belled
azure). Gules, three pallets or, were borne by the
FAUCIGNY, Princes de LuciNGE. Argent (also gules),
three pallets ermine, is the coat of QuESADA in Spain ;
Vair, three pallets gules, was borne by AMUNDEVILLE
in England ; and by the family of Yve in Flanders,
Counts de RUYSBROEK, and Barons d'OSTICHE, etc.
Argent, three pallets vair, is the coat of Zavala in Spain ;
and with the field Or, of CANDALLE, and GRAILLY in
France. Or, three pallets wavy azure, is borne by
ROGIER ; A7gent, three pallets wavy gules, by VALOINES
(de Valonhs), a coat quartered in Scotland by the
MAULES, Earls of DALHOUSIE, etc. Gules, five pallets
ragttly argent, is a coat of SOMERVILL.
A narrower diminutive of the pale is the endorse
(in French vergette). A pale placed between two of
them is said to be endorsed. The family of BELASYSE,
Earls of FAUCONBERG, bore: Argent, a pale engrailed,
endorsed sable. (Plate XL, fig. n.)
In accordance with its supposed derivation from a
piece of palisading, the pale (with its diminutives) is
sometimes found pointed (aiguise', or fitche) at its lower
end ; if it is cut short it is said to be coupe, or
hummetty. Or, three pallets couped and pointed gules,
is the coat of the Counts de Briey. Occasionally the
pales or pallets are cut short before reaching half-way
down the shield ; they are then said to be pals retraits.
Sable, a pale retrait in the chief argent, is the coat of
RUESDORF (Plate XXL, fig. 3). The arms of VAN
( i34 )
HAMBROECK are : Or, three pallets sable, retraits en chef.
Van Eyck bears the same coat, but with the field
argent. (Plate XL, fig. 12.)
THE FESS (in French fasce) is a horizontal bar
stretching across the centre of the shield ; like the pale
it theoretically (only) contains the third part thereof.
A multitude of coats have this as their sole charge.
Gules, a fess argent, are the well-known arms of the
House of Austria {see the amusing passage in Nisbet,
Vol. I., p. 43) ; the Dues de BOUILLON ; the Counts
of VlANDEN, etc. Plate XII., fig. 1, Azure, a fess or
is the coat of St. Omer. Argent, a fess azure,
{d' Argent, a la fasce de sable,) are the arms of the
Canton of ZUG, in Switzerland; Barozzi, in Venice; the
Dukes of Leuchtenberg in Russia; and Charters in
Scotland. Or, a fess azure, is the coat of the Counts
NOTTHAFT, and of the Neapolitan family of Avarna,
Dukes of Gualtieri. The Counts BAGLIONI of
Perugia bear the reverse and this is also the coat of the
Prince Bishopric of MONSTER, and like those of the
counties of MEURS {Or, a fess sable) and Veer {Sable,
a fess argent), is now quartered by PRUSSIA. Vert, a
fess ermine, is borne by d'Ognies, or D'OlGNlES, Princes
de GRIMBERGHE. Vair, a fess gules, is the coat of
MARMION {v. Vol. II., p. 152). Argent, a fess gules, is
the coat of several illustrious houses, those of BETHUNE,
Dues de Sully, 1606; the Counts von Manteuffel
in Prussia and Russia ; the St. Maur, Dues de MON-
TAUSIER, Pairs de France, 1664; the Dues de San
Severino, and the Counts de Marsi of Naples ; and
the Barons TAETS d'Amerongen in the Netherlands.
A d'Aubigny bore it in the Crusade of 1205.
The fess may be formed by any of the various partition
lines already given, thus : Gules, a fess engrailed argent, is
used by the Counts von NESSELRODE ; and was probably
the original coat in England of the family of Daubigny,
PLATE XII.
1. Fes8.
(St. Omer.)
2. Fess dancett^e.
(West.)
3. Bar.
(Dante.)
4. Fess embattled.
(Abcrbury.)
5. Fess checquy.
(Stewart. )
6. Fess tortille.
(Garmichael.)
7. Fess arched.
(Moses.)
8. Bars.
(Nivgent. )
9. Bars counter-embattled.
(Arkel.)
10. Bars wavy.
(Drummond.)
i nn
11. Bars gemelles.
(Hunter combe.)
12. Fess cotised.
(Harleston. )
( i35 )
or DAUBENEY, who afterwards (as in other instances)
enlarged the engrailment into a fess of fusils conjoined.
Argent, a fess dancctte sable, belongs to the WESTS,
Earls of DELAWARR (Plate XII., fig. 2). The fess
dancctte has three points only. The coats of Cavill,
Argent, a fess flory counter-flory gnles ; and Argent, a
fess sable flory counter-flory gules, DUSSEAUX, are un-
common variants.
Of other variations the following are examples : Azure,
a fess indented ermine (cfAzur, a la fasce endente
dliermine); the same but nebulee' is borne for Allen.
Gules, a fess wavy argent, is the coat of DRYLAND.
When a fess is blazoned as "embattled " {cre'nele), only
the upper line is cut into battlements (Plate XII., fig. 4).
ABERBURY, or ADDERBURY, bears : Or, a fess embattled
sable. If both lines are embattled with the battlements
opposite each other, the fess is known as bretesse' ; if the
battlements on the one side correspond to the indenta-
tions of the other, it is styled "embattled counter-
embattled." {See Plate XII., fig. 9, p. 138 ; the arms of
ARKEL quartered by EGMONT, p. 108; and the Glossary
of English Terms.)
Plate XII., fig. 5, is the well-known coat of Stewart,
or Stuart, in Scotland : Or, a fess chequy azure and
argent. (It may here be remarked parenthetically that
three is the proper number of rows of " panes " on a fess,
bend, chief, or other Ordinary blazoned as "chequy.")
Mr ELLIS combats the popular idea that this coat was
allusive to the office of Steward, and represented the
chequers formerly used in keeping accounts. The
cognate family of BOTELER descended from CHRISTIAN,
grand-daughter and heir of Walter Fitzalan, elder
brother of the first Steward of Scotland, certainly bore,
but with varying tinctures, the same fess-chequy between
six crosslets. CHRISTIAN'S father and grandfather,
however, seem to have borne a different coat ; and in
( ^ 3 6 )
any case there is no evidence of a descent which has
been suggested from the early bearers of a chequy field
— the Warrens, and the House of Vermandois, who
bore Chequy or and azure. Or, a/ess chequy argent and
gules is the coat of the Westphalian Counts de la MARCK,
now borne in the Ecu Complet of the Kingdom of
PRUSSIA. SPINOLA bears this coat with in chief a thorn
having a fleur-de-lis head of the last. (Vol. II., Plate
XVIII, fig. 2.)
A curious variety of the fess is shown in the coat of
CARMICHAEL : Argent, a fess wrcatJied {cablee, or tortillee)
azure and gules (Plate XII, fig. 6). Sable, a fess zvreathed
or and azure, bettveen three crescents argent, is a coat of
WlLKIE. In Italian coats the fess seems often voutc'e,
or curved upwards ; and less frequently downwards
iaffaissee). Plate XII, fig. J, are the arms of the family
of MOSES : Azure, a fess arched, argent (d'Azur a la fasce
voutee d'argent) ; but in most cases this arose simply
from the fashion of "painting the arms on the convex
surface of a shield, or cartouche. The convexity of the
surface gave the fess an arched appearance.
The diminutive of the fess is called a "bar" (in
French, divise) with further diminutions known as the
"closet," and the " barrulet." In English armory the
bar is never borne singly (the " bar-sinister " is an ignorant
vulgarism, and an entire misnomer for something totally
different, as will be shown hereafter). In France under
the title of Fasce en divise, abbreviated into divise,
the bar is occasionally seen (two coats in which it
appears in chief have been already blazoned on
p. 130). M. GUIZOT, the eminent French statesman,
bore : d'Azur, a la divise d'argent. The Prince of
Poets, DANTE ALIGHIERI, bore : Per pale or and sable,
over all a fess diminished, or a bar, argent {Parti a" or
et de sable, a la divise d'argent brochante sur le tout.)
(Plate XII, fig. 3.)
( i37 )
In Plate XI., fig. 8, Ermine, two bars gules, are the
arms of the Irish family of NUGENT, Marquises of
WESTMEATH. A branch of this family has reached the
highest dignities of the Austrian Empire with the title
of Prince.
Argent, two bars gules, is the coat of the Barons
DERVAL (Brittany); LORENZ ; and MASSOW in Saxony ;
the Counts von ROTENBURG ; the Lordships of ISEN-
BURG (quartered by the Princes von WlED) ; and of
BREUBURG (quartered by the Counts of LOWENSTEIN
and Erbach) ; and of many other noble families.
Argent, two bars sable, are the arms of the house of
ISENBURG, Princes of the Holy Roman Empire ; Le
Barbier, Marquises de KERJAN in Brittany.
Gules, two bars argent, are the arms of MARTIN ;
SERVATI of Genoa ; the Counts Arnim of Prussia ; the
Barons von Erthal in Franconia, and OCHSSENSTEIN
in Rhenish Prussia. Or, two bars gules, is the coat of
the Counts of BERLO (Prussia), and FlJRSTENBERG ; the
Princes of Oldenburg ; Mauvoisin and ROSNY in
France ; VALLGORNERA in Spain ; WALLONCAPELLE,
or Waelscappel, Van Schoonvelt, and Westcappel
in the Low Countries. Azure, two bars argent, is borne
by VENABLES.
Vert, two bars dancetty aigent, are the arms of the
Barons Spiegel. Aigent, two bars dancetty sable, by
the Counts Reede (Guelders), and the Reede-Ginkels,
Earls of ATHLONE. Gules, two bars counter-embattled
argent, is borne by the Counts of Quadt.
As a pendant to the Carmichael coat, referred to
on p. 136, we may give the arms of Waye of Devon ;
Sable, two bars wreathed argent and gules.
A curious example is the coat of MONTCONLS in
Burgundy : Gules, two bars, that in chief zuavy or, the
one in base plain aigent. (In later times the field is
azure.)
( 138 )
Plate XII., fig. 9, Argent, two bars battled counter-
embattled gules {d' Argent, a deux fasces b ret es sees et
contre bretessces de gueules), are the arms of Arkel.
Of coats with three bars there are a greater number
still.
Argent, tliree bars gules, are the arms of CAMERON ; of
MULTON ; of the Counts BOULAINVILLIERS ; of the
great family of CROY (Comtes de CHIMAY, Marquises
d'ARSCHOT, Princes de Chimay and de CROY of the
Holy Roman Empire, Grandees of Spain) ; of Frois-
SART ; Van Beervelt ; Chateau Meliand (Bannerets
of Touraine) ; of LEITOENS of Portugal, etc.
Argent, three bars sable id' Argent, a trois fasces de sable)
is the coat of Affleck or Auchenleck ; Houghton ;
St. Amand in France, etc.
Azure, three bars argent, is borne by the Neapolitan
de Angelis, Dukes of San Donato.
Gules, three bars or, is carried by BEAUMONT ; MAS-
CARENHAS (Portugal); L6VENICH (Westphalia); and
Or, 'three bars gides, by MUSCHAMP ; GROUCHES, Mar-
quises of Chepy and Gribauval ; the Barons Hein-
burg ; Lobenstein ; Cordova of Spain, etc.
Gides, three bars vair, was the coat of GHERARDINI of
Venice, and MERCCEUR of France.
The DE COMBAUT, Dues de CoiSLlN, in France, used
Gules, three bars chequy argent and azure.
Or, tliree bars wavy gules (Plate XII., fig. 10) are the
arms of Drummond in Scotland, and Basset in
England.
Argent, tliree bars wavy azure, are borne by PARDA1L-
LAN, 1 270, last Crusade ; GALEOTTI (Naples); Ferrera ;
PODENAS, Princes de Cantalupo ; and VAN LUCHTEN-
BURG, or Luytenburg, of Holland.
Argent, four bars azure, were the arms of Sir JOHN
HORBURY (temp. Edw. I.), and are borne by Molembais
(France); and wavy by Sabbingen (Zealand). Ermine,
( i39 )
four bars gules, was the coat of Sir JOHN SULBY, or
Sully, K.G., ob. 1338.
Barrulets are often borne in pairs, and are then called
BARS-GEMELS (French jumelles) as in the coat of
HUNTERCOMBE (Plate XII., fig. n), Ermine, two bars-
gemels gules (sometimes sable).
As in the case of the bend, hereafter referred to, the
fessis often "coticed," thus, in Plate XI I., fig. CHARLES-
TON of Essex bears : Argent, a fess ermine, coticed sable.
BADLESMERE in England, summoned to Parliament as
Baron, 3rd EDW. II. ; and MONESTAY in France bear:
Argent, a fess between two bars-gemels gules. By Eliot,
Earl of St. German's the same coat is borne, except
that the gemels are wavy azure {v. p. 286). FlNCH-
FIELD, again, bears the fess wavy and the gemels
straight : — Argent, a fess wavy between two gemels sable.
With regard to " tiercing," as in the case of the Pale, so
is it with the Fess. A shield divided per fess and also
charged with a fess, is commonly blazoned Tierce, or
Tierced per fess ; a third part of the field being occupied
by each tincture. {See pp. 86, 132).
THE Bend {Bande) is a piece crossing the shield
diagonally from the dexter chief to the sinister base.
For it, as for the preceding Ordinaries, the old heralds
claimed the third part of the shield ; but, even if charged,
it seldom covers more than the fourth part of the field in
modern usage.
In Plate XIII., fig. 1, Azure, a bend or, is the simple
coat which formed the subject of the memorable contro-
versy between the families of SCROTE and GROSVENOR,
and which was adjudged to the former. It is also borne
by the Counts Thun de Hohenstein (Bohemia) ;
CASSAGNET, Marquis de FlMARCON ; the families of
HUMIERES; HERIPONT (Belgium); LONGWY DURFORT;
BlRON ; DE MoLAY ; Zotra, etc. Its reverse, d'Or, a
la bande d'azur, was borne by GuiLLAUME DE TRIE in
( MO )
1 147 (Second Crusade), and by the English family of
Trye, of Leckhampton, in Gloucestershire ; as also by
La Baume, Counts de St. AMOUR; and the Venetian
family of MOROSINI.
Or, a bend gules, are the arms of the Grand-duchy of
BADEN ; of the Principality of LlGNE ; of DE SALINS
(First Crusade) ; of CLEMENT (Marechal de France in
1248), etc. Its reverse : Gules, a bend or, is the coat of
CHALON (i096,in First Crusade),quartered by the Princes
of Orange ; Hennin, Comte de Bossu ; of Noailles
(Dues de Noailles, Dues de Mouchy, Princes de Foix,
etc.) ; of DE LENTILHAC ; ANSIDEI ; La Rode, etc.
Or, a bend sable is borne by Mawley ; SANDOVAL of
Spain ; GONNELIEU ; and COMPAGNI (Tuscany). Argent,
a bend or, is borne by NlTSCHWlTZ (v. ante, p. 91).
The original coat of the family of DENNISTOUN of
that Ilk, in Scotland, was: Argent, a bend sable, which
is also borne by several Barons Stein, or STAIN ; the
Counts Heerdt in Holland, etc.
In the coat of SPARK : CJiequy, or and vert, a bend
ermine (Plate XIII., fig. 2), we see that the ermine
spots on a bend are placed bendways, unless the con-
trary is prescribed in the blazon, as by BUSSY, in the
Pays de Vaud, who bears : Gules, on a bend argent three
ermine spots sable, each erect paleways. This is also the
case with the panes of chequy and vair. Thus, the arms
of MENTEITH in Scotland are : Or, a bend chequy argent
and sable. Here the three rows of the chequy are
arranged to follow the direction of the bend.
In Plate XIII., fig. 3, BuNBURY bears: Argent, on a
bend sable three chessrooks of the field. Savile, Earl of
M EX BO ROUGH, uses : Argent, on a bend sable three
owls of the field. (Coats which are Tierced in bend, or in
bend-sinister, are given on p. 96.)
Like the other Ordinaries, the bend is varied by
indenting, engrailing, etc. A few examples will suffice.
PLATE XIII.
1. Bend.
(Scrope.)
2. Bend ermine.
(Spark.)
3. Charges on a bend.
(Bunbury.)
4. Per pale a bend
counter-changed.
(Chaucer.)
5. Bend engoulde.
(Sanchez. )
6. Rauten-kranz.
( Verbrugge. )
7. Bendlets wavy.
( Wilbraham. )
8. Bendlets enhanced.
(Byron. )
'.). Bendways.
(Knatchhull.)
10. Bend cotised.
(Harley.)
11. Bendlets.
(Bonaparte. )
12. Baton sinister.
(Duke of Grafton. )
( Mi )
Gules, a bend wavy argent, is borne by the Counts of
ORTENBURG. Azure, a bend engrailed or, is the coat of
BERMINGHAM. That of Baturle du Castel, in Lor-
raine, is : d'Azur, a la bande cannelee d' argent. The
poet SCARRON bore : Azure, a bend counter-embattled or
{d'Azur, a la bande bretesse'e d'or). Azure, a bend wavy
or, is the coat of Aldam ; Gules, a bend flory-counter-
fiory or, is borne by GOLDINGTON ; and in another coat
for the same name the tinctures are changed to or and
azure. Azure, a betid raguly argent, is the coat of the
Lordship of JUSTINGEN ; Vert, a bend dancetty ermine,
that of SOMERY.
Occasionally the bend is of two colours. Or, a bend
per bend gules and azure, is the coat of Navi ; with the
bend argent and sable, the same is that of the Lordship
of OEPFINGEN. Per pale argent and gules, a bend
counter-changed, is the coat attributed to the' poet
Chaucer (Plate XIII., fig. 4).
Two foreign varieties of the bend deserve notice. In
the bend engoulee, a characteristic bearing of Spain,
each extremity of it issues from the mouth of a dragon,
lion, or leopard. Thus in Plate XIII., fig. 5, Sanchez,
Argent, a bend vej't, engoulee of dragons' heads or. {See
my paper on the " Heraldry of Spain " in the Genea-
logist, vol. v.) The other is that arched and modified
bend called in Germany the Rauten Kranz (Kranzlein),
or " crown of rue." This forms the charge in the arms
of SAXONY ; Barry of ten sable and or, over all a crancelin
vert. It is given in Vol. II., Plate XL, fig. 2, and is
already familiar to us, both as quartered with the Royal
Arms of the United Kingdom by the late Prince Consort,
and as borne en surtout by H.R.H. the PRINCE OF
WALES, and his other descendants. The origin of this
bearing is still somewhat a matter of doubt ; the legend
usually put forth to account for it has no probability
at all. Verbrugge bears : Or, a crancelin vert (Plate
( 142 )
XIII., fig. 6.) The Crancelin, though usually borne vert
is not so always. RtJDICKHEIM uses Or, a crancelin
gules. Fanchon, of Liege, bears the arms of Saxony,
but with the crancelin gules ; a change of tincture which
is suggestive.
Like other Ordinaries the Bend has its diminu-
tives ; the Bcndlet, the Cotice, and the Riband. The
bendlet is seldom borne singly. The French call the
charge by the name of bandc up to the number of
four.
Argent, two bendlet s sable (d' 'Argent, a deux bandes de
sable), is the coat of BRADSHAW ; of the Barons Stein
zu LEIBENSTEIN ; and of PEPPENBERG {Ziirich Wap-
penrollc, No. 332), etc. The same, with the bendlets
engrailed, is borne by RADCLYFFE ; with the bendlets
nebuly, by STAPLETON. A curious coat is that
assigned to WlGMUR, in Scotland : Argent, two bendlets,
the inner sides alone wavy sable. Or, tzvo bendlets gules
{d' Or, a deux bandes de gueules), are the arms of d'Oyly,
and of GUALTERI (Italy). Argent, two bends azure, is
borne by the Marquises SPOLVERINI. Argent, two
bendlets wavy azure, is the coat of the Italian Caetani,
or Gaetani, to which Pope Boniface VIII. belonged.
Gules, two bendlets argent (now borne between as many
estoiles of the last) is said to be the ancient coat of
BONAPARTE, but in Corsica, both bend and estoiles
were borne or (Plate XIII., fig. 11). In Plate XII.,
fig. 7 is the coat of WiLBRAHAM, Argent, three bends
wavy azure. Or, tliree bendlets ermine, are the arms of
the Spanish family of GUEVARA. Or, three bendlets
azure, are those of the Contarini of Venice, etc.
AdhEmar de Monteil, Comte de Grignan, in
France, bears : d'Or, a trois bandes d'azur. (The letters
of Mine. DE SevignE were addressed to her daughter,
the Comtesse de GRIGNAN.)
What appears to have been the original coat of
( 143 )
BlRON, viz., Argent, three bendlets gules, is now borne
with the bendlets enhanced (Fr. hausses) i.e. placed
higher in the shield, as in the arms of the poet, Lord
BYRON. (Plate XIII., fig. 8.) The coat of Knatch-
BULL (Plate XIII., fig. 9), Azure, three crosslets-fitchces
bendways between two bendlets or, may be compared with
that of NORTHCOTE (Plate X., fig. 10), to exemplify
the difference between " in bend " and " bendways."
The Cotice [cotice) is the name applied by the French
to bendlets when more than four are placed in the
shield ; it is also the name given to the bendlets which
often accompany a bend, as the endorses do a pale {v.
ante, p. 133). Thus Plate XIII., fig. 10 is the coat of
Harlev, Earl of OXFORD : Or, a bend coiiced sable.
UA rgent, a • la bande de sable accoste'e de deux cotices
du meme is the coat of the French Marquises de
CUSTINE. Or, a bend coticed gules, are the arms of the
Beau FORTS quartered with Loos. Burele, Or and
gules, is borne by the Dukes of BEAUFORT, in Belgium,
etc.
. VlLLEPROUVE, in France, bears : de Gueules, a la
bande d 'argent accostee de deux cotices d'or ; a coat borne
in the early Rolls of Arms for COUE or COWE ; and for
DAWTREY. The cotices are often borne engrailed, in-
dented, wavy, etc., while the bend is plain ; or vice
versa. Azure, a bend engrailed argent, plain coticed or,
is the coat of the Earls FORTESCUE. Sable, a bend
ermine between two cotices jlory-counterflory or, is the
coat of KECK, or KELK. Or, five cotices azure, was the
coat of the Dukes DE CRILLON.
A single example of the cotice as a sole charge occurs
in the rather remarkable coat of the family of DES
BAILLETS, who bore : Argent, a cotice purpure. Another
curious coat is that of DlAZ, in Spain : Argent, two
cotices, the upper one sable, the lower one vert. Gules, tzvo
bendlets, one or, the other argent, is the coat attributed to
( 144 )
Milo Fitz- Walter, Earl of Hereford ; one of the
co-heiresses married BOHUN, and the cotices in the
BOHUN coat may possibly have this origin.
The bend is sometimes borne doubly coticed ; Ermine,
a bend doubly-coticed gules, is the coat of CELLES in
Belgium. The arms of the ancient Counts of CHAM-
PAGNE are : Azure, a bend doubly-coticed, each pair of
cotices potent (towards each other) on the inner sides, or.
A coat of CARMICHAEL has the cotices potent on the
outer sides.
A still narrower diminutive, the riband or fillet, has
been already represented in Plate X., fig. 6, as debruis-
ing the lion of the arms of ABERNETHY.
The BEND-SiNlSTER (Barre) differs from the Bend
only by its position. It runs from the sinister chief to
the dexter base. Examples of its use formerly existed
in Britain ; but in most cases the charge has come to be
turned into the Bend (dexter), from an idea that in its
original form it suggested illegitimacy. This is a popular
error. No such association originally attached to it, and
in many countries none such attaches to it still. The
BENIGNI of Rome bear: Argent, a bend-sinister sable.
Argent, a bend-sinister gules, were the original arms
of BISSET ; they are those of the Barons HASENBERG,
etc. Azure, a bend-sinister embattled or, is the coat of
RONCHIVECCHI, in Tuscany. Ermi?ie, a bend-sinister
gules id 'Hermine, a la barre de gueules) were the
canting arms of BARRE in France. Gules, a bend-
sinister argent, are the arms of Rauch in Wlirttemberg.
Or, a bend-zvavy sinister purpure, is the coat of KOCH ;
and Gules, a bend-sinister or, is a modern grant to
RENVERS, of Austria. To this list large additions
might be made, but these are quite sufficient to prove
that the use of the bend-sinister has no necessary
connection with illegitimacy or dishonour. France
was the original birthplace of an idea which was alto-
( 145 )
gether erroneous ; it was thought that illegitimacy was
denoted if the charges (for instance a lion rampant)
faced to the sinister, whereas it was customary in early
times for the escucheons on monuments, etc., in churches
to have the arms so painted as that the charges faced
to the High Altar. (Thus, in the Chapel of the
Chevaliers de la Toison d'Or, at Dijon, the arms
of the Knights whose stalls were on the north side are
all arranged in this way, or apparently reversed.)
Favyn, who describes them in the Tkedtre d'Honneur
et de Chevalerie, pp. 956-959, says, " Le peintre ignorant
a faict tous les Tymbres tournez a gauche pour regarder
le Grand Autel, et mesmes quelques Armes, ce qui est
bastardise!' He was of course utterly wrong in the
last assertion. In our own Chapel of St. GEORGE at
Windsor, the stall-plates of the early Knights of the
GARTER have the helmets and shields of those on the
north side thus arranged. So are also the coats em-
blazoned on the stalls upon the north side of the Choir
in the Cathedral at Haarlem, which I have described in
Notes and Queries, 5th Series, vol. ix., pp. 61, 10 1, etc.
The Burgundian Heralds naturally followed the use
which still prevails in Germany. By it charges, animate
and inanimate, are freely turned to the sinister whenever
symmetry or artistic effect appear to require it, and this
without conveying to the intelligent observer the smallest
suggestion of illegitimate descent. (For fuller treat-
ment of this subject, and an explanation of the use of
the Bendlet, Baton, etc., as marks of bastardy, see the
Chapter on Illegitimacy, Vol. II., Chap. XXIII., p. 170.)
V. The Chevron. — The Chevron, ox Cheveron (a word
said to be derived from an old name for the barge-couples
of the gable of a house), is a figure composed of two bands
issuing respectively from the dexter and sinister base of
the shield, and conjoined at or about the honour point.
This Ordinary is probably the one most in use in
vol. 1. L
( 146 )
English armory ; and is certainly that which, interposed
between three other charges, is employed most largely
in the armory of France. In German Heraldry it is not
of frequent occurrence, and it is extremely rare in that
of the Peninsula. {See my paper on the " Heraldry of
Spain and Portugal.") In French armory the limbs of
the chevron are for the most part drawn so as to meet
at a more acute angle than among ourselves, and the
point is somewhat higher in the field ; indeed, sometimes
it is drawn so as actually to touch the top line of the
escucheon. On the brass of Sir JOHN D'ABERNOUN, in
the Church of Stoke d'Abernon, 1277, the chevron in his
shield {Azure, a chevron or) touches the top line of the
escucheon. But the necessity of finding room for charges
above and below the chevron has caused it to be not.
only diminished in bulk but drawn with a very obtuse
angle. By far the best and most elegant examples are
those in which the angle does not at most exceed a right
angle.
A Chevron occurs as amies parlantes for the families of
Teyes, and TEYEYES {Argent, a chevron gules) in the
letter of the Barons to the Pope in 1301 : Or, a chevron
gules {d'Or au chevron de gueules) is the coat of STAF-
FORD, Duke of Buckingham (Plate XIV., fig. 1).
Argent, a chevron azure, is borne by the Venetian
Counts CANALI; the Barons von POLLNITZ; the Danish
ERIKSENS ; the families of METSCH; Brouillart, etc.:
its reverse is used by the English families of Lad-
BROOKE (or LODBROKE) ; GURWOOD, etc.; and by those
of Bruhl ; La Porte ; ClOLi, etc., abroad. Argent, a
chevron sable, is borne by the TRELAWNEYS, and Pri-
DEAUX (in the latter case with a label gules, which
originally borne for difference, has become a regular
portion of the charges, cf. Vol. II., p. 15). HOLBEACH
bears the same, but with the chevron engrailed.
Azure, a chevroii or, is borne in France, by the family
PLATE XIV.
1. Chevron.
(Stafford.)
2. Chevron checquy.
(Senipill. )
3. Charges on a chevron.
(Harding. )
4. Chevron ploye.
(Bodenegg.)
'SK
5. Chevrons reversed. 6. Fess between chevrons.
(Hilgers.) (Fitzwalter.)
7. Chevrons interlaced.
(de Layrenee.)
8. Chevron cotised.
(Holyoake. )
9. Chevron ecime.
(La Rochefoucauld. )
10. Chevron fracted.
(Rozicr dc Linage.)
11. Chevrons rompus. 12. Chevrons interlaced.
(Beaumont.) (Wyvill.)
( 147 )
of GORREVOD, Dues de PONT DE Vaux, Princes of the
Holy Roman Empire, etc. It is borne by the Vende-
lini of Venice ; and by VERREYCHEN, Counts de Sart,
in the Low Countries ; by Champsdivers, and others
in France ; by the Counts GOTTER of Prussia ; and as
canting arms by the families of Sparre in Sweden ; and
MYPONT in Burgundy. With the field billetty or it is the
coat of the Counts de CRUYCKENBERG ; with the field
flory argent, by BLANCHAERT in the Netherlands ; and
with the field platy by DU CHESNEAU. Azure, a chevron
per pale or and argent, is the coat of the SALIGNONS in
France.
The families of TOUCHET, Lords AuDLEY ; KYN-
ASTON ; Van DRIESCHE in Holland, etc., bear Ermine
a chevron gules. Gules, a chevron argent, was the original
coat of the great House of BERKELEY ; and is also borne
by the Counts of HERBERSTEIN ; and the Prussian
Barons Ledebur. Gules, a chevron argent (often ermine),
is the coat of the great family of Ghistelles in Flanders ;
Gules, a chevron or, is the coat of the CHAMPERNONS,
and COBHAMS ; HERZEELE, Marquises of Faulquez ;
Sparre, Barons de Cronenburg ; the families of
MONTAUBAN ; SWART ; and VAN VEEN (Holland),
etc. Sable, a chevron ermine, is borne by BAYNARD ;
and Gules, a chevron vair, by BLAKET.
When the chevron is of fur, the spots and panes do
not follow the lines of the Ordinary, but are placed
paleways ; a chevron chequy follows the same rule, as
in Plate XIV., fig. 2, the coat of the Lords Sempill :
A rgent, a chevron chequy gules and of the field, between
three hunting horns sable garnished and stringed of the
second. In like manner when a chevron is charged the
charges are placed paleways, unless it is specified that
they are to follow the direction of the chevron, thus in
Plate XIV., fig. 3, the arms of PRINGLE are : Azure, on
a chevron argent three escallops of the field. In the coat
( 148 )
of HEPBURN : Gules, on a chevron argent a rose between
two lions combatant of the first, the lions of necessity
follow the lines of the chevron.
In foreign coats the chevron is often drawn ploye,
i.e., with its limbs curved inwards. I believe this has
arisen simply, as in the analogous case of the fess voutce
(page 136), from the surface of the escucheon having
been convex ; but in course of time, it has become the
ordinary use of some families, even when the escucheon
affords a plane surface, and it is accordingly so specified
in many foreign blazons. Thus Argent, a chevron ploye
gules, is the coat of the Danish AUGUSTINS, or OwsTlNS ;
the reverse is that of the RODENEGGS, Counts WOL-
KENSTEIN. (Plate XIV., fig. 4.) Sable, a chevron ploye
or, is borne by the Austrian Counts von Wordt. The
Barons von NEYDECK bear : Or, a chevron ploye 1 gules.
The coat of VON MOLL in Tirol is : Azure, a chevron
ploye betzveen three estoiles or.
This Ordinary sometimes assumes an abnormal posi-
tion, springing not from the base but from one of the
sides of the escucheon (in which case it is said to be
couche) or from the chief, when it is blazoned as "reversed."
Gules, a chevron couche (or issuant from the dexter flank)
argent, is the coat of MARSCHALCK. (Plate VII., fig. 5.)
Gules, a chevron reversed argent , is the coat of the Bavarian
Barons RUMLINGEN DE BERG ; and of the Tyrolese
family of MALGOL; and Plate XIV., fig. 5, shows the
arms of the Tuscan family of HlLGERS, Or, two chev-
rons reversed argent (notice the amies fausses). Or, a
chevron couched azure, is the coat of DOUBLET.
The chevron is often borne engrailed, embattled, wavy,
indented, etc. When its top is blunted it is said in French
blazon to be borne ecime. In the arms of LA ROCHE-
FOUCAULD, Plate XIV., fig. 9, the uppermost chevron is
thus treated. Barry of ten argent and azure three
cJievronels gules, the first ccimc {Burele d' argent et d'azur
( 149 )
a trot's chevrons de gueules brochants sur le tout, le premier
crime).
In the coat of the family of ZUR SUNNEN in Basel
(given in the Zurich Wappenrolle, No. 548) the point of
the chevron or is terminated by a demi-fleur-de-lis argent
— the field is gules.
The chevron occasionally appears in chief;, thus
the arms of the Earls of STRATHERN were those
of STUART (Or, a fess riiequy azure and argent) with
in chief a chevron gules. (Or, two chevrons gules,
was the coat of Stratherne ancient.) Similar coats
are those of the English families of KlRTON, who bear :
Argent, a fess and in chief a chevron gules ; and SPRING-
HOSE, Gules, a fess and in chief a chevron argent. Or, a
fess between two chevrons gules, is the coat of FlTZ-
walter. (Plate XIV., fig. 6.)
Rarely the chevron is united with another ordinary as
in the arms of NOTEWORTHY : Per pale gules and or, a
chevron united with a demi-pale all counter-changed.
The chevron is "broken" or "fracted" (brise), when each
limb is broken across, as in Plate XIV., fig. 10, which is
the coat of the Counts de Linage in France (d'Azur, au
chevron brise d'or, accompagne' de trois roses d' argent). A
solitary example of a chevron thus treated is the
Scottish coat of John ALEXANDER of Kinglassie, Per
pale argent and sable a chevron brise at the summit, and
in base a crescent, all counter-changed. In a chevron
rompu, or failli, there is a lack of continuity in one of
the limbs, and the position of the failure must be speci-
fied ; thus the Provencal family of MAYNIER, Barons
d'OPPEDE, bears: d'Azur, a deux chevrons d' argent, Vune
failli a dextre, V autre a senestre. In the coat of BEAUMONT
in Maine (Plate XIV., fig. 11) five chevrons are thus
faillis, or rompus, alternatively : lt d Argent, a cinq chevrons
de gueules rompus, les 1, 2, 3, a dextre, les autres a
senestre •"
( 15° )
In the last two examples more than one chevron
occurs in the field; when this is the case English heraldic
writers often call them " chevronels," as if they were
diminutives of the chevron ; French blazon knows no
such distinction.
Argent, two chevrons azure, is a coat of BAGOT, and
TYRREL in England ; of RENNEBURG, or Raimbert in
Westphalia ; of LlNDENPALM in Denmark. The Counts
de PERCHE, in the First Crusade (i ioo), bore : Argent,
two chevrons gules ; BELESME ; BREITENBACH, etc., did
the same. Argent, two cJievrons sable, is the coat of the
family of M'Laren ; Azure, two chevrons or, is borne by
CHAWORTH in England, and SARTIGES in France.
Three chevrons appear in several coats of great
families Or, three chevrons gules (d'Or, a trois chevrons
de gueules) are the arms of the DE Clares, Earls
of GLOUCESTER, etc. ; and were also borne by the
Counts of Hanau (Holy Roman Empire) ; the Barons
VOORST, or VOERST ; by Crevecceur ; and, wavy gules,
by the Van DER Ryts of Flanders. The Counts of
MERAVIGLIA bore them azure.
Or, three chevrons sable {cT Or, a trois cJievrons de sable)
is the coat of Sir WALTER DE MANNY (founder of the
Charterhouse) ; of the Levis, Dues de MiREPOix and
DE VENTADOUR in France ; the Barons van Haer-
SOLTE ; the ARMELLINI of Italy ; VAN ALKMAAR of
Holland, etc.
Argent, three cJievrons gules, is the coat of the family
of DU Plessis RICHELIEU, of which the great Cardinal
Due de Richelieu was a member ; of the Marquis de
BASSOMP1ERRE ; of the county of RAVENSBERG (now
quartered in the Royal Arms of Prussia) ; it was borne
also by Philippe DE BELESME, Comte d'ALENCON
(First Crusade) ; by the families of CHATEAU-GONTIER ;
BoiS-YvON ; DE GORTERE dit SOMBEKE ; and by that
of Settimo, Princes de FlTOLIA in Sicily.
( r 5 i )
The reverse {Gules, three chevrons argent) is borne by
JESTYN ap Gwrgant (one of the ancient Welsh
princes) ; BANESTER ; MANCICOURT (who also bore
the reverse); Faverges, etc. Gallot in France has
a rather peculiar coat — Ermine, three chevrons, the centre
one gules, the others sable (d'E T ermine, a trois clievrons, le
pj'emier et le dernier de sable, le second de gueules).
The Chevron, like the pale and the fess, is not in-
frequently borne coticed, and even double-coticed though
rarely ; the attenuated chevrons employed for this pur-
pose are called " couplecloses," but are not used singly.
Three chevronels are borne " interlaced " or " braced " in
base, in a few English coats. Argent, three chevrons
braced sable are the coat of HEDWORTH ; and BRACKEN-
BURY ; most frequently this bearing is found in com-
bination with a chief as in the arms of Wyvill : Gules,
three chevronels braced vair, a chief or (Plate XIV., fig.
12). The French coat of La GRENEE in Picardy, is :
de Gueules, a deux chevrons entrelaces, Vun de l' argent
renverse et mouvant du chef, V autre d'or (Plate XIV.,
fig. 7). MALPIGHI, in Italy, bears: Gules, iivo chevrons
argent, one reversed, both interlaced. Zatrilla of Cata-
lonia, bears : Gules, three jumellcs chevronways or.
THE CROSS. — The CROSS as an Ordinary occupies
the space of a pale and a fess united. Its many varieties
as a heraldic charge will find separate treatment in a
supplement to this Chapter, page 160. In this place we
shall only deal with the plain Cross as an Ordinary.
As might be expected, this form is frequently found as
a sole charge. Argent, a cross gules (Plate XV., fig. 1), is
the "CROSS of St. George," and forms the ancient
banner of England ; is also borne as the arms of the
Order of the Garter ; of Catalonia, and of the
Republic of GENOA, of which St. GEORGE was the
patron saint ; by the Prince-Archbishops, Electors of
Trier, or Treves ; by the City of Padua ; and by some
( '5* )
families named St. Georges in France, of whom one
family bore the title of Marquises de Verac. The
families of Ibanez DE Segovia in Spain ; of the Floren-
tine POPOLESCHI ; of BlORNSEN in Denmark ; of VAN
BOUCHOUT in the Netherlands ; all used the same. The
reverse {Gules, a cross argent) is the arms of the great
Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John
of Jerusalem, Sovereigns of Rhodes and Malta ; of
the Dukes of Savoy ; of the Lordship of ASPREMONT ;
and of the cities of VlCENZA and TOURNAY, etc.
Argent, a cross sable, was the coat of the Prince- Arch-
bishops, Electors of COLOGNE.
Azure, a cross argent, was the coat of the Byzantine
family of DUCAS ; with the cross or, of La CROIX, Due
de CASTRIES ; of the city of VERONA ; of the families
of TEIXEIRA in Portugal ; and OLUJA in Spain. Or, a
cross gules, is the coat of DE BURGH, Earl of ULSTER ;
of BIGOT ; of the principality of ANTIOCH ; of FABERT
{Marechal de France) ; of the Barons Andlau ; the
Counts of Rechteren ; and the Barons HEECKEREN,
etc.
A large number of families bear the cross formed by
the varying partition lines. Argent, a cross engrailed
sable id' Argent, a la croix engrilee de sable), belongs to the
SlNCLAlRS, Earls of ROSSLYN. {See, too, the arms of
theEarlsofCAlTHNESS,etc.,in Vol. 1 1., Plate IX.,figs. 5,6.)
It was also the coat of the family of MOHUN, in England ;
DU GUE, Vicomtes de Mejussuaume in Brittany, etc.
Argent, a cross embattled sable, is the bearing of
BALMANNO; and AUCHINLECK in Scotland; with the
cross gules it was borne in early times by DALING-
RIDGE ; and GOURNEY (or GURNEY); DE LA LYNDE ;
and TlPTOT, in England ; by Croville ; Lancy ; and
the Cardinal de LENONCOURT, in France. Argent, a
cross ragitly sable {d* Argent, a la- croix e'eotee de sable),
was the coat of SANDYS. Gules, a cross engrailed argent
PLATE XV
yB^ 9
1. Cross.
(St. George.)
r^
2. Cross raguly.
(Sandys.)
M\
4
A
i -.:
*E^
4
*%
A
3. Cross pattSe -throughout.
(Latvley. )
4. Cross moline square pierced. 5. Cross potent quadrate.
(Colvile.) (Lichfield.)
6. Cross tiory.
(Lamplowe.)
7. Cross fleur-de-lise\
(Pereira.)
8. Cross botonnee.
(Gold isburgh.)
9. Cross patonce voided.
(Pilkinyton. )
10. Cijss of Toulouse. 11. Cross retranchee and pommettee. 12. Pisan cross.
(St.Oilles.) (Manfredi.) (Pisa.j
( i53 )
was borne by the INGLETHORPES of Norfolk, of whom
one was Bishop of ROCHESTER 1 283-1 291 ; Or, a cross
engrailed vert, is borne as a differenced coat for HUSSEY,
the original coat being the plain cross. Sable, a cross
engrailed or, is the well-known bearing of the Suffolk
family of D'UFFORD of which JOHN was Archbishop of
Canterbury, in 1348.
The Saltire (Sautoir). — This Ordinary takes up the
space occupied by a bend and a bend-sinister combined
in the form of the letter X. Its name is of uncertain
etymology, but it seems to be derived in some way from
the verb sauter, to leap. My own idea is that it may
have originated in the strengthening stays of a palisade,
such as that by which the lists and their enclosures were
formed, and that the upper angle formed a convenient
place for the foot of one who desired to leap the barrier.
The tradition that the apostle St. ANDREW suffered
martyrdom upon a cross of that shape led to the preva-
lence of the saltire as a heraldic charge in countries where
St. Andrew is a popular saint ; more particularly in
Scotland, where the adoption of St. Andrew as the
national patron goes back to a date before the introduc-
tion of armorial bearings. St. Andrew was also the
patron saint of Burgundy ; and in Spain the capture of
Baeza from the Moors, on St. Andrew's Day in 1227,
gave an impulse to the adoption of the saltire by some
of the families who figured thereat. The CROSS OF St.
Andrew, of silver on an azure field, the banner of Scot-
land, is represented on Plate XVI., fig. 7. The cross
known as that of St. PATRICK is Argent, a saltire gules.
It occurs as the arms of the FlTZGERALDS, Dukes of
Leinster, Earls of Tyrconnel, Kildare, etc. ; but I
am not aware of its appearance in any way as a national
ensign until it was made part of the insignia of the Order
of St. Patrick upon its foundation in 1783. Thus while
the Crosses of St. George and St. Andrew appear on
( i54 )
the coins and seals of the Commonwealth, that of St.
PATRICK is not used as the hieroglyphic of Ireland {cf.
Vol. II., Plate X., fig. 5 ). Gules, a saltire argent (de Gueules,
au sautoir d'argeut), is the coat of the great house of
Neville, Earls of Warwick, Westmoreland, etc.
It was also borne by VANDER A A, in Flanders ; VAN
Eyck ; Van JUTPHAAS ; and other Low Country
families. The reverse is the coat of Gerard and
WINDSOR in England ; of FLEMAL ; Gohaing ; and
others in the Netherlands. La GuiCHE in France
bears : Vert, a saltire or {de Sinople au sautoir d'or).
The family of MAXWELL in Scotland bears : Argent,
a saltire sable ; and the same but with the saltire
engrailed is the coat of the COLQUHOUNS. The old
coat of the house of LENNOX is Argent, a saltire
between four roses gules. Later they bore the saltire
engrailed ; a coat which is also that of the N A PIERS,
and MACFARLANES.
The old rule was that the width of the arms of the
saltire if uncharged should be one-fifth of the field, but
if charged one-third. The latter part of the rule was not
observed in the old examples which remain to us. In
Scottish Heraldry the saltire is often used in combination
with the chief, this does not encroach upon, or cover
any part of, the saltire, which is accommodated to
the diminished space of the field. The arms of the old
Lords of ANNANDALE : Or (sometimes argent), a saltire
and a chief gules (Plate XVI., fig. 8), were adopted by
the BRUCES when that lordship was acquired ; appar-
ently first by the fourth Lord of ANNANDALE, the father
of Robert Bruce the competitor for the throne ; whose
son charged the chief with a lion passant-gardant or,
perhaps as a souvenir of the original arms of Bruce.
The BRUCE coat was differenced, both chief and saltire
being made wavy, by the BRUCES of Balcaskie and
Kinross.
f'LA'J'E KYI,
1. Cross moline.
{Molyneux.)
2. Cross ancree.
(Aubusson. )
3. Cross moline voided.
(Knowles.)
K .JO
I
-*K
<£&> ^P> ^
Virvr Tiip^ "]P^J
4. Cross crosslets. 5. Cross crosslets fitchee. 6. Cross gringolee.
(Bcauchamp.) (Craven.) (Montfort.)
7. Saltire.
(St. Andrciu's Cross.)
A
8. Saltire and chief. 9. Saltire and crosslets.
(Bruce of Annandale.) (Mehrenbcrg.)
10. Crosslet in saltire.
(St. Julian 's Cross.)
11. Saltire ancree.
(Broglic. )
12. Saltire couped.
(Lane. )
( i55 )
The combined saltire and chief of the Annands were
not only adopted by the different branches of the family
of BRUCE, but by the KlRKPATRICKS ; JOHNSTONS ;
JARDINES ; MOFFATS ; and other families feudally con-
nected with the Lords of ANNANDALE, or belonging to
that district.
The KlRKPATRICK coat was: Argent, a saltire and
chief azure, the last charged with tliree cushions or.
JOHNSTON bore : Argent, a saltire sable, on a chief gules
three cushions or. TWEEDIE : Argent, a saltire engrailed
gules, a cJ lief azure. JARDINE : Argent, a saltire and a
chief gules, on the last three mullets of the first. Moffat,
of that Ilk : Sable, a saltire and chief argent ; otherwise,
Argent, a saltire azure and chief gules. (Pont's MS.)
TENNENT : Argent, a saltire and chief gules.
The Saltire, in foreign armory, is subject to some of
the variations incidental to the cross, thus : A saltire
crossed is known as the cross of S. Julian. Or, a saltire
ancred or moline, azure (d'Or, a la croix ancre'e en sautoir
d'azur) is borne by the Dues de BROGLIE of France, who
came originally from Piedmont. Argent, a saltire
pommetty azure, is the coat of FlOLO of Venice. The
saltire may also be borne in greater numbers than one ;
or may be one of several charges in a coat. In this
case, according to our general usage, the arms of the
saltire are usually, though not invariably, couped hori-
zontally ; and not, as in Continental armory, at right
angles to the several limbs (Plate XVI., fig. 12). Per
pale azure and gules, tliree saltires argent, is the coat of
Lane. The arms of GLANVILLE : Azure, three saltires
or; are also borne by BOYSLEVE, Marquis d'HAROUE;
and MOLEN, Marquis de St. PONCY, in Brittany.
For the Saltire thus used as a charge the French
name is fianchis. There are many instances of its
use in the armory of the Netherlands : Sable, three
saltires or ; and Or, three saltires gules ; are both coats
( i56 )
borne by Dutch families named ALMOND. Argent,
tJiree saltires gules, are the arms of the Counts van
der DlLFT DE BORGHVLOET. Azure, three saltires
argent {d'Azur, a trois flanchis d'argent) is the coat of
BEVERWIJCK ; Van DEN HEUVEL, etc. Perhaps the
best known instance is that of the arms of the Lordship
of Breda, Gules, three saltires argent, which was
quartered in the shield of the Princes of ORANGE, and
from it has come into the escucheon of the Prussian
monarchy.
Azure, three saltires argent, on a chief or as many of
the field, is the coat of BALZAC, Marquis d'ENTRAGUES
in France.
Or, six saltires gules (three, two, one), are the arms of
PAPENBROEK in Holland ; and those of the city of
AMSTERDAM are : Gules, on a pale cousu sable three
saltires argent.
In Spanish Heraldry bordures (usually of gules')
charged with eight flanchis, or saltires couped, or, are
to be met with in great frequency. Hundreds of
families in Spain and Portugal use this or a similar
bordure.
THE Pile.— The Pile is a triangular wedge-shaped
figure, issuing (unless it be otherwise specified) from the
Chief, of which if it be borne alone it occupies a little
more than the third part.
Argent, a pile gules (Plate XVII., fig. i) is the old coat
of the family of CHANDOS. The Lords CHANDOS bore
the field or. Or, a pile engrailed sable, is borne by
WATERHOUSE ; and Argent, a pile zvavy gules, by
DELAHAY. Azure, a pile zvavy issuant from the dexter
corner of the escudicon or, are the arms of ALDAM
of Kent. Sable, a pile in bend, is borne by
Teueurg.
Argent, tzvo piles sable (and the reverse) are the arms
of HuLLES. Ermine, tzvo piles in point sable (that is
PLATE XVII.
1. Pile.
(Chandoa.)
2. Three Piles.
(A n struthcr.)
3. Piles in Point.
(Brechin. )
J
4. Flames.
(Bataille.)
5. Piles from sinister. 6. Piles from sinister base.
(Henderson. ) ( Wroton. )
7. Pile reversed.
(Hulse.)
8. Emanche.
(Rigel.)
9. Pall reversed.
(Efeller.)
10. Pall.or Pairle.
(l\iffin.)
11. Pall.
(Canterbury.)
12. Shakefork.
(Cunningham.)
( <57 )
issuing from the dexter and sinister angles of the
escucheon and meeting, or nearly meeting, in the base)
are the arms of Hollis, Earl of Clare (1624;. Or, two
piles issuant from the base gules, is the coat of the Barons
d'OMPHAL of Holland.
Plate XVII., fig. 2, contains the coat of Anstruther
of that Ilk : Argent, tliree piles sable. When the piles
are three in number a somewhat fanciful connection has
been traced between them and passion nails, by which
designation they are sometimes blazoned. They are
often represented in point as in the coat of HOLLIS
above given, and are not then conjoined where they
leave the chief. Or, three piles in point azure, is the early
coat of BRYAN ; and Sable, three piles in point argent,
that of HALKETT. Or, three piles in point gules, are the
arms of the Lordship of Brechin (see Roll of 1256),
originally borne by David, Earl of HUNTINGDON,
brother of King WILLIAM THE LlON (Plate XVII.,
fig. 3). This coat has often been erroneously tinctured ;
Argent being substituted for the field Or. The arms
have thus been made identical with those of the family
of WlSHART. The right tincture of the field is the
ancient one of Or, whether it appear in the quarterings
of the MAULES, Lords Panmure, and Earls of Dal-
HOUSIE ; or in the arms of the City ; or in those borne
by custom for the See of Brechin. In all these cases
the arms of the territorial Lords of BRECHIN are
intended, and not those of the comparatively insig-
nificant family' of WlSHART.
Where three piles are used, a common arrangement is
that one issues from the chief, and two (reversed) from
the base. Three sable piles thus arranged in a silver
field are the coat of Hulse (Plate XVII., fig. 7). In
several English coats the piles are fiory, i.e., the point
of each terminates in a little fleur-de-lis ; for example,
Or, three piles issuing bendways from the dexter chief, and
( i5§ )
ftory, at the points sable, are the arms of NORTON.
Those of Wroton have the piles issuant from the
sinister base, and are of the same tinctures. (Plate
XVII., fig. 6.) Three piles wavy issuant from the base
are frequent in French armory, and are often blazoned
as flames. Or, three piles wavy issuing from the base
azure, is the coat of the Marques de Fumez. The
HENDERSONS of Fordel (Plate XVII., fig. 5) have
the piles issuant from the sinister side of the shield :
Gules, three piles issuant from the sinister flank argent ;
011 a chief of the last a crescent azure {vert in WORK-
MAN'S MS.) between two ermine spots sable. (But
see STODART, Scottish Arms, i., No. 308.) The coat of
BATAILLE (Plate XVII., fig. 4) is Argent, three flames, or
piles wavy, gules issuant from the base.
In foreign blazon when piles thus issue from the flank
they are called an emanche ; or the shield is said to be
emanche. Plate XVII., fig. 8, is the coat of Von Rigel,
in Bavaria ; d Argent, a une emanche de trois pieces de
gueules mouvante du flanc dcxtre. (The piles here are
shorter than our English ones.) The family of Hot-
MAN, originally from the Duchy of Cleves, use : Parti
emancJie d'argent et de gueules. The family of Aquin in
Dauphine bear : " dAzur, a quatre piles renversees
d'argent, appointees en chevron vers le chef ; cetoient
anciennement cinq A a l'atiuque liez qui faisoient
un A quint." (MENETRIER, Methode du Blason, pp.
132-133.) This Ordinary in its proper English form
of a wedge issuing from the chief, is, I believe,
absolutely unknown to French armory. The pile-
reversed issuing from the base is, however, not rare,
and is called a pointe. TESAURO in Piedmont bears :
Argent, a pointe azure. Hulsen, of Riga, bears: Or,
a pointe in bend-sinister, voided gules.
If the pointe is formed by concave curves the shield is
blazoned ente en pointe. Plate XVIII., fig. 5, is the coat
PLATE XVII r.
,
lr
1. Two cantons.
(de Thomerot.)
2. Concentric orles.
(Landclls.)
4. Per bend sinister fitchee. 5. Pointe entee.
(Eiinigl.) (Lernout.)
3. Fusils in bend.
(von Pirring.)
6. "Mit linker stufe."
(Aurberg.)
K
/
^j.
7. Quarterly en ^querre.
(Tale.)
r£?
8. Gyronny charged. 9. Cantons gironed, etc.
(Suirot. ) (Pressigny. )
10. " Curved girons. " 11. Lime Leaves adosses.
(Megenzer.) (Ortlieb.)
12. Trefle.
(Hilinger. )
( '59 )
of Lernout in Flanders, and is : d'Or, a la point e entee
de sable charge" e d'un fleur-de-lis du champ.
The Pall {Pairle). — This is a Y-shaped figure pro-
duced by the union of the upper half of a saltire with
the lower half of a pale.
The French name appears to be derived from the
Latin pergula, or Italian pergola, a forked stick or prop.
It is of very infrequent use in British armory. Its
English name has been derived from its supposed
identity with the Archi-episcopal Pallium borne in the
arms of the See of CANTERBURY (Plate XVII., fig. n)
and some other Ecclesiastical coats, and which will be
noticed in its proper place as a charge, and not as an
Ordinary {vide post, Chapter XIV.).
In foreign heraldry the Ordinary is more frequently
found. Or, a pairle sable, is the coat of the Barons von
RtJPPELIN in Wurtemburg ; d'Azur, au pair'le d'argent,
is borne by COLLET ; Azure, a pairle or, by LAUVEAU.
Gules, a pairle argent, is the coat of the Bavarian DEICH-
SLERS. Gules, a pairle ermine, is the coat of TAFFIN.
(Plate XVII., fig. 10.) Gules, a pall-reversed ermine, is an
almost unique example in British armory, and is borne
by the family of KELDON, or KELVERDON, in Essex.
The Barons KFELLER DE SACHSENGRUN, in Austria, use,
Gules, a pairle-reversed argent. (Plate XVII., fig. 9.)
In many old representations of the arms of the
CUNNINGHAM family in Scotland the charge is the pall,
or pairle ; i.e., the Ordinary is drawn as touching the
edges of the shield. It is now, however, depicted
differently ; being couped and pointed at its extremities
as in Plate XVII., fig. 12, Argent, a shake-fork sable.
From a supposed identification with the hay-fork, it is
commonly known as a " Shake-fork " in Scotland.
Only one example is known to me in which the pairle
is bounded by any line but the straight one ; it is that of
the family of BuGGE in Denmark, whose coat is ; Argent,
( i6o )
a pairle engrailed vert. The use of the Pairle to divide
quartered coats in Sweden will be spoken of later under
Marshalling. {See Vol. II., Plates VII., fig. 4; and
XIX., fig. 1.)
THE CROSS.
The use of the CROSS as an Ordinary has been
referred to in page 151. But it was most natural
that the symbol of salvation should be in use also as
a favourite armorial charge ; and that it should be
represented, as is the case, in a great variety of ways.
A few only of these can here be brought under the
notice of the student for Berry's Encyclopaedia Heraldica
enumerates three hundred and eighty-five varieties !
The Cross of the Passion itself, with the long vertical
arm, and the shorter horizontal one, is that which was
probably intended when the charge was first assumed.
On the long shields of the crusaders this would be its
natural form ; but as the shield became shorter in pro-
portion to its width the cross was represented in the
form in which it now appears as an Ordinary, having the
traverse, or horizontal bar, placed nearly in the centre of
the shield ; so making the four arms of nearly equal size,
and extending to the borders of the shield. This altera-
tion was moreover convenient as affording space for the
charges which were so frequentl)' placed in the cantons,
or spaces around the arms, of the cross.
The true Latin cross, the Cross of the Passion
or Long-Cross (fig. 53) is seldom met with. In this
case the arms do not touch the borders of the shield,
and the vertical piece is much longer than the traverse.
An instance of its use is afforded by the coat used for
the See of DUNKELD, which is : Argent, a. long-cross
sable between two passion-nails gules. (The Long Cross
reversed is known as the Cross of S. Peter, from the
tradition that the Apostle was crucified head downwards.
( 161 )
The arms of Counts Lafond are : Or, on a cross of
S. Peter gules five bezants.) The coat of AUSTIN of Norfolk
is : Gules, a chevron between three long-crosses or. In French
blazon this charge is sometimes termed a cross haussee.
Sable, a Latin cross-patee or, is borne by the Bavarian
family of Volz. When the " long Cross " is represented
upon three steps, degrees or grices, it is called a Cross-
Calvary (fig. 55). Argent, a Cross-Calvary on three
degrees gules, is the Scottish coat of Legat (the steps
need not be named as the title alone suffices). Argent,
a cross "graded of three " sable — the coat of WYNTWORTH
— is the same charge. Argent, a Cross-Calvary gules, on
a chief azure five besants, was the coat of Bishop WESTON
of Exeter (1721-1742) ; the cross being added as a
difference to the ordinary coat of WESTON.
A Cross Patriarchal is the long, or Latin-
Cross with a double traverse (fig. 56). Sable, a Cross-
Patriarchal argent, was the coat borne in the twelfth
century by several English prelates named TURBINE :
Ralph, Archbishop of Canterbury (1114-1122); his
brother Seffrid, Bishop of CHICHESTER (1125-1143),
and their nephew John, of Rochester (1125-1137).
Hesme in France uses the reverse. Vesey, Viscount de
VESCI bears : Or, on a cross sable a cross-patriarclial of
the field. In the Cross-Patriarchal both traverses are
situated above the centre of the perpendicular beam ;
but the Cross of Lorraine has the traverses
disposed so that the second and longer traverse is placed
as near to the base of the upright as the smaller one is to
its summit (fig. 58). This bearing derives its name from
the fact that it was used as their badge by the Dukes of
LORRAINE ; and dependsbya chain from the necks of their
eagle supporters. It is also used to compose the collar
of the Order of the Seraphim of Sweden. Argent, a
cross-of-Lori'aine. sable, is the coat of the French MAR-
CELS. The family of Arnolet de LOCHEFONTAINE,
VOL. 1. - M
( 162 )
Marquises de BUSSY D'AMBOISE used : Azure, a cross-
of-Lorraine or, within a bordure ucbulce-fleur-de-lisee of
the same : a noteworthy form of the bordure.
The Cross, having four equal arms known as the
Greek Cross (fig. 54), also called a cross couped, and a
cross liinmnetty (in French une croix alesce), appears in
the arms of the modern Kingdom of GREECE — A sure, a
Greek-cross argent ; it is also borne by the Marquises
of St. Gelais, in France. Gules, a cross-couped argent,
is the coat of SWITZERLAND. XAINTRAILLES of
GASCONY uses : dArgcnt, a la a'oix alese'e de gueules.
The CROSS Patty {pate'e) in old writers is called
sometimes FORMY, or PatEE FORMEE (fig. 59). It is
a cross of equal arms which are flattened out ; the
lines which spring from the centre being usually slightly
curved, or concave. Argent, a cross-patty sable is the early
coat of BANASTRE : Azure, a cross-patty or, is borne by
Ward ; Gules, a cross-patty argent, by the Marquises de
ROUGE ; Gules, a cross-patty or (perhaps patonce is
intended) by Latimer. The CROSS-PATTY is some-
times borne, not as a cross-couped, but as a cross-patty-
throughout, i.e., its bounding lines are produced to meet
the edges of the shield, as in Plate XV., fig 3, the coat
of Lawley, Lord WENLOCK. That this was the
original bearing of the Counts of COMMINGES, or
COMMENGES, is shown by the seal of Count BERNARD
V. in 1226. Here the shield and caparisons of his
horse are charged with a narrow cross which expands
rapidly at the ends ; and in fact these form a continuous
bordure to the escucheon. This fact is especially worthy
of remark, because the origin of the present coat, and
the meaning of its charges, have been a source of
discussion and perplexity to several writers. It is
blazoned now as : de Gueules, a quatre otelles d' argent.
The otelle is a charge which occurs but seldom ; and it
his been taken variously to be the blade of a spear ;
( 1 63 )
a cicatrised wound, or a peeled almond ! (The latter two
even in MENETRIER, Methode dn Blason, p. 24, Lyons,
17 1 8 ; — and VArtdu Blason J ustifie, p. 130, Lyons, 1661.)
The last is actually the Italian term of blason for otelles
which are called mandorle pelate ! Such are the far-
fetched fantaisies of the old Armorists ! Really the
otelles were nothing more than the pieces of the field
which appeared between the arms of the cross-patee-
throughout : but ignorance turned the charge into the
field, and the field into the charge ; and then, to account
for the result, indulged in such speculations as to its
origin as those I have above recorded. We must
remark, however, that otelles have now become a regular
charge. In SEGOING, P Armorial Universel, plate 45,
the first quarter of the arms of the Comte de
MOMPEROUX is: Azure, three otelles in pairle reversed or.
Bellivier bears the coat of COMMINGES. Sable, four
otelles argent, is the surtout of the arms of DURAN. In
some modern drawings of the arms of the Lords
WENLOCK the same process has gone on as in the arms
of COMMINGES, and the field is diminished into four
otelles ! {See Foster's Peerage, s.v.) Or, a cross-patty
sable, fimbriated {i.e., bordered) gules ; (otherwise blazoned
as gules voided sable) is the coat of the Counts R.AOUSSET
DE BOULBON. Per saltire or and argent, over all a cross-
patty azure, is attributed to the celebrated HUGH PUDSEY,
Bishop of Durham (i 153-1 195). A cross patty-quadrate,
known as the Cross of S. CUTHBERT is a charge in the
arms of the University of DURHAM.
Gules, a chevron between ten crosses-patty argent, is the
well-known coat of the BERKELEYS, Earls of that place.
(Their original coat was the simple chevron.) The
Scottish families of Barclays bore : Azure, a chevron
between three crosses-patty argent, with many differences.
Azure, three crosses-patty argent, is the coat of DUGUID ;
with the field gides, of DAWSON. Or, a /ess between
( i6 4 )
three crosses-patty vert, is borne by RlLEY. In French
armory the cross patee appears most frequently in Breton
coats : Argent, a cross-patty between four mascles gules, is
borne by the Breton KERGROAS ; and de Gueules, a
trois croix patccs d'hermine, is the coat of Jousseaume,
Marquis de la BRETESCHE. The Poitevin family of
BARLOT bear : Sable, three crosses-patty argent. The
cross-patty is occasionally formed by a compound line.
Or, a cross-patty engrailed, is ascribed to PESHALL.
Ermine, a cross-patty invected gides, is the coat of
Grandale.
In common English parlance, the cross-patty is often,
but quite erroneously, termed a Maltese-Cross, which is
a bearing quite different in shape (as will be seen by a
reference to page 173 ; figs. 59 and 61, where the two
crosses are drawn in close proximity). This is a mistake
which is sometimes made by people who ought to be
better informed. The badge of the " Order of Valour,"
the highly-esteemed VICTORIA CROSS, is actually a cross-
patty, but in the Royal-Warrant of its institution it is
declared that the badge " shall consist of a Maltese Cross
of bronze," etc.
The Cross Patty-Fitch y (patee-fi tehee) (fig. 60). —
The cross patty-fitchy consists of the three upper portions
of the cross-patty, but the fourth is a point or spike — a
cross " fixibyll," sharpened so as to be driven into the
ground. This is a pretty common charge in British
armory. There is a difference which should be noticed
between " a cross patty-fitchy," and " a cross patty, fitchy
in the foot." In the latter case the lowest arm of the cross
is not a mere spike, but is like the other arms with a
spike added to it. Or, a cross patty-fitchy gules, are the
arms of SCUDAMORE. Gules, a fess counter-compony
argent and sable, between three crosses patty-fitchy of the
secotid, was the coat of BOTELERS, Lords SUDELEY.
Argent, a chevron (sometimes engrailed) between three
( i6 5 )
crosses patty-fitchy sable, is the coat of FYNDERNE, or
FlNDERNE.
THE CROSS POTENT (potence'e) is a plain Greek
cross, having at the end a piece of equal width
placed at right angles, so that the cross appears to be
formed of four T's, or potents (fig. 57).
Gules, a cross-potent or, is the coat of CHATTERTON ;
Azure, a cross-potent (sometimes engrailed*) or, that of
B RANCH ELEY ; Sable, a cross-potent or, that of ALLEYN.
The arms of the Duchy of CALABRIA are Argent, a cross-
potent sable — often quartered in the 2nd and 3rd, with
ARRAGON in the 1st and 4th. Azure, a saltire between
four crosses-potent or, is borne by VlALART in France
(cTAzur, au sautoir a" or cantonne de quatre croix potencies
du meme).
The Cross of Jerusalem. — This is the name given
to the cross potent with its accompanying crosslets which
appear in the arms of JERUSALEM {see Plate X.,
fig. 1). Many attempts have been made to account for
its adoption. The most probable, perhaps, is that which
sees in the middle cross the initials H and I of Hierusa-
lem, or of the Blessed Saviour IHESVS, and in the whole
bearings the hieroglyphic of the five Sacred Wounds.
The charge has been adopted by several foreign families.
Argent, the Cross of Jerusalem gules, is used by LlBOTTON
of Liege ; the reverse by CABELLIC, and CROUSNILHON,
and LEZERGUE of Brittany. Sable, the Cross of Jerusa-
lem or, is the coat of the Barons BERNARD DE FAU-
CONVAL. The Swiss DlETRlCHS use : Azure, the Cross
of Jerusalem or. The family of KRUYSSE in Zealand
use the arms of JERUSALEM without change, as a cant-
ing coat.
A coat somewhat resembling the coat of JERUSALEM
has already been given for LICHFIELD (Plate XV.,
fig. 5). It should be noticed that the Cross of JERUSA-
LEM is quadrate in V Armorial de Gelre ; and that,
( i66 )
according to BOUTELL {Heraldry Historical, etc., p. 8),
early examples have the main cross pommetty, not
potent.
The CROSS PATONCE. — The cross patonce is at the
same time one of the most frequent, and beautiful of the
forms of the Cross used in British armory. It has
foliated ends and expands slightly by curved lines from
the centre. It is given voided on Plate XV., fig. 8, the
arms of PlLKlNGTON, Argent, a cross-patonce voided gules,
but is better represented in its usual form on page 173,
fig. 62.
Argent, a cross-patonce sable, is borne by BANESTRE,
or BANESTER ; and azure, by the Barons of Malpas.
Barry of -eight argent and gules, over all a cross-patonce
sable, is the coat of GOWER (one of the principal charges
in the coat of the Dukes of SUTHERLAND) ; Gules, a
cross-patonce argent (or more frequently or), is the coat of
Latimer (often blazoned flory, and see p. 162). Or, a cross
patonce gules, is borne by Freville. Sable, a cross-patonce
or, is used by LASCELLES ; and, within a bordure, by the
Earls of HAREWOOD of that name. Azure, a cross-
patonce or, is borne by the Wards, Viscounts BANGOR.
Azure, a cross-patonce between five martlets or, is the
coat assigned by later heralds to EDGAR Atheling,
and other Saxon princes. From it are formed the
arms of UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, OXFORD. Its employ-
ment by the Plantagenet Sovereigns as a coat of Aug-
mentation is referred to elsewhere in this volume
(Chapter XVII ; and sec p. 46).
There is often some confusion between the Cross
Patonce and The Cross-Flory or Fleury. The
distinction is supposed to consist in this ; that, while
the arms of the cross patonce gradually expand, those of
the cross-flory are of equal width very nearly to the end.
But I agree with NlSBET and GIBBON in thinking the
true cross-flory to be one of which the ends terminate in
( i6 7 )
fleurs-de-lis, as in Plate XV., fig. 6, or perhaps better
on page 173, fig. 64. Or, a cross flory sable, the coat of
LAMPLOWE, or Lamplugh. Sable, a cross-flory between
four escallops argent, is borne by Fletcher of Saltoun.
Raua in Spain bears: Or, a cross-flory sable, often drawn
as a Cross of Calatrava. Argent, a cross-flory sable, is the
COat of SWINNERTON.
The Cross fleurette or flurty, or fleur-de-lisee (fig. 63),
is again often confounded with the preceding one.
But correctly drawn it should be a plain cross couped
having a demi-fieur-de-lis attached to the extremity of
each arm; it is represented in Plate XV., fig. 7, the arms
of Pereira. This is known abroad as the Cross of Cala-
trava from the Cross which appears in the arms of that
famous Spanish Order. (The badge of the order was
different in shape, being more like the cross-flory.) The
Cross of Calatrava figures in many important Spanish
coats, and is often drawn and blazoned voided, i.e., the
body of the cross is in outline, allowing the field to be
visible in the intermediate space. The Spanish VlLLA-
GOMEZ use : Or, a Cross of Calatrava gules, betzveen four
cauldrons sable. The PANTOJAS of Estremadura bear :
Azure, a cross florencee gules bordered or, within a bordure
of sixteen panes gules and argent. In English blazon this
would be, Azure, a cross fleur-de-lise'e or, voided gules,
etc.
The French VlLLEQUIERS bear: Gules, a cross fleur-
de-lise'e, between twelve billets or (NlSBET wrongly makes
the field azure).
The Cross AncrEe, and the .Cross Moline. —
The cross ancree has its extremities terminating in two
curved pieces like the hooks of a grapnell (as on Plate
XVI., fig. 2). It resembles the cross moline (which is
so called from its being similar in shape to the iron cross
in the centre of a mill stone) except that the latter is
now borne pierced in the centre, in French ajource ; the
( 1 68 )
piercing is usually square, but may be round, or lozenge-
shaped. It must however be noticed that this is rather
a modern refinement, and that the cross moline of the
Rolls of Arms is not thus pierced. Argent, a cross
moline sable is the coat of COLVILLE. The COLVILLES
of Ochiltree bear the same square-pierced. These two
are NlSBET'S instances (i., p. 1 15), and it will be noticed
that here the piercing is duly expressed. In my view
the cross moline and the cross ancree are practically the
same thing ; and if there be a piercing it should be, as
in French blazon, distinctly expressed. D'Or, a la croix
ancree de gueules, is the coat of the AUBUSSONS, Comtes
de la Feuillade ; Dues de la ROANNAIS (Plate
XVI., fig. 2). Argent, a cross ancree sable, is borne by
the Marquises and Comtes de MONTALEMBERT in
France. The Dutch family of Bentinck, now Dukes
of PORTLAND in England, use : Azure, a cross-moline
argent; the Marquises de Salvert in France use the
same. This coat is also attributed to MOLINEUX ; but
the MOLYNEUX family, Earls of SEFTON, etc., usually
bore the charge Or (Plate XVI., fig. 1), and often in
later times square, or even quarter, pierced. (The
difference between quarter piercing and square piercing
is, that the former is much larger than the latter,
taking up the whole square at the point of inter-
section of the arms of the cross.) Gules, a cross
moline argent (sometimes ermine), are the arms of BEC,
or Beke. They are also those of the Principality of
RATZEBURG (quartered by MECKLENBURG), and of the
Principality of CAMIN (quartered in the full coat of
PRUSSIA). Both of these Principalities are Bishoprics
seized and secularised at the Reformation. Per f ess or
and azure, over all a cross-moline argent, is the coat of
the County of GRADISCA. Per pale arge?it and azure, a
cross-moline counter-changed, is borne by LlGNIERES.
Gules, a cross-moline or, is borne by VlLLEHARDOUlN.
( 1 69 )
Sable, a cross-moline argent, is the coat of UPTON in
England ; UlTENHAGE in Holland. The UPTONS,
Viscounts TEMPLETOWN, make the charge or.
Plate XVI., fig. 3 gives us the arms of KNOWLES,
or Knollys, formerly Earls of Banbury : Azure,
crusily and a cross-moline disjoined (or voided through-
out) or.
The Cross Sarcelly, or Recercellee, is simply
a variety of the cross ancre'e, or moline ; only differing
from the latter in having the hooks at the end drawn
larger so as to admit of another convolution. The cross
of the BECS, or Bekes, referred to above, is often drawn
after this fashion. Azure, a cross-sarcelly voided or, is
the coat of BASING.
The CROSS BOTONNY (or BOTONNEE) {trefle) is repre-
sented on Plate XV., fig. 8 ; in it each arm of the cross
terminates in a trefoil. Azure, a cross-botonny argent, are
the arms of GOLDISBURGH. Argent, a cross-botonny
gules, is borne by BRYERLEGH. Gules, a cross-botonny
or, was used by JOHN BOKINGHAM, Bishop of LINCOLN
(1362- 1 398). Gules, a cross between four crosslets-botonny
argent,are the arms of DE Clairon, Comtes de HAUSSON-
VILLE in France. The cross botonny is occasionally
met with Jitchy at the foot.
The Cross Pommetty (Pommettee), or Pommelly,
is one of which the arms end in a ball, or globe. It is
sometimes called a croix bourdonnce, from the round
ball by which the tops of the bourdons, or pilgrim's
staves, were surmounted. Argent a cross-pommetty
sable, are the arms of WASSELEY, Wasterley, or
Westley, sometimes blazoned as a CROSS CLECHEE,
this is not a common form in British armory. In
it each arm of the cross expands into a kind of
curvated lozenge shape, voided like the handle of a
mediaeval key, and having a small knob at each angle
(Plate XV., fig. 10). De Gueules a la croix clechee et
( no )
pommettee d'or, were the arms of the Counts of
TOULOUSE ; a circumstance from which this cross
derives its ordinary Heraldic name of " a cross of
Toulouse" In the seal of RAYMOND VII., Count of
TOULOUSE in 1228, the "voiding" is only a plain cross.
UAzur, a la croix de Toulouse d'or, is the coat of
VENASQUE in France. Azure, a cross of Toulouse
argent, is borne by BOFFIN D'ARGENCON in France.
Or, a cross of Toulouse gules, are the arms of Lupia in
Spain. The same coat is borne by the Italian MOZZI,
and by VENASQUE, Lautrec, and St. Gilles in
France. The cross (borne Argent in a field gules) of the
City and See of PlSA resembles in general shape that of
TOULOUSE, it is pommetty, but its sides are not curvated
and instead of being voided the whole cross is coped, or
facetted (Plate XV, fig. 12).
A Cross FourchEe, or FourchettE, is one in
which each arm of the cross forks like a V. Or,
a crossfourchette sable is the coat of TRUCHSESS DE
KULENTHAL in Germany ; the reverse is used by
Van Vieracker. (Page 173, fig. 65.)
The CROSS Tau is in the shape of a broad letter
T. Or, a cross Tau azure, were the arms of the Order
.of St. Anthony (probably originally the cross, or
crutch-head, of a pilgrim's staff). With the field argent
this forms the first and fourth quarters of the coat of the
Barons HANNET in Prussia. Argent, a cross Tau gules,
is borne by Van Gent of Utrecht ; and, with the cross
in bend, by the Counts von ROTHALL (SlEBMACHER,
Wappenbudi, iii., 14). Azure, a cross Tau or, is used by
the VROOMBAUTS of Flanders. (Page 173, fig. 67.)
The Cross GuivrE, or GringolEe, is a plain cross
couped ; at the extremity of each arm are two serpent's
heads curved outwards. (See Plate XVI, fig. 6, the arms
of MONTFORT.) The Barons von UFFELE in Flanders
use : Argent, a cross-guivree azure (over all Argent, three
( i7i )
fess-de-moulin sable). Argent, a cross-gringolce gules, are
the arms of Hagen, and OTHEGRAVEN.
A CROSS URDEE is one in which the arms are spread
at the end into a lozenge shape. In Plate XV., fig. 12
the Cross of the MANFREDI (there called a cross re-
tranchce) is of this shape, but is also pommetty.
THE CROSS AvELLANE is one of which the arms take
the conventional form of a filbert. It is but rarely met
with except as the cross which adorns the Orb of
Sovereignty in the British Regalia.
THE CROSS AIguISEE is simply one of which the
points are sharpened into the shape of a chevron (p. 173,
fig. 66.)
CROSSLETS.
These are properly only little crosses ; but the word is
often used as an abbreviation for the fuller term Cross-
Crosslet, or Crossed Cross let. In these latter each arm of
the cross is recrossed by a small piece at right angles.
In the Cross-Crosslet-fitcJiy the lower arm is pointed, and
the traverse thereon is usually omitted. Crosslets are
usually borne in groups ; sometimes as powderings of
the field (see Seme or Crusily, p. 122). There are, how-
ever, instances in which both the Cross-Crosslet and the
Cross-Crosslet-fitchy are found in arms as a sole charge.
Argent, a cross-crosslet gules, is a coat of BRIERLEY ; of
CROSSLEY ; and of DUNNING in Scotland, Ermine, a
cross-crosslet sable is the coat of CARROLL. Gules, a cross-
crosslet-fitchee argent, is a coat of ROUSSET in France.
Sable, a cross-crosslet argent, is used by DURRANT, or
DURANT.
But, as has been said, the chief use of the cross-crosslet
is as a subordinate charge. Thus : Azure, a bend between
six a'osses-crosslet-fitchy or, is the coat of the Earldom of
Mar. The Scotch family of SPALDING bears : Or, on a
cross azure five crosses-crosslet of the first.
( 172 )
Gules, a fess between six crosses-crosslet or, is the well-
known coat of the Beauchamps, Earls of Warwick
(Plate XVI., fig. 4). Argent (and Or), a fess dancctty
between three crosses-crosslet-fitchy gules, are coats of
SANDYS of England (sometimes the crosslets are
botonne, or trefie, in these coats). Gules, a fess between
three crosses-crosslet-fitchy or, is borne by GORE, Earl of
ARRAN in Ireland.
Azure, a fess engrailed between six crosses-crosslet or,
was the coat of William CAMDEN, the Antiquary,
Gides, a fess cliequy (or counter-coinpon)>) argent and sable,
between six crosses-crosslet of the second was the coat of
BOTELER, or Butler in England. Argent, a chevron
gules between three crosses-crosslet-fitchy sable, within the
Royal Tressure of Scotland, is the coat of the KENNEDYS,
Earls of CASSILIS, and Marquesses of AlLSA. Azure, a
fess argent between six crosses-crosslet-fitchy or, is the
arms of the old Scottish house of Rattray (Plate XVI.,
fig. 5), wrongly attributed to CRAVEN. The CRAVENS,
Earls of CRAVEN, use Argent, a fess between six crosses-
crosslet-fitchy gules.
A rgent, six crosses-crosslet-fitchy sable, on a chief azure
two mullets or, is the coat of CLINTON, Duke of NEW-
CASTLE. Argent, on a fess gules three a'osses-crosslet of
the field, was borne by CORSANT, a family who were
engaged in the First Crusade. {Salle des Croise's at
Versailles.)
Vert, a saltire between twelve crosslets or, is the coat of
the Lordship of MEHRENBERG, quartered by the House
of Nassau. (Notice these are crosslets proper, i.e., small
plain equal armed crosses.) (Plate XVI., fig. 9.)
The Norman family of BrEzE, Comtes de MAU-
LEVRIER, bore : d'Azur, a un ecusson d'aigent borde
d'or en abime ; accompagne de Jiuit croisettes d'or en orle.
These arms appear on the handsome monument by
GOUJON, erected in the Cathedral of Rouen by DlANE
( 173 )
de Poitiers (mistress of Henri II.) to the memory of
her husband the Due de BrEze.
The cross of S. JULIAN was a crosslet in saltire, as
Plate XVI., fig. 10.
A
53. Passion.
54. Greek.
rZn
V.
56. Patriarchal. 57. Potent.
A
S
55. Calvary.
58. Lorraine.
59. Patty. 60. Patty-fitchy. 61. Maltese.
62. Patonce. 63. Fleur-de-lisee. 64. Flory.
65. Fourcby.
66. Aiguisee.
67. Tan.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SUB-ORDINARIES.
The charges which, for convenience only, I have included
under this heading, are as follows : — the QUARTER ; the
Canton ; the Gyron ; the Inescucheon ; the Bor-
DURE ; the Orle ; the TRESSURE ; the Fret ; the
Pale or Pairle ; the Lozenge ; the Flaunche and
FLASQUE ; the BlLLET ; the LABEL; and RoUNDLES
of various colours.
I. THE QUARTER (Franc-quartier). — As its name
denotes this bearing occupied originally the quarter of the
shield, i.e., the first fourth part of the field cut off by the
palar and fess lines meeting in the fess point. It is found
drawn of this size in early English blazons. In modern
ones it has undergone some diminution and cannot now
be practically distinguished in most cases from its former
diminutive, the Canton, except when, as in the instances
now given, it is the sole charge. Argent, a quarter sable, is
the coat of SUTTON, Lord LEXINGTON ; Gules, a quarter
argent, is the old coat of BLENCOWE (Plate XIX., fig. i).
Shirley, Earl Ferrers, uses : Paly of six or and azure,
a quarter ermine. Counter-vair, a quarter ermine, is
borne by Salperwick, Marquis de GRIGNY : the Presi-
dent LAMOIGNON bore : Losange de sable et d % argent, au
franc-quartier d'hermine, and DASBOURG of Luxemburg,
Or, a quarter sable. Azure, a bend or, and a sinister
quarter argent, is the coat of the family of WlNDECK,
quartered in the second and third by the Barons von
FLECKENSTEIN with their own coat Barry of six vert
( 175 )
and argent ', in the first and fourth {vide infra, Vol. II.).
Gules, fretty or, on a canton of the same a lion
passant sable, is the old coat of DE RlBAUMONT who took
part in the First Crusade. Or, fretty gules, a canton
ermine, is the coat of NOEL, Earl of GAINSBOROUGH
(Plate XIX., fig. 2). In the Armorial de Gueldre the
arms of the Sire de Leefdael are : Or, three cinque-
foils gules, on a quarter of the last an eagle displayed
argent. Only two of the cinquefoils are here visible ;
the third is hidden by the quarter, but notice that the
blazon supposes it to be still existing under that addition
or augmentation. A rather remarkable coat is that of
Schatz of Bavaria : Per bend sinister argent and gules,
a canton of the last. This is, however, rather a case of a
German parted coat.
II. THE Canton {Franc-canton). — This as stated
above is a diminutive of the Quarter. It occupies the
ninth part of the shield (or the space either on the dexter
or the sinister in the upper portion of the escucheon if
the shield were supposed to be charged with a plain
cross drawn of the theoretical proportions). Both the
quarter and canton are, theoretically, additions to the
original coat ; and if occasion require it are considered
exempt from the ordinary rule which forbids colour on
colour, or metal on metal. Plate XIX., fig. 3, is the coat
of KlNGSCOTE, Argent, te7i escallops, four, tlwee, two, and
one sable ; on a canton gules a pierced mullet or. In all
such cases the number of charges named is that which
would appear upon what is assumed to be the original
coat, including those " absconded " or hidden by the
canton. TERWEILER bore : Or, a canton sable. Usually
the canton used is the dexter one, but in a few cases
the sinister canton is employed. But these sinister
cantons are often the result of. the inversions noted
on p. 145. Chequy or and gules, a sinister canton argent,
are the arms of Sleich. Sable, a sinister canton
( i?6 )
argent, is in SlEBMACHER's Wappenbuch, for Eytzen-
RIET.
Per fess argent and or, on a canton gules the lion of St.
Mark, is the coat of the Venetian FOSCARI.
The Canton has been sometimes thought to indicate
the square banner of a knight-banneret. It may have
done so very occasionally. I remember three coats in
which the lower edge of the charge is indented, as
if it had been intended to give the idea of a banner
(though not necessarily that of a banneret, which was
simply square). In the second Calais Roll, i.e., the Roll
of Ktiights made at the Siege of Calais in 1348 (Harl.
MS. 6589, printed in Notes and Queries, 5th S., vol. iv.,
pp. 324, 383), is the coat of Sir WILLIAM DE LA ZOUCHE,
Gules, bezantec, a canton indented at the bottom ermine.
Or, a canton indented at the bottom gules, was the coat of
BESYNGBURGH. Azure, a chevron engrailed, and a canton
indented at the bottom or, was borne by Dedham.
There are some foreign coats which contain two
cantons one in the chief, the other in the base on the
same side of the shield, De THOMEROT (Plate XVIII.,
fig. 1) bears : Azure, senestrc or, in the first two cantons,
one in dexter chief, the other in base argent. The coat of
CAMBRIDGE, Lord Mayor of London, 1420, is an excep-
tional English use, Sable, two cantons argent, one in
dexter chief the other in base.
Instances of the use of the Quarter and Canton as
"DIFFERENCES:" as "AUGMENTATIONS:" and as
" Marks of Illegitimacy : " will be found respectively
in the subsequent Chapters which treat of those subjects.
A Canton, and Fess (or bar), are sometimes conjoined in
one bearing without any dividing line ; as in Plate XIX.,
fig. 4 which is the coat of WOODVILLE or WlDVlLLE":
Argent, a fess and canton conjoined gules, borne by Queen
Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV. Or, a
fess and canton sable, are the coat of Geoffrey Ridel,
PLATE XIX.
1 Quarter.
(Blencowe.)
2. Canton.
(Noel.)
3. Canton.
(Kingscote.)
4. Canton and fess.
( Woodville. )
5. Gyron.
(De Cluseau.)
6. Gyrons.
(Mortimer.)
7. Flanches.
(Hobart.)
8. Lozenge.
(Hyde.)
9. Mascle.
(Fawkes. )
10. Lozenges conjoined.
(Montacute. )
11. Mascles conjoined.
(De Qwinci.)
12. Fusils conjoined.
(Percy. )
( '77 )
Bishop of ELY (1174-1189). Chequy or and gules, a
canton barry argent and of the second, are the arms of
TREDERN in Brittany. Ermine, on a canton gules an
escucheon voided argent, is the coat of SURTEES of
Durham.
III. Next to the Quarter or Canton, we may place
the GYRON {giron) which is the lower half of a Quarter,
formed by a diagonal line ; or we may define it as the
piece included by half the partition line per bend, and
half the partition line per /ess, meeting in the fess
point.
There is, I believe, only one instance in British
armory in which a single Giron occurs as a charge ; it is
in the coat of CHIVERS : Argent, a giron azure and three
cinque/oils gules. Plate XIX., fig. 5, is the coat of DE
CLUSEAU in LIMOUSIN, d' Argent, au giron de gueules.
Eysersteten in Bavaria bore : Gules, a giron argent.
Girons appear in the arms of the GlRON, Duke of
OSSUNA, Marquis of PENAFIEL in Spain. The name is
said by BarnabE Moreno de Vargas to have been
assumed by RODRIGUE GONSALEZ DE ClSNEROS who
yielded his own horse to ALPHONSO VI., whose charger
had been killed under him ; and in order to secure the
return of the horse to him, he cut off with his sword a
giron, or gusset-shaped piece, from his surcoat, so that he
might be recognised by the king at the close of the
combat. {See MENETRIER, Traite de VOrigine des
Armoiries, Paris 1680.) The GlRON arms are : Or,
three points, or girons, moving from the base of the shield
gules ; and a border chequy of the same tinctures. The
Dukes of OSSUNA bear : Per fess (a) in chief, Castile
impaling LEON ; (b) in base, Or, three girons accosted,
issuing from the base gules, for GlRON ; the ivJiole within
a bordure chequy gules and or, thereon five escucheons
azure, on each as many plates in saltire, — " las Quinas
Reales" of PORTUGAL. ( Vide infra, Vol. II., p. 29,
VOL. I. N
( i?3 )
and Plate VII., fig. 2.) The Styrian family of Beurl
bears : Gules, a large gyron or, charged with a smaller
one of sable. (The first passes beyond the fess point.
See SlEBMACHER, ii., 45.)
In the remarkable coat of Mortimer, Earl of March,
Plate XIX., fig. 6, a small gyron (sometimes called a
" bast esquierre") occurs at each end of the chief. The
arms are blazoned : Barry of six or and azure, on a chief
of the first tivo pallets between two gyrons of the second,
over all an inescucheon argent. Otherwise : Azure, three
bars or, on a chief of the last two pallets of the first,
the corners gyronned of the first and second, an inescucheon
argent. {See the seal of EDMUND MORTIMER, infra;
and also the chapter on DIFFERENCES, in Vol. II.)
The curious arms of the French family of PRESSIGNY
resemble those of MORTIMER ; and the coat was one
which was thought so difficult to describe clearly and
succinctly as to be a test of a man's knowledge of French
blazon. It is : Per pale or and azure, three bars counter-
changed ; a chief also per pale and of the same tinctures,
thereon two pallets between as many girons all counter-
changed. In the centre point of the whole shield an
escucheon argent. These were the arms of R.ENAUD DE
PRESSIGNY, Marechal de France in 1270. (Plate XVIII.,
fig- 9-) Several old English coats were formed on
this model, notably that of BuRLEV.
The coat blazoned above is that drawn in the MS.
Armorial du Heraut "Berry," circa 1450, No. 716.
" D'or et d'azur, au pie party,
Au chef palle, fesse, contre-fesse,
A deux quantons gironnes
Et un escu d'argent par my (i.e., 'en abime')
Sont les armes de Pressigny."
There are slight variations, but MENETRIER (or his
editor), for once goes all wrong in La Nouvelle Methode
du Blason, 17 18, p. 263. A good modern French blazon,
( 179 )
given in RlETSTAP'S Armorial General under MARANS,
is : Fasce-contrefasce a" or et d'azur de six pieces, a un
ecusson a" argent en abime ; au chef tierce en pal (a)
tranche d' or et d'azur ; (b) parti d'azur et d'or ; (c) taille
d'azur et d'or, but the tinctures are repeated in a way
which would be very shocking to an English Herald of
the old school ; and (b) differs slightly from our
blazon.
IV. The Inescucheon, or Escucheon {ecusson). —
The former name is applied only when, as in the MORTI-
MER coat above recorded, there is but one such charge ;
when there is more than one they are called escucheons.
This is however a modern refinement which does not
obtain universal acceptance.
Argent, an inescucheon ermine, is said to be the coat of
Bazin, or Basing; and its reverse that of Blankfront.
It is not always easy to determine whether a coat should
be blazoned as charged with an escucheon, or with a
bordure; for instance in Glover's Ordinary the coat of
Gwyn is said to be both: Vair, an escucheon or; and
Or, a bordure vair. Azure, an escucheon argent {d'azur,
a Vecusson d'argent) is the coat of Wavrin, as borne in
1 191 (Third Crusade); and still by the Counts of
WAVRIN in Belgium (see Armorial de Gueldre, No. 154).
Or, an escucheon gules, is the coat of the Lordship of
BlTSCH, quartered by the Counts of HANAU. Sable, an
escucheon argent, are the arms of the Nattenheim family,
to which belonged the celebrated philosopher CORNE-
LIUS AGRIPPA. Or, three escucheons barry of six vair
and gules, is borne by MoNTCHENSY {Rolls of 1277 and
1296). Gules, three escucheons argent, is the coat of JOHN
FlTZ-SlMON {Roll temp. HENRY III.); and its reverse
(Plate XXI I., fig. 12) is the well-known bearing of the
Scottish family of Hay. BLANCHE suggests that did
we know the paternity of Eva, wife of William DE Haya,
who was living in 11 74, we might probably be able to
( 'So )
account for the adoption of these arms without going
back, as the preposterous legend does, to the times of the
Danish invasion of Scotland.
The same coat : Argent, three escucheons gules, is the
bearing of the Counts de RlBEAUPlERRE, or Rappol-
STEIN, of Alsace (MARICE, Chevaliers de la Toison d'Or,
No. 144); of Rabenstein in the Wappenrolle von Zurich
(No. 385); of the ancient Dukes of SPOLETO; of the
French families of ABBEVILLE DALENONCOURT ; La
Motte, etc.; and of the English d'Avilliers {temp.
EDWARD I.). Or, three escucJieons vair, was borne by DE
FONTAINE in 1203 at the Third Crusade (Salles des
Croises at Versailles).
V. THE BORDURE (bordure).— The BORDURE is, as
its name denotes, a border surrounding the shield.
According to French usage it should occupy one-fifth of
it ; but in practice its size depends on whether it is
borne charged or plain. The confusion in ancient
blazons between coats in which this or an escucheon is
the sole charge has been already noted. Chequy or and
azure, a bordure gules, was the coat of the Counts de
DREUX, created Earls of RICHMOND in England.
Ermine, a bordure gules appears in the Roll of 1286 as
the arms of HUNDESCOTE. Ermine, a bordrire engrailed
gules, is the coat of Barnewall, Lords TRIMLESTOWN,
in Ireland, etc. Or, a bordure engrailed sable, is borne by
KNIGHT. Its chief use, especially in Scotland, has been
as a brisure ; that is, as a mode of differencing the
younger branches of families from the parent stock ;
and its use for this purpose will be more fitly considered
in the Chapter on DIFFERENCES, in Vol. II.
But there are a few examples in Scottish armory in
which the bordure is used as a principal figure. Plate
XX., fig. 2, is the coat of the Maules, Earls of Pan-
MURE, it is Per pale argent and gules, a bordure cJiarged
with eight escallops, all counter-changed. These number
PLATE XX.
1. Bordure.
(Earl of Cornwall.)
2. Bordure.
(Maule.)
^Jhl
3. Bordure.
(Dunbar.)
^7
4. Bordure compony. 5. Bordure counter compony. 6. Bordure checquy.
(Beaufort {Oliphant of Condic.) (Barclay of Touch.)
7. Bordure of Castile.
(Portugal.)
8. Orle.
(Baliol.)
V 7
9. Orle of martlets.
(Glcdstanes.)
10. Treasure flory counter flory. 11. Tressure.
(Fleming.) (Hmvard.)
12. Tressure.
(Earl of Aboyne.
( 1 3 1 )
six only in Sir David LlNDESAY's MS. and on the seal
of Sir David Maule, in 1320. (See the Registrum de
Panmure, I., clxiv., edited by John STUART, LL.D.,
privately printed in 1874.) Fig. 3 of the same plate is
the coat of the old Earls of DUNBAR and MARCH.,
unquestionably the chiefs of their family. It appears on
the seal of Earl PATRICK as early as 1 292 ; and the
bordure is there charged with eight roses ; this is the
usual number, though it varies in the seals of his
descendants, and occasionally the bordure appears to be
uncharged.
Bordures are more frequent in Elsass than in the other
German states.
The Bordure may be formed of any of the compound
partition lines, as in the coats of BARNEWALL and
KNIGHT above given where the bordure is engrailed.
The Hamiltons of Neilsland difference with a bordure-
quarterly, engrailed argent, and invecked azure. It may
further be parted per pale, or per fess, or be borne
quarterly. It may also be compony, or gobony, that
is divided into pieces of alternate metal and colour.
The Spanish family of IRRIBERI, bear: Or plain, within
a bordure compone of eighteen pieces of azure and of the
first. Such bordures are frequently used, as will
hereafter be shown, as marks of cadency ; and only one
is therefore given here. The legitimated Beau FORTS,
children of John of Ghent, bore the Quartered coat of
FRANCE, and ENGLAND, within a bordure compone argent
and azure, as in Plate XX., fig. 4.
In gobonc', or compone, bordures, the pieces or com-
pons, are often charged. A bordure counter- compone
differs from the boYduve-gobouc in having two rows of
pieces, Such a bordure appears in the coat of
OLIPHANT of Condie (Plate XX., fig. 5). Gules,
three crescents argent, a bordure counter - compony of
the tinctures. Barry of six or and sable, a bordure
( 18a )
counter-compony of the same is the coat of the Barons
Sava of Italy and Provence. A curious Italian
bordure counter-compony is that of the RIZZOLETTI
of Padua — the outer panes are alternately, sable and
argent, while the inner row is of gules and argent.
A similar example is found in the coat of the Galician
Counts of STADNICKI. There the outer compons
are of azure and argent, the inner ones of argent and
gules. In bordures gobone, and counter-compone the
pieces, or panes, follow the outline of the shield and the;
lines which divide them are usually drawn as if radiating
from the centre point. But in a bordure chequy, there
are not only three rows of panes or chequers but the;
dividing lines do not follow the outline ; the chequers
are all rectangular, and the bordure as a whole is treated,
as if it were itself cut out of a chequered field ; as in
Plate XX., fig. 6, where Barclay of Touch bears :'
Azure, a chevron or between tJiree crosses patee aigent ; a
bordure cliequy of the second and first. When a bordure is
blazoned flory, crusily, bezante, or billetty, it is under-
stood to be charged with eight fleurs-de-lis, crosslets,
bezants, billets, etc.
The expressions a "bordure 0/" ENGLAND " or a " bor-
dure of France " are used to imply in the one case, a
bordure gules charged with (eight) golden lions passant
gardant ; and in the other, a bordure azure charged with
(eight) fleurs-de-lis or. Similarly, a "bordure 0/XASTILE"
(now borne in the Royal Arms of PORTUGAL), is of gules
charged with the golden castles of CASTILE. (Plate
XX., fig. 7.) Richard, Earl of Cornwall, elected
King of the Romans, second son of King John of
ENGLAND, bore : Argent, a lion rampant gules crowned
or, within a bordure sable, charged with bezants, varying
in number. (Plate XX., fig. 1.) Quarteiiy or and
azure, a bordure counter-changed is used by AUBER in
France, and (with sable instead of azure) by Adalbert.
( 1 8 3 )
Occasionally a double bordure is found in the
Heraldry of the Peninsula. The Portuguese Ortins
bear : Em campo azul hum Sol de ouro, e duas borda
duras, a primiera de prata cheya de rosas verdes ; a
segunda composta de prata e vermelho. {Azure, a sun
in splendour within two bordures, the first argent charged
with roses, vert ; the second compony arge?it and gules.)
A still more curious example is that of Mendanha :
Escudo de prata, e nella Lead negro, armada de vermelho ;
orla de azul coticada de ouro, e segunda or/a de ver-
melho.
There are some coats in which the effect of several
bordures is produced, and which require skill and atten-
tion in blazoning. For example : the Counts de
THIENNES bear : Or, a bordure azure, and en surtout an
escucheon argent thereon a lion rampant gules crowned or
within a bordure azure. Here the effect is the same as if
the argent shield bore a triple bordure, azure, or, and
azure.
A Circular Bordure is found in the coat of the
Scottish family of KlLGOUR. Argent, a dragon volaitt
in pa/e wings dispiayed within a circular bordure sab/e
thereon three crescents of the field {see Stodart, Scottish
Arms, ii., plate lv.). The French blazon of this bordure
would be Vetu en rond. The German family of Leo
bear: d'Or, au lion de sable, le champ vctu en rond du
mime. The Florentine Bellincioni use the same, the
field of argent, the lion and bordure gules ; and the Swiss
RHEINAU, Azure, a lion rampant or, a bordure circular
gu/es.
Of this bearing Vctu en ovale is a variation. Or, six
mule shoes azure nailed argent, t/ie field vetu en ovale
ermine, is the coat of FerriEre de TESSE.
In Scotland a bordure-quarterly is often used with
quartered coats and is occasionally formed by more than
one compound line {see the Hamilton bordure on p. 181).
( 1 8 4 )
The coat of Lord Grey : Gules, a lion rampant within
a bordure engrailed argent, although to appearance a
differenced coat, seems to belong to the same category of
principal arms ; just as in English armory the Talbots,
Earls of SHREWSBURY, bore: Gules, a lion rampant
within a bordure engrailed or, in which coat the bordure
appears to be not a brisure denoting cadency from an
ancestor who bore simply Gules, a lion rampant or, but
rather a difference originally assumed to distinguish the
family of Talbot from other families who bore the
common charge of a lion or, on a field gules. (My MS.
Ordinary contains the names of over a hundred families
to whom this coat is attributed.)
In Spanish coats the bordure is sometimes found of
the same tincture as the field, only separated from it by
the pourfilar line ; thus the Andalucian family of CANI-
ZARES bears : Gules plain, a bordure of the same charged
with eight saltires coiiped {x\-d,\-\cX\\s) or. EsCORN A similarly
bears : Argent, an ox statant gules, on a bordure of the
field eight bells azure. (On Spanish bordures see my
" Heraldry of Spain and Portugal ; " and pp. 29, 30,
infra, Vol. II.)
In England the use of the bordure as a principal
charge is not unfrequent, and in such cases it is itself
generally charged with eight repetitions of a minor
charge : — bezants, escallops, roses, etc. The different
families of ERPINGHAM bore: Argent, with bordures of
various tinctures for difference, azure, vert, gules, and
sable, charged with martlets argent, or or. We cannot
say which was the original or principal coat. The
various d'Arcy coats afford like examples. The
diminutive filet en bordure is occasionally found in
use.
VI. The Orle is a narrow bordure detached from
the edge of the shield. Gules, an orle argent (Plate
XX., fig. 8), was the coat of JOHN BALLIOL, the
( rS 5 )
vassal King of Scotland. The coat of the Berwick-
shire family of Landalk of that Ilk, which has long
been borne en surtont by their heirs-general, the Earls
of HOME, is : Or, an orle azure.
In very early English blazons the Orle is some-
times described as " un faux ecusson." {See the Falkirk
Roll of 1298, and the still earlier Rolls of 1240
and 1256; MS. 414 in the Heralds' College; and
Harl. MS. 6589 ; see also the Chapter on ILLEGITI-
MACY, in Vol. II.)
The Orle is seldom found charged, or formed by
any other than the line following the outline of the
cscucheon in which it is borne. But KNOX, Earl of Ran-
FURLY in Ireland, bears : Gules, a falcon volant or within
an orle wavy argent ; ULSTER'S Register also has on record
a coat, granted in 1693 to a cadet of this family, which
has the orle waved on the outer, but engrailed on the
inner, side. A coat of Landel, presumably differenced
from that already given, has the orle engrailed on the
inner edge ; and there is another in which the inner
edge is indented. Font's MS. gives as the coat of
NORIE : Per pale argent and sable an orle engrailed on
both sides, and charged with four quatrefoils, within a
bordure all counter-changed.
The family of CHADWICK bears : Or, on an orle gules,
having the outer edge engrailed, eight martlets argent, all
within an orle of eight crosslets sable.
Six, eight, or more minor charges, such as bezants,
martlets, crosslets, etc., placed round the shield as they
would be arranged if there were a bordure charged with
them, are said to be "in orle" as in the coat of GLED-
stanes, now Gladstone (Plate XX., fig. 9): Argent,
a savage's head couped, distilling drops of blood, wreathed
with bay and holly leaves all proper, within an orle of
eight martlets sable.
The coat of CONSIDINE also has an unusual orle:
6
( 1 86 )
Argent, an orle gules fiory and counter-flory on the outer
edge only vert ; in the centre point a dagger in pale azure,
kilted or.
Among the curiosities of Heraldry is the coat of
BENEWITZ of Bavaria, who bear : The arms of the
Empire within a circular orle nebuly azure.
The Barons von SCHAWENBURG use : Argent, a (plain)
bordure nebuly of or upon azure, over all a saltire
gules.
VII. THE TRESSURE. — This bearing is almost
peculiar to Scotland, and is very familiar in consequence
of its position in the Royal Arms of that country.
A plain tressure is a diminutive of the orle, and is
depicted half its thickness ; it is never borne single.
There are a very few instances here given in which a
triple tressure is used. Azure, three concentric orles or, is a
coat ascribed to LANDELLS (Plate XVIII., fig. 2) ; Gules,
three concentric orles argent, is attributed to Sir JOHN
CHIDIOK in the Roll of 1308. The Breton family of
Baignaux bear: Or, four concentric orles (or plain tres-
sures) sable.
Early examples of the single tressure-flory will be
found in Laing's Scottish Seals (vol. i., Nos. 172, 403,
535), But at the present day in Scotland the tressure is
always double, and almost always flory-counter-flory of
fleurs-de-lis, to the number of eight at least. In the
well-known case of the Royal Arms of Scotland the
tressure is often inaccurately depicted, all the heads of
the fleurs-de-lis being turned outwards in spite of (or
rather in ignorance of the meaning of) the blazon.
When properly drawn the fleurs-de-lis are cut horizon-
tally into two parts ; and the upper and lower portions
project alternately from the outer edge of the outer
tressure, and from the inner edge of the inner one. No
portion of the fleurs-de-lis now appears upon the thin
strip of the field which is shown between the two tres-
( i8 7 )
sures. {See Plates XXXVI., XXXVIL, XXXVIII., etc.)
But upon the binding of some books of Queen Mary
Stuart the whole of the fleur-de-lis is represented.
{See GuiGARD, Armorial du Biblophile p. 21.)
Popular belief long associated this bearing in the
arms of Scotland with a supposed alliance between one
ACHAIUS, King of the Dalriadic Scots, and CHARLE-
MAGNE ; and declared that it commemorated the
agreement that the French lilies should be for all time
coming a defence to the lion of Scotland. It is easier to
laugh at the transparent absurdity of this fable than to
account for the first introduction of the fleurs-de-lis
into the Royal Coat of Scotland. Historically no alli-
ance between SCOTLAND and FRANCE can be found
earlier than the reign of ROBERT BRUCE.
On the seal of ALEXANDER II. the lion is the sole
charge. On the Great Seal of ALEXANDER III. (1249-
1286) the lion rampant appears alone upon the shield
borne by the monarch, but the caparisons of this charger
have the lion surrounded by a bordure ; this is charged
with small crosslets but the inner edge has a border of
demi-fleurs-de-lis. (Vree, Genealogie des Comtes de
Flandre, plate xv.) A portion of this seal is engraved
in Laing'S Scottish Seals, vol. ii., plate ii., fig. r, and I am
inclined to think not so accurately as in Vree's example,
where the whole seal is given, and the crosslets distinctly'
shown on the bordure. To this bordure I believe we
must trace the origin of the tressure flory-counter-flory,
which had no direct connection with any French alliance,
connubial or political.
In the Roll of Arms of the Thirteenth Century, to which
the date 1272 is assigned, we find what is, so far as I
can trace, the first blazon of the Scottish Arms, No. 11.
" Le Roy d'Escoce, d'or un lion rampant et un borde
florette de gulez." This may correspond sufficiently with
the bordure upon the seal of ALEXANDER III. referred to
( i88 )
above, but assuredly it is not the tressure flory-counter-
flory as borne in later times. This was certainly held
in honour in Scotland in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, and occasionally bestowed as an augmentation
of their arms on persons descended maternally from the
Royal House ; and upon others who were thought to
have deserved well of their King and country. Thomas
Randolph, Earl of Moray, whose mother was Isobel,
sister of King Robert Bruce, bore : Argentjhree cushions
pendent within tJie Royal Tressure gules ; the tressure
being an addition to his paternal coat (Plate XXXVI.,
fig- 9)- No tressure, however, was borne by the CAMP-
BELLS, or the Earls of Mar, who were equally descended
from sisters of King Robp:rt. As early as the middle of
the fourteenth century we find several families of mark
bearing the tressure without having any near connection
with the Royal House. Thus the FLEMINGS of Biggar
bore : Gules, a chevron within a double tressure flory-counter-
flory argent (Plate XX., fig. 10). It will be noticed that
the chevron, or other Ordinary, in Scottish coats is not
prolonged beyond the inner edge of the tressure ; in a few
foreign coats hereafter to be given (p. 191) this rule is not
observed. Malcolm Fleming, on whose seal in 1357
the tressure occurs (Laing, Scottish Seals, ii., No. 366),
probably obtained that armorial distinction in reward
for his devoted service to the cause both of ROBERT
BRUCE and his son. It was two generations later that
Sir MALCOLM FLEMING, of Biggar and Cumbernauld,
allied himself to the Royal House by marriage with a
daughter of Robert, Duke of Albany. The Royal
Tressure also occurs on the seal of William Livingston
as early as 1357 (LAING, Scottish Seals, ii., No. 650), and
with these two families may be classed a house of more
mark — that of the Setons, whose representative Sir
ALEXANDER Seton bore the tressure in 1337 {Scottish
Seals, ii., No. 891) ; certainly not (as has been sometimes
PARTITIONS, Etc.
l'LATK XXI.
1. Orzon.
2. Tappe.
3. Ruesdorf.
4. Lowenstein.
5. Eggenberg.
6. Squarciaficbi.
7. Obernburg.
8. Pilawa.
9. Lindeck.
3?
/ 6'
d 1 U
10. Kauffungeii.
11. Heyerling.
12. Dolenga.
( i8 9 )
represented) in virtue of descent from King Robert's
sister Christian, whose husband, Sir Christopher
Seton, was only collaterally related to the head of the
Scottish house of SETON.
Of the descendants of the daughters of Robert II. and
ROBERT III., the Lords of the ISLES ; the KENNEDYS ;
the Lyons ; the Grahams of Garvock ; and the
EDMONSTONES, all bore the Tressure ; but no such
addition was made to the arms of the Earls of DOUGLAS,
or of ANGUS ; or to those of the DOUGLASES of Morton ;
the Lindsays, Earls of Crawford ; and the Keiths, who
were genealogically equally entitled to it. The families
of MURRAY of Touchadam ; CHARTERIS of Kinfauns;
and MURRAY of Tullibardinc {Scottish Seats, ii., No. 771)
all had the Royal Tressure in their arms before the
sixteenth century. The towns of Aberdeen and Perth
also obtained early the right of honouring their arms
with the addition of the Royal Tressure. It appears on
the still existing matrix of the Burgh seal of ABERDEEN
which was engraved in 1430. It was at a rather later
date that it appears in the arms of the BUCHANANS
and MAITLANDS. It is not easy to explain the motive
of an Act of Parliament of James III. of the date 147 1,
which, however, was never carried into effect, that there
should in future be no tressure about the lion in the Royal
Coat : — " In tyme to cum thar suld be na double tresor
about his armys, but that he suld ber hale armys of the
lyoun without ony mar." The arms of Lyon : Argent,
a lion rampant within the Royal Tressure azure, used by
the Earls of Strathmore at present, appear on the
seal of David Lyon of Braky, in 1506 ; but in ROSE'S
MS. the coat has no tressure, and the lion is surmounted
by a bend or, thereon three roses gules. {See STODART,
Scottish Arms, ii., 42.) At p. 31, in the same work,
there is some curious information on the use of the
Tressure by the MURRAY cadets.
( *9° )
In later times the Royal Tressure was occasionally
borne by virtue of Royal Warrants, several of which are
recorded in the Lyon Register. It has been held to be
ultra vires of Lyon to allow it (except by a special
warrant from the Sovereign) to any family which could
not prove descent from an ancestor entitled to bear it.
James V. in 1542 granted a warrant to Lyon to
surround the arms of JOHN SCOT, of Thirlstane, with
the Royal Tressure, in respect of his ready services at
Soutra Edge with three score and ten lances on
horseback, when other nobles refused to follow their
Sovereign. The grant was put on record by the
grantee's descendant Patrick, Lord Napier ; and is
the tressured coat borne in the second and third quarters
of the NAPIER arms. Per fess or and gules, a lion
rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-ftoiy all
counter-changed were the arms of MlDDLETON, Earl of
MlDDLETON.
On 1 2th March 1762, a Royal Warrant was granted
directing LYON to add a " double tressure counter-
flowered as in the Royal Arms of Scotland," to the arms
of Archibald, Viscount Primrose. Here the Tressure
was gules, as in the Royal arms, although the field on
which it was placed was vert. In a new record of the
arms of Archibald, Earl of Rosebery, in 1823, this
heraldic anomaly is done away, and the blazon is now :
Vert, three primroses within a double tressure flory-comiter-
fiory or. {See STODART, Scottish Arms, vol. i., pp. 262-
263, where mention is also made of an older use of the
Royal Tressure, or, by " Sir ARCHIBALD PRIMROSE of
Dalmenie, knight and baronet, be his Majesty CHARLES
ye ii. create, Vert, three primroses within a double tressure
flowered counterflozvercd or")
When the Royal Tressure is granted to the bearer of
a quartered coat it is usually placed upon a bordure
surrounding the quartered shield, as in the case of the
( *9' )
arms of the Marquess of QuEENSBERRY, to whom, in
1682, the Royal Tressure was granted upon a b ordure
or. A like arrangement is borne by the Earl of
EGLINTON, and is found upon a seal of Earl HUGH,
appended to a charter of 1598.
The Royal Tressure has at least twice been granted
as an augmentation to the arms of foreigners. JAMES V.
granted it to NICHOLAS CANIVET of Dieppe, secretary to
John, Duke of Albany {Reg. Mag. Sig., xxiv., 263,
Oct. 24, 1529). JAMES VI. gave it to Sir JACOB VAN
ElDEN, a Dutchman on whom he conferred the honour
of knighthood.
In a few exceptional and later cases the floriation of the
Tressure has been somewhat varied. The Tressure (Plate
XX., fig. 12) granted to CHARLES, Earl of ABOYNE,
third son of the second Marquess of HuNTLY, is adorned
with crescents without, and demi-fleurs-de-lis within ;
and the Tressure borne by the Earl of ABERDEEN,
another member of the GORDON family, bears thistles,
roses, and fleurs-de-lis alternately.
The double tressure fiory-counter-fiory has been
given in England to two or three families, but not
tinctured gules, and there are in Foreign Heraldry a
few coats in which the Tressure appears. Or, a tressure
azure, is the coat of TROMENEC, and Le Barbu in
Brittany.
Or, a double tressure fiory-counter-flory vert, were the
ancient arms of the princely family of Gavre in Bra-
bant, and with the addition of over all a cross gules
{d'Or, au double trescheur fleure, contrefleure de sinople a
la croix de gueules brocJiante sur le tout) this coat is
borne by ROCQUENGHIEN of Cambray ; and BAU-
LANDE of Hainault. BOSSUT of Liege bears the same
but with a saltire gules brochant over all ; ESCORNAIX
(otherwise Van Schorisse) bears the same, but with
a chevron gules brochant over all. {See MAURICE,
( 192 )
Toison d'Or, p. 91.) In the cut of the arms of Des
CORNAIS in Menetrier's Mcthode du Blazon (oppo-
site p. 154, No. 8) the chevron gules does not pass
the inner edge of the tressure ; and there is the addi-
tion of an escuclieon en stirto7it, Azure, a bend or.
In the other cases, and in the example next given,
the Ordinary en surtout comes to the edge of the
shield. Vert, a double tressure flory-counter-fiory or,
over all a chevron azure, is attributed to ALLOIS of
Belgium.
VIII. The Fret. — This Sub-Ordinary at an early
period originated in the still earlier fretty coats {vide
p. 106) ; as a charge it is peculiar to British armor)-.
It is produced by the interlacing of the bendlet, and the
bendlet-sinister, with a large mascle of equal width.
(The family of the Maltrayers, bore : Sable, a fret
or; Plate XXII., fig. 1 1.) The coat of the HARRINGTONS,
Sable, a fret argent, is probably a canting coat derived
from a herring net. The VERDONS, who bore : Or, a
fret gules ; the TOLLEMACHES, whose arms were,
Argent, a fret sable ; the ETCHINGHAMS, whose coat
is, Azure, a fret argent, and other families who now
bear a single fret, are found recorded as originally
bearing Fretty in the ancient Rolls of Anns.
A Fret, like a saltire or cross, is also (though infre-
quently) borne, singly or in combination with others,
as a minor charge, and is then of smaller size and
couped. The coat of OYRY is : Azure, tliree lucics
hauriant argent, two and one ; and as many frets or, one
and two.
IX. THE Lozenge (and its variations, the FusiE,
MASCLE, and Rustre). — The LOZENGE is a four-sided
figure (7-liombus) of which the angles at the top and
bottom are acute, and those at the flanks obtuse. Asa
single charge, or uncharged Sub-Ordinary, it is seldom
found in British armory. Gules, on a lozenge or, a chevron
( i93 )
azure, is the coat of Brocke. Per f ess or and gules a
lozenge counter-changed, is that of KlRKE, or Kyrke. It
is more frequently found in foreign blazons, where it is
commonly drawn as a lozenge throughout, i.e., its points
touch the borders of the escucheon. This is also
blazoned as vetu, or cJiapc-chausse. The EuBlNGS of
Bavaria bore : de Gueules, le champ vetu d* argent.
Gules, a lozenge argent (de Gueules, a une losange
d' argent) is the coat of the extinct family of RORDORF
in Bavaria, and of the Counts von GRAVENECK, or
GRAFENEGG (of the Holy Roman Empire). The
reverse is borne by the Swedish and Prussian Counts
of Schwerin ; and is the same as the coat of EUBING
above.
Gules, a lozenge-throughout per pale or and sable, is the
curious coat of FlDELER (SlEBMACHER, Wappenbuch, ii.,
153)-
Per f ess argent and azure, a lozenge-throughout counter-
changed ; are the arms of CORRER, or CORRARO, of
Venice. This coat is also sometimes blazoned : Coupe
d'azur sur argent, chape-chausse de Vun en V autre, (Plate
VI., fig. 11). Gules, on a lozenge-tJiroughout or, a trefoil
vert, is the coat of the French family of BENTOUX.
In the armory of England and of the Low Countries
the Lozenge is a frequent charge : either detached, or
conjoined with others. Plate XIX., fig. 8, is the coat of
HYDE, Earl of CLARENDON : Azure, a chevron between
three lozenges or. Argent, three lozenges gules, are the
arms of the Lordship of Dyck, quartered by the Princes
of Salm. Or, three lozenges gules, is borne on the Con-
tinent by the Dutch families of HOOLA ; Van Gees-
DORP ; and Van Vliet. Or, three lozenges sable, is the
coat of DE LlNDT ; Jansdam ; and KEMP in the Nether-
lands.
Frequently the lozenges are borne touching each other
at the points in fess, in pale, or in bend. Argent, three
vol. i. o
( 194 )
lozenges conjoined in f ess gules, is the well-known coat of
Montagu, or Montacute, Earls of Salisbury (Plate
XIX., fig. io). Argent, three lozenges conjoined in bend
sable, is borne by the Austrian Barons von SEUSENEGG;
the same in pale is borne by HOUCHIN, Marquis de
LONGASTRE. Ermines, three lozenges ermine in triangle,
meeting at the fess point ; is the coat ascribed to Hal-
LOFTE, or HOLLOFTE. These lozenges in French would
be blazoned " en pairle /" thus the Counts Braun VON
WARTENBERG bear (for BRAUN) : d 'Argent, a trois
lozenges de gueules appointees en pairle.
The Princes ROSPIGLIOSI at Rome (to which family
Pope Clement IX., 1667- 1670, belonged) bore: Quarterly
or and azure, in each quarter a lozenge counter-changed.
Five lozenges are often borne conjoined in pale, fess,
bend, or in cross. In the Low Countries there are a
very considerable number of coats containing eight, nine,
and especially ten, lozenges conjoined. The last are
usually arranged 3, 3, 3, 1 ; thus HAUDION, Count de
WYNEGHAM bears : Argent, ten lozenges conjoined azure,
3, 3, 3, 1 ; and the Barons Cartier D'YVES do the
same.
An elongated lozenge, each of whose sides is much
longer than its horizontal diameter, is called a fusil
{fusee) from the French fuseau. The family of Champ-
NEYS, County Devon, bear : Aigent, two fusils in fess
gules. Azure, three fusils conjoined in fess argent, is
borne by the Austrian Counts von EGGER, and by
FRIBERG {Wappenrolle von Zurich, No. 153). Per bend
sable and or, three fusils conjoined in bend and counter-
changed, is borne by Von PlRRING (Plate XVIII.,
fig. 3). Azure, three fusils in fess or, is the canting coat
of FUSEE de VoiSENON in France (d'Azur, a trois
fusees d'or accolees en fasce); and Le FUZELIER in
Cambray, bears : d'Or, a cinq fusees d'azur rangees en
ba?ide.
( i95 )
In Italy the fusils are often drawn and shaded as
facetted, i.e., lines connect their opposite angles. The
coat of the Bardi in their chapel in the Church of Sta.
Croce at Florence — Gules, five fusils conjoined in bend
argent, has the fusils thus represented.
Perhaps the best known English example is that
afforded by the coat of PERCY, Earls and Dukes of
Northumberland : Azure, five fusils conjoined in fess
or (Plate XIX., fig. 12). In early Rolls these were
called " mill pecks," and are probably amies parlantes.
Lozenges and fusils are occasionally found couchees, as
in the coat of HOBOSCH : Argent, t/wee lozenges couchees
and accole'es in pale azure.
A Lozenge voided, that is deprived of its middle, only
a border being left, is called a Mascle, from macula, the
mesh of a net. (It may be noted that in some early
Rolls of Arms this term is applied to a lozenge.) Plate
XIX., fig. 8, Ermine, a mascle sable, is the coat of
FAWKES of Yorkshire. The Mascle is frequently found
in Low Country and Breton coats. Argent, a mascle
sable, is borne, by LohEac DE TrEvoasec ; and (with
the charge azure) by Treanna. Argent, three mascles
azure, is the coat of Merseman of Flanders ; and of
Maes of Holland; Argent, three mascles sable, of VAN
PANHUYS ; MADOETS ; and Waes ; all also of the
Netherlands.
Gules, three mascles argent, was borne by Le BASCLE,
Comte D'ARGENTEUIL ; and by VERRUSALEM, one of
the seven patrician families of LOUVAIN.
Mascles are most frequently borne combined, thus the
great family of DE QuiNCY, Earls of WINCHESTER,
bore : Gules, seven mascles conjoined, 3, 3, 1 or (Plate
XIX., fig. 11). Ferrers bore the same.
Or, seven mascles conjoined azure, 3, 1, 3, is the coat of
COURRAN, and the Vicomte de PlEdran in Brittany
bore the same but differently arranged — 3, 3, 1.
( '96 )
The great house of DE Rohan (Dues de Rohan,
BOUILLON, and MONTBAZON, Princes de LEON, Mont-
AUBAN, SOUBISE, etc.), bore : de Gueules, a neuf macles
d'or (3, 3, 3) accolces et aboutees.
The same coat but with the field azure is that of Le
SENECHAL, Barons de QuELEN, Marquis de Ponte-
CROIX.
Thirteen mascles conjoined or (4, 4, 4, 1) in a field gides \
is borne by TIGNIVILLE. Azure, a /ess between tliree
mascles or, is the coat of BETHUNE, or BEATON (the
family to which Cardinal BEATON belonged). Sable, a
fess between three mascles or, is borne by the Scottish
Michells, or Mitchells.
Rustre.— A Lozenge pierced with a circular opening
is called a Rustre {ruste). Or, a rustre sable, is borne
by CUSTANCE. The Irish Perys have, Or, three rustres
sable. SOUMERET D'ESSENAU, in Flanders, uses the
reverse.
The fields LOZENGY, Fusilly, Mascally, have been
already noticed in Chapter IV. ; and are probably more
ancient than these charges which have been derived from
them.
X. The Flaunche (Flasque, and Voider). —
The FLAUNCHE borne only in pairs, is a projection from
each side or flank of the shield, bounded by the segment
of a circle. In French blazon the shield is said to be
flan que en rond. De sable, flanque en rond a" argent, is the
coat of the Spanish family of Martinet. Exceptionally
the coat of the Bolognese family of Tartarini is : Or,
flanque en rond to the sinister only, azure, this is charged
with a bow paleways, crossed by an arrow in fess argent.
The HOBARTS, Earls of BUCKINGHAMSHIRE bear :
Sable, a star of eight points or, between two /launches
ermine {de Sable, a une e'toile rayonnante d 'or, flanque en
rond determine) (Plate XIX., fig. 7). The PARKERS,
Earls of MORLEY, use : Sable, a stags head caboshed,
PLATE XXII.
1. Billet.
(Saveuse.)
2. Besants.
(Hope.)
o o
3. Torteaux.
(Courtenay.)
4. Roundles.
(Heuthcote.)
5. Fountains.
(Stourton.)
6. Gurges.
(Gorges.)
7. Roundles.
(Carbonnel. )
8. Annulet.
(Musgrave.)
9. Annulet Stoned.
(Eglinton. )
10. Vires.
(Virieu.)
11. Fret.
(Maltravers.)
12. Escutcheon.
(.Boy.)
( '97 )
between two flaunches argent. Gules, two leopard's faces
between as many flaunches or, is the coat of Frere.
There are a very few instances in which flaunches
have been formed by a compound line ; Argent, two
flaunches indented sable, and the reverse, are both coats of
families named DANIELL, in the county of Chester.
The bearing of the flaunches has been granted pretty
frequently in modern times, eg., to BAGGE, LawES,
Savory, baronets, etc.
When the flaunches are smaller in size they are some-
times blazoned as flasgties, or voiders. The HAMILTONS
of Colquot in Scotland are said to bear : Gules, three
cinquefoih between two flasques argent.
XI. The Billet (and Delve). — Billets are small
oblong rectangular figures, regarding which it has been
disputed whether their name is derived from letters or
logs of wood. In British armory they are usually borne
in a perpendicular position, abroad they are often
couche'es. BlLLY in France bears : de Gueules, a trois
billettes, d argent. Plate XXII., fig. I, is the coat of the
French Marquis de SAVEUSE : — Gules, a bend between six
billets or. Sable, a bend between six billettes or, is a
coat of Callendar in Scotland ; and of Anvin
in Picardy (which goes back to the Second Crusade).
A similar coat, but with the bend engrailed, both it
and the billets being argent, was borne by the Lords
Alington.
Azure, a bend between seven billets or (four in chief and
three in base) was borne by the Marquises de Chas-
TELLUX. Uazur, a onze billettes d y argent, 4, 3, 4, is the
coat of BEAUMANOIR, Marquis de LAVARDIN.
Gules, three billets touching each other in pairle sable,
are the amies parlantes of the Silesian family DIE
SCHINDEL. Argent, six billets couche'es sable, is the
coat of the Dutch family of Van Veen ; Gules, five
billets couchees in pale argent, is that of ABILLON. Occa-
( 198 )
sionally the billet is borne voided ; d'Azur, a dix billcttes
vidies argent, was borne by the Marquis de St. Pern.
More rarely still they are pierced circular, as (sometimes
only) in the coat of DE LA Bedoyere : d'Azur, a six
billettes percees d 1 argent.
A billet with four equal sides is called a delve, and
represents a divot, or spade-full of turf, or earth, thus
delved out. Argent, five square billets, or delves, 3 and
2, gules, is the coat of the Piedmontese MASSON.
XII. The Label (or File). — This figure is sometimes
numbered under the SUB-ORDINARIES. Its use as a
brisure, or mark of difference, will be considered in the
Chapters on CADENCY or DIFFERENCE. Here it will
be treated of as a common charge. We do not know
with certainty what it represented when it was first
assumed. It is apparently a narrow ribbon or bar,
"Jilum" "lambel" stretching across the shield from one
side to the other, and having other narrow ribbons,
varying in number, dependent from it at right angles.
In modern times these points are usually three in
number ; and they are often drawn slightly patees, or
broader at the lower ends, like pieces of the figure
called bevily or dove-tail. The modern form of the
cadency label is as unsightly as it is without authority.
- I have already contributed to Boutell's Heraldry,
Historical and Popular, p. 469, a number of interesting
examples of the use of this bearing as a sole charge in
Continental Heraldry.
Le Cornut de St. Leonard (Liege) bears : Gules, a
label of three points argent ; DU RUZOU (Brittany),
TROGOFF, Lardier, and CHARDOIGNE (France) : dc
Gueules, au lambel d'or. BLANDIN (Brittany) uses :
Argent, a label of five points sable ; DE KERSBEKE the
same, but the label of gules.
Van Grobbendonck (Brabant) : Quarterly, 1 and 4.
Sable, a label argent : 2 and 3. Or, a fess embattled
( J 99 )
counter-embattled gules ; Van Oostenwolde, and DU
Pont, bear : Or, a label azure.
Very rarely we meet with the label as a sole charge
in British armory. Argent, a label of five points azure,
is ascribed to HENLINGTON : and Azure, a label of five
points or, to Sabben. WILLIAM DE HlNTLYNTON bears
it in PLANCHE'S Roll, No. 619.
Occasionally the label occupies an unusual position.
Guillim says that Argent, a label of five points in bend
sable, was the coat of one MORIEN, buried in St. Mary's
Church at Oxford. Argent, a label of five points in bend
gules, is an Irish coat of GOFFE. In the coat of DE LA
ROCHE DE Beausaint : Per pale gules and ermine, over
all a bend wavy argent ; a label azure is placed bend-
ways upon the Ordinary. In the arms of the Dutch
BARESTIJNS : Argent, a zvolf passant gules, a label of
the same is placed beneath the wolf's feet. The Frisian
family of ROORDA bears : Argent, two roses in chief gules,
in base a label sable. AuRELLE DE LA FREDIERE in
Auvergne bears : Or, a chevron azure, in chief a label
reversed gules.
The seal of WALTER DE FAUCONBERG, summoned to
Parliament as a Baron by writ, in 1295, appears to bear
a shield of arms, charged in chief with a label inverted
of three points. {Cat. of Seals in the Brit. Mus., ii., No.
9637.) The coat usually attributed to him is Argent, a
lion rampant azure, over all a baton go bone or and
gules.
In the coat of Oha DE ROCOURT in Belgium : Argent,
a barbel in pale gules, a semi-circular label of five points
azure surmounts the head of the fish.
It is rare to meet with a label with less than three
points, though I have found a few examples. The
Spanish family of Berenguer has (as its 1st and 4th
quarters) Or, a label of one point azure.
In Harl. MSS., 1 44 1 and 5866, there is recorded a
( 200 )
coat of FlTZ Simons : Sable, three crescents argent, in
chief a label of two points, in fess one of a single point of
the second. The coat of DE LA Vergne in Brittany is
Gules, in chief a label of tivo points or. In the Portugese
Royal Cadency a label of two points occasionally occurs
zu.,Vol. II.
LALANDE bears : a" Or, a deux lambels de trois pendants,
le premier de gueules, Vautre de sable, poses Vun sur
V autre. The Barons von der LlPrE of Courland use :
Argent, two labels each of four points, in pale sable.
The Barons HOENS in Flanders have : Azure, three
labels argent, respectively of five, four, and three points, in
pale ; and (with the labels or) this is the coat of EFFEREN
VON STOLBERG in Prussia ; and of the Florentine
BUONACORSI, now extinct.
On early seals the number of the points of the label
varies considerably. On that of GuiLLAUME d'Aspre-
MONT, one of the Chevaliers Bannerets of Touraine in
12 13, his shield bears (gules) a lion rampant (or) crowned
(azure), and debruised by a label of ten points. (See La
Touraine, par BOURASSE, p. 371, folio, Tours, 1855, while
at p. 347 the number of points is seven?) Seven is also
the number borne by DE RAMEFORT, another Chevalier
Bajinerel 'of Touraine : — Fusille or and azure, a label of
seven points gules. Or, a file (i.e., label) of three points
gules from each a bell pendent azure, the clapper sable, is
the canting coat of Belfile.
XIII. ROUNDLES. — We may include the ROUNDLES
among the Sub-Ordinaries for convenience sake. These
are balls, or circular discs, of metal or colour, and have,
very needlessly, special names given to them in respect
of their tinctures. Unless distinctly described as a ball,
a roundle of gold is called a Bezant, a name probably
derived from the gold coins of BYSANTIUM in use among
the Crusaders ; usually it is a small flat plate of gold,
but is sometimes figured as a coin, — when this is so it
( 201 )
must be expressed. A similar disc of silver is called a
Plate (from the Spanish plata, silver). (Coins as heraldic
charges are noted hereafter in Chapter XIV., p. 404.)
The French call both bezants and plates by the general
name of besans, affixing thereto the designation of the
metal, e.g., desans d'or, desans a" argent, etc. The Roundles
of colour, or of fur, are similarly called by the general
term of tourtcaux, and their colour is specified. In
German Heraldry the roundles are nearly always globes.
In British armory by a Torteau is meant only a flat, round
plate gules. The difference between those of the roundles
which are globular and those which are flat should be
noted, and in drawing duly expressed by shading. A
Roundle azure is called a Hurt ; this is probably globu-
lar, and the name derived from the English hurt, or
whortleberry, not, as Gerard Legh contends, from a
hurt, or bruise, received in war ! The French call it a
tourteau d'azur. Roundles of sable are called Ogresses,
Pellets, and Gunstones ; and are evidently intended to be
globular. Their most usual name — Pellets — is thought
to be derived from the Spanish peletta, the leaden knob
of a bird-bolt or blunt-arrow. Pomeis, or pomeys, is the
name given to roundles of a green colour, obviously from
pomme, an apple. Roundles of purpui'e are not often met
with, but are called golpes, or wounds ; these, I suppose,
should not be globular in shape, as are the still rarer
Oranges, of ferine* ; and Guzes, of sanguine (eyeballs
according to Gerard Legh !) Roundles of fur are
flat. This confusing English nomenclature is the subject
of the just disapproval of foreign armorists and it is not
found in the early Rolls of Arms ; where, as in the
armory of the Continent, all roundles of metals are
besants, and all those of colour torteaux. In Scotland
the English use as to roundles of colour has been adopted,
but the practice of calling those of metal Bezants or, and
Bezants aigent, has never gone out of use.
( 202 )
A few examples of the use of roundles, at home and
abroad, may now be given.
Azure, a bezant, is ascribed to BASSINGFORD, and to
BISSET ; Gules, a bezant, to BuRLEY, and GOSPATRIC.
RANDLE Holme gives Or, a hurt, as the canting coat of
HURTLE ; and, similarly, Argent, a torteau, to TORTOX
(probably a family of his own invention). In the Zurich
Wappenrolle (fourteenth century) Or, a ball sable, is the
coat of TiJFEL ; Sable, a plate, is that of SCHMID,
according to SlEBMACHER, Wappcnbuch, iii., No. 115.
GuiLLAUME V., Seigneur de MONTPELLIER in 1 105,
bore: Argent, a torteau gules {Salle des Croises).
Azure, a chevron or, between tJiree bezants, are the well-
known arms of HOPE (Plate XXII., fig. 2).
MONTESQUIOU, Marquis de FEZENSAC, bears: d'Or,a
deux tourteaux de gueules, Pun sur r autre, en pal. With
the tourteaux of sable this is the coat of Belly in France.
Azure, two plates in pale, is borne by Verduzan. Azure,
three plates, tivo and one, is the coat of the Princes of
MontlEart. Gules, three bezants, was borne in England
by DENHAM ; La TOUCHE ; and others ; — the same, but
with the bezants (sometimes plates) figured, by GAMIN
of France. I suspect the roundles in the coat of
BOULENGER of Holland to be balls, and not bezants :
dAzur au chevron d'or, accompagnc de trois bezaus du
mane ; and in that of BOULA DE MAREUIL, d'Azur, a
trois besans d'or. Gules, tJiree balls in f ess or, is the coat
of CLOOT of Brabant. Argent, three balls and a label in
chief gules, was borne by the Counts of SCHAESBERG.
The Bandini of Florence bear : Gules, tJiree plates,
but these roundles are balls in the coat of Hofreiter
DE DACHAU. Plate XXII., fig. 3, Or, three torteaux, is
the well-known coat of COURTENAY, and of the Counts
of BOULOGNE ; and was also quartered for the County
of GRONSFIELD by the Counts of BRONCKHORST, of the
Holy Roman Empire.
( 203 )
Barry of six argent and azure, in chief three torteaux,
was the arms of Grey ; with a label ermine this was the
coat of the unhappy Lady Jane Grey, proclaimed
Queen of England, and executed in 1554.
Another well-known British coat, that of ZOUCHE,
bears : Gules, ten bezants, 4, 3, 2, 1. Argent, six hurts,
2, 2, 2, are the arms of DE CASTRO in Spain. Argent,
a chevron gules between three hurts, appears in early
Rolls of Arms for BASKERVILLE.
Perhaps the most important foreign instance of the
use of roundles is afforded by the coat of the Florentine
Medici, Grand Dukes of TUSCANY, which was originally
Or, six balls gules. (NOTE, not torteaux as very often
wrongly blazoned by English writers, but palle, i.e. balls,
possibly pills!) These "were formerly borne sometimes
seven, or eight in number ; but six, in orle, is the most
usual modern arrangement. The uppermost one was
changed into a ball bearing the arms of France, as an
augmentation by LOUIS XI. of France, in 1465. {See
the grant in Mrs Palliser's Historic Devices, etc.,
p. 171.) (The use of the arms with eight palle continued,
however, after this date, as in the arms of DONATUS DE
MEDICI, Bishop of Pistoia, in 1475.) In the Capella
de' Medici in the church of Santa Croce at Florence the
arms of COSMO DE' MEDICI, Pater patricz, have the eight
palle arranged 2, 3, 2, 1. I have noted many similar ex-
amples in the churches of San Lorenzo, and San Marco.
The palle are eight in number on the Medici picture by
Gozzoli, in the Louvre at Paris. In the Libreria di San
Marco this arrangement appears in two finely illuminated
antiphonaries, one of 1438, which came from the Convent
of San Bonaventura al Bosco. In the other the central one
of the three palle in the second row has the French aug-
mentation. This is sometimes wrongly depicted. While
the palle are properly drawn as balls, the one in chief is
wrongly represented as a fiat plate of azure. In Florence
( 2°4 )
itself, however, the French augmentation is properly shown
as a ball, like the others in shape ; these are often in
very high relief, as in the Medici chapel in the church of
San Lorenzo.
Roundles are often charged, thus : Ermine, three
pomeis, each charged with a cross or, is the coat of
HEATHCOTE, Lord AVELAND ; and Gules, three plates,
on each a fleur-de-lis sable is that of TOMLIN. Or, three
hurts, on each a mullet argent, is borne by MONTCHAL, of
France (Plate XXII., fig. 4). Per f ess gules and azure,
three plates on each an ermine spot sable, are the arms of
CARBONNEL, Marquis de CANISYin France (Plate XXII.,
fig. 7). When roundles are parted, or counter-changed,
they retain in English the name of roundles ; thus Per
bend argent and sable, three roundles within a bordure
engrailed, all counter-changed, are the arms of PUNCH YON
of Essex.
In French Blazon a roundle composed of metal and
colour is called a besant-tourteau, or a tourteau-besant,
according as the field on which it is placed is of colour,
or of metal.
A curious instance of the bearing of besants-tourteaux
is afforded by the Spanish coat of FUENSALDA : de
Gueules, a six bezants-tourteaux d' argent et de sable poses
2,2,2, les 1 et 3 a dextre, et le 2 a series tre, coupes ; les trois
autres partis.
Roundles barry wavy of six argent and azure (the
conventional representation of water), are called Foun-
tains, or Sykes, as in the canting coat of WELLS ; Azure,
three fountains ; and in that given on Plate XXII., fig. 5,
Sable, a bend or between three fountains, the arms of
STOURTON ; in some fifteenth century seals of STOUR-
TON, the fountains are represented by concentric annu-
lets. Argent, a chevron sable between three sykes, is the
canting coat of Sykes. Akin to this last bearing is the
Gorge or Gurges, or Whirlpool, a spiral line of azure
( 2 °5 )
commencing in the fess point of a field of argent, and
occupying the whole shield ; it is figured in Plate XXII.,
fig. 6, and was borne, in the reign of HENRY III., as
amies parlantes, by the Wiltshire family of GORGES.
In Glover's Roll of Arms, No. 188, this bearing takes
an unusual form : being, Argent, four concentric annulets
azure, the exterior one is cut by the outline of the shield.
It is there given thus : " Rauf de Gorges, Roele dArgent
& dazur" {sic).
The heraldic annulet is a ring of equal thickness
through the whole of its circumference. Sable, an
annulet argent is the coat of the Barons von Knor-
INGEN : MuSGRAVE (Plate XXII., fig. 6) bears : Gules,
six annulets or; the Counts von NEIPPERG use: Gules,
three annulets argent. Sometimes several annulets are
borne in a concentric series, and are then called vires ;
Sable, two concentric annulets or, is the coat of the
ALBIZZI. Paffy of France bears: Argent, two vires
gules ; and Azure, three vires or, is the canting coat of
the Counts de VlRlEU. Sometimes the annulets are
found interlaced, Azure, three rings interlaced in triangle
or, is borne by BOURGEOIS-MOLERON in France. When
an annulet is set with a precious gem, it is said to be
stoned ; thus, Gules, three annulets or, stoned azure, is the
coat of EGLINTON, quartered by the family of Mont-
GOMERIE, Earls of EGLINGTON and WlNTON (Plate
XXII., fig. 9). In modern blason it is often called a gem
ring ; Vert, three gem-rings or, set with rubies, is borne
by Cop of the Netherlands.
CHAPTER VII.
ANIMATE CHARGES :— I. THE HUMAN FIGURE.
NEXT to geometrical figures, the most prominent charges
in armorial bearings are those derived from the animal
and vegetable creation ; and of these those which repre-
sent man its lord, may be supposed to claim precedence
in our consideration.
The entire human figure, naked or clothed, appears
occasionally in our own armory, but is still more
frequently met with in the wider range of Foreign
Heraldry ; this contains many very curious examples,
only a few of which can find description within the
limits of the present work.
The figure of the BLESSED SAVIOUR seated in majesty
(as represented in Revelation, i. 16 — ii. 12 — xix. 15) is
the charge, derived from ancient seals, of the arms of the
See of CHICHESTER. The figure of the Saviour, stand-
ing, holding in His right hand the seven stars, and having
the two-edged sword issuing from His mouth, is carved
in the tympanum of the door of the church of La-Lande-
de-Cubzac, in the Gironde. (See DE Caumont, Abece-
daire d Archeologie, vol. iii., p. 179.) The utter ignorance
of many of the old heraldic writers (if we can in courtesy
confine it only to those of far back times) could scarcely
be better exemplified than by the treai.ment which the
noblest of all charges has undergone at their hands.
The figure of the " Lord of Life and Glory " has
become according to them "Azure, a PRESTER John
sitting on a tombstone, in his left hand a mound, his right
/'LA TK XXIU.
1. Man.
(Dalzell.)
2. Savage.
(Emlyn.)
3. Horseman.
{Maguire.)
4. Saracen's Head.
(Lloyd.)
5. Heads conjoined.
(Morison.)
6. Moors' Heads.
(Sardinia.)
7. Sinister Hand.
(Maynard.)
8. Leg.
(Prime.)
9. Legs,
(/ste of Man.)
10. Arms.
( Tremayne. )
11. Eye.
(Heshuysen.)
12. Heart.
(Dowlas.)
( 207 )
hand extended, all or ; on his head a linen mitre, and in
his mouth a sword proper!' (FOSTER'S Peerage!) Where
the whole bearing was thus travestied it is no wonder
that the details have become ridiculous ! " The rainbow
throne of light" has been degraded into a tombstone,
and the sword into a skewer passing through the
mouth !
The bearings which appear in some of the Post-
Reformation Sees are assumed from representations of
the Blessed Trinity, or of the Saints to whom the
Cathedrals were dedicated, which appeared on the
ancient seals. The figure of the Blessed Virgin bear-
ing the Divine Child which appears on an azure field,
in the arms of the See of SALISBURY had a similar
origin. These are identical with the arms of PHOUS-
KARNAKI (or FOUSKARNAKI) of Greece. As amies
parlantes the curiously designated Breton family of
LENFANT-DlEU use: d'Azur, a un enfant JESUS, les
mains jointes d' argent naissant d'un croissant d'or, sur-
mounts d'un soleil du meme, et accoste de deux e'toiles d'or.
The family of LORETTE use also as armes parlantes the
following coat : Per pale azure and or, the figure of
NOTRE Dame DE LORETTE holding in her arms the
Holy Child. The Evangelistic symbols appear in Portu-
guese Heraldry as the arms of the family of EVANGEL-
HOS : Azure, a cross between four roundles or, on them the
Evangelistic symbols proper. (On their use as quasi sup-
porters vide infra, Vol. II.)'
The families who bear the names of saints, such as
St. Andrew, St. George, St. Michael, have (perhaps
not unnaturally) included in their arms representations
of their family patrons.
The Bavarian family of Reider include in their shield
the mounted effigy of the good knight St. Martin
dividing his cloak with a beggar (date of diploma 1760).
The figure of the great Apostle of the Gentiles appears
( 208 )
in the arms of the Von Pauli. Joerg, and J6RGER,
of Austria, similarly make use of St. George.
Continental Heraldry affords not a few examples of
the use of the personages of Holy Writ. The Adamoli
of Lombardy bear: Azure, the Tree of Life entwined
with the Serpent, and accosted with our first parents, all
proper (i.e in a state of nature). The addition of a
chief of the Empire to this coat makes it somewhat
incongruous.
The family of Adam in Bavaria improve on Sacred
History by eliminating Eve, and by representing Adam
as holding the apple in one hand, and the serpent
wriggling in the other. On the other hand the Spanish
family of Eva apparently consider there is a sufficiently
transparent allusion to their own name, and to the
mother of mankind, in the simple bearings : Or, on a
mount in base an apple tree vert fruited of the field, and
encircled by a serpent of the second.
The family of Abel in Bavaria make the patriarch in
the attitude of prayer to serve as their crest ; while the
coat itself is : Sable, on a square altar argent, a lamb
couchant surrounded by fire and smoke proper.
SAMSON slaying the lion is the subject of the arms
of the Vesentina family of Verona. The field is
gules, and on a terrace in base vert the strong man
naked bestrides a golden lion and forces its jaws apart.
The Polish family of SAMSON naturally use the same
device, but the field is Azure and the patriarch is
decently habited. The STARCKENS of the Island of
OESEL also use the like as armes parlantes ; the field
in this case is Or. After these we are hardly surprised
to find that Daniel in the lions' den is the subject of the
arms of the Rhenish family of DANIELS, granted late in
the eighteenth century ; the field is Azure.
The Archangel St. Michael in full armour, as con-
ventionally represented, treading beneath his feet the
( 20Q )
great adversary, sable, is the charge on an azure field of
the VAN SCHOREL of Antwerp ; and he also appears in
the arms of the city of BRUSSELS.
Heathen mythology has been laid under contribution
even more frequently than Hoi)- Writ NEPTUNE is to
be found in the arms of NOLTHENIUS of Guelderland.
Azure, Hercules proper, combating a lion rampant or,
appears as the coat of Will at Augsburg ; rending a
tree in the arms of FAURE ; and slaying the hydra in
the canting coat of HERKLOTS.
The personification of FORTUNE is a favourite, both
as a crest and as a charge, in German armory. Usually
she is represented, as in the arms of ANTONELLI, naked,
standing on a globe (sometimes floating on waves), and
holding a veil, or sail, abo^e her head. The arms of
WlTTWER of Niirnburg are : Purpure, the figure of
Fortune proper. The Dutch family TEN HAEGE bear:
Per f ess ; (a) Argent, a Wheel of Fortune sable, supporting
the seated figure of a man, and having bound to it three
other human figures in flanks and base, all gules ; (b)
Or, three fishes naiant proper, two and one.
Besides such instances as have already been referred
to, the naked human figure is a not unfrequent charge
abroad, though we have not many instances of it at
home. The shield of the Scottish family of Dalziel
of that Ilk (Plate XXIII., fig. i), which goes back at
least to the fourteenth century, is Sable, a naked man
proper. Occasionally in early examples the arms are
drawn extended, and in some representations, though
not in the earliest, the body is swinging from a gibbet.
This is an allusion to a probably not very ancient legend,
in which the founder of the family is said to have
recovered the body of King KENNETH III., who had
been hanged by the Picts.
All such legends in connection with Heraldic bearings
must be received with the utmost incredulity. In
vol. i. p
( 2IO )
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the story has been
invented to account for the arms ; not the arms assumed
as a historical hieroglyphic.
The coat of the VEGNUDINI of Bologna is: Argent, on
a terrace a naked wo7?ian standing between two vine
shoots, and holding in her right hand a pruning-hook, all
proper, on a chief azure tJiree mullets or.
The Pomeranian family of PlRCH have a very remark-
able coat : Per pale (a) Azure, a fish Jiaurient in pale
argent ; (b) Gules, on a terrace a naked woman affronte'e,
a fox running between her legs from right to left and
holding in his mouth a quantity of hay — "la dite femme
empoignant de ses deux mains la queue du reitard et s'eu
frottant le corps," all proper / The curious motto is : Pfui,
Teufel, wie rasen die Floeh !
Azure, a naked boy pointing to a star in the dexter chief
all proper, is the coat recorded for the Scottish family of
OSWALD, in Pont's MS. {vide infra). A naked boy
shooting (not Cupid) is one of the charges of the Bolog-
nese Arfetti ; and the SCHEUCHENSTUEL DE RHAIN
in Bayaria, a family now extinct, bore: Gules, on a mount
in base sable a naked boy with extended legs, and arms
akimbo proper. (Cfi Vol. II., Plate XXII., fig. 3.)
I have a good many similar examples in which the
motive for the adoption of the charge is hard to find.
This, however, is not the case in the canting coat of the
family of BESSON, who bear : d'Or, a deux enfans
(jumeaux, en patois bessons) de carnation, ajfrontes, se
tenant d'une main et port ant de r autre chacun un rameau.
The Barons Gemell, and the Sicilian GEMELLI, have
arms of which the motif is the same. Two nude chil-
dren are the supporters of the family of NlCEY in
Champagne ; and two naked virgins with dishevelled
hair those of the Counts des ULMES. (Cfi Vol. II., Plate
XXII, fig. 10.)
A SAVAGE, or wild man, usually represented naked, but
( 211 )
wreathed about the head and loins with verdure, and hold-
ing a rough bough of a tree as a club, occurs frequently
both at home and abroad, but with us is more common
as a crest or supporter than as a charge of the escucheon.
See Vol. II., Plate XXII., fig. 1 1 ; and the arms of the
Prince of PUTBUS. (The charge in the coat of OSWALD
is often thus drawn.)
In Germany still, and among ourselves before the six-
teenth century these savages are often not wreathed but
are drawn covered with hair, and in aspect " affenartig"
as a German writer terms them. An English example
of the savage man is afforded by the arms of the families
of EMELIE, Emlay, or EMLINE, of Northamptonshire,
and elsewhere (Plate XXIII., fig. 2). They bear: Sable, a
wild man standing wj-eathed, and holding (sometimes a
staff raguly, at others) a tree eradicated, all proper.
The coat ascribed to DRUMMOND of Kildies is : Or,
three bars undy gules, over all a naked man in motion
brandishing a szv or d proper.
In Foreign Heraldry kings, queens, bishops, priests,
mounted or dismounted knights, pilgrims, miners, and
men of other occupations, appear properly habited in
great variety ; in our own armory they occur only
occasionally. Plate XXIII., fig. 3, is the coat of the
Irish Maguires — Vert, a mounted knight armed cap-a-pie
and holding in his hand a sword all proper.
The arms of Lithuania (which were quartered with
the arms of POLAND, Gules, an eagle displayed argent
in the shield of that kingdom) were : Gules, a knight
armed cap-a-pie mounted on a white horse, brandishing his
sword all proper, and bearing an oval buckler : Azure
thereon a cross-patriarchal or.
A volume would be required for the full description
of all the curious instances of the use of the human figure
in Continental armory. The Spanish family of PALACIO
in the Asturias, bears : On a green field two couples of both
( 2I2 )
sexes performing" the national dance of the fandango !
The city of Dantzig bears as amies parlantes : Or, on a
fess vert tzvo couples dancing proper, in chief an eagle
displayed, and in base a cross, both sable.
When we come to the consideration of the Human
BODY in its several parts as a Heraldic charge the
abundance of examples is even more embarrassing.
Human Heads are borne in profile, or ajfrontes, and
either couped or erased, that is either cut cleanly off at
the neck, or having a ragged edge of pieces of skin.
The Saracen's head is usually banded, or wreathed about
the temples, Plate XXIII., fig. 4 gives us the arms of
MARCHYDD, or MERGETH, AP CYNAN, a Welsh chieftain,
still borne by his descendants the LLOYDS, Lords
MOSTYN; the PRICES; and WYNNS ; it is: Gules, a
Saracen's head erased at the neck pj'oper, zvreathed about
the temples sable and argent. This is also the coat of
the BRUUNS of Denmark. The Savage's head is usually
wreathed with foliage as in the arms of GLEDSTANES or
GLADSTONE (Plate XX., fig. 9). It should be remarked
that " Moor's heads " are generally drawn as those of
"blackamoors," or negroes, as in Plate XXIII., fig. 6
which represents the arms of Sardinia : Argent, a cross
gules between four Moors heads couped sable banded of the
first. A single Moor's head proper, on a chief argent (as
the "arms of CORSICA") was granted as an augmentation
to the arms of Elliott, Earl of Minto, and is still borne
in their escucheon. It is also the coat of the Florentine
Pucci; of Van der Elst and of Gendron in Holland.
Or, a Moors head and bust proper, wreathed sable and or,
is the canting coat of the Tirolese Counts Mohr DE
TARANTSBERG, and by TESTENOVIE of France but
zvreathed argent. Argent, three negro's heads in profile
sable, wreathed of the colours, is borne by the Cannings.
Vert, three men's heads in profile {those in chief addorsed)
proper, crined and bearded or, was a coat borne by the
( 213 )
Malatestas of Rimini. Gules, three meiis heads proper,
was the ancient coat of the Counts Testi of Ferrara.
The long-continued struggle between the Turks and
Hungarians accounts for the introduction of the head of
a dead Turk with his single long lock of hair into
several important Hungarian and Transylvanian coats.
The Austrian Counts and Princes of SciiWARZENBERG
impale, or use as a quartering, with their own arms of
SEINSHEIM {Paly of eight argent and azure) the follow-
ing concession : — Or, a raven sable, collared of the field,
perched on the head of a dead Turk, and picking out his eye ;
no doubt an agreeable memorial of a hard fought fight !
A singular coat, Plate XXIII., fig. 5, belongs to the
Scottish family of MoRlSONS of Dairsie in Fife. Argent,
three Saracen's heads erased, conjoined in one neck, and
wreathed with laurel all proper, the faces respectively
turned tozvards the chief and flanks of the shield. In
Foreign Heraldry a somewhat similar arrangement is
known as a " Tete de Gerion? and is borne as the canting
coat of the Trivulzi of Milan, d'Or, a un tete de Ge'rion
de carnation, couronnc d'or, avec les barbes et cheveux
grises. Here the tre volti, triple faces, are two in
profile towards the flanks ; the third is affrontc.
The head of Janus with its double face, occurs in the
arms of several families, e.g., Janer in Spain bears : Or,
the head of Janus crozvned with an antique crown proper.
The head of ARGUS is the charge of the arms of the
French family of SANTEUIL : d'Azur, a uue tcte d } Argus
d'or, the head being plentifully covered with an inde-
finite number of eyes — of course these are amies
parlantes = " cent ceuil?
Other heads are occasionally met with ; the heads of
Boreas, ^Eolus, Midas, and of St. John the Baptist,
and St. DENIS, have all of them come under my observa-
tion, and some of them in more than one instance.
The conventional representation of a CHERUB — the
( 2I 4 )
angelic head surrounded by six wings — appears in the
arms of the Italian family of BUOCAFOCO ; — Gules, a
seraph or. Three such cherubs are the coat of the
French ChErins ; a" Or, a trois cherubins de gueules ;
and the Counts TRIANGI naturally bear : Gules, a
chevron ployc argent between three cherubs proper, their
wings or. The Gryns of Cologne chose as their heraldic
property the coat : Sable, three human heads affrontes,
grinning, or grimacing, proper (/) and crowned or.
The Human Eye appears as a charge (usually in armes
parlantes) in more coats than might have been expected.
The coat of the HESHUYSENS of Amsterdam is : Azure,
two human eyes in fess proper (Plate XXIII., fig. 11).
The Roman family of BUSSI bore the same. Vert, on a
canton argent an eye proper, is the coat of Walker of
Barbados (? a waker ! !) The Catalan GRANULLAS bear :
Or, two human eyes in chief proper.
The FlNlELS of Languedoc have no less than nine ;
d'Azur, a neufyeux ouverts d'argcnt, 3, 3, 3.
In the coat of the French family of DENIS the eyes
are weeping, de Gueules, a deux yeux larmoyants au naturel,
les larmes d 'argent en chef, et une rose d'or en point. The
BELLEVOIRS carry the matter further ; their coat is :
Sable, two human eyes in chief proper, the base of the
shield seme de larmes argent. One more example will
suffice — the FORMANOIRS bear : Or, fretty sable, the
claire-voies charged with human eyes proper.
Of the Human Heart in Armory, not perhaps the
oldest but the most famous example occurs in the
DOUGLAS coat to which the heart was added (at first
uncrowned) by the first Earl of DOUGLAS, in commemora-
tion of his uncle the good Sir James having set out to
Palestine bearing the heart of his royal master, in order
that it might be deposited in the soil of the Holy Land :
a journey frustrated by his falling in an encounter with
the Moors in Spain {see LOCKHART'S Spanish Ballads).
( 2i 5 )
It may be remarked here that the heart in the arms of
DOUGLAS remained uncrowned until a date later than the
Union of the Kingdoms in 1603 (Plate XXIII., fig. 12).
Or, a heart gules, is borne by CORTI. Argent, three
Jiearts gules (d 'Argent, a trois cocurs de gueules), is the
canting coat of CCEURET, Marquis de NESLE ; and
d' Argent, three green hearts (d 'Argent, a trois coeurs de
sinople), that of CCEURVERT. Or, three hearts sable, the
points inpairle, are the arms of the Counts of Dernbach.
Argent, a chevron sable, between three hearts inflamed
gules, is the allusive coat of AMANT, in France. The
arms of JACQUES CCEUR of Bourges, in 1450, were:
Azure, on a fess or, between three hearts proper as many
escallops sable.
In many coats additions of a sentimental character are
found. Azure, a heart inflamed or, is borne by St.
HlLAIRE ; Or, a heart gules, a pansy issuant therefrom,
azure {or vert), is the coat of Chailous, or Chaylau ;
Azure, a heart or, winged argent, is that of GENESTET.
But even a more distinctively "Valentine" character
is found at times. The GOESHEN, or GbSCHEN,
family bear : Argent, a heart gules, infl.amed and
pierced by an arrow or, the point and feathers azure.
The GujANS of Chiir bear : Azure, a heart gules,
pierced by two arrows in saltire argent, the flame
has been sublimed into a surmounting estoile. The family
of RHODIUS of Brabant bear : Gules, a heart inflamed,
pierced by two darts or. The Vanns of Holland
use: Or, two human hearts gules inflamed or, the dexter
projecting over the sinister. The arms of the Counts
COLLEONI of Milan are, in modern times, blazoned as :
Per pale argent and gules, three hearts reversed counter-
changed. In ancient, and less delicate, times the bearings
had a different significance as amies parlantes.
Sable, a comb argent in a lock of golden hair, was borne
by BLOUD. Or, six beards sable, are the arms of the
( 216 )
Venetian BARBANI ; and Or, a beard sable, of the
BARBONIANI.
The TONGUE appears as a charge in the coat of
LlNGUET : Azure, two pens in salt ire argent, on a chief of
the last three tongues gules.
The Lips (and TEETH) are used in the canting coat of
LlPPE of Switzerland : Argent, two upper lips each above
a row of teeth fessezvays in pale proper, all within a bordure
azure.
The TEETH sometimes appear alone : Argent, three
molars gules are borne by CAIXAL of Spain ; Or, on a
fcss gules three double-teeth argent, is the coat of the
Dutch KlES.
The Jaw-Bon E is used in the coat of the Spanish
QUEXADA : Argent, five jaw-bones gules 2, 1, 2 ; while
OuiJADA bears : Argent, four lower jaws, 2, 2, azure.
The whole SKULL, either alone, or in conjunction
with crossbones, is occasionally used as a heraldic
charge ; as by DlDlER DE Mortal : de Sable, a trois
tetes de mort d* argent ; au chef d'azur charge d'un cheval
issuant du second (note the "pale horse " of death, REV.
vi. 8, in the chief). Argent, on a chevron ivavy sable a
skull proper, is the old coat of CUST. Van GORCUM in
Holland bears : Per pale (a) Gules, two crossbones
supporting a skull argent ; (b) Azure, two stvords in
saltire proper. The Dalmatian family of MORTE is even
more funereal : Sable, two crossbones in saltire supporting
a skull argent ; these were the bearings on the piratical
flag known as the "Jolly Roger."
The whole SKELETON is used as supporters by the
Pelets ; and as a crest by the Van SCHOONHOVENS of
Ghent (holding an arrow and between two wings or), and
by TOD VON Lewenthal (holding bow and arrow and
between two horns per fess, the dexter or and sable ; the
sinister sable and argent).
In the coat of the family of DE LA SABLONNIERE of
( 2'7 )
the Netherlands two human skeletons sable hold a seive
gules in an argent field. The family of LEICHNAM, in
Hesse, bear : Gules ; a corpse enshrouded on a bier proper,
as canting arms.
In British armory the Human Arm is very frequently
employed as a crest, often embowed and vamb raced,
that is in armour ; sometimes couped at the elbow,
and upright (a cubit ami), and holding a variety of
weapons, etc. : Argent, a /land appaume (i.e., open, show-
ing the palm) couped gules, are the arms of O'NEILL,
Earl of TYRONE ; the sinister hand is known as the
" Badge of ULSTER," and is the distinguishing mark
of the dignity of all Baronets except those of Nova
Scotia.
Azure, a hand appaume argent, are the canting arms of
Magne, in France, and are also those of the family of
WAROQUIER, or Varoouier ; whence arose the French
proverbial " Je te donnerai les amies de Varoquier!"
a threat of a box on the ear ! A BLESSING Hand is
one of which the thumb and two first fingers are alone
extended, as in the act of Episcopal benediction. In
Italian armory the hand thus drawn is called mano
gi 'u ran te, when it issues from clouds it becomes the mano
benedicente.
Such a hand occurs occasionally as in the arms of
BENOIT : Azure, a chevron or, between three hands blessing
argent. It is the crest of the Millars of Scotland.
Azure, three hands (sometimes dexter, sometimes
sinister) argent, are the amies parlantes of Malmayns ;
and Or', three clenched Jists proper, those of PoiGNET ;
Azure, a clenched fist proper, is the coat of FAUST.
Argent, a chevron azure betzveen three sinister hands
appaumes gules is borne by the Lords Maynard (Plate
XXIII., fig. 7), while the French Counts Maynard de
St. Michel are content to use d'Asur a une main
dextre appaumce d'or.
( «8 )
Gules, a fess between four hands {argent or or) is the
coat of the QUATERMAINES.
An arm is often represented as issuing from the edge
of the shield. In some University arms it issues from
the chief, as in those of the UNIVERSITY OF PARIS, which
are : Azure, tJiree fleurs-de-lis or, a hand and arm issuing
from clouds in chief and holding a book proper. In French
blazon an arm is called a dextrochere, or a senestrochere
according as it is represented with a right or a left hand.
(RlETSTAP says, but wrongly, according as it issues from
the dexter or sinister flank.) If the elbow is not shown
the term is un avant bras.
Or, a light hand and arm issuing from a cloud in sinister
flank and Jiolding a szvord proper in pale, was borne by
the princes Potemkin in Russia. The arms of the
County of SCHWERIN as quartered by the Princes of
MECKLENBURG are: Gules, an arm in armour to the
wrist emboived issuing from clouds on the sinister side,
and holding a gem ring, all proper, round the arm a scarf
azure. (The clouds were originally only the puffings at
the top of the sleeve !)
Or, a chief azure, thereon a hand and arm proper vested
ermine, the maniple ermine extending over the field in
pale ; is the coat of VlLLlERS DE L'lSLE Adam, Grand
Master of the Knights of the Hospital of St. John.
Similar to this the coat of MoilUN : Gules, a dexter arm
proper in a maunch ermine, the hand holding a fleur-de-lis
or.
In French armory two arms are sometimes represented
as issuing from the flanks, the hands being clasped in the
centre of the escucheon ; this bearing is known as a Foi.
D'Azur, a une Foi d'or were the arms of Foi DE
St. Maurice. (Plate XXXVI., fig. 12), is the coat of
FERRUS : de Gueules a une Foi d'or, les mains d* argent.
This bearing occurs in a very few instances in English
Heraldry. Sable, two arms issuing f?'om the flanks and
( 2*9 )
embowed in fess argent, the hands conjoined, between
three crescents of the second, is recorded in Camden's
Visitation of Huntingdonshire \n 1613 (Camden Society),
p. 55 for CRESPIN, or CRISPIN. Gules, two arms issuing
from the flanks, the hands conjoined argent between three
hearts or ; are the amies parlarites of PUREFOY, Bishop
of Hereford (15 54- 1557). Another coat borne by a
family of the same name is : Sable, six armed hands
embracing hi pairs argent two and one. Sable, two arms
issuing from the flanks in base, conjoined in chevron and
grasping a human heart or, is the allusive coat of DE LA
FOY.
' Gules three dexter arms vambraced fessways in pale
argent, the hands proper, is the coat of ARMSTRONG.
Gules, three dexter arms conjoined at the shoulders, and
flexed in pairle or, the fists clenched proper ; is borne by
the family of Tremayne (Plate XXIII., fig. 10).
Human Rib Bones appear in the canting coats of
Costanzo of Naples, de la Coste du Vivier, etc.
The arms of the Portugese DA COSTA are : Gules, six
human ribs argent, ranged 2, 2, 2, fessways in pale.
Human Legs and Feet occur with some frequency
as Heraldic charges. Argent, a man's leg erased at the
thigh in pale sable, is borne by the family of Prime in
Sussex (Plate XXIII., fig. 8).
The well-known insignia of the Island and King-
DOM OF MAN (Plate XXIII., fig. 9) is at least as ancient
as the middle of the thirteenth century. This with a
winged head at the junction of the legs was the ancient
symbol of Trinacria (Sicily) afterwards adopted as the
arms of that kingdom under Mu RAT, and it is interest-
ing as an example of a heraldic charge evolved out of
ancient symbolism. As borne in comparatively modern
times it is blazoned as : Gules, three legs in armour em-
bowed and conjoined at the thighs proper, spurred and
garnished or. An early example of this coat is engraved
( 220 )
in Mr PlanchE's Pursuivant, p. 112, with the legs en-
cased in the banded chain mail of the thirteenth century,
and without spurs. The arms of MAN have been quar-
tered as "Arms of Pretension" by various English
families ; and still appears among the quarterings borne
by the Earls of Derby ; the Dukes of Athole ; and
M'LEOD. The legs would in foreign blazon be described
as " conjoined in pairle : " and on the Continent the coat
is thus borne by the Franconian family of Raben-
STEINER; and by DROGOMIR in Poland.
A remarkable Spanish coat is that borne by the family
of BONES COMBES: Or, two legs issuing from the flanks
of the shield, the feet immersed in zuatcr in base all proper.
{Escudo de oro, y dos piernas en ademan de banarse.
PlFERRER, Nobiliario de los Reinos y Sefiorios de Espana,
vol. i., No. 279, Madrid, 1857-1860.)
The MALAGAMBAS bear : Azure, a human leg proper,
shod, and pierced by an arrow in bend argent, distilling
blood. On a chief of the second three estoiles of the first.
FEET alone occur in the amies parlantes of Voet and
SNEEVOET of Flanders ; Asuie, three human feet argent.
A family of Voet in Holland bears : Gules, a human
foot argent ; and one of the same name in Flanders
bears : Azure, three human feet, the soles alone appearing,
proper. Argent, gutty de sang, on afess vert three human
feet proper, is the coat of the Counts von Barfuss in
Prussia.
CHAPTER VIII.
ANIMATE CHARGES : — II. BEASTS.
I. THE Lion. — No animal has anything like so
prominent a position in early, and even in later heraldry,
as that which is held by the Lion.
The earliest known example of it is on the seal of
Philip I., Count of Flanders, appended to a document
of 1 164; and before long it became the ensign of the
Princes of Norway, Denmark, Scotland, and
(according to most writers on the subject) ENGLAND,
of the Counts of HOLLAND, in fact of most of the leading-
potentates of Europe, with the important exception of
the German Emperors and the Kings of France. In
England in the reign of Henry III. it was borne by so
many of the principal nobles, that no idea can have
existed that sovereign houses had an exclusive right to
it. In Foreign armory the coats in which the lion
appears as the principal, most frequently as the sole
charge, may be numbered by thousands.
The English lions which appear first on the seals of
Richard I., 1 195, 1 198 (Demay, Le Costume cTapres les
Sceaux, p. 144) were, in the reign of Henry III. and for
two centuries afterwards, more generally designated
leopards, and that not only (as has been said) in
derision by the French but by the English themselves.
In token of their being his armorial insignia, three
leopards were sent to Henry III. by the Emperor
Frederick II., Glover's Roll, c. 1250, which gives
lions to six of the English Earls, begins with " Le roy
( 222 )
d'Angleterre portc, Goules trots hipards d'or." On the
occasion of the marriage of the same King's daughter, the
Princess MARGARET, with King ALEXANDER III. of
Scotland, a robe was made for the King, of purple sar-
cenet with three leopards in front and three behind ; and
these little leopards were also placed on the violet
brocade robe made for the Queen {Close Roll, 1252).
The designation of leopards continued to be generally
adhered to throughout the reigns of the three EDWARDS,
though the identity of the animals was occasionally
disputed; and NICOLAS Serby was "Leopard" Herald
in the reign of Henry V. But by the end of the
fifteenth century it seems to have been decided by com-
petent authority that the three beasts in the royal coat
were lions ; and the early armorialists, John of Guild-
ford, Nicholas Upton, and the rest, protest strongly
against their being called anything else.
Mr PLANCHE considers that, from a historical point
of view, these writers and their successors are in the
right, and his reasoning is somewhat as follows. In the
early days of coat-armour, more especially in England,
the animals most usually met with were lions and
leopards, which in the rude drawing of the day were
distinguishable only by their respective attitudes. The
lion's normal position was rampant ; the " ramping and
roaring lion " of the Psalmist, erect and showing but one
eye and one ear ; that of a leopard was what came to be
defined as " passant-gardant," walking along but showing
both eyes and ears. As the necessity for varying the
attitude of either animal arose out of the multiplication
of coats, the terms came into use of leopard lionnc for
what we call a lion rampant-gardant, and lion leoparde
for a lion passant. Now, when a lion came to be
repeated more than once in a coat of arms, and space
did not admit of its being placed in the rampant
attitude, it was very apt to assume the position of
( 22 3 )
a lion leoparde, or even of a leopard simply. In
any case, however, after a universal and authoritative
recognition of four hundred years' standing of the
English royal animals as lions, they can hardly again
be degraded on doubtful antiquarian grounds into
leopards. The idea that sprang up in the Middle Ages
that the leopard was the issue of the pard and lioness,
helped to bring that heraldic animal into disrepute, and
accounts for the anxiety of the early English armorial
writers to adopt or revert to the designation of lions.
The earliest trace which we have of the arms of any
member of the English royal house is on the shield of
King JOHN as prince, on whose seal are two lions passant,
or lions tiopardes. On the other hand the earliest Great
Seal of Richard I. (c. 1189), where we have also the
earliest representation of the arms of any actual monarch,
exhibits a lion rampant contoume ; but as the convex
shield presents but half its surface, Mr Planche (follow-
ing HENRY Spelman in his Aspilogia) considers that
the complete device had been two lions rampant-com-
batant. {See the Catalogue of Seals in the British Museum,
vol. i., No. 80.) He finds corroboration of this view in
the words of the contemporary poet William DE Barr,
who says of Richard, "rictus agnosco leonum illius in
clypeo;" and in the description in GEOEFREY VlNESAUF'S
Chronicle of his interview with FREDERICK BARBAROSSA,
in the Isle of Cyprus, where the English King's saddle is
described as having behind " two small lions of gold
turned towards each other with their mouths open and
each stretching out his fore-legs as if to attack and devour
the other." It may be remarked that VlNESAUF'S
evidence would be stronger if he had alluded to the lions
as the coat-armour of Richard ; his description rather
implies that they were embroidered on his saddle.
The first certain appearance of the lions of ENGLAND
is on the second Great Seal of Richard I., in 1198.
( 224 )
On it the shield borne by the king is charged with the
three lions passant gardant in pale {Catalogue of Seals in
British Museum, vol. i., No. 87).
In French blazon the old distinction between the
lion and the leopard is still preserved. The lion is our
lion rampant. The leopard is the same beast but
passant-gardant ; while the name lion-leopard^ is given
to our lion passant, and that of leopard-lionne to the lion
rampant-gardant.
The knowledge of natural history possessed by the
early heralds, or wearers of coat-armour, was limited.
Most of them had never seen a lion ; but the graphic
and spirited character of the drawing made up for its
want of realism. The lions of the fourteenth century
are perhaps the best. Towards the sixteenth their
grotesque character becomes somewhat exaggerated ;
but they still convey the idea of strength and kingly
dignity ; and are vastly superior to the utterly un-
idealised lion of more modern heraldry.
When a lion, or other animal, is described as armed
argent and langued gules, it is meant that the claws and
teeth are argent, and the tongue gules. In English
heraldry it is presumed that, unless otherwise blazoned,
the lion is armed and langued gules, and there is there-
fore no occasion to mention the fact. In the case,
however, of either the lion, or the field on which it is
borne, being gules, the lion is represented armed and
langued azure, unless otherwise described.
In foreign armory a lion is understood to be repre-
sented rampant unless some other position be expressed,
and it may be noticed that the royal beast is only very
exceptionally borne proper, that is of its natural
colours. An instance is found in the arms of the
TERREROS of Biscay who bear: Arge?it, a lion rampant
proper ; the same on a field or, is the coat of the English
family of Dean. Of the multitude of coats charged
PLATE XXIV.
\<&
1. Lion Rampant.
(Holland).
2. Lion rampant-gardant. 3. Lion rampant-regardant.
(Say n.) (Pryse.)
4. Lion9 passant. 5. Lions passant-gardant. 6. Lions passant-regardant.
(< lifford.) (Lc Strange.) (M'Mahon.)
7. Lion salient.
(Fclhridye.)
^4
8. Lion dismembered. 9. Lion queue fourchee.
(Maitland.) (Sutton.)
10. Tricorporate Lion.
(Nashc.)
11. Winged Lion. 12. Lioncels.
( Venice. ) ( Lowjespe'e, Ea rl of Sal isbury. )
( 22 5 )
with lions only a few ancient examples can be recorded
here.
Or, a lion rampant sable (d'Or, au lion de sable) is the
well-known coat of the Counts of FLANDERS ; of the
House of WETTIN.Markgraves of MEISSEN ; of the Duchy
of JULIERS (quartered by the Counts PALATINE OF THE
Rhine, and in the Royal Escucheon of PRUSSIA) ; of the
Lords of KONIGSTEIN ; and of MAHLBERG (the latter
quartered by the Princes of NASSAU, and the Grand-
Dukes of BADEN). It was borne by the Counts of
LYONNAIS et Forez, and the families of GRASSE, and
LEON {Salle des Croise's, 1096). In Britain it was used
by the families of Welles ; GRIFFITHS, Princes of
CARDIGAN ; and by their kinsmen the Mathews.
Or, a lion rampant gules (d'Or, au lion de gueules) is
the blazon of the Counts of HOLLAND (Plate XXIV.,
fig. 1), and was the original coat of the Counts of HAPS-
BURG, now Emperors of AUSTRIA. It was also early
borne in France by the families of FOUCAULD ; and DU
PUY ; in Germany by the Counts Unruh ; RECKHEIM ;
and ROUCY ; in Britain by the CHARLETONS, and other
descendants of the Princes of Powys ; in Scotland by
Farquharson, Macdonald, and Macintosh ; and
by the DUFFS, Earls, now Dukes, of Fife.
Argent, a lion rampant azure (d' Argent, au lion d'azur')
is the coat of the CRICHTONS of Frendraught ; of the
BRUCES, and FAUCONBERGES, or FALCONBRIDGES ;
and of the Counts MENSDORFF-PouiLLY of Austria.
Argent, a lion rampant gules (d Argent, au lion de
gueules) is borne by POWYS in Wales ; the Counts of
ARMAGNAC in France ; the Barons of WARTENBERG
(Wappenrolle von Zurich, No. 191), the Counts von
ALTDORF ; the PREISSACS, Dues de FlMARCON, and
D'ESCLIGNAC in France ; and by the family of
FEZENSAC (Salle des Croise's, 1097).
Argent, a lion rampant sable (d' Argent, au lion de sable),
vol. 1. Q
( 226 )
are the arms of STAPLETON, and Fjtz Roger in
England, the Welsh families of Lloyd ; Morgan ;
Wynn, etc., the Counts BARBARANI, and LOREDAN of
Venice, the Barons BERSTETT of Austria, the French
families of FlENNES, and POLASTRON (both in the Salle
des Croises, thirteenth century), etc.
Azure, a lion rampant argent (d 1 Azur, au lion d' argent)
is borne in England by the MONTALTS, and Crewes ;
in Scotland by LAMONT, M'DOUGALL, etc. In Italy it
was carried by the BELLUOMI, and the Venetian
Rossi, etc.
Azure, a lio?z rampant or, is a coat of frequent
occurrence both in Britain and on the Continent. At
home it is an early coat of NEVILE ; BRAOSE or
Brevvys ; and was borne by HUGHES ; Meredith ;
and LLOYD in Wales ; in France by Saulx, Due et
Pair de Tavannes ; the families of La Noe, PlEDEFER,
MUSY, etc.
Gtiles, a lion rampant argent are the arms of the
English . Mowbravs, quartered by the Duke of
NORFOLK ; and of the Scottish Wallaces. Abroad
it is borne by the PONTEVES, Dues de Sabran {Salle
des Croises, 1096) ; the Neapolitan Counts d'Ariano ;
the LOVENSCHILDS of Denmark: the ANTOINGS, Van
NOORDENS, etc., ol the Low Countries, etc.
Gules, a lion rampant or (de Gueules, au lion d'or) the
arms of FlTZ Alan of Arundel, is also a coat borne with
great frequency. It is the old coat of the Dukes of
ZAHRINGEN ; of the Vicomtes de GOYON ; of the
MaulE"ONS, and Lautrecs, crusaders in 1224; of the
MONTLEONS, bannerets of Touraine ; MONTBAZON,
Soissons, Rostaing, Sabran, Verthamont, etc.
Or, a lion rampant azure, the arms of LOUVAIN, is the
well-known coat of PERCY, Earls of Northumberland ;
and of Rivers, Earls of Devon, etc. It was also borne
by the Counts of Zutphen, in Holland ; by the Princes
( 22 7 )
of SOLMS ; by the GRAMONTS (Dues de CADEROUSSE,
GUICHE, and GRAMONT, in France) ; by the Neapolitan
ACQUAVIVA, Dukes of ASTI, etc.
Sable, a lion rampant argent is the coat of CROMWELL ;
and of SEGRAVE (later crowned or) in England ; of the
Duchy of AOSTA; of the Norman Counts of Meul-
LENT ; of the Barons of OUERNFURTH ; and the Counts
of GONDRECOURT.
Sable, a lion rampant or {de Sable, au lion d'or) are the
arms of the Duchy of BRABANT ; of the CAPECI of
Naples ; the Marquesses of NYDEGGEN ; (crowned it is
borne by the Princes of REUSS).
Vert, a lion rampant argent {de Sinople, au lion d 'argent),
is borne by the Barons BOLEBEC in England, the
Humes or Homes of Scotland, the Diaz of Spain, etc.
A list at least as extensive might easily be given in which
the like arms are borne with the simple differences of the
addition of a crown — as in the coat of the Lordship of
GALLOWAY : Azure, a lion rampant argent, crowned or, also
borne by the Counts of GLEICHEN ; and of Eberstein
(one of the BRUNSWICK quarterings), — or of the lion's
tail being fourchee (originally a mere freak of the artist's
brush, afterwards converted into a real mark of differ-
ence) thus : Argent, a lion rampant queue fourchee gules,
is the coat of Valkenburg ; and in England was borne
by MOUNTFORD ; HAVERING ; ST. PAUL ; and BREWSE.
It must be remembered that many coats which are
now charged with a lion crowned, bore originally the
lion uncrowned. With regard to two coats differing
only in this particular we are not able to say that one
certainly belongs to such a family, and that the other
certainly does not. With the above indications of the im-
portant position occupied by the lion in British and Foreign
Heraldry it may suffice to add here a few other examples
in which the royal beast figures in important coats.
The MARSHALLS, Earls of PEMBROKE bore : Per pale
( 228 )
Or and vert, a lion rampant sable. The TALBOT coat is,
Gules, a lion rampant within a bordure engrailed or ; the
Greys of Howick bore the same, but with the charges
argent.
The Counts of POICTOU ; the GOYONS, Dues of
VALENTINOIS ; the Dukes of COURLAND ; the Counts
of SUSENBERG, etc., all bore: Aigent, a lion rampant
gules, crowned or.
Azure, billetty and a lion rampant or, are the well-known
arms of the Counts of NASSAU (v. Vol. II., pp. 81, 108).
A similar coat : Argent, billetty {couches) azure, a lion-
rampant gules, was borne by the Counts of GEROLUSECK
{v. Vol. II., p. 1 14).
Azure, fleury and a lioji rampant argejit, is the coat
of HOLLAND of England ; and, with the charges or, of
BEAUMONT, both in England and in France. Azure,
crusily a lion rampant or, was borne by the BRAOSES,
BREUS, or BREWES {v. ante BRUCE, p. 1 54) ; the LOVELLS
bore the reverse.
The tressured lion of SCOTLAND is treated separately
(p. 187, etc.), but Argent, a lion rampant within the Royal
Tressure azure, is the coat of Lyon, Earl of
STRATHMORE. With regard to the coat of the Earls
of STRATHMORE it is noticeable that in modern times
the tincture of the tressure was often changed to gules,
but without any authority. It is curious that Sir JAMES
BALFOUR gives a bend sinister engrailed over all, with
the date 1423 ; PORTEOUS also adds a bend engrailed
{See STODART, Scottish Arms, ii., 42). There is in the
Record Office in London a document bearing the seal
of Sir JOHN Lyon of Glamis, son of the Sir John who
married the Lady Jean, second daughter of King
ROBERT II., and father of Patrick, first Lord Glamis.
It bears the Lyon arms as now useJ, but with the
addition of a dexter bend engrailed, and with lions as
supporters. On the seal of PATRICK the bend is omitted.
( 229 )
Or, a lion rampant gules, crowned azure was the coat of
the Counts of KATZENELNBOGEN, on the Rhine, since
quartered by the Princes of ORANGE, and NASSAU. It
was also borne by the French ALBERTS, Dues de
LUYNES, Chaulnes, Chevreuse, etc. The Princes of
TOUR and TAXIS quarter it for the County of
Valsassina.
In Plate XXIV., are exhibited the attitudes of lions in
later heraldry, some of which are applicable to other
animals. In the examples which were given above, all
are in the original and most frequent attitude known as
rampant, the left foot alone supporting the body, the
head in profile, the tail elevated and curved, as in fig. I,
the arms of PERCY. In the position known as rampant-
gardant (the leopard lionne of French blazon) the
attitude of body, legs, and tail is the same but the
head is front faced, i.e. the full face is turned towards
the spectator as in the coat of SHERBURNE of
Stonyhurst in Lancashire, Argent, a lion rampant-
gardant vert. Azure, fleury, a lion rampant-gardant
argent is the original coat of the HOLANDS, or HOLLANDS,
Earls of KENT, and Dukes of SURREY. Gules, a lion
rampant-gardant or, is borne by the Counts and Princes
of Sayn. (Plate XXIV., fig. 2.)
When the lion is rampant-regardant the general atti-
tude is the same but the head looks backward and is
accordingly seen in profile, as in No. 3, the coat of
Pryse of Goggerdan in Wales, Or, a lion rampant-
regardant sable. Or, a lion rampant-regardant gules, was
borne by Guthrie of Halkertoun in Scotland.
When passant (in French blazon, un lion leoparde') the
beast is depicted in a walking attitude the dexter fore-
paw elevated, the other three resting on the ground, the
head in profile and the tail curved over the back, as in
the English coat of GlFFARD, or GlFFORD (No. 4).
Gules, three lions passant argent {de Gueules, a trois lions
( 230 )
leopardes d y argent). Gules, tzvo lions passant in pale or,
was borne by the House of GUELF, Dukes of Brunswick,
and is also quartered in the shield of NASSAU for the
Counts of DlETZ. The position termed passant-regardant,
the attitude of the Royal lions of ENGLAND, is the same,
but the animals are front or full-faced, as in No. 5, the
coat of LESTRANGE, Gules, two lions passa7it-gardant
argent {de Gueules, a deux leopards d 'argent). A rgent, a
lion passant-gardant gules, crowned with an imperial crown,
and gorged with an open one, both proper, are the arms of
Ogilvy, (Earls of Airly, Findlater, Seafield, etc.).
The same position with the head in profile and looking
backward is known as passant-garda?it, as in (No. 6)
the Irish coat of MacMahon : Argeiit, three lions pass ant -
regardant in pale gules. This coat is also borne by the
Marquises of M acMahon in France, the family to which
belonged the late President of the French Republic, Le
Marechal Marie EumE Patrice MacMahon, Due de
MAGENTA, who bore the same arms : d' Argent, a trois
lions leopardes de gueules gardant ; with the addition of
the special augmentation of a Duke of the French
Empire: a chief gules seme of etoiles (drawn as mullets)
argent {a un chef de gueules seme d' etoiles d' argent).
An attitude slightly differing from rampant, is that
known as salient, in which the animal is represented in
the act of springing upon its prey, both its hind legs
being on the ground and its fore-paws elevated and
extended, as in Plate XXIV., fig. 7. Or, a lion salient
sable, the coat of Felbridge. The arms of the Dal-
LINGTONS are : Gules, a lion salient or. (This is an
attitude seldom, or never, met with in foreign blazon.)
A few other attitudes are enumerated by heralds, but
though sometimes used for crests, are rarely if ever found
in arms ; such is statant, in which the lion stands with
all four legs upon the ground. In French blazon this is
described as pose'. A lion in the same attitude but
( 231 )
presenting his full face to the spectator, is said to be
statant-gardant. This is the attitude in which the lion
now appears in the Royal Crest of England. In some
modern blazons the word statant is omitted.
The lion couchant is represented lying down ; and
dormant, as sleeping with its head resting on its fore*-
paws. Sable, a lion or, couchant upon a terrace azure is the
coat of the family of Hein of Lorraine. Sejant is the
term applied to a lion sitting ; — sejant-gardant, when in
this attitude the full face is shown ; — sejant-rampant when
though still seated the fore-paws are raised in the air, as
in the coat of HOHENHAUSER of Suabia ; Argent, a lion
sejant-rampant sable ; — and sejant-affronte when, as in the
Royal Crest of SCOTLAND, the seated lion is shown with
its whole body facing the spectator.
Or, a lion rampant dismembered, or couped at all its
joints, gules (Plate XXIV., fig. 8), borne within the Royal
Tressure, or various bordures, is the coat of the Mait-
LANDS, an allusive coat to an old orthography of the name
" mautelent," or mutilated. Allusion has already been
made to the representation of the lion with a double tail
{queue fourche'e), and to the fact that this, which has in
process of time become a real difference in the case of
some important coats, arose simply from the exuberance
of the painter's fancy in treating the central enlargement
of the tail of the conventional mediaeval lion.
The coat of the kingdom of BOHEMIA is now, Gules, a
lion rampant, queue fourchee argent, crowned or. (In the
fourteenth century Zurich Wappenrolle the tail is thus
treated.) In the Historical Heraldry of ENGLAND we
have other examples: Gules, a lion rampant queue fourche'e
argent, is the coat of SlMON DE MONTFORT, Earl of
LEICESTER, and Or, a lion rampant queue fourchee vert, was
borne by the SUTTONS, Barons DUDLEY (Plate XXIV.,
fig. 9); Azure, a lion rampant queue fourchee or, appears
in the old Rolls of Arms for STAPLETON. In many
( 2 3 2 )
important historic coats the lion is represented crowned
(in some cases the crown is a much later addition to the
original arms). In many coats especially in foreign
armory the lion grasps some object with its paws; thus
Azure, a lion rampant, or holding a quince of the last, slipped
fert, are the arms of the Italian Sforza. Azure, on a
mount in base vert, a lion rampant crowned or, and holding
a sabre argent, is borne by the Princes of KOHARY in
Hungary. At times it is collared (with or without a
chain), or gorged with a coronet or antique crown. A
lion is said to be morne in the very rare examples in
which it is deprived of its natural weapons the teeth and
claws. A lion morne appears as a canting charge in the
coat of the old French family of DE Mornay : Fasce
d y argent, et de gueules, au lion morne de sable couronne d 1 or
brochant sur le tout. I have noticed that the lion morne
occurs in the arms of several old Breton families, Ker-
BOURIOU, KERBESCAT, KERANGUEN, etc. It is styled
diffamed when without a tail, and evire vt\\ex\ represented
without indications of sex. Other leonine monsters are
occasionally found, eg., two-headed lions, and lions bi-
corporate and tri-coporate. An example of the last is
afforded by the coat assigned to the family of Nash ;
Or, a tricorporate lion rampant azure, the bodies issuing
from the dexter and sinister chief points and from the base,
all uniting in one head gardant in the fess point (Plate
XXIV., fig. 10).
The arms of the Republic of VENICE are the Evan-
gelistic Symbol of its Patron Saint, St. Mark. Azure,
a winged lion couchant or, holding between its fore-paws an
open book thereon the words Pax TIBL Marce, Evan-
GELISTA (MEUS) proper (Plate XXIV., fig. 1 1).
By an utterly unnecessary refinement the name of
lioncels is often given to a number of lions represented in
the same field, or to lions charged upon an Ordinary, and
therefore of smaller size. Thus, the coat of William
( 233 )
LONGESPEE, Earl of SALISBURY (Plate XXIV., fig. 12),
is often blazoned : Azure, six lioncels three, two, one, or.
The family of DE BEAUVAU in France thus blazons its
coat : (T Argent, a quatre lionceaux de gueules armes et
couronne's d'or (these lions are represented 2 and 2).
We often find instances in which the lion is borne not
of one tincture but barry, or bendy, or chequy, or other-
wise divided. The arms of the Grand Dukes of HESSE
are : Azure, a lion barry argent and gules crowned or
(Vol. II., Plate XI., fig. 3). The Spanish Mendez
bear : Argent, on a lion gules three bends or. B LAN CARS
uses : Or, a lion rampant per bend argent and gules.
Lions and other animals ordinarily face to the dexter
side of the shield, unless otherwise blazoned ; when they
are required to, face the sinister they are said to be
contournes. But in Germany this is a matter which is
treated as of no importance. The German Heraldic
artist who arranges a series of shields for decorative pur-
poses has no hesitation about turning the charges to the
sinister if it seem desirable ; and in the case of quartered
or impaled coats in which several lions appear, it is
quite usual to make the lions turn so as to face each
other, or to look towards the central line of the shield.
Thus in the arms of WALLENSTEIN, Duke of FRIED-
LAND, the arms are Quarterly, 1 and 4. Or a lion
rampant azure, crowned of the field ; 2 and 3. Azure, a
lion rampant crowned or. Over all, as an augmentation,
the Imperial arms : Or, a double-headed eagle displayed
sable. Here the lions in the first and third quarters
are drawn contournes, so as to face those in the second
and fourth (cf. p. 145). The German Heralds arrange
helmets and crests on the same principle of symmetry.
(See Chapter XX.) It is needful to press these facts on
the minds of British Heralds who have been led into
ludicrous mistakes and absurd criticisms through their
ignorance of them.
( 234 )
In British heraldry two lions rampant placed face to
face are said to be counter-rampant, or combatant. When
back to back they are said to be addorsed {addosses), as
in the arms of the Counts of RECHBERG : Or, two lions
rampant addorsed gules, their tails intertwined.
Azure, two lions combatant argent, is the coat of
GARRARD (Plate XXV., fig. i). Per pale argent and or,
two lions combatant, the dexter gules the sinister azure, is
borne by the Barons STEIN DE BRAUNSDORF.
When two or more lions passant in pale face in
opposite directions they are said to be counter-passant,
as in Plate XXV., fig. 2 ; the arms of LEGGE : Or, two
lions counter-passant in pale azure. Or, three lions
counter-passant sable, is the coat of TESTU, Marquis de
BALINCOURT.
A demi-lion rampant, that is, the upper half of a lion
rampant, with a portion of the tail, often occurs as a
crest ; and very occasionally is used as a heraldic charge,
either issuant or naissant, terms which, though often con-
founded, should be carefully distinguished. The latter
term is only used when the charge is represented as
rising out of the middle of an Ordinary, or other charge
{quasi nunc esset in nascendd). Thus in Plate XXV., fig. 5,
is the coat of Sir Henry Eam, or ESME, K.G., temp.
EDWARD III ; Or, a demi-lion rampant gules naissant
from a/ess sable. Whereas fig. 4, the coat of CHALMERS
of Balnacraig, is blazoned : Argent, a demi-lion rampant
sable issuing out of a fess gules ; in base a fleur-de-lis of
the last. Fig. 3 is the coat of Mark HAM : Azure, on a
chef or a demi-lion rampant issuant gules. It should be
noticed that this distinction between naissant and issuant
is not observed by modern French Heralds, who apply
both terms indifferently to a demi-lion. So far as my
observation goes, if there is any distinction it is this :
that an animal rising from the base line of the shield, or
of an Ordinary, is generally said to be issuant {issani),
J 'LATE XXV.
1. Lions combatant.
(Garrard. )
MS
\ c
2. Counterpassant.
(Lcgge.)
3. Issuant.
(Markhaiti.)
4. Issuant.
(Chalmers.)
5. Naissant.
(Esme. )
6. Lions' Heads.
(ScoM.)
7. Lion's Gambs.
(Ncwdeyate. )
8. Lion's Paws.
( Usher. )
9. Lions' Tails.
(Corfre.)
10. Tiger.
(Loane.)
\
.^ ^
11. Leopards' faces reversed 12. Leopard's Face,
and jessant de lis. ( Pok> Dukc j Suffolk: )
(See of Hereford. )
( 235 )
while an animal rising out of the midst of it is usually
blazoned as naissant. D'Azur, au lion naissant d'or,
is the coat of CLAIRAMBAULT, Marquis de VENDEUIL;
with the lion crowned this is also the coat of the Barons
ERATH of Nassau. D'Azur > seme de fleur-de-lis d'or, au
lion naissant a" argent, was borne by the old French
crusading family of MOREUIL. {Salle des Croises, 1202.)
Per /ess, or, and wavy azure and argent ; in chief a
lion rampant issuant gules, are the arms of the County of
R6TELN, or R6TELEN {see Vol. II., Plate XV., fig. 3),
quartered in the full shield of the Grand-Dukes of Baden
{v. Vol. II., Plate VI., fig. 5). Or, tJiree demi-lions ram-
pant gules, is borne by ToURNAl, Comtes d'OlSl. Gules
three demi-lions rampant argent, in the centre point a bezant,
is the coat of the BENNETS, Earls of TANKERVILLE.
Parts of a lion are not unfrequent as charges, particu-
larly the head, either erased or couped. Argent, tJiree
lion's heads erased gules (Plate XXV., fig. 6) is the coat of
SCOTT of Balweary.
A lions gamb is the whole fore-leg, in the walking
attitude unless otherwise specified, as in Plate XXV.,
fig. 7, the coat of NEWDEGATE, which is Gules, three lions
gambs erased argent. Two lion's gambs, issuant from the
flanks of the shield and conjoined in clievron, is the bearing
of several English families, eg., Azure, two lion's gambs
chevronways argent, supporting a cinqucfoil or, is a coat of
Chippendale.
A lions paw is cut off at the middle joint, and is
usually drawn erect, as in Plate XXV., fig. 8, the coat of
USHER : Argent, three lions paws couped and erect sable.
Lion's tails are occasionally found as heraldic charges ;
as in the Cornish coat of CORKE : Sable, three lions tails
erect erased argent (fig. 9). They also occur as the cant-
ing coat of TAYLARD : Or, on a mount gules in base three
lion's tails erect of the second curved towards the sinister.
Only a single example of the use of the lioness as a
( 2 3 6 )
heraldic charge is known to me. The family of CoiNG
in Lorraine bears : d'Azur, a une lionne arrctee 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-gardant argent, its
feet or.
(284) CASTELN : Per pale or and argent, a lion statant-
gardant gules.
(305) WlLDENVELS : Per pale argent and sable, in the
first a demi-lion statant-gardant gules issuant from the
dividing line.
(408) TANNENVELS : Azure, a lion rampant or, queue
argent.
(489) Rinach : Or, a lion rampant gules headed azwe.
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: Bande d'or et d'azur ;
a r ombre du lion brochant sur le tout, a la bordure
engrelee d'or. Here the ombre du lion is properly repre-
sented 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.
Of coats in which several lions appear the following
are examples. Argent, two lions pass ant -gar d ant in pale
sable, are the arms of the Princes of HOHENLOHE.
Argent, three lions rampant gules, crowned or, is the
coat of the Princes and Dukes DE BARBANCON. Argent,
three lions rampant sable, crowned or, was borne by HALE-
WIJN of Flanders {Armorial de Gucldre). Gules, three
lions rampant or, was the coat of Prince TALLEYRAND-
PErigord.
Per pale azure and gules three lions rampant argent, is
the coat of the Herberts, Earls of Pembroke and
Montgomery ; it is also borne by Vaughan. Quar-
( 237 )
terly or and gules four lions passant-gardant counter-
changed, was borne by Llewellyn ap Griffith, Prince
of NORTH WALES ; and is still used at times as the arms
of the Principality of Wales. As such they appear on
the great seal of CHARLES, Prince of Wales, afterwards
King CHARLES I. {Cat. of Seals in Brit. Mus., vol. ii.,
No. 5565.)
II. OTHER BEASTS.
The TlGER. — The tiger of real life is but rare as an
armorial charge, and it is used in British armory mainly
as a crest, and for supporters granted to persons for
service in India. Thus the supporters granted to
OUTRAM (baronet) are two tigers, rampant gardant,
wreathed with laurels and crowned with Eastern crowns,
all proper.
The Heraldic Tiger found in a few English coats,
and sometimes used as a supporter, bears but little
resemblance to the real animal. As drawn it has the
body of a lion but the head nearly resembles that of a
wolf (Plate XXV., fig. 10). Azure, a tiger passant or,
is the coat of LOANE. In one or two old English
coats the tiger is drawn in combination with a mirror.
One of the old beliefs regarding the tigress was that she
was so greatly afflicted with vanity that she could be
robbed of her whelps if a mirror were placed in her path,
the depredators finding it easy to carry of their prey
while the mother was contemplating her personal charms !
{See GuiLLIM, Display of Heraldry, pp. 188, 189.) Argent,
a tiger passant or, regardant at a mirror on the ground
proper, was the coat of Si BELL of Kent.
The Leopard. — The leopard of natural history, as
distinct from the lion, is not a frequent charge in British
armory, and it is quite probable that in most ancient
instances in which it is found the lion was really
intended. Gules, a leopard passant-gardant or, spotted
( 2 3 8 )
sable, is the coat of Arlott, and here the charge is
clearly canting on the leopard of natural history (v. p.
223). The Princes of STELLA CARACCIOLI bear :
Quarterly, I and 4. Or, a leopard rampant azure
(STELLA) ; 2 and 3. Gules, three bends or, a, chief
azure (CARACCIOLI). The leopard also occurs occasion-
ally as a supporter. The leopard's head, however, is
a frequent heraldic charge : it is represented full-faced,
and no part of the neck appears. Plate XXV., fig. 12,
is the coat of POLE, Duke of SUFFOLK : Azure, a fess
between three leopard 's faces or.
The Marquises de Barb-ANCOIS in France bore : de
Sable, a trots tetes de leopard d'or, arraches et lampasses
de gueules.
A curious combination of the leopard's head (often
reversed) with the fleur-de-lis occurs in several old
English coats. Gules, tJiree leopard's heads jessant de lis
or, appears to have been borne by the family of Cante-
LUPE in the thirteenth century. Of this family was
Thomas de Cantelupe, Bishop of Hereford, 1275-
1282, and the arms since borne for that see (Plate XXV.,
fig. 1 1) are the arms of that prelate only differenced by
the leopard's heads being reversed. Mr Planche (in
his Pttrsuivant of Arms, pp. 103, 104,) shows that the
original arms of the Cantelupes were the fleurs-de-lis
alone ; and though it is quite possible that the leopard's
heads were added intentionally to mark an alliance or
sub-infeudation, it yet appears probable that, as his
engravings show, the charge may have been developed
out of a variation in the drawing of the fl.eur-de-lis
Sable, three leopard's heads reversed jessant-de-lis argent
are the arms of Woodford. Sable, three leopard's heads
or, jessant-de-lis argent, are those of MORLF.Y. Gules,
three leopard's heads or, jessant-de-lis azure, over all a
bend of the last, are the arms of TENNYSON, and probably
are only a variation of the similar arms of DENYS, or
( 2 39 )
DENNIS. Lord TENNYSON, the poet-laureate, had a
grant of the following coat : Gules, on a bend nebule
between three leopard's heads jessant-de-lis or, a laurel
wreath in chief proper.
With the heraldic leopard we may couple the Lynx,
the Panther, and the Wild Cat, or Catamount.
Sable, three lynxes passant gardant (otherwise salient)
argent, is the canting coat of Lynch. The Plombioli
of Padua, use : Gules, a panther rampant or, spotted vert.
The domestic cat, dignified by the old Heralds with
the title of musion, occurs in the canting arms of Keate,
or KEATS (A7gent, tJiree cats in pale sable). The
COMPTONS of Catton, bore in allusion to their place
of residence : Sable, tJiree cats passant-gardant argent
collared and belled or. There are several foreign coats
which bear a panther, but in the armory of Britain the
heraldic panther is only met as a supporter ; as thus
borne by the Duke of BEAUFORT it is a leopard-like
beast, inflamed at the ears and mouth, and seme of
roundles of various colours.
Per fess argent and gules, in chief a demi-panther
issuant azure inflamed proper, is borne by the Princes of
STARHEMBERG. Argent, a panther rampant azure, is the
coat of HOCHART of Wlirtemberg ; Azure, a panther
rampant argent crowned or, is that of the Pomeranian
JATSKOW, derived from the Polish hcrba of RYS who
bear : Azure, a lynx passant-regardant argent, croivned or.
BOAR. — The boar, i.e., the wild boar, or sanglier, is
represented in profile, and in British armory is usually
passant. Like the lion it is often described as armed
and langued, but this is needless when tusks and tongue
are of the natural colour. The French armorists call
the tusks of the wild boar its defenses, and the beast
instead of being termed armed is said to be defendu.
Vert, a boar passant argent (Plate XXVI., fig. i) is
the coat of the family of POLLARD. Argent, a boar
( 2 4 )
rampant sable, is the coat of the Counts von BASSEWITZ ;
the Barons von EBERSPERG bear : Argent, on a mount
vert a boar passant sable.
The head of the wild boar (Jiure) is of frequent
occurrence as a heraldic charge ; and is often described as
armed ; thus, Plate XXVI., fig. 2 is the coat of ELPHIN-
STONE : Argent, a chevron sable between three boar's
heads erased gules armed argent {d' Argent, au chevron
de sable, accompagnc de trot's hures de sanglier de gueules
aux defenses d' argent). Azure, tliree boars heads couped
or, is the well-known coat of the great Scottish family
of GORDON ; and Or, three boars heads erased gules,
armed and langued azure, is borne by IJRQUHART.
Sometimes the heads are borne erect, muzzle upwards ;
Argent, three boars heads erased erect sable, is the coat of
Booth (originally that of Barton, see Nisbet, ii., 49).
The domestic PlG, as distinct from the savage wild
boar, finds a place in Heraldry, usually as the charge
of a canting coat ; as for instance : — Azure, three boars
passant in pale argent, is the coat of BACON. Sable,
three boars argent, is the coat of Swynehowe. Similarly
in France the DES PORCELLETS(Marquises de Maillane)
bore originally, d'Or, a un porcelet passant de sable. Other
less important branches of the house blazon the beast
as a sanglier. The Marquises de HOUDETOT bore
anciently, d'Or, a six pores de sable ; and the blazon of
the Norman Hautots is, d'Or, a sept porceaux de sable.
Argent, a clievron between three "pores" sable, appears in
the Rolls of Arms for SWYNETHWAYTE.
WOLVES. — The wolf occurs in a good many coats
in British armory and is usually drawn salient, or leaping
forward as if to seize its prey. It is however sometimes
represented passant, as in the canting coat of LOWE,
Gules, a wolf passant argent. Or, a zvolf passant sable,
is the coat of the old Counts of WOLFFSTHAL. D'Or,
au loup rampant d'azur, armd de gueules, are the arms
PLATE XXVI.
1. Boar.
{Pollard.)
2. Boars' Heads.
(Elphinstone.)
3. Wolves' Heads.
(Louvel. )
4. Bear.
{St. Gall.)
5. Bears' Heads.
{Forbes. )
6. Foxes countersalient.
{Williams.)
7. Stag trippant.
{Strachan. )
Stag at gaze.
{Lowe.)
9. Stags courant.
{Rotherham.)
10. Stag lodged.
(Dowries.)
11. Stag's Head cabossed.
{Mackenzie.)
12. Stags' Horns.
(Boyle.)
( 2 4i )
of the French Marquises d'AGOULT. Gules, a wolf
rampant argent, were the amies parlantes of the Counts
of WEISSENWOLFF. Gules, a zvolf saliant or, is the coat
of the Marquis d'ALBERTAS.
In Spanish Heraldry the wolf is one of the most
common of animals. It is there very often represented
as ravissant, i.e., carrying the body of a lamb in its
mouth and across its back. Or, a wolf saliant-regardant
sable, ravishing a dog proper, is the coat of the Austrian
Barons von Kalitsch.
The she- wolf occurs in several foreign coats : the
French family of LOPPIN bear : a" Argent, a deux louves
rampantes et ajfrojitees de sable. The SEGURS bear : Azure,
and the same charges argent. Gules, on a mount vert, a
she-wolf couchant and suckling her young or, is the coat of
the Luparella family at Rome. Gules, a she-wolf
suckling two cliildren pi'oper, is the allusive coat of the
Bavarian family of ROMUL. Gules, the head and neck of
a wolf couped argent, are the arms of the Princes of
Windisch-GrAtz. The coat of the Kingdom of Biscay
is : Argent, on a mount a tree, two wolves passant one in
front, the other behind its stem, each ravishing a sheep, all
proper.
The wolf's head appears frequently as a charge,
especially in Scottish coats. The arms of ROBERTSON
of Strowan are : Gules, three wolfs heads erased argent.
Azure, three wolfs heads or, is the coat of LOUVEL
(Plate XXVI., fig. 3). In representing the head of the
wolf it is usual to have a portion of the neck depicted ;
and in the older representations of the boar's head, both
at home and in Germany, the same was the case.
BEAR. — The Bear is not an animal frequently repre-
sented in its entirety in British coats. When borne it is
usually in reference to the name, and is drawn with a
muzzle, and often with a collar and chain. Argent, a bear
rampant sable muzzled or, is the coat of Bernard, or
vol. 1. R
( 2 4 2 )
BARNARD, and, with the addition of a collar and chain, of
the BERESFORDS. A rgcnt (or Or), a bear passant sable, are
the arms of FlTZ URSE. In Foreign Heraldry, as might
be expected, its use is somewhat more frequent ; and it
is generally drawn without collar, muzzle, or chain. Or, a
bear rampant sable, is the coat of BERNER, Berneck
and Oelper in Bavaria ; Argent, a bear passant sable,
of the Prussian families of BEHR, and ROCHOW. Argent,
a bear statant sable, appeal's in the Wappenrolle von
Zurich for BARENSTEIN. The well-known arms of the
Swiss Canton of BERNE are : Gules, on a bend or, a bear
passant sable. Argent, a bear erect sable, is the coat of
the Swiss Abbey of St. Gall (Plate XXVI, fig. 4).
The white POLAR Bear is certainly intended in the
coat of WoHNSFLETH of Holstein : Azure, a white bear
rampant contour ne', collared gules. Gules, a bear rampant
argent, is borne by BlORN of Denmark, and the same
animal is very probably represented in the arms of
Aresen ; Azure, a bear passant argent. Two such bears
are the supporters granted in Sweden to Baron NORDEN-
SKJOLD, the Arctic navigator.
The BEAR'S HEAD frequently figures as a charge, and is
usually drawn muzzled. Azure, three bears heads argent,
muzzled gules (Plate XXIII., fig. 5) are the well-known
arms of the family of FORBES in Scotland. Azure, a
fess or, in chief a bears head proper, muzzled and ringed
gold, is the coat of the BARINGS, Earls of NORTH BROOK,
etc. The Swiss family of Planta bears these armes
parlantes : Argent, a bear s foot i?i pale, sable, showing its
sole proper, the nails upwards gules.
Fox. — The Fox is an animal seldom met in British
Heraldry. Gules, a fox or, is assigned to the family of
GAVENOR. Argent, two foxes counter-salient in saltire
gules, the sinister surmounting the dexter (Plate XX 1 1 1. ,
fig. 6), is the coat given for CADRODHARD, a British
prince of the tenth century who certainly never bore it.
( 2 43 )
It is, however, quartered in memory of their descent, by
the family of WlLLlAMS-WYNNE of Wynnstay.
Abroad, it is somewhat more frequently found. Or,
on a mount, a fox proper, is the canting coat of the Dutch
Counts van Vos ; other families of the name bear the fox
passant, or rampant, gules. Or, a fox rampant sable, is the
coat of the Venetian Balbi ; Vert, a fox rampant argent,
is borne by the Barons von REINECK ; Argent, a fox
rampant gules, are the amies parlantes of the Tirolese
Counts FUCHSS, whose supporters are two foxes gules,
mantled ermine. Per f ess argent and azure (sometimes
azure and argent) a fox rampant counter-changed ', is the
coat of the Zani of Venice. The French families of
RENARD, and RENAUD, bear the fox passant or; the
first on a field gules, the other on a field azure. Or, three
foxes rampant gules, is the coat of the Barons Van DER
Heim, and of Van Rodenburg in Holland.
The Elephant is but little used in Heraldry ; and
in British armory is seldom found except as an allusive
charge. Gules, an elephant passant argent {armed or), is
assigned to the English ELPHINSTONES. Gules, an
elephant argent on a mount in base or, is the canting coat
of the Counts von HELFENSTEIN of Suabia, and appears
very quaintly drawn in the Wappenrolle von Zurich,
taf. ii., fig. 40. In its conventional representation,
Argent, with a castle on its back proper, it is borne in an
azure field by the Russian and German Barons LE Fort.
An elephant's head, the trunk elevated sable, tusked
argent, was the crest of the MALATESTAS of Rimini ; it
issues from a coronet, and has a golden crest ecJiancre
running down its back from its forehead. {See the
Medal of SlGISMONDO PANDOLFO DI MALATESTA by
VlTTORE PlSANO. Cat. of Italian Medals in Brit. Mus.,
No. 4. An elephant was the badge of the house, and
appears on the medal of ISOTTA Atti, mistress and wife
of Pandolfo. Ibid., No. 23.) The French family of
( 2 44 )
De Barry bears : Azure, tJiree elepJiants or, the two in
chief affront '/s. As supporters the elephant is used by
the Prussian Counts von GOTTSTEIN ; the Danish
families of Ahlefeld, Daneskiold, etc. ; and the
English Earls of POWIS.
The Elephant's Head alone, is the charge of the
arms of the Dutch family of Derx, who bear: Or, an
elephant's head i?i profile proper. Sable, on a fess betzveen
three elephant's heads argent as many mullets of the field,
is the coat of Pratt, Marquis of CAMDEN. Its tusks
are borne by the Counts AvOGLI of Ferrara : Azure,
three elephant's tusks issuing from the dexter flank argent.
The Camel (or Dromedary), is used in British
armory as an allusive charge by the families of Camel
who bore Azure (or sable), a camel argent ; and Or,
three camels sable. The French Calmels d'Artensac
use: d Argent, a trois chameaux arretes d'azur. Its
hump makes the camel an appropriate coat for the
Italian GOBBI : Azure, on a ten-ace vert a camel argent ;
and for the French BOSSU, Azure, a dromedary passant on
a terrace argent. Camel's heads are borne by Kemels in
Flanders, Azure, a chevron betzveen three camel's heads
or : and by DlEK of Holland. Camels support the arms
of the Counts of ROMREE.
Stags (Bucks, Harts, Hinds, Does) are frequent
in British and German heraldry ; much less so in that
of the southern countries.
The terms of blazon used in regard to them differ
somewhat from those applied to beasts of prey, and
require separate explanation. The antlers of stags,
being regarded as ornaments rather than as weapons,
are known as attires, their branches are called tynes
{cors in French), and the beast is said to be attired,
{rami in French). As in the case of bulls, unicorns, and
other cloven-footed animals, the stag is said to be
unguled {ongle) when its hoofs are of a different tincture
( 245 )
from its body. A stag in the walking attitude is said
to be trippant. Plate XXVI., fig. 7, Azure, a stag
trippant or, attired and unguled gules, is the coat
of STRACHAN of Glenkindy, in Aberdeenshire. Azure,
three bucks trippant or, is borne by Greene. When
standing still and full-faced, it is described as at gaze.
The Barons von HlRSCHBERG bear: Argent, a stag at
gaze gules. (Plate XXVI., fig. 8) Azure, a stag at gaze
or, is borne by LOWE. Vert, three harts at gaze or, was
a coat of GREEN, and appears in the quartered shield of
Queen Katharine Parr. The arms of Rotherham
are : Vert, tliree stags courant or (Plate XXVI., fig. 9).
A stag reposing is said to be lodged, or couchant : Sable,
a stag lodged argent (Plate XXVI., fig. 10), is the coat of
Downes of Chester. Vert, tJiree bucks lodged or, is a
coat of ANDERSON. In the attitude of a lion saliant it
is described as springing ; d'Azur, a trois cerfs elances
d'or, is the coat of the Counts BORLUUT DE HOOG-
STRAETE of Holland. Or, three bucks rampant sable,
unguled or, their attires wreathed of the tinctures, is borne
by the German Counts of WALMODEN.
The Reindeer is drawn as a stag with two sets of
attires ; it is borne by WALSTONE, Azure, a reindeer
trippant ermine, and appears in the coat of the Swedish
province of CASTRIKLAND : Argent, seme of {small)
hearts, a reindeer proper. STEMPFER bears : Sable, a
reindeer passant proper : tinctured gules it is used as a
supporter by the Marquis of DOWNSHIRE, Viscount
Hereford, the Lords Kensington, etc. (see English
Glossary, s.v.).
MOOSE-DEER are the supporters of the Lords Car-
lingford and Clermont.
In Scotland the stag's head erased in profile, is borne
by several branches of the family of CRAWFURD ; and
it also appears on the seal of the ABBEY of HOLYROOD
HOUSE. The favourite position however of the stag's
( 2 4 6 )
head is cabossed (or caboshed), that is, full-faced with no
part of the neck visible. LEGGE, Earl of DARTMOUTH
bears : Azure, a buck's head cabossed argent. Sable, three
buck's heads cabossed argent belongs to the family of
Cavendish, Dukes of Devonshire. Argent, on a bend
azjire three buck's heads cabossed or, to that of STANLEY.
Barry of six argent and azure, over all three stag's heads
cabossed or, was the old coat of WOODWARD of Glou-
cestershire as early as the fourteenth century, since which
time it has been borne with several variants and additions
by families in the neighbouring counties. In Scotland
the stag's head cabossed, known as the Caberfae, is most
associated with the family of MACKENZIE, whose arms
are, Azure, a stag's head cabossed or (sometimes with a
star or, between the tynes). The French term of blazon
for this bearing is un rencontre. BOUTON uses the term
massacre, which is only applied properly to the attire
and the piece of the skull connecting the horns, as in
the coat of COCKS, Earl Somers ; Sable, a chevron be-
tween tliree stag's attires argent. Single antlers also occur
as in the Scottish coat of Bovle of KELBURNE (the
paternal coat of the Earl of GLASGOW), Or, tliree hart's
horns erect gules two and one (Plate XXVI., fig. 12).
In the quartered coat of the Dukes of BRUNSWICK two
quarters are charged each with a single stag's horn, Argent,
a stag's Jwrn gules, is used for the County of REGENSTEIN;
Argent, a stag's horn sable, for that of BLANKENBERG.
Bulls, Oxen, Cows and Calves. — When bulls or
cows, etc., occur in Heraldry they are said to be armed
of their horns, and unguled of their hoofs, as in the
coat of d'Elbozuf, Plate XXVII., fig. 1. Argent, a
bull passant gules, armed and unguled or, is the
coat of the Margravate of Nieder-Lausitz ; and of the
Swedish province of DALSLAND. Astley, Earl of
SHAFTESBURY bears: Argent, three bulls passant sable,
armed or. Gules, on a mount in base vert an aiiroch, or
( 247 )
zvild ox, ajgent, were the original arms of the AUERS-
PERGS, Princes of AUERSPERG, Dukes of MUNSTER-
BERG, in Silesia, etc. Argent, on a mount vert, a young
bull statant gules, is the coat of the Princes Ponia-
TOWSKI, and the Counts ZALEWSKI, and KOMOROWSKI
of Poland, of the clan ClOLEK. Argent, a bull rampant
gules, is the coat of TorA in Spain. Or, a bull passant
sable horned or, is borne by the Barons PLESSEN ; de
Gueules, a une vache d'argent, is borne as a canting coat
by La Vache DE LA TOUCHE of Brittany. Or, a cow
sable, is borne by Vacher of Cambray. Or, two cows
passant in pale gules, collared, armed and belled azure,
were the arms of the Counts of BEarn, and borne by
the Kings of NAVARRE. The French term for belled is
clarine'e. (On the original arms of Styria, v. Vol. If.,
p. 1 20.)
The calf is frequently used as a canting charge.
Azure, a calf passant or; and the same on a mount vert,
are both borne by the families of KALFF of Holland.
Argent, three calves passant sable ; are the arms of MED-
CALFE, or METCALFE. Argent, on a bend sable three
calves or, are those of Veale. The family of Vaquer
of Majorca bear : Azure, on a terrace a cow with Iter calf
all argent.
The heads of bulls, oxen, etc., may like those of stags,
etc., be borne either caboshed, or in profile ; they are
drawn in profile unless the other form is prescribed in
the blazon. Argent, a bull's head erased sable, Plate
XXVII., fig. 2, is the older coat of the Scottish family of
TURNBULL ; in later times three heads were substituted
for the single one. {See BuFFLE, in French Glossary?)
Goats and Goat's Heads are found occasionally as
heraldic charges. The family of THOROLD of Lincoln
bears : Sable, three goats salient argent (Plate XXVI I., fig.
3). Sable (or Vert), tJiree goats passant argent, is borne
by the families of Stansfeld, or Stansfield, of
( 2 4 8 )
Yorkshire. Cabrera, in Spain, bears : Argent, a goat
rampant sable witJiin a bordure of rocks proper; a very
curious example (PlFERRER, Nobiliario . . . de Espana,
No. 537).
SHEEP, both rams and lambs, are frequently found as
allusive charges. The coat of LAMBTON, Earl of
DURHAM, is : Sable, a fess between three lambs trippant
argent. Vert, a lamb argent, is the coat of Lambert of
Ireland ; Van Buten ; Lammens ; and Adriani.
LAMBRECHT of Flanders bears the same with the field
azure. Azure, a sheep argent, is borne by Schaep of
Holland ; and rampant by the Marquis AGNELLI.
The sheep which is borne on an azure field by the
Counts ALESSANDRI of Florence has two heads.
The Barons von WlEDERHOLD of Bavaria use : Per
pale or and azure, over all a ram salient argent. Gules, a
ram passant argent, is the coat of the Franconian Counts
VOIGT DE RlENECK ; and, with the ram salient, is also
borne by the Barons BojANOWSKI. In the Wappem-olle
von Ziirich, Or, on a mount vert a ram passant sable, is
the canting coat of RAMENSPERG (No. 72). Or, three
lambs sable, is borne by LAMMENS of Holland. Vert,
three rams argent, is borne by BELIN ; and Azure, a
chevron between three rams or, is the coat of RAMSEY.
The Paschal- Lamb. — A lamb bearing on its shoulder
a flag, or banner, argent charged I with a cross gules, and
having its head adorned with the saintly glory similarly
charged, occurs not unfrequently in German armory.
Gules, a Paschal-Lamb argent, on a terrace vert, is the coat
of the Bavarian WiJLFER, and (without the terrace) of
Lampoins of Holland. Azure, a Paschal-Lamb argent,
is borne by PASCAL of France, and is the coat of the
Swedish province of GdTTLAND. A curious use of this
charge as a symbol of the Resurrection, and as a canting
coat, is found in the arms of the families of OsTERTAG
in Bavaria and Suabia : Azure, on a mount in base, a
( 249 )
Paschal-Lamb argent (Plate XXVII., fig. 4). (Oster-
HAUSEN, OSTERHAMMER, and OSTERRIETH, also have
the Paschal-Lamb among their charges (see also the arms
of Brixen, p. 121).
THE ANTELOPE of Heraldry is generally represented
in a very conventional manner (see Glossary of English
Terms) ; its chief use in British armory is as a supporter.
Plate XXVII., fig. 5, is an instance of its employment as
a charge ; Per pale argent and gules, an antelope passant
counter-changed, the coat of DlGHTON of Lincolnshire.
The HORSE alone, as distinct from its use in conjunc-
tion with a mounted knight, is scarcely so frequent a
charge as we might have expected. The escucheon of
WESTPHALIA, Gules, a horse courant argent, formed part
of the arms of the Electors of HANOVER, and so was
borne by our four GEORGES, and by William IV., as a
part of the Royal Arms ; it is frequently drawn rampant,
or salient, as in the Ecu Complet of the Prussian Monarchy.
Gules, a demi-horse argent, hoofed and maned or, issuing
out of water (either proper, or in its conventional repre-
sentation barry wavy argent and azure) is the coat of
TREVELYAN. Gules, on a base vert, a horse passant
argent, cingled sable ; is borne by the Counts BVSTR-
ZONOWSKI.
The horse is often employed as an allusive charge.
Gules, a horse salient argent, are the arms of the Roman
Cavalli (Plate XXVII., fig. 6), and of the French
CHIVALETS, and CHEVALERIE ; Or, a horse rampant
gules, are those of Renner ; Argent, a horse sable,
saddled gules, those of POULAIN ; Azure, a horse argent,
of ROSSLER. Argent, a f ess between three colts courant
sable, is the arms of Colt (Baronet). Gules, a mule
passant argent, is the canting coat of MOYLE. The
humble ass is the charge of the family of Esel (Sable,
an ass argent, a chief of the same) ; and Or, an ass issuant
from the base sable, is the coat of Van DER Eese of
( 25° )
Holland ; Azure, an ass passant sable (? proper) is borne
by Lovari of Udine. Sable, a fess {or) between three
asses argent, are the canting arms of AYSCOUGH. The
Bavarian family of FRUMBESEL, now extinct, used to
bear : Argent, an ass rampant gules.
Or, a horse salient sable, was the coat borne for the
Kingdom of NAPLES, and quartered with the Sicilian
triskele {v. p. 219) by MURAT. An escucheon bearing
the arms of the French Empire, and royally crowned,
was placed en surtout above these quarterings.
We have the Hare in the Scottish coat of Cleland
of that Ilk (Plate XXVII., fig. 7). Azure, a hare saliant
argent with a hunting horn vert, garnished gules, pendent
at its neck. Haas of Bavaria bears : Gules, a Jiare courant
argent. Vert, on a mount a hare sejant proper, is borne
by Van Noort.
The Rabbit occurs more frequently still. Argent,
a chevron between tJiree conies sable, is the coat of
STRODE of Devonshire. Vert, three rabbits argent, is
borne by Van DEN Santheuvel of Holland. The
family of Aydie, Marquises de RibErac in France, bore:
de Gueules, a quatre I aphis d 'argent, 2 et 2. De Gueules,
au chevron d'or accoste de trois tetes de lapin d' argent, is
the coat of DUMONT DE BOSTAQUET, in Normandy.
Or, a lion rampant gules, on a bordure azure seven rabbits
argent, spotted sable, are the armes parlantes of the
Portuguese family of COELHO; sometimes the lion is
charged with three bars chequy or and azure. King
MANUEL granted to NlCOLAO COELHO, a companion of
VASCO DA Gama, a special coat : Gules, between tivo
columns argent {each on a mount in base vert, and bearing
a shield azure charged with the "Quinas " of PORTUGAL)
in chief a lion rampant or, and in base a ship upon the sea
proper.
SEALS are borne by the BEUNS of Holland : Gules,
tJiree seals argent fessways in pale, the middle one con-
I 1 LATE XXVI I.
1. Bull.
(Torell.)
2. Bull's Head.
(Turnbull.)
3. Goats.
(Tkorold.)
4. Paschal Lamb.
(0s<er£a#.)
5. Antelope.
(Dighton.)
6. Horse.
(Cavalli.)
7. Hare.
(Clcland.)
8. Otter.
(JMeldrum.
9. Talbot.
( Wolseley. )
10. Herrison.
(Berries.)
11. Mole.
(Mitford.)
12. Monkey.
(^4//e>is<cm.)
( 2 5 T )
tourne ; and by DE Wulf : Vert, two seals .rampant
addorsed or.
Otters, and Otter's Heads, are occasionally found
in Scottish armory. OUTREQUIN bears: Argent, five
otters sable (2, 2, i, or 2, 1, 2). The coat of MELDRUM,
quartered by SETON, is : Argent, a demi-otter issuant
from a bar wavy sable (Plate XXVII., fig. 8). Argent, a
chevron between three otter s heads erased sable, is the old
coat of BALFOUR ; and the same with the charges gules
is that of FuLLERTON. It is also the charge in the arms
of the Styrian FlSCHL, Gules, on a bend an otter Jwlding
in its mouth two fish proper.
THE Beaver is borne as canting arms by the Swiss
family of BlBER, Or, a beaver rampant sable ( Wappen-
rolle. von Zurich, No. 294) and also, but sometimes gules,
by the Barons Bibra.
The Badger is naturally the charge in the coats of
the English families of BROCK {Argent, a badger passant
sable); and BADGER (the same but the field or) ; as well
as in those of the Swiss DACHS, Gules, a badger rampant
or, and of the Bavarian Counts von Dachsberg (the
same but with the charge argent). Azure, a badger
argent, are the arms of TASSIS, borne en suiiout by
the Princes of THURM and Taxis.
The HEDGEHOG, called anciently an Urchin, appears
in the allusive coats of HERISSON and Herries (Plate
XXVII., fig. 10), Argent, three urcJdns sable ; and in the
French coats of Le HERISSE : d'Or, a trois Jie'rissons
d'azur ; and d Argent, au chevron de gueules accoste dc
trois Jie'rissons de sable. Jez, of Poland, bore : Gules, a
hedge-hog or.
The kindred PORCUPINE is the canting coat {Argent,
a porcupine sable, mal peau) of the French family of Mau-
PEOU, Comtes d'ABLEIGES, Marquises de MAUPEOU.
It is the dexter supporter of the DE LlSLES.
Moles are borne by the MlTFORDS (Lords REDES-
( 252 )
DALE), Argent, a /ess between three moles passant sable ;
(Plate XXVII., fig. 1 1); and by the Polish TRZYKRETI :
Argent, three moles fessways in pale sable. In Holland
MOLL uses : Or, on a mount in base vert a mole sable ;
another Dutch family of MOLLE bears : Vert, on a chief
or, a mole sable.
THE SQUIRREL occurs in some English coats, usually
as an allusive charge. Or, a squirrel sejant gules, are the
arms of SQUIRE. Argent, a squirrel sejant gules, cracking
a nut, are, with trifling variations, those of several
families of NUTSHALL, and SQUIRE. Argent a chevron
azure between three squirrels gules (with or without nuts),
is the coat of LOVELL. FOUQUET, the celebrated
Finance Minister of LOUIS XIV., bore: d Argent, un
ecureuil rampant de gueules (often augmented thus : a la
bordure de gueules seme'e de jleurs-de-lis d'or) ; with the
ambitious motto : " Quo non ascendant?" Or, a squirrel
on a mount proper, is the coat of STUMPF of Bavaria ;
and of SlCHTERMANN in the Netherlands. Or, three
squirrels gules, is borne by the Danish Alkeveders.
The Ape as a charge is more frequently met with
abroad than in British Heraldry. Vert, an ape sejant,
banded and chained to the sinister side of the shield argent,
is the coat of APPLEGH. Sable, a chevron or, between
three apes argent chained gold, are the arms of LOBLEY.
Argent, an ape gules, holding an apple or, is the canting
coat of AFFENSTEIN (Plate XXVII., fig. 12, from the
ZiiricJi Wappenrolle, No. 412). Without the apple this
is borne by PASCAL-COLOMBIER of France. Apes are
used as supporters by the FlTZGERALDS, Dukes of
LEINSTER ; and by the MAXWELLS of Pollock, as far
back as the reign of Robert III.
Rats. — Rats seldom occur as a British charge. Paly
of six or and gules, on a canton argent a rat salient sable,
is borne by Trat of Cornwall. The arms of the See of
Arras are : Or, a rat sable in the centre point between two
( 2 53 )
pastoral staves pahways addorsed proper, the whole within
an orle of ten rats of the second. Or, three rats gules, is
the coat of the Breton family of DE LA Bennerave.
Argent, a rat rampant sable, was the coat of the Bavarian
BlLLlCHS now extinct. Rats support the arms of
Renaud de Velort, in 1449.
DOGS. — I have left until the last the Dog, the faithful
companion of man, which appears frequently in armory,
both at home and abroad; the talbot (a species of
mastiff) and the greyhound are the most frequently
used.
Or, a dog statant sable, collared of the field, is the coat
of the Counts of TOGGENBURG in Switzerland. (In the
Wappenrolle von Zurich, No. 35, the collar is gules?)
Argent, a talbot passant gules (in chief a crescent for
difference), is the coat of Viscount WoLSELEY (Plate
XXVI I., fig. 9) ; Argent, a greyhound courant sable, is that
of MORETON. Azure, a greyhound (saliant) argent collared
gules, is borne by the Austrian Counts Blome ; and with
the collar or by the French Counts NlCOLAY.
Vert, a greyliound passant argent collared gules buckled
or, is ascribed to the Byzantine house of SCYLITZES ;
Azure, a talbot statant argent, to the Silesian Barons
Hundt.
Three greyhounds courant fessways in pale, argent, was
borne with the field gules, or sable, by various families of
MAULEVRIER ; and Azure, three greyhounds pursuing
a stag argent, all bendways and " at random', 1 is the
coat of Y ARDLEY. J EAN DE Witt, " Grand Pensionary "
of Holland, bore : Vert, a greyhound pursuing a hare in
chief, in base a hound courant and viewing the hare all
argent. Argent, a chevron gules betzueen three talbots
passant sable, was used by Talbot of Norfolk. Azure, a
chevron or, between three greyhounds courant argent, is the
coat of GRIMMINCK of the Netherlands ; and, with the
hounds also Or, of DE Hondt of Flanders.
Fig. 68.— The Eagle of Germany.
CHAPTER IX.
ANIMATE CHARGES. III.
A. THE EAGLE. — B. OTHER BIRDS.
SECTION A.
The Eagle. — In the eagle as a heraldic bearing we
have a point of contact between ancient Mythology or
symbolism, and mediaeval Heraldry. The bird of Jove
King of gods and men, adopted as the standard of the
Roman Emperors in heathen times, continued in use
after Rome had become Christian.
After the coronation of CHARLEMAGNE in Rome, on
Christmas Day in the year 800, that prince, claiming to
be the successor of the old Roman Emperors, is said to
have adopted the eagle as his ensign, and placed it
conspicuously on his palace at Aachen.
The eagle of the Holy Roman Empire was borne by
the German Emperors in the attitude known as " dis-
played ;" that is with the body upright, the wi 
