son and heir apparent of
the Kings of France, who bore, marshalled with the arms of FRANCE--_Or,
a Dolphin az._ This title of “Dauphin” was first assumed by CHARLES V.,
who succeeded to the Crown of France in 1364. In No. 8 I have shown
after what manner the Dolphin was represented by an ancient Greek
Artist: in the Middle Ages the heraldic Dolphin appeared as in No. 163.
GEFFREY DE LUCY (H. 3) bears--_Gu., three Lucies or._ On his marriage
with the heiress of ANTHONY, Lord LUCY, in 1369, HENRY, fourth Lord
PERCY of Alnwick, quartered these three fish, with his own lion (blue on
a golden field) and his fusils (gold on a blue field), upon the
well-known Shield of the Earls of NORTHUMBERLAND (Chapter XI).

[Illustration: No. 163.--Dolphin.]

[Illustration: No. 165.--Escallop.]

[Illustration: No. 164.--De Lucy.]

Another Carlaverock Banneret, ROBERT DE SCALES, whom the chronicler
declares to have been both “handsome and amiable” as well as gallant in
action, had “_six escallops of silver on a red banner_.” This beautiful
charge of the escallop, happy in its association with the pilgrims of
the olden time, and always held in high esteem by Heralds, is generally
drawn as in No. 165.

Reptiles and Insects occur but rarely in English Heraldry. Bees, Flies,
Butterflies, and Snails are sometimes found, but they have no place in
the earliest Rolls of Arms. Bees, as might be expected, appear in the
Arms of _Bees_ton. _Azure, three Butterflies_, are the Arms of MUSCHAMP,
and they are carved twice in the vaulting of the cloisters at
Canterbury. Upon a monumental brass in the Church of Wheathampstead, in
Hertfordshire, the Shield of HUGO BOSTOCK (about A.D. 1435)
bears,--_Arg., three Bats, their wings displayed, sa._

Imaginary and Fabulous Beings, some of them the creations of heraldic
fancy when in a strangely eccentric mood, frequently appear as
Supporters; and, in some cases, they take a part in the blazonry of
Shields, or they are borne independently as Badges. A very brief
description (all that is necessary) of the greater number of these
monsters of _un_natural history will be given in the “Glossary of
heraldic terms,” in Chapter X.; consequently, it is enough here merely
to refer to them as having a place in blazon. The Griffin or Gryphon,
the most worthy of the group, is comparatively common. The Dragon and
the Wivern or Wyvern, both of them winged monsters, differ in this
respect, that the former has four legs, while the latter has two only.
In early blazon this distinction was not always observed. The
Cockatrice, always having two legs, is a Wyvern with a cock’s head.

Natural Objects of all kinds are blazoned as Charges of Heraldry, and
they will be found described and illustrated in their proper places in
Chapter X. They include the _Sun_, the _Moon_, the _Stars_; also such
terrestrial objects as _Trees_, _Flowers_, _Fruits_, _Sheaves and Ears
of Corn_, _Leaves_, _Chaplets_, _&c._ And with these Charges I may group
the always beautiful Fleur de Lys, and the Trefoil, Quatrefoil,
Cinquefoil, and Sixfoil.

Of the various Artificial Figures and Devices that Heralds have charged
upon Shields of Arms, it will be unnecessary for me to give detailed
descriptions, except when either the heraldic name may require
explanation, or some special circumstances connected with any particular
figure or device may impart to it peculiar claims for attention. Again I
refer to the “Glossary” for notices and examples of all Charges of this
class--Annulets, Buckles, Castles, Crowns, Cups, Horseshoes, Keys,
Knots, Sickles, Stirrups, Trumpets, and many others.

[Illustration: No. 166A.--Crescent]

[Illustration: No. 166B.--Increscent]

[Illustration: No. 166C.--Decrescent]

In blazoning Charges of various classes, Heralds employ _appropriate
Epithets and descriptive Terms_, of which the following are
characteristic examples:--The _Sun_ is “_in splendour_.” The _Moon_,
when full, is “_in her complement_”: she is a “_Crescent_” when she
appears in No. 166, A: she is “_Increscent_” when as in No. 166, B: and
she is “_Decrescent_” when as in No. 166, C. Animals and Birds of prey
are said to be “_armed_” of their talons, teeth, and claws. All horned
animals, also, except Stags and Antelopes, are “_armed_” of their horns;
and a Cock is “_armed_” of his spurs; whilst Griffins and birds of prey
are “_armed_” of their beaks and claws (_i.e._ the part of the leg which
is unfeathered). Animals are “_hoofed_” or “_unguled_” of their hoofs;
and “_langued_” of their tongues. Fierce animals are “_vorant_” of their
prey, when represented in the act of devouring it. Deer, when reposing,
are “_lodged_” Nos. 25 and 26: when standing, and looking out from the
Shield, No. 167, “_at gaze_”: when in easy motion, they are termed
“_trippant_,” or sometimes the word “_tripping_” is substituted, No.
168: and when in rapid motion, they are “_courant_,” “_at speed_,” or
sometimes described as “_in full course_,” No. 169. The male Stag is
sometimes termed a “_Hart_,” and the female a “_Hind_.” There is really
a distinction between the Buck and the Stag, but it is very usually
disregarded in Heraldry. The antlers of the Hart are “_Attires_,” their
branches are “_Tynes_”; and they are said to be “_attired_” of their
antlers. A Stag’s head full-faced, but without the neck, as No. 170, is
“_cabossed_” or “_caboshed_.”

[Illustration: No. 167.--At Gaze.]

[Illustration: No. 169.--At Speed.]

[Illustration: No. 168.--Tripping.]

[Illustration: No. 170.--Stag’s Head Cabossed.]

Eagles and Hawks with expanded wings, as in No. 206, are “_displayed_.”
Expanded wings may be “_elevated_,” or, if drooping, “_inverted_” or
“_in lure_.” Birds about to take wing are “_rising_”; when in flight,
they are “_volant_”; when at rest, they are “_close_.” A Bird
“_trusses_” its prey. A Peacock having its tail expanded is “_in its
pride_”; and this same expression is applied to the Turkey. A Pelican,
when feeding its young, is said to be “_in her piety_,” but may be
merely “_vulning herself_” if the young are not represented. A Swan,
when blazoned “_proper_,” is white with red legs and black beak.

Fish, represented swimming in fesse, are “_naiant_”; if they are in
pale, they are “_hauriant_,” No. 164; but if their heads are to the
base, the term “_urinant_” is said to apply, but I cannot say I have so
far come across an authenticated instance of the use of this word; if
their bodies are bent, as the Dolphin is generally represented, they are
“_embowed_,” No. 163. Fish, also, are said to be “_finned_” of their
fins. Insects are “_volant_.” Reptiles are “_gliding_”; or, if they are
twined into knots, “_nowed_.” Trees of mature growth are “_accrued_”;
when with leaves, “_in foliage_” (but these two terms are so seldom used
that they may be entirely disregarded); with fruit or seeds, “_fructed_”
or “_seeded_”; if without leaves, “_blasted_”; and if their roots are
exposed, “_eradicated_.” Branches or leaves torn off are “_slipped_.”

The terms which denote the attitudes of Lions, all of them described in
the next chapter, are equally applicable to other animals. Some other
descriptive terms, not noticed here, will be found in the “Glossary” in
Chapter X.




CHAPTER IX

THE GRAMMAR OF HERALDRY

SECTION VI

_The Lion and the Eagle in Heraldry_

“The LION and a King of Beasts.”
--SHAKESPEARE, _Richard II._

“The EAGLE, ennobled by Nature in as high a degree of nobility as
the chiefest of the terrestrial animals, is the most honourable
bearing of Birds.”
--GWILLIM (_Edition of 1724_).


The regal dignity of the LION amongst the creatures that are quadrupeds,
like himself, would naturally secure for him a position of corresponding
eminence in Heraldry. From the dawn of the heraldic era, accordingly,
the Lion is blazoned on the Shields of Sovereigns, Princes, and Nobles.
The tressured Lion has been already noticed upon the Royal Shield of
SCOTLAND, No. 138; and a crowned Lion has also appeared in the same
attitude, borne by an English Prince, RICHARD, Earl of CORNWALL, No.
140. From the time that they first possessed any true armorial insignia,
the Sovereigns of the Realm of ENGLAND have borne Lions upon their Royal
Shield. A Lion was the Ensign of the Native Princes of WALES, as he was
of the Kings of LEON, of NORWAY, and of DENMARK, and of the Counts of
HOLLAND, HAINAULT, EU, &c. And, in like manner, the Lion was in high
favour with the most noble and powerful Barons of England--the MOWBRAYS,
BOHUNS, LONGESPEES, FITZ-ALANS, LACIES, PERCIES, SEGRAVES, and such as
they.

It was a necessary consequence of his great popularity that the Lion of
Heraldry should be blazoned in various attitudes, and also variously
tinctured, otherwise it would not be possible duly to distinguish the
Lions of different Shields. Heralds of all countries appear readily to
have permitted their Lions to lay aside their natural tawny hue, and in
its stead to assume the heraldic _or_, _argent_, _azure_, _gules_, and
_sable_; but Continental Heralds were not generally disposed to
recognise in their Lions any other attitude than the one which they held
to be consistent with their Lion character, instincts, and
habits--erect, that is, with one hind paw only on the ground, looking
forward towards their prey, so as to show but one eye, and evidently in
the act of preparing to spring. This undoubtedly most characteristic
attitude is _rampant_, No. 171: and only when he was in this rampant
attitude did the early Heralds consider any Lion to be a Lion, and
blazon him by his true name. A Lion walking and looking about him, the
early Heralds held to be acting the part of a leopard: consequently,
when he was in any such attitude, they blazoned him as “_a leopard_.”
The animal bearing that name bore it simply as an heraldic title, which
distinguished a Lion in a particular attitude. These heraldic “leopards”
were drawn in every respect as other heraldic “lions,” without spots or
any leopard_ish_ distinction whatever. This explains the usage, retained
till late in the fourteenth century, which assigned to the Lions of the
Royal Shield of England the name of “leopards.” They were so called, not
by the enemies of England for derision and insult, as some persons, in
their ignorance of early Heraldry, have been pleased both to imagine and
to assert; but the English Kings and Princes, who well knew their
“Lions” to be Lions, in blazon styled them “leopards,” because they also
knew that Lions in the attitude of their “Lions” were heraldic
“leopards.” When at length the necessity of varying the attitude of
their Lions was admitted by all Heralds, in consequence of the greatly
increased numbers of the bearers of Lions, some strict adherents to the
original distinctive nomenclature blazoned any Lion that was _not
rampant_ by the compound term of a “_lion-leopard_,” or a
“_lion-leopardé_.” But that controversy has long been at rest.

The following terms are now in use to denote the various attitudes of
the Lion in Heraldry:--

_Rampant_: erect, one hind paw on the ground, the other three paws
elevated, the animal looking forward and having his tail elevated, No.
171. _Rampant Guardant_: as before, but looking out from the Shield, No.
172. _Rampant Reguardant_: as before, but looking backwards.

_Passant_: walking, three paws on the ground, the dexter fore-paw being
elevated, looking forward, the tail displayed over the back, No. 173.
_Passant Guardant_: as before, but looking out from the Shield, No. 174.
_Passant Reguardant_: as before, but looking backwards.

[Illustration: No. 171.--Rampant.]

[Illustration: No. 172.--Rampant Guardant.]

[Illustration: No. 173.--Passant.]

[Illustration: No. 174.--Passant Guardant.]

[Illustration: No. 175.--Statant.]

[Illustration: No. 176.--Statant Guardant.]

_Statant_: standing, his four paws on the ground, and looking before
him, No. 175. _Statant Guardant_: as before, but looking out from the
Shield, No. 176: in this example the Lion has his tail extended, but
this would be specified in the blazon, as it is an unusual position. In
like manner, if the tail of a Lion in any other attitude be extended,
there must be a statement to that effect.

[Illustration: No. 177.--Couchant.]

[Illustration: No. 178.--Sejant.]

[Illustration: No. 179.--Dormant.]

_Sejant_: sitting down with his head elevated, No. 178. If he looks out
from the Shield, the word _Guardant_