ANIMAL CHARGES

In dealing with charges of living creatures, we shall observe the following order: (a) "Animals of all sort living on the earth"; (b) "such as live above the earth"; (c) "watery creatures"; (d) "man."

First, amongst the animals, come those with undivided feet—elephant, horse, ass. Second, those with cloven feet—bull, goat, stag, etc. Third, those beasts that have many claws—lions, tigers, bears, etc.

To blazon animal charges, many special terms are required, describing their person, limbs, actions, attitudes, etc.

"And as," says Guillim, "these beasts are to explain a history, they must be represented in that position which will best show it."

After describing this charge, Guillim rather comically gives us this story:

"An elephant of huge greatness was once carried in a show at Rome, and as it passed by a little boy pried into its proboscis. Thereupon, very much enraged, the beast cast the child up to a great height, but received him again on his snout and laid him gently down, as though he did consider that for a childish fault a childish fright was revenge enough."

Horses, of course, figure largely in armorial bearings. One, William Colt, bears three horses "at full speed" (Fig. 40). So also does Sir Francis Rush—probably in allusion to his name—whilst horses' heads couped—that is, cut off smoothly—occur very frequently. A demi-horse was granted as a crest to the Lane family in recognition of Mistress Jane Lane's heroism in riding from Staffordshire to the South Coast on a roan horse, with King Charles II. behind her, after the disastrous Battle of Worcester.

Donkeys were evidently at a discount with heralds. The families of Askewe and Ayscough bear three asses passant charged on their shield, and there is an ass's head in the arms of the Hokenhalls of Cheshire.

Oxen occur fairly often in heraldry. The Oxendens bear three oxen; three bulls occur in the arms of Anne Boleyn's father, the Lord of Hoo, whilst the same arms were given by Queen Elizabeth to her clockmaker, Randal Bull of London. The Veitchs bear three cows' heads erased, a rather uncommon charge, as female beasts were generally deemed unworthy of the herald's notice. The Veales bear three calves passant (Fig. 41), anent which Guillim adds: "Should these calves live to have horns, which differ either in metal or colour from the rest of their body, there must be special mention made of such difference in blazoning them." Hereby, he reminds us of the important rule for blazoning animals with horns and hoofs. Goats and goats' heads are often used in heraldry. A single goat passant is borne by one, Baker; three goats salient—leaping—occur in the Thorold arms, whilst the Gotley family—originally Goatley—charge a magnificent goat's head on their shield.

Stags, as you would expect, are highly esteemed by the old heralds, who employed various terms in blazoning them. Thus, a stag in repose was "lodged," looking out of the field, "at gaze"; in rapid motion, he was "at speed" or "courant"; whilst, when his head was represented full face and showing only the face, it was blazoned as "cabossed" from the Spanish word for head. (Many of these terms we shall find in blazoning other animal charges.) Early heralds make careful distinction between a hind or calf, brockets, stags and harts. (A hind, you know, is the female, calf is the infant deer, brocket the two-year-old deer, stag the five-year-old, and hart the six-year-old deer.)

The Harthills very properly bear a "hart lodged on a hill;" a single stag, his back pierced by an arrow, occurs in the Bowen arms, and the Hynds bear three hinds. Three bucks "in full course" are borne by the Swifts. Deer's heads are very common charges, generally occurring in threes. In the coat of arms of the Duke of Wurtemberg and Teck, we find three antlers charged horizontally across the shield.

A reindeer is drawn in heraldry with double antlers, one pair erect and one drooping.

The boar was deemed a specially suitable badge for a soldier, who should rather die valorously upon the field than secure himself by ignominious flight. Both the Tregarthens and Kellets bear a single boar, whilst a boar's head, either singly or in threes, occurs very constantly in coats of arms. A boar is blazoned "armed of his tusk" or "armed and langued," when his tongue is shown of a different tincture. Moreover, as Mr. Fox-Davies reminds us in his interesting "Guide to Heraldry," an English boar's head is described as "couped" or erased "at the neck," but the Scotch herald would blazon the same charge as "couped and erased" "close."

The Earl of Vere takes a boar for his crest, in allusion to his name, verre being the Latin for boar.

The Grice family bear a wild boar, formerly called a "grice."

The Winram family bear a single ram, the Ramsays of Hitcham bear three rams on their shield.

A very pretty coat of arms belongs to the Rowes of Lamerton in Devon, "gu: three holy lambs with staff, cross and banner arg:."

Foremost amongst the beasts that have "many claws" is the lion; next to him come the tiger, leopard, bear, wolf, ranking more or less as the aristocrats amongst their kind, whilst the cat, fox, hare, etc., are placed far beneath them. Of all the animal charges, none is more popular amongst the heralds of all times and lands than the lion. Extraordinary care was taken to blazon the king of beasts befittingly. Fig. 38 has already shown you a "lion rampant," and so indispensable was this attitude considered by the early heralds to the proper representation of a lion, that if they were obliged to depict a "lion passant"—that is, "one that looked about him as he walked"—he was then blazoned as a leopard.

That is why the beasts in our national arms, although they are really lions and meant for such, are not called so, because their undignified attitude reduces them to the rank of heraldic leopards! A lion rampant—and other beasts of prey as well—is generally represented with tongue and claws of a different tincture from the rest of his person; he is then blazoned "langued and unguled," the latter term being derived from the Latin for a claw. A lion in repose is blazoned "couchant" when lying down with head erect and forepaws extended; he is "sejant"—sitting; seated with forepaws erect, he is "sejant rampant"; standing on all fours, he is "statant"—standing; standing in act to spring, he is "salient"—leaping; when his tail is forked and raised above his back, he is said to have a "queue fourchÉe"—literally a forked tail. (This last attitude is not often seen.) But when he is represented running across the field and looking back, then the heralds label the king of beasts "coward!"

A single lion is a very frequent charge, but two lions are rarer. The Hanmers of Flintshire, descended from Sir John Hanmer in the reign of Edward I., have two lions, and we find two lions "rampant combatant"—that is, clawing each other—"langued armed" in the Wycombe coat of arms; whilst one, Garrad of London, bears two lions "counter-rampant"—i.e., back to back, and very droll they look. Demi-lions rampant also occur in armorial bearings.

The different parts of a lion are much used; the head, either erased or couped, the face cabossed, the paws, borne either singly or in twos and threes, and lastly, we find the tail represented in various postures. The Corkes bear three lions' tails.

The tiger follows the lion and has terms of blazon peculiar to himself. Thus, the single tiger borne by Sir Robert Love is depicted as "tusked, maned and flasked." In the arms of the De Bardis family, a tigress is represented gazing into a mirror, which lies beside her on the ground. This odd charge alludes to the fable that a tigress, robbed of her whelps, may be appeased by seeing her own reflection in a glass. A tiger's head is used but seldom as a separate charge.

Apparently the bear stood higher in favour with the old heralds. The family of Fitzurse charge their shield with a single bear passant, the Barnards have a bear "rampant and muzzled," whilst the Beresfords' bear is both "muzzled and collared." The Berwycks bear a bear's head, "erased and muzzled," and three bears' heads appear in the arms of the Langham, Brock, and Pennarth families.

A wolf is borne by Sir Edward Lowe of Wilts, Sir Daniel Dun, and by the Woods of Islington. A wolf's head appears very early in armorial bearings; Hugh, surnamed Lupus, Earl of Chester and nephew of William I., used a wolf's head as his badge.