ANIMAL CHARGES (continued)

After "ravenous fierce beastes," we come to dogs, foxes, cats, squirrels, etc. Sporting dogs are very favourite charges, and are frequently termed talbots in heraldry.¹

1: Some writers consider that the term "talbot" was restricted to a mastiff, but sporting dogs—foxhounds, harriers, beagles, etc.—were certainly occasionally blazoned as talbots.

(A mastiff with short ears was termed an alant.)

The Carricks and Burgoynes bear one talbot on their shield, whilst the Talbot family have three talbots passant.

The Earl of Perth has a "sleuthhound, collared and leashed" for his crest; that of the Biscoe family is a greyhound seizing a hare. A dog chasing another animal must be blazoned either "in full course" or "in full chase." A foxhound nosing the ground is described as "a hound on scent."

The fox rarely figures in heraldry. One Kadrod-Hard of Wales bore two "reynards counter salient," and "the Wylies do bear that wylie beast, the fox"; whilst three foxes' heads erased are borne respectively by the Foxes of Middlesex and one Stephen Fox, of Wilts.

A fox's face is blazoned a "mask."

Cats occur fairly often in heraldry. "Roger Adams and John Hills, both of the City of London," we are told, "bear cats"; Sir Jonathan Keats charges three "cats-a-mountain"—wild cats—upon his shield, as also do the Schives of Scotland; the Dawson-Damer's crest is a tabby cat with a rat in her mouth. She would be blazoned as preying.

The dog, fox, and cat have each their typical meaning in heraldry. The dog symbolizes courage, fidelity, affection, and sagacity; the fox, great wit and cunning; the cat, boldness, daring, and extraordinary foresight, so that whatever happens she always falls on her feet. She was formerly the emblem of liberty, and was borne on the banners of the ancient Alans and Burgundians to show that they brooked no servitude.

The squirrel is rather a favourite charge, notably in the arms of landed gentry—such as the Holts, Woods, Warrens—because the little nut-cracker is typical of parks and woodland property. It occurs either singly or in pairs or trios. It is always represented sejant, and usually cracking nuts, as seen in the arms of the Nuthall family.

A hedgehog usually figures in the arms of the Harris, Harrison, Herries, and Herrison families, and is undoubtedly borne in allusion to their surname, hÉrisson being the French for hedgehog. Lord Malmesbury—family name Harris—bears a hedgehog in his coat of arms. It is generally blazoned as an "urcheon" in heraldry. The hare occurs but rarely in English arms; the Clelands bear one as a single charge, and the Trussleys charge their shield with three little hares playing bagpipes, probably in allusion to the hare's traditional love of music. The rabbit—known to heralds as a coney—is oftener met with in armorial bearings; the Strodes of Devon bear three conies couchant; the Conesbies, three conies sejant; the Cunliffes, three conies courant.

Three moles are borne by Sir John Twistledon, of Dartford, Kent—a mole was sometimes blazoned "moldiwarp"—whilst the Rattons very aptly bear a rat.

We cannot say much of the toads,² tortoises, serpents, grasshoppers, spiders, and snails which occur in heraldry.

2: The legend which connects toads with the fleur-de-lys in the arms of France is too well known to need repetition here.

The Gandys of Suffolk bear a single tortoise passant, and a tortoise erected occurs on the Coopers' coat of arms.

Serpents are blazoned in terms peculiar to themselves. Thus, a serpent coiled, is said to be nowed—knotted—from the French noeud, a knot; when upright on its tail, it is erect; gliding, it is glissant also from the French; when biting its tail, it is blazoned embowed. The Falconers bear a "serpent embowed"; one Natterley has an "adder nowed"—natter is the German for adder—and Sir Thomas Couch of London charges an adder "curling and erect" upon his shield.

To the Greek, the grasshopper signified nobility; hence amongst the Athenians a golden grasshopper worn in the hair was the badge of high lineage. In later days the heralds considered the grasshopper a type of patriotism, "because in whatever soil a grasshopper is bred, in that will he live and die."

Spiders were not only held symbolical of industry, but they were highly esteemed for their supposed properties of healing.³

3: As regards the spider's curative powers, Mr. Thistleton Dyer, in his "Folklore of Shakespeare," tells us that only "a few years ago a lady in Ireland was famous for curing ague with a large house-spider swallowed alive, thickly coated with treacle."

One family of Shelleys bears three "house-snails" so termed in heraldry to imply that they carry their shells. A type of deliberation in business matters and perseverance is supposed to be furnished by the common snail.

The "creatures that live above the earth"—i.e., having wings—come next.

Various heraldic terms are in use for blazoning bird charges—viz.:

A bird flying is "volant" (Fig. 42); preparing to fly, is "rising" (Fig. 44); when its wings are spread open, they are "displayed"; when folded, they are "close (see Fig. 43)." Birds of prey and barn-door cocks are "armed." Thus, the eagle is blazoned as "armed of his beak and talons"; the cock as "armed of his beak and spurs"; he is also blazoned as "combed and jellopped"—that is, with his crest and wattles. An eagle or any other bird of prey devouring its prey is described as "preying." In blazoning a very old eagle, the French heralds use a special term, pamÉ;⁴ our English equivalent would be "exhausted," thereby alluding to the popular notion that with advancing age an eagle's beak becomes so hooked that it is unable to take any nourishment, and so dies of inanition. Birds that have web feet and no talons are usually blazoned "membred." A swan with her wings raised is said to be "expansed"; a peacock with his tail displayed is said to be "in his pride" (Fig. 45); with folded tail he is a peacock "close." A pelican feeding her young is a "pelican in her piety" (see Plate III.); when wounding her breast, she is said to be "vulning." The crane is another bird which enjoys a blazoning term which is all its own—namely, "a crane in its vigilance." It is so described when, as in the Cranstoun arms, it is represented holding a stone in its foot. This charge refers to the old myth, that a crane on duty as a sentinel always holds a stone in its foot, so that in the event of its dropping asleep the sound of the falling stone may act as an alarum.

4: The word pamÉ should be restricted to an expiring fish.

Falcons are blazoned "armed, jessed and belled." A falcon is usually called "goshawk" in heraldry.

Swans, geese, ducks, and other web-footed birds occur rarely in heraldry. The Moore family bear one swan, the Mellishes two, and three swans' necks are charged upon the Lacys' shield. One, John Langford, bears a single wild goose. Three wild duck volant appear in the arms of the Woolrich family. Three drakes—a very favourite charge—are borne by the Yeos. The Starkeys bear one stork, the Gibsons three.

Three herons occur in the arms of Heron, one kingfisher in those of one, Christopher Fisher (Fig. 43). Viscount Cullen, whose family name is Cockayne, bears three cocks; three capons are borne by the Caponhursts; whilst, drolly enough, three cocks are borne by the Crow family. The Alcocks bear three cocks' heads.

Eagles are of such wide and constant occurrence in heraldry that we cannot attempt to do justice to them here. A single eagle is borne by the Earls of Dalhousie and Southesk, and by seven families of Bedingfield. A double-headed eagle was rather a favourite charge, and coats of arms displaying as many as six eagles are very commonly met with. But an eagle blazoned "close" is a rare charge.⁵ Parts of an eagle, such as head, wings, talons, and legs often appear in armorial bearings as separate charges. Ostrich feathers, by the way, are also introduced into heraldry, but the ostrich itself is of very seldom occurrence.⁶ Its introduction into heraldry, dates from the time of the Crusaders, when Europeans first saw the bird. An ostrich is usually represented with a horseshoe in its mouth, because it was a popular idea that an ostrich could digest iron.⁷ In Sir Titus Salt's arms we find a demi-ostrich holding a horseshoe in its beak. Lord Churston's shield is supported on the right by an ostrich with a horseshoe in its beak, as is Lord Carysfort's, but his ostrich is represented with a key in its beak.

5: The eagle was sometimes called "alerion" by the early heralds and when blazoned as such was usually represented with neither legs nor beak.

6: One Jervis, the principal founder of Exbridge, in Devon, bore six ostrich feathers, and in the heraldry of to-day they are occasionally met with as charges. The Fetherstons bear three ostrich feathers on their shield, and the Earl of Devon has seven ostrich feathers in his crest.

We are all familiar with the Prince of Wales's plumes, but to go farther back into history, we find that a plume of ostrich feathers was often used by King Stephen as his badge, with the motto of his own making: "Vi nulla invertitur ordo"—"No force alters their fashion"—in allusion to the "fold fall of the feather," which was neither shaken nor disordered by the wind, and therefore symbolized the condition of well-ordered kings and kingdoms.

In bygone times, we are told, "some doubted whether an ostrich should be reckoned as a beast or a fowl"!

7: "I'll make thee eat iron like an ostrich."
King Henry VI.

Three hawks are borne by the Hawksworths; the Corbets bear a raven as a single charge, whilst Dr. Raven, Queen Anne's physician, bears a raven rising (Fig. 44). The swallow, which is the heraldic martlet (see No. 4, Fig. 36), occurs repeatedly as a charge in coats of arms, very often in threes; six is also a favourite number. The Wardes and Temples bear five; the Chadwicks and Brownlows charge the orle of their shield with eight martlets. The Pawne family bear three peacocks "in their pride" (see Fig. 45), and this same charge occurs in the arms of the Peacocks of Durham. A phoenix is borne by the Fenwicks. The dove occurs occasionally in heraldry. A dove with an olive branch in its beak was added as an augmentation of honour to his paternal arms by one Walker, when he married the only child of Sir David Gam. This charge was granted to Sir David after the Battle of Agincourt, where he took the Duc de Nevers prisoner. It was this same Sir David who, on being sent by the king to view the French Army before the battle, brought word to his royal master that "there were men enough to kill, enough to run away, and enough to make prisoners."

Besides the birds already mentioned, the parrot, turkey, owl, chough, pheasant, woodcock, and several others occur in heraldry.

Amongst winged insects, we find the bee in the arms of the Bye family, whilst the Rowes of Cheshire bear a beehive, surrounded by buzzing bees.⁸ The bee was considered an honourable charge, symbolizing loyalty to the chief, thrift and industry.⁹

8: Lord Lansdowne uses "a beehive beset with bees" as one of his crests.

9: In blazoning the bee, Guillim cannot resist reminding his reader of the old saw:

The Burninghills bear three gadbees—horseflies—and the Papillons, very properly, have three butterflies charged on their shield (Fig. 46).

In concluding this chapter let us explain the term augmentation used above.

By augmentation is meant any addition granted for some special reason, to a coat of arms. Thus to one, William Compton, who was about Henry VIII. and in great favour with him, the King actually granted permission to add a lion passant guardant, taken out of his own royal device, to his paternal arms, as an "honourable augmentation." "In rememberance whereof," says Sir William Dugdale, "the said Compton at his death bequeathed to the king a little chest of ivory, whereof the lock was gilt, with a chessboard under, and a pair of tables upon it."

The arms of Sir Atwel-King Lake show a curious augmentation—viz., a dexter arm embowed—bent—issuing from the sinister side of the shield, holding in the hand a sword erect, thereto affixed a banner, bearing a cross between sixteen escutcheons, etc. These sixteen escutcheons were given to the original bearer of these arms, Dr. Edward Lake, a devoted adherent of Charles I., to commemorate the sixteen wounds that Lake received at the Battle of Naseby.

Lord Nelson was granted a very pictorial augmentation of honour. "Waves or the sea, from which a palm-tree issues between a disabled ship on the dexter and a battery in ruins on the sinister." Nelson had also a crest of an "honourable augmentation," which he bore in addition to that of his family. A naval crown with the chelengk, or plume of triumph, presented to him by the Grand Sultan, Selim III.

The augmentation of honour granted to the great Duke of Wellington took the shape of the Union Jack charged upon an inescutcheon, which was superimposed upon his own shield.