A crest was originally, as its name reminds us, a tuft or plume on the head of a bird. Such a plume or tuft, or bush as it was often called, was fixed in early times as an ornament on the top of a helm, of which it thus formed the crest. Other devices, such as could conveniently be so worn, were soon used for the same purpose, and like armorial bearings became associated with particular individuals. In later days when the helm enveloped the whole head, the crest played a useful part in revealing the wearer's identity, though his face was hidden.

One of the earliest suggestions of a crest in English armory appears on the second great seal (of 1198) of King Richard I, whose cylindrical helm has a leopard upon the cap with two wing-shaped fans above turned in opposite directions. On many seals of the second half of the thirteenth century, as, for instance, on those of Robert de Vere earl of Oxford (1263) and Henry de Laci earl of Lincoln (1272), the knight is represented as riding in full armour, with the helm surmounted with a fan-shaped plume, which is also repeated upon the horse's head. (See also fig. 58 and pl. XI B.)

An early use of a crest proper is furnished by the seal of Roger of Leybourne (ob. 1284). This shows his shield of arms (bearing six lions) hung upon a tree, with his banner (charged with one lion only) behind, and at one side a helm with lion crest (pl. XI A). Thomas of Berkeley in 1295 has upon his seal a shield flanked by two mermaids and surmounted by a helm carrying a mitre for a crest. Thomas earl of Lancaster (1296) on two separate seals has a wiver, or two-legged dragon, upon his helm, and this again is repeated upon his horse's head (fig. 59). The seal of his brother Henry of Lancaster, appended to the Barons' Letter, also shows his helm crested with a wiver (fig. 60). Two other early examples of crests on seals from the Barons' Letter are shown in figs. 61 and 62. Sir John Peche, on a seal appended to a deed of 1323-4, has his shield flanked by wivers and surmounted by a helm with squirrel crest. William Montagu earl of Salisbury (1336-7), in the mounted figure of himself on his fine seal, has a demi-griffin fixed upon his crowned helm (pl. XII B), and King Edward III shows for the first time, on his seal of 1340, his crest of a crowned leopard standing upon the cap of estate which surmounts his helm.

During the first half of the fourteenth century there is an interesting diversity in the manner of representing crests, when not being worn by their owners.

William Montagu earl of Salisbury shows on his counterseal (pl. XII A) his shield supported by two griffins, and ensigned by the demi-griffin issuing from an open crown which in his seal he carries upon his helm. John Engayn, in 1349, has upon the upper edge of his shield a wolf or fox walking under a tree. Henry duke of Lancaster (1341) ensigns the shield of his arms with a cap of estate surmounted by a leopard (pl. XIII C); and Peter de Mauley, the sixth of that name, in 1379-80 has a seal with his simple arms (a bend) supported by two ramping leopards, and surmounted by a fierce dragon breathing defiance (pl. XX B). In none of these cases does a helm appear.

After the middle of the fourteenth century the crest is invariably shown as part of the helm.

The helm, it is hardly necessary to say, was such an one as formed part of the war harness of the time, and in the numerous armorial representations that may be found on seals or on monuments or buildings it is almost invariably shown in profile. This was, however, merely on account of its being the most convenient way of displaying the crest, and, in accordance with the usual medieval common-sense, examples are to be found which show the helm and crest facing the observer.

Thus Thomas de Holand (1353) has on his seal a shield of his arms hung from a tree and flanked by two fronting helms, each encircled by a crown and surmounted by a huge bush of feathers; Sir Robert de Marni (1366) flanks his shield, which is also hung from a tree, with two fronting helms, each crested with a tall pair of wings rising from the sides of a cap of estate (fig. 63); Sir Stephen Hales (1392-3) on his seal has a couched shield of his arms surmounted by a fronting helm, with a crown about it from which issue two fine wings; Robert Deynelay (1394-5) in like manner shows his helm crested with two ears of a bat or hare; and Walter lord FitzWalter (1415-31) has on his seal a couched shield, and on a fronting helm above a cap of estate surmounted by a star between two large wings (pl. XIII A). Another example of a fronting helm is shown in pl. V B.

The present custom of using various types of helm facing different ways to denote grades of rank is comparatively recent as well as often inconvenient, and utterly subversive of the proper method of displaying a crest, which should invariably face the same way as its wearer. This fact is amply illustrated by the early stall-plates at Windsor, but the modern crested helms surmounting the stalls there were for a long time the scoff of students of heraldry owing to the absurd manner in which the crests were set athwart the fronting helms. It is pleasant to be able to add that the crests have lately been replaced almost throughout by a new and larger series, worthy of their surroundings, and set upon the helms in the proper way. Under the same enlightened administration the most recent stall-plates are enamelled creations of real artistic and heraldic excellence.

The crest was, of old time, almost always something that could actually be set upon a helm, and such objects as naturally were[Pg 132]
[Pg 133]
[Pg 134] too large or too heavy were modelled in boiled leather, wood, or other light material: like the fine crest borne at the funeral of Edward prince of Wales, now over his tomb at Canterbury, which is a leopard standing upon a cap of estate and modelled in leather covered with stamped gesso (fig. 65); or the soldan's head of carved wood that surmounts the funeral helm of George lord Cobham, in Cobham church, Kent (fig. 66).

Arms were borne by the mayor and commonalty of a city or town at least as early as 1283 in the case of Chester, and of 1305 in the case of Dover (or the Cinque Ports), but none presumed to use a crest until London did so on the making of a new seal in 1539, and no crest was granted to a town before 1561.

Before leaving crests a word must be said as to their comparative sizes.

Throughout the best period of heraldic art the crested helm and the shield in pictorial representations practically balance one another, but there is occasionally a tendency to diminish the shield, and so apparently to enlarge the crest. This may be seen, for example, in several of the early stall-plates at Windsor (figs. 67, 68), which otherwise are admirable models as to the treatment of crests in general. They also show very clearly how easily and comfortably the crests surmount the helms.

A remarkable early English example of the use of two crests is furnished by a seal of Richard Nevill (1449-71), the 'Kingmaker,' who was earl of Salisbury, and, in right of his wife, also earl of Warwick (fig. 69). This exhibits two helms above the multi-quartered shield, the one carrying the Beauchamp swan for the earldom of Warwick, the other the Montagu griffin for the earldom of Salisbury.