UC-NRLF „,.--- 1111. EX-LIBRIS SERIES. EDITED BY GLEESON WHIN. DECORATIVE HERALDRY. 7 ARMS OF CARDINAL WOLSEY, BY DOM. ANSELM. Decorative Heraldry a Practical Handbook of its Artistic Treatment by G. W. Eve London : George Bell & Sons, York Street, Coveni Garden, & New York. Mdcccxcvii Srchitectur^ Add to lib. eiPT CHISWICK TRESS: — CHARLES WIIITTINGHAM AM) CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. CKsi I S9 7 PREFACE. HE RA LDRY as a system, has been copiously written about in a series <>f works extending from the fifteenth century, when Nicholas Upton wrote his treatise, until now; and the subject has therefore been well examined from the scientific- point of view. From its artistic side, on the other hand, it appears not to have attracted that amount of atten- tion which the interesting and decorative character of the subject might have been expected to secure. Except for short incidental references in general works on heraldry, and in papers read to certain learned and artistic societies, its decorative aspect has been treated as of comparatively minor im- portance Many of those who have desired to practice the art have had to approach it anew by independent Study, and to re-discover by patient research the examples of i^ood work on which to base their own ; an excellent method, but sus- ceptible of simplification. It was with a view to assist in some measure the efforts that in so many- directions are being devoted to the adequate pre- sentation of heraldry that the present work was undertaken. v 891 PREFACE. Considering that, speaking generally, anything may be brought within the scope of heraldry, and any material may be made the means of its expression, and that consequently the study of the artist should be all-embracing, excluding neither the anatomy of the human figure nor the mech- anism of a buckle ; it is obviously impracticable to treat the subject exhaustively : and the present work makes no such pretence. In it I have done no more than endeavour to trace the history of English heraldic art in its chief features, to point out the changes of style it has undergone, and the influences that have conduced thereto, at the same time directing attention to such examples as may be useful as a preliminary study to the practice of the art. Heraldic form is therefore the subject with which we are more immediately concerned ; but it has been thought desirable to include a short account of the principal heraldic rules of which a knowledge is necessary, in order to make the subject compre- hensible. In the primer of heraldry so given I have tried to simplify the matter as much as possible, and to explain unavoidable technicalities as they arise. I gladly avail myself of this opportunity to express my thanks to all those who have so kindly helped me in a work which has involved the con- sideration of a large amount of detail. Especially am I indebted to Mr. Everard Green, F.S.A., Rouge Dragon, for most valuable advice and assist- ance ungrudgingly extended with complete dis- regard of time or trouble. To Mr. W. H. Weldon, Norroy, and to Mr. C. H. A thill, Richmond, I am vi PREFACE. much indebted ; to the former for the examples of Dom. Ansel m's work, and to both for many facilities. For very ready assistance in their respective de- partments I beg to offer my thanks to Mr. Jenner, F.S.A., of the British Museum; to Mr. VV. H. J. Weale, Keeper of the Art Library, South Kensington Museum, and to the other officials of those Institutions whose help is always so readily forthcoming. I have also to thank Mr. Alfred Cock, ( ).C. and the Burlington Fine Arts Club for permission to reproduce from their valuable cata- logue of bookbindings ; the Society of Antiquaries for similar permission with regard to the Black Prince's armorials ; and Mr. C. W. Sherborn, R.P.H., for the Bartolozzi plate and the charming example of his own work, of which, by the courtesy of Lord Battersea, impressions are given here. G. W. E. 573, High Road, Chiswick. VII PREFACE. Considering that, speaking generally, anything may be brought within the scope of heraldry, and any material may be made the means of its expression, and that consequently the study of the artist should be all-embracing, excluding neither the anatomy of the human figure nor the mech- anism of a buckle ; it is obviously impracticable to treat the subject exhaustively : and the present work makes no such pretence. In it I have done no more than endeavour to trace the history of English heraldic art in its chief features, to point out the changes of style it has undergone, and the influences that have conduced thereto, at the same time directing attention to such examples as may be useful as a preliminary study to the practice of the art. Heraldic form is therefore the subject with which we are more immediately concerned ; but it has been thought desirable to include a short account of the principal heraldic rules of which a knowledge is necessary, in order to make the subject compre- hensible. In the primer of heraldry so given I have tried to simplify the matter as much as possible, and to explain unavoidable technicalities as they arise. I gladly avail myself of this opportunity to express my thanks to all those who have so kindly helped me in a work which has involved the con- sideration of a large amount of detail. Especially am I indebted to Mr. Everard Green, F.S.A., Rouge Dragon, for most valuable advice and assist- ance ungrudgingly extended with complete dis- regard f time or trouble. To Mr. W. H. Weldon, Norroy, and to Mr. C. H. Athill, Richmond, I am vi PREFACE. much indebted ; to the former for the examples <>t Dom. Anselm's work, and to both f< >r many facilities. For very ready assistance in their respective de- partments I beg to otter my thanks to Mr. Jenner, F.S.A., of the British Museum; to Mr. W. II. |. Weale, Keeper of the Art Library, South Kensington Museum, and to the other officials of those Institutions whose help is always so readily forthcoming. I have also to thank Mr. Alfred Cock, O.C., and the Burlington Fine Arts Club for permission to reproduce from their valuable cata- logue of bookbindings ; the Society of Antiquaries for similar permission with regard to the Black Prince's armorials ; and Mr. C. W. Sherborn, R.P.E., for the Bartolozzi plate and the charming example of his own work, of which, by the courtesy of Lord Battersea, impressions are given here. G. W. E. 573, I Ik. ii Road, < Ihiswick. Vll O INTENTS. ClIAT. I. — INTRODUCTORY I II. — A Primer of Heraldry . . 9 III. — The Origin of Heraldic Forms 66 IV. — The Development of Heraldry 104 V. — The Heraldry of the Renais- sance 170 VI. — The Decadence of Heraldry. 235 VII. — The Rfvivai 248 Index 2;^ IX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. COLOURED PLATES. page Arms of Cardinal Wolsey, by Dom. Anselm . . Frontispiece Arms of Cardinal Stampendis, by Dom. Anselm . . . 250 Arms of Cardinal Eaton, by Dom. Anselm 252 Bookbinding : Embroidered arms of Henry VIII. From the "Description de toute la terre saincte " . . 222 COPPER-PLATE. Book-plate of Lord Battersea. Engraved by C. W. Sherborn, R.P.E 258 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. Note. — Nos. 1-93 are from drawings specially made for this work by the author. i . The Field • . . 9 2. The Field 10 3. Or 10 4. Argent 10 5. Gules 10 6. Azure 11 7. Vert 11 8. Purpure 11 9. Sable 11 10. Ermine 12 1 1 . Vair 12 12. Counter- Vair 12 13. Vair Ancient 13 14. Vair Ancient 13 15. Potent 13 x LIST OF ILLUSTRA1 IONS. IAi.K 16. The Fess 14 1 ;. Barrulet 14 1 5, I be Bend 14 19. rhe Chief 15 10. l he Talc 15 21. The Endorse 15 j 2. The ( Chevron 1 23. The Cross 1 24. The Cross Voided 1 25. Voided and Interlaced 1 26. Quarter- Pierced 1 17. Nowy 1 18. Quadrate 1 29. The Saltire 1 30. The Pile 1 31. The ( 'anton 18 (2. The Bordure 18 33. The Orle 18 ;;. The 'Pressure 19 35. Flanches 19 36. < louped 19 j7« Per less - 1 38. Per Pale 21 39. Per Bend -1 40. Per ( Ihevron -1 4 1. Per Saltire - 1 (2. Quarterly -' 13. Quarterly Per Fess Nebulee -« 14. ( iyronny - ' 45. Barry -> 4'.. Bendy -- 47. Paly -- yg. Paly Bendy 49. I Km ngj -- 50. Chequey -3 51. Compony, or Gobony -3 impony -3 retty ..." 23 --» 55. Engrailed -\ xi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE 56. Wavy and Nebulee 24 57. Dancettee 25 58. Indented and Embattled 25 59. Potent 25 60. Dovetailed 26 61. Ragulee 26 62. Example of Blazon 26 63. Arms of Gifford 27 64. Passion Cross 27 65. Cross Flory 27 66. Cross Fleurette 29 67. Cross Moline 29 68. Cross Patee 29 69. Maltese Cross 30 70. Cross Patee Fitchee 30 71. Cross Botonee 30 72. Cross Urdee 30 73. Statant 31 74. Statant-Guardant 31 75. Passant-Guardant and Passant-Regardant .... 31 76. Rampant 31 77. Stag's Head Caboshed 34 78. Gryphon 34 79. Dragon 34 80. Wyvern 35 81. Heraldic Tyger 35 82. Heraldic Antelope 35 83. Eagle 39 84. Eagle Rising 39 85. Dolphin and Serpent 41 86. Escarbuncle and Label 51 87. Crest Coronet 55 88. Mural Crown 56 89. Naval Crown 56 90. Crown Vallery 56 91. Crown Palisado 57 92. Eastern Crown .... 57 93. Crown Celestial 57 94. Heraldic Device from a Chaldean Bas-relief, B.C. 4000 69 xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. I'.M.I 95. Throne with Passant Lion, from the Tombs of the Kings, Thebes 7- 96. Rampant Figures from the Sassanian Sculptures at Persepolis ;.> 97. 98. Crested Figures from the Sassanian Sculptures at Persepolis. Third Century 76, 77 99. 1. Coin of Varahran II. 2. Coin of Ardeshir III. 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, Sassanian Gems. 7, 8, Gnostic Gems 79 100. Roman Eagle 83 101. Device from a Byzantine Silk of the Tenth Century 87 102. Seal of King Robert 91 103. Seal of Louis YIII 92 104. Seals of Louis VII. and Queen Constance ... 93 105. Counterseal of Philip II 95 106. Counterseal of Louis VI 1 1 95 107. Monumental Slab in Champleve enamel of ( reoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. Twelfth Century 97 10S. Casket of Champleve Enamel on Copper. French (Limoges) About 1300 99 109. Sculptured Figure from Rheims Cathedral. Circa 1 200 101 1 10. Brass of Sir Robert de Bures 105 in, Brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington 105 in, Brass of Sir Robert de Septvans 105 113. Seal of the Guardians of Scotland after the Death of Alexander III 111 114. Smaller Seal of David II. of Scotland 115 115,116. Shields of Arms from a Thirteenth Century MS 1 1 7, 1 is 1 1 7. Helmet and Crest of James, King of Arragon. From the Royal Armory. Madrid. Thirteenth Century 119 118. Shield of Arms of Edward the Confessor. From the North Porch of Westminster Abbey . . . . 121 119. Side of the Tomb of Queen Eleanor (of Castile) in Westminster Abbey. Fnd of the Thirteenth ( ntury 123 120. Crest and Helmet of Edward the Black Prince, in Canterbury Cathedra] t*6 i2i. shield of Edward the black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral 127 X i i i LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 122. Shield of Prince John of Eltham, from his Monu- mental Effigy in Westminster Abbey. Circa 1334 123. Jupon of the Black Prince (front view) .... 124. Sixth Great Seal of Edward III 125. Seal of Thomas of Woodstock 126. Seal of Thomas de Holland, Earl of Kent . . . 127. Noble of Edward III 128. Frame of Portrait of Richard II . in Westminster Abbey. Late Fourteenth Century 129. Gable of the Great Silver Ark of St. Simeon in the Church of Zara, Dalmatia. a.d. 1380 . . 130. Arms and Badges of Henry V., from his Chantry in Westminster Abbey. Circa 1425 .... 131. Monument in Westminster Abbey of Louis Robsart, Lord Bourchier. First half of Fifteenth Century 132. Banner from the Tomb of Louis Robsart, Lord Bourchier 133. Crest of Louis Robsart, Lord Bourchier. From his tomb 134. Banner from the Tomb of Louis Robsart, Lord Bourchier 135. Front of a Coffer in Carved Oak. French, Fifteenth Century 136. Carved Front of a Coffer; French, Fifteenth Century 137. Monumental Brass of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Early Fifteenth Century .... l 3&> I 39- Brasses from the Tomb of John Duke of Cleves 165, 140. Cupboard Door. French, Fifteenth Century . . 141. Pedestal of the Lion, by Donatello. Italian, Fifteenth Century 142. Terra-Cotta Medallion in Delia Robbia Ware. Italian, Fifteenth Century 143. 144. Panels of Istrian Stone. From a Palace at Cesena. Italian, about 1500 177, 145. Panel in Istrian Stone from the Castello di Mon- dolfo. Italian, Sixteenth Century 146. Part of a Panel of Black Slate. Genoese . . 147. Pavoise from the Palazzo Guadagni, Florence. Italian, second half Fifteenth Century .... iS- xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 4>s. Shield of Arms. German, Sixteenth Century . . i' s 7 49. Bronze Moors of Henry VII.'s Chapel, Westminster Abbey. Sixteenth Century 191 50. Part of the Tomb-Screen of Henry VII., showing the Royal Arms. Sixteenth Century .... 193 51. Monument of Margaret Beaufort, Duchess of Rich- mond, in the Chapel of Henry VII. Sixteenth ( Yntury 196 52. Part of the Tombof Margaret Beaufort, Duchess "t Richmond i"7 53. Badge I >ecorated Fragment of the Altar Monument to Edward VI. in Westminster Abbey, called Torregiano's Altar. Sixteenth Century . . . [99 54. Part of the Frieze of a Chimney-Piece in Carved Oak. French, Earl) Sixteenth Century . . . 201 55. Walnut Panel. French, about 1500 203 56. Salamander Badge of Francis I., King of France French, Early Sixteenth Century 211 57. Arm> of Rokby 213 ms ' Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon .... 213 ;o. Arms in Trick from a Sixteenth Century MS. . . 214 60. Lion from Sixteenth Century MS 215 61. Tudor Book-Cover in the Library of Durham 1 thedral 217 62. II Petrarcha. Embroidered Book-Cover. Sixteenth ( lentury 219 '>;. Part of an Embroidered Gauntlet given by Henry VIII. to sir Anthony Denny 223 '14. Armorials on the tomb of Lady Margaret Lennox in Westminster Abbey. Earl] Seventeenth Century 227 65, 1 66, I ■ si from the Tomb of Thomas < Veil, Pari of ler, K.C.. Early Seventeenth Century 229, 231 67. Gartered Shield from the Monument of Thomas l -.1. Pari of Exeter, K.C.. in Westminster Abbey 233 68. Book-plate of Ralph Sheldon ''•1. Book-plate of Samuel Pepys 239 70. Book-plate of William Musgrave 240 71. Part of the Title-page of "London's Am 1677 241 w LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE 172. Book-plate of Sir Foster Cunliffe, Bart. By Bartolozzi 245 173-175. Arms from the Houses of Parliament. By Pugin 248, 249 176. Detail of the Armorial Decorations of the Houses of Parliament. By Pugin 251 177. Book-plate of Eustace Kynaston Corbet. By T. Erat Harrison 261 178. Silver Presentation Cup. By T. Erat Harrison . 263 179. Arms of Campbell. Designed by J. Forbes Nixon 265 180. Book-plate of Mr. St. John Hope. By J. Forbes Nixon 266 181. Arms from the Memorial Tablet to Lord James Butler. By J. Forbes Nixon 267 182. Armorially Decorated Portrait of the Earl of War- wick. By Alexander Fisher 269 183. Book-plate of Colonel Patteson. By W. R. Weyer . 273 XV) DECORATIVE HERALDRY. C H A PT E R I. I N T RODUCTO RY. HERALDRY, from its germ in the warrior's personal adornment, on through its system- atized splendour in the Middle Ages, and down to its more modern and chequered existence, has ever been an object of peculiar interest, both as an adjunct to history and as contributing a strong point of colour to the times. Its value in decora- tion, importing as it does a note of personal his- torical interest hardly to be had in another way, can scarcely be over-estimated. It is therefore to the artistic side of heraldry that the present work is devoted, as the expression of a desire to assist in some measure the remarkable revival which this fascinating subject shares with decorative art at large. The revival was as welcome as its need was great, for a curious feature of the decadenc heraldic treatment was its utter completeness. The splendidly decorative quality <>i the earlier work, of which the lions on the tomb of Edward III. I B INTRODUCTORY. at Westminster are excellent instances, compared with the inept and unworthy manner in which the same royal lions have been too often de- picted in more recent times, makes it difficult to realize that there could have been any continuity whatever between styles so completely different. Excellent examples were not wanting in manu- script, embroidery, and stone on which to base correct taste and practice ; but their teaching fell into neglect, and heraldic treatment stumbled from feebleness to feebleness, until it reached the level of most of the work of last century and this. The substitution of a too naturalistic treatment of form for an ornamental one undoubtedly furthered this debasement, which cannot, perhaps, be better ex- emplified than in the " English Peerage," illustrated in 1790 by Charles Catton, R.A., where, though the drawing is often vigorous, and the modelling fine, the decorative feeling is altogether absent. Heraldic forms in most unheraldic attitudes dodge round weakly designed shields, from above which tiny coronets topple, quite regardless of the bal- anced composition of good design. With poverty of treatment were combined glaring errors of con- struction ; for officialism, as was natural, was not exempt from the general lack of taste, but while rightly devoting attention and care to the observ- ance of heraldic rules, most generally neglected their artistic expression. This is very obvious in the grants of arms by Sir Isaac Heard to many of the heroes of the Napoleonic wars, where, in place of the conventional symbolism suitable to the oc- casion, we find pictorial representations of battles 2 MODERN WEAKNESS. and sieges quite out ot harmony with the rest of the work. Among other weaknesses may be mentioned the occasional use of minute objects, such as cannot be made apparent in an ordinary manner of usage, on a seal for example ; for the first essential of design is, of course, that the probable use of a composi- tion, as well as the method of its production, should be kept steadily in view. A ludicrous neglect of this self-evident rule is evinced in the oft-quoted case of Tetlow, where the crest is charged with a silver penny having the Lord's prayer thereon, alluding to the fact of the grantee having so written it — a fact which he would appear to have regarded as his claim to the admiration of posterity. Other absurdities perpetrated in crests consisted of the employment of detached parts, such as rainbows, flying birds, stars to which hands pointed, and other unsupported objects proper enough on a shield, but altogether objectionable in a crest, which, being a modelled object attached to the helm, must necessarily be coherent. No doubt these are exceptions, but they show emphatically what to avoid, and are quoted therefore to that end. In the heraldry of Europe in general, that of Germany is a brilliant exception in its resistance to the general decadence. Though it has certainly become <>ver-florid in many instances, yet, in spite of all such excesses, it retains more than any other the spirited and vigorous draughtsmanship of the earlier work. This maw no doubt. In- ascribed in a great measure to the fact that artists of dis- tinction have not disdained to Study the subject 3 INTRODUCTORY. seriously, appreciating and applying all that was best in the productions of their predecessors while preserving and adorning it with their own skill. Elsewhere, the work has too often been left to hands but imperfectly qualified for the task ; for though it is true that Hogarth, Cipriani, and others have practised this form of art, they left it where they found it, and — not unnaturally — left it as soon as they could. Also that false economy, rather to be called parsimony, which says of bad work " it must do, because better is costly," has left its mark on this as on other phases of art whose beauty depends upon knowledge for appreciation, and is hardly yet understood by the multitude. Happily, the dreary position thus reached has at last been redeemed from sterility by the efforts of those who, breaking away from the precedents of a worn-out method, have looked to the beautiful work of the Middle Ages for the inspiration which should again make heraldry alive. Foremost among these, Mr. W. H. Weldon, Norroy King of Arms, and Mr. Everard Green, F.S.A., Rouge Dragon^ have spared and are sparing nothing that taste, research, and sympathetic encouragement of others' efforts can bring to the furtherance of this end. In Scotland, Mr. Balfour Paul, Lyon King of Arms, and in Ireland, Sir Arthur Vicars, F.S. A., Ulster King of Arms, are also making efforts to secure adequate treatment of the armorials issuing from their respective offices — arms which have usually been good, heraldically, even when lacking in their artistic setting forth. In other directions also improvement is mani- 4 THE WORK OF DOM. ANSELM. fest. In architectural decoration, armour)-, which has too often appeared in a small, ineffectual, and shamefaced manner, as though it realized its weakness, is again beginning to take the frank prominence to which its value as decoration and its historical interest entitle it. The revival owes much to the interest excited by the work of Dom. Anselm Baker, a Cistercian monk of St. Barnard's Abbey at Charnwood, Leicestershire, who showed forcibly how possible it was, by sincere effort and loving care, to repro- duce in this century some of the best qualities of the early masters of the art. His work (of which the best known though not the best examples are his illustrations to Foster's "Peerage," 1880-1-2) vividly shows the excellence of heraldic draughts- manship that is based on correct ideas. It is to work thought out and done in a similar spirit that we must look for that right development which we hopefully expect. To attain it, we must take the best examples, dissect them, study the principles of their composition, and in applying these, en- deavour to produce, as well as we can, that which, while not a cop}", shall embody something of the essence of the originals, and proclaim itself the product of a living intelligence. The conven- tionality of heraldry should be a live convention- ality ; and not merely that weak copying of copies which surely results in final departure from the excellence of the original type, and the elimination of every atom of vigour. By such conventionalism we mean the treatment of a natural form in such a way as to substitute for its limitless personal 5 INTRODUCTORY. variety a generalized and symbolical form, more suitable for decoration, and harmonizing better with purely ornamental design. It thus becomes rather a translation than a copy, and preserves the meaning and allusion of natural objects, combined with the more impersonal beauty of merely decora- tive forms. Mere attenuation will not suffice ; for, obviously, that which in the conventional lion so admirably expresses the lithe strength peculiar to the cats, becomes ridiculous when applied to the sturdy bear. The difficulties of each case must be met separately ; first, by recognizing the qualities to be indicated, and then by adopting such means for their expression as make for a characteristic and decorative result. So we may get something of majesty in our lions, and suggest in our dragons the sinuosity of the snake. With regard to precedent, so often appealed to and so hardly misused, a few words are necessary. Properly {i.e., intelligently) handled, it is, of course, a most necessary guide and teacher; for it is the past that makes the future. But it is well to remember that the handling must be of a thoughtful and dis- criminating nature. For that only is worth con- sideration which is in accordance with what study and experience teach are the essential character- istics of the best work, and, therefore, in harmony with cultivated taste. This, though it may appear a truism, cannot be too strongly insisted upon. For artists not infrequently have been constrained, by appeals to so-called precedent, to adopt and continue the use of forms and arrangements which they know to be indefensible on their merits ; their 6 THE RIGHT TO ARMS, work being thereby robbed of that complete sin- cerity without which successful effort is impossible. As many errors occur from the difficulty of knowing where permissible variation of treat- ment ends and heraldic difference begins, it is necessary that the rules of heraldry should be carefully studied and observed, though with dis- criminating avoidance of the hide-bound pedantry which has done so much harm to art. Witness Gerard Leigh : ' "All painters shall learne to doe those things orderly, for armes are not to be done by euerie painter : sometime, although he be cunning in his arte, yet in doing of armes he may commit errour." Therefore is this introduction written. At the same time it makes no pretence to be other than a primer which shall lead the student to the study of more exhaustive works. Armorial bearings being marks of distinction which emanate primarily from the Sovereign as the Fountain of Honour, are assigned, or allowed on valid proof, by the Royal Officials — the Officers of Arms — appointed for the purpose, and only by such means can they be properly borne. They constitute an incorporeal hereditament vested in the male descendants of the first owner and in his and their daughters, but are not transmissible by such daughters, except they be immediately or eventually, in their issue, their fathers' or brothers' heirs (sexter » u h y H Middle Base. I Sinister ' i. no i hi D. Most of these terms an-, however, of rare use, and for the ordinary purposes of blazon, as the Q 3 2. THE FIELD. 3- OR- A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. description of armorial bearings is called, the shield maybe divided thus: A Chief; B Fess ; C Base. When anything in either of these divisions is not placed cen- trally, it is said to be in dexter or sinister, chief or base, as the case may be, or, if in the middle division, on the dexter or sinister side simply. In most cases, however, these terms are unnecessary, the lateral position being fixed by the other circumstances of the case, especially where ordinaries occur. It may here be convenient to attempt to define ordinaries and charges. Ordinaries then are those simple heraldic figures which are in most cases formed by divisions of the shield, and, with certain forms called sub-ordinaries, are described at p. 13. Charges are anything else, and are borne on the field, on an ordi- ! nary, or on each other. Tinctures. The metals, colours and furs used in heraldry are call- ed tinctures, and 4. argent. are thus named 5. gules. and sometimes represented :— Metals : 3. Or, signifying Gold ; 4. Argent, signifying Silver. 10 TIN< rURE SIGNS Yellow may be substituted for gold, as white may be, and generally is, for silver. The system oi lines and dots, as a means of signi- fying colour, is said to have been first used by Sylvestre Petra Sancta in the 6. azure. "Tessera: Gentil- 7- V1K1 - litis," published in 1634, and is the survivor ot many which were devised in the early part of the seventeenth century. It is an inartistic device, except perhaps when applied to flat surfaces, and even then is not always without offence. It does not even fulfil its intention, for it makes no dis- tinction between argent and proper. In a system at one time used in Germany, the latter, was, how- ever, signified by indented lines in the direction of purpure, which was worse. Also, when many coats appear in one shield (see Marshalling), it produces a patchy appearance, absolutely fatal to unity of ettect. With the revival of heraldry of an earlier and better style, the practice is rapidly falling into disuse or applied with discretion. A written description which ac companies the design in black and white (or a slight 1 1 ABl I ^ # ^ IO. ERMINE. A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. sketch, called a trick) on which the colours are indicated by letters, answers every purpose in a more satisfactory manner. Colours: 5. Gules, signifying Red ; 6. Azure, signifying Blue ; 7. Vert, signifying Green ; 8. Pur- pure, signifying Purple ; 9. Sable, signifying Black. When an object is of its natural colour it is blazoned proper. The Furs are : Ermine, which is white with black spots (fig. 10) ; Ermines, black with white spots ; Erminois, gold with black spots ; Pean, black with gold spots. Ermine, on which this group is based, was made from small furs joined together, the tails forming the spots. In a similar manner, other furs were formed ; thus, if we imagine Vair (fig. 11) to have been made of gray and white skins, as in the lining of some modern garments, it is easy to see how the normal colour of this fur came to be white and blue as it is. When of any other tinctures, it becomes vairy of such tinctures which must be mentioned. Coun- ter-vair is shown at fig. 12, and is 12. counter-vair. SUD j e ct to the same rules as the former. Another form, sometimes called vair ancient, is represented in fig. 13, and still another, 12 VAIR. VAIR \N< 11 NT, IlKS. of frequent occurrence in the time of Henry VII., was drawn with square angles, as in fig. 14. Gerard Leigh mentions vair of three or more tinctures, but instances are very rare, if, indeed, such exist at all in English heraldry. POTENT is somewhat similarly formed, the pieces being shaped like crutch-heads (fig. 15). It follows the same rule of colour as vair, and, like it, generally has its coloured parts arranged with the small ends upwards. Counter potent has its pieces similarly dis- posed as counter-vair. .Among the earliest forms ot heraldic significance would natur- ally be those suggested by a dis- tinctive method of personal adorn- , .| V • • r 14. VAIR ANCIENT. ment, such as the disposition ot a ^ scarf or belt, and it is to this that the origin ol many of the ordinaries has been ascribed : they are the fess, bend, chief, pale, chevron, cross, and saltire, with their respective diminutives. ( Others, sometimes called sub-ordi- naries, are the pile, quarter, canton, gyron, bordure, orl<\ tressure, and Ranches. The FESS, like a scarf worn girdlewise, is drawn as in fig. 16, and is frequently said to occupy one third of the shield : the proportion is, however, an elastic one, 13 THE FESS. A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. being varied within judicious limits, as the exigencies of the case de- mand. Thus, a fess uncharged, but between charges, may be slightly narrower than one which is charged. Another origin is, in at least one instance, assigned to this ordinary (see note p. 65). Its diminutive, the Bar, is never borne alone, but always as two or more. The Barrulet, a further diminutive, is also sometimes emblazoned, and when shown dis- tinctly coupled, as in fig. 17, each couple is called a Bar Gemelle ; thus, two bars gemelles means two pairs of bars. The Bend (fig. 18), which also shows clearly its scarf-like origin, when drawn in an opposite direc- tion is called a Bend Sinister. The remarks on the proportion of the fess apply equally to this and other ordinaries. The Baton, which is a diminutive of the bend, but does not extend to the sides of the shield, is, when drawn in sinis- ter, used as a mark of illegitimacy, as on the arms of some of the issue of Charles II. To the fact that in France the bend sinister is called a barre is probably due the popular is. the bend. error of using the word bar-sinister (a term unknown to English heraldry) in this connection. 14 17. BARRULET. I 111. <. 1111-11. ORDINARIES. Bends, when multiplied, become I')i mm lis, and when they are raised above their normally central posi- tion, are said to be enhanced. A well-known instance is the arms of Byron. Another diminutive of the bend is the Cost, or Cotise, which is always represented as accompany- ing its principal on either side. The terms cotise and cotising are, however, now used in relation to most of the principal ordinaries ; thus, a pale endorsed ((/.v.) may be, and generally is, described as a pale cotised. If an ordinary passes over an- other, that nearest the field is said to be surmounted by the other ; but when it is a charge which is crossed, as the lion in the arms of 2 °- ""• 1A1 ' • AiM.k.M niY,the charge is debruisedhy the ordinary. The Chief (fig. 19) occupies about one-third of the shield, and has no diminutives in use. The Pale is formed perpen- dicularly of the centre third of the shield (\'\^. 20), and has for diminu- tives the Pali it and the Endorse. The former, like the bar and the bendlet, is never borne singly, while the endorse, a still smaller -'• M " IV figure, is only used in conjunction with the pale (fig. 21). '5 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. The Chevron (fig. 22) is usually drawn with rectangular lines, but not necessarily so, for its angles may be either acute or obtuse, as its posi- tion in a design may make desirable ; the latter, however, is objectionable for its ugliness. This ordinary, when one of a number, is called a Chevronel. The Cross (fig. 23), probably the best known of all heraldic or symbolic devices, has, as a charge, more variations than any other, but as an ordinary its forms are less numerous, mainly consisting of different methods of drawing the outline (see lines p. 28). When the cross is hollow, it is said to be voided (fig. 24), and sometimes voided and interlaced (fig. 25). When the centre is removed, so as to leave a square extending to the inner angles of the cross, it is quarter-pierced (fig. 26); and on the other hand, when the angles are added to, it is said to be nowy when the addition is round, and quadrate when square (figs. 27 and 28). Rays are sometimes represented streaming from the angles, and it is then rayonnant. The Saltire (fig. 29) differs from the cross only in being drawn diagonally, and all else that applies to that ordinary also belongs to this. The Pile, of wedge-like shape, is usually borne as on fig. 30, but may issue from other points of the shield, in which case its position must be specified, and also the number if there be more than one. When it reaches quite to the base, it is blazoned a pile in point. The Quarter is rare, though its diminutive, the Canton (fig. 31), is of frequent occurrence. The 16 ORDINARIES. IP 22. THE CHEVRON. 23. Till CROSS. 24. THE (ROSS VOIDED. Z<. VOIDED AND 26. Q1 \klli: 27. MOWY. INTER! A< I D. Ill l;i l D. 28. QUADRATE, 29. nil 5ALTIRE. 30. THE I'll I. A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. latter is said to occupy one-third of the chief, but in practice it varies in size according to con- venience, but must always be less than the quarter. Where neces- sary, it partially surmounts other bearings as though added to a previously arranged shield. 31. the canton. jj.^ Q YR0X j s na ]f a quarter divided bendwise. An ordinary of similar form occurs on the chief in the coat of Mortimer, where Dit is described as a base esquire. The Bordure (fig. 32) entirely surrounds the shield, except when it is borne with a chief, in which case it only extends to that ordi- nary, unless the coat be blazoned " all within a bordurer In cases of impalement it also ceases at the 32. THE BORDURE. po j nts Q f j unct i on w j tn tne COat impaled (see Marshalling). In all cases where the bordure is less than its full size, the number of objects with which it may be charged is, nevertheless, the same as if it were complete. The Orle (fig. 33) is similar to the last, but is borne within the edges of the shield. The Tressure, which is an orle within another, is decorated with li. the orle. flairs-dc-lis alternately in opposite directions, as in fig. 34, and is then said to be flory-counterflory. It is of frequent occurrence in iS SUB-0RDINARI1 in of ^4. I 111. l RESSURl • Fitz-Alan and two Ranches. the arms of Scottish families, obvious allusion to the arms the Royal House. Flanches (fig. 35) are formed by curved lines drawn down the sides el" the shield. Boutell quotes an instance of their use as differ- ences by Ralph de Arundell, a natural son of one: of the Fitz- Alans, who bore the arms of Warren ue quarterly charged on The proportion of rlanches to the held is so variable In practice, that description of their diminutives, Basques, and voiders is unneces- sary ; indeed, they are very rarely mentioned. Certain of the ordi- naries, especially fesses, chevrons and crosses, are occasionally drawn with their ends stopping short of the edges of the shield, and they are then couped, as in the example (fig. 36). Fimbriation is an edging which >metimes applied to ordinaries for the purpose of separating colour from colour, or metal from metal. The so-called " narrow white" of the Union Jack is an instance of this. A field, or other object, is often diversified in colour by being divided by a line or lines drawn direction as an ordinary, and is then said to be [9 FLANCHES. I 1 IUP1 D. 1 the same A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. per Jess, per pale, per Send, and so forth, of the specified tinctures (figs. $7, 3§, 39, 40, 41). An exception to this occurs when the division is per- pendicular and horizontal, in which case it is not usually called per cross but quarterly (fig. 42). When the fess line of a field quarterly is other than straight, while the pale line remains so, it is quarterly per fess of the particular line used ; thus fig. 43 is quarterly per fess nebttlee. Conversely, if the pale line is the one that is varied, it is quarterly per pale. Gyronny is usually formed by dividing the field quarterly and per saltire, thus making eight divisions (fig. 44). Gyronny of six, however, is not unknown, and gyronny of twelve vair and eules were the arms of Bassingburne. In interpreting the blazon of a parti-coloured space, it must be remembered that the chief has precedence before the rest of the shield, and the dexter side before the sinister, so that in diagonal divisions, gyronny for instance, the alternation of tinctures begins in the space on the dexter side, immediately above the bendwise line. A further means of variation is afforded by the repetition of lines in the same direction, thereby dividing the object into spaces of alternate tinc- tures. These also take their names from the ordinaries. Thus Barry, Bendy, and Paly, are formed as in figs. 45, 46, and 47. The number of pieces, which must of course be even, is mentioned in blazoning, e.g., barry of six, as in the example. Paly-bendy (fig. 48) is made by combining perpendicular with oblique lines, as the name 20 PARTY LINKS. 37. PER ll". 38. PER PALE. 39. PER BEND. 40. PER Clll.\: 41. I'M- 5ALTIRE. 42. QUARTERLY. 43. QUARTERLY PER FESS NBBULEE. 44. GYRONNY. 45. BARRY, 21 PALY. A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. suggests, and Paly-bendy-sinister, Barry bendy, and Bendy sinister, are formed on a similar principle. Lozengy ap- r pears in fig. 49, ' and Chequey in fig. 50. When the latter is applied to ordinaries it must show at least three lines of squares or 46. bendy. trac ks, as they are 47- called, otherwise it becomes one of the following variations, viz., Compony, or Gobony, composed of but one track, and Counter-Compony which has two (figs. 51 and 52). Fretty, though not merely composed of divi- sions of a surface but being super-imposed thereon, may conveniently be noticed here. It is composed of interlaced bendlets or staves drawn diagonally, as in fig. 53. Another method of variation and distinction is the use of drops or GuttEe, and although like fretty they are ap- plied to charges, also like it they more generally and appropriately concern them- selves with fields and flat objects. 48. PALY BENDY.. ^hey are re pre- 49- LOZENGY. sented as in fig. 54, and vary their names as their tinctures vary, thus : when sable, they are guttdc 22 CHEQUEY. VARIOUS LINES. de pots; when argent, gutUe d'eau; azure, guttie delamus; vert, puttee d'olive; gold, puttie d'or; and puttie du sanp when they gules. The di vidin g lines of fields, and the outlines of or- dinaries and some charges, are not , necessarily straight, gobony. hut maybe of various forms, of which the follow- in lt arc those in most general use : Engrailed, as the chief in fig. 55, and Invected, as the pale in the same shield. Note that in party lines engrailed, the points are directed either upwards or to the dexter, inverted being the reverse. In ordinaries engrailed the points turn outwards, and inwards for invected. Wavy is shown in the bend and NebulEe in the bordure of fig. 56. Another form of the latter occurs in the fess line of fig. 43. I ) am 1.1 1 1 1. ap- ied to a fess appears in fig. 57. It must not have more than three chevrons, and may be treated either as the example or with compony. the three chevrons complete, the former method having the advantage of showing the same number of points on each HERALDRY. side, while the other is more suitable for being charged. In- dented and Embattled occur in the pale line and chevron respec- tively of fig. 58. When a fess or a chevron is embattled, the crenel- lations are on the upper edge only, for when both edges are so formed, the ordinary is embattled counter-embattled. Potent, like the fur of that name, will be recognized in fig. 59, and Dovetailed in fig. 60, while the fess in fig. 61 is Ragtilcc, and suggests a tree trunk from which the branches have been lopped. A beautiful method of relieving the blankness of plain surfaces is that called Diapering, an orna- mental tracery which may be 55. engrailed, produced either in a tint of the same colour as the surface treated, or by the use of another colour or metal, but care must be taken that the predominance of the heraldic tincture is not interfered with, so that the diaper may em- bellish without obscuring its sub- ject. The use of forms which might possibly be mistaken for charges should also be avoided when dealing with shields ; in 56. WAVY AND . . , & , . , , nebulee. backgrounds, on the other hand, badges and other heraldic objects are introduced with very appropriate significance. Many beautiful 24 DANI l I II I . BLAZON. examples are to be found in stained glass, seals, and monuments; refer- ence to the illustrations in later chapters will better express its value than a written description. In order to have an effective knowledge of heraldry, it is es- pecially necessary that the system of heraldic description called s/ " blazon should be understood, so as to avoid am- biguity of description on the one hand, and error in translating it into form on the other. Special attention must be given to the exact order in which various objects are named. They rank in order according to their nearness to the field and to its centre ; thus, in fig. 62, the se- quence would be:' (1) the fess 58 , (2) the charges on the field, and ' embattled. (3) those on the ordinary, so that the blazon would read, arg. on a fess between three cross crosslets sa. as many martlets of the field. As tautology is regarded as a fault rather more serious in heral- dry than elsewhere, a tincture which recurs must be referred to indirectly, as in the last Instance the words "of the field " are used to avoid the repetition of arg.. and 59« potent. for tile ^aine reason "as many" takes the place ot the recurring number. 25 ' DOVETAILED. PRIMER OF HERALDRY. Or is sometimes blazoned gold on its recurrence, especially with regard to small accessories such as the garnishings of bugle-horns or of armour. Also, when charges and ordinaries are of the same tincture, it is only mentioned after the last of them, thus : " Argent a cross between four fleurs-de-lis o-ules" means that the ordinary is gules as well as the charges. With a view to define the posi- tion of charges with accuracy, the names of the ordinaries are again resorted to, so that objects ranged perpendicularly are said to be in pale, when horizontally, in fess, and so forth. They may be placed in order of numbers, as in the 61. ragulee. arms of GifTord (fig. 63). Arg. ten torteaux four, three, two, and one, or they may be sentie or strewn over the field, as in the arms of France quartered by Edward III. In this case the field appears as if cut out of a larger piece, over which the charges have been dis- tributed, so that parts only of those \ ,^», I at the edge are shown. Modern \ %t" y usage adopts a treatment more ^^i***^ like what old armorists called 62. (See pp. 25, 29.) geratting. The charges, while still of indefinite number, do not extend to the edges of the coat nor, when there is a principal charge, do 26 ♦ ♦ E IN lU.A/OX. oooo ooo oo o TINCTUR they disappear behind it, the whole being so designed as to avoid this while securing perfect distribution over the field. Charges of a nature to be borne in various directions, with regard to themselves, must also have their positions exactly specified, thus a sword maybe borne fess- "gifford. wise, palewise, or in bend. In the first case its point may be to the dexter or sinister, and in the latter cases may be upwards or downwards, therefore its position must be defined. Heraldic law forbids the charg- ing of colour upon colour, or metal on metal, as a general rule, but it does not apply in the case of chequey, lozengy, etc., which, being composed of a metal and ( >4- passion cross colour alternately, must necessarily clash at some point with the field or charge as the case may be. The rule, however, is always ob- served in the blazon to the extent that the chequey must begin with a colour or metal according as the field or ordinary, as the case may lie. is metal <>r colour. Furs or figures blazoned proper may, whatever their colour. In- placed on or surmounted by metal or 65. cross plory. colour, and fur may be charged upon fur, but only so long as the general law applied to the ground ^7 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. colour is observed. In French heraldry, this law is sometimes intentionally violated, with the object of emphasizing some especial fact, and coats so treated are called armes a enquerre, because they occasion inquiry into what appears an error, and so elicit a statement of the circumstance commemorated. A field which is party may bear charges of the same tinctures reversed, and is then said to be counter-changed, as in fig. 58, which would be blazoned, per pale indented arg. and sa. a chevron embattled counter-changed. As anything whatever may be used as an heraldic charge, it is obviously undesirable to do more here than describe those in most general use, or such as are remarkable for peculiar terms which it may be convenient to understand. Heraldry having, if not originated, at least be- come widely extended during the Crusades, it was natural that the cross should have become a very general charge, and that, owing to the necessity for distinction, it should have assumed a great number of forms. Some have been noticed under ordinaries, and of the rest, the great majority are of such infrequent occurrence, that it will be sufficient here to give those forms that are more usually employed. The Passion Cross is of the well-known form at fig. 64, and when placed on steps is degreed or degraded. The Cross Flory, perhaps the most decorative of all, terminates in three lobes, re- sembling those of a fleur-de-lis, as in fig. 65, and when its limbs are widened at the ends it becomes a cross patonce. 28 CROSS. The Cross Fi i uri i rfi (fig. 66) is so similar to the preceding as to leave little doubt that the trifling difference is rather one of treat- ment than design. The Cross Moline (fig. 67) has but t\\ « » lul.es at its extremities, and evidently derived its form from the iron clamp of a millstone, which also is a well-known charge under the 1 le Moline, or Millrind. The Cross Patcc, or Formie % is represented at fig. 68, and is the form used in the Imperial Crown. The Maltese cross, the bad^e of 66, ( R( »SS I I.l-.l R] ill. name of Fer the Knights Templars and of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jeru- salem, is similar, but has its points emphasized by additional angles between them (fig. 69). r, 7- cross moline. When for its lower limb a pointed one is substi- tuted, it is said to be fitchec, as fig. 67. Any cross maybe thus treated, but the cross patt'c fitcJh'i. and the cross crosslet fitchie are those must frequently met with. The Cr< >ss Cri >ssi e i (fig. 02, p. 26) is probably that which is most used as a charge, both whole and fitchie* It should be noticed that when a cross is fiLln',\ all crossings, 68, patee as in this case, or other excrescences, are generally omitted from the lower limb, which issues straight 29 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. and pointed from the centre of the figure. Some- times, however, the point is added to the limb instead of replac- ing it. Semee of cross crosslets is blazoned crustily. The cross bo- tonSe, which may be considered a development from , r 70. CROSS PATEE 69. Maltese cross, the preceding, is ' fitchee. shown at fig. 71, and a cross pommee resembles it, but has only one lobe at each end. Others are the cross tau, like the Greek letter ; the cross potent, whose limbs end in crutch-heads, like the fur of that name ; and the beautiful, but little used, cross urde'e, or clichSe (fig. 72). Among animals, the lion has ever stood fore- most in English heraldry as the symbol of cour- age, fortitude, and all nobleness, and therefore the proper bearing of the sovereign. The terms used to describe his positions are these : He is statant when standing at rest (fig. J 3), and if with the head affrontde or look- ing towards the spectators, sta- tant - guardant (fig. 74), the latter 71. cross botonee. being his posture I 2 - CR oss urdee. in the Royal crest. Passant and passant-guardant (fig. 75) are similar, but with the dexter forepaw 30 THE LION raised, and it is in the latter position that he forms the Royal Anns of England : " Gules three lions passant - guardant in pale or." When he thus appears (with these tinc- tures) on other coats-of-arms it is usually as an honourable augf- & 74. STATANT- 73. statant. mentation {t an animal is in question, the method of sever- ance, whether erased or couped, must never be omitted from the blazon. The names of the postures of lions apply also to many other animals, but not to all, and care must, therefore, be taken that the terms may not be mis- applied. The use of different words for the same position in different creatures is, no doubt, some- what confusing; but is quite in accordance with mediaeval ideas, as shown, for instance, in the nomenclature of the chase, where a special system of terms was set apart for each kind of quarry, which system, to a large extent, survives to this day. Thus, a stag or a buck, when statant and affrontee, is said to be at gaze; when salient, he is springing; when running, <>r courant, at speed; if passant, tripping; and when couchant, lodged. He is attired of his antlers, not armed, as are other horned beasts; and as to his hoofs, he is unguled. A distinction should be made between the stag and the buck in depicting those animals, the attires <>l the former, the male red deer, being branched t<> tlie tops, while these of the latter, the fallow ileer, are palmated. A deer's head atlrontee, and 33 ' A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. severed close to the attires (as in fig # 77)> 1S caboshcd, and a bull's head may be similarly treated. When an animal is wounded it is said to be vulncd, and drops of blood are shown issuing from the place. If, however, it is trans- , fixed or pierced with a weapon, it caboshed. is so blazoned, and no mention is necessary of the obvious wound. Pierced through the mouth, as is the demi-lion of aug- mentation (q.v.) of the ducal coat of Howard, was formerly called cngotiled. _ Any animal may be crowned, and its neck may be encircled ; in the latter case being- said to be gorged of a collar, or ducally gorged of a crest coronet (see Unicorn) GRYPHON. As the imaginary . figures which are so dis- tinctively 1 heraldic resemble in most cases the preceding in their positions, they are mentioned here for conveni- ence of comparison. The Gryphon, or Griffin (fig. 78), is composed as to the fore part of the upper half of an eagle, and ends in the hinder parts of a lion. When rampant, it is 79. dragon. blazoned segreant, otherwise its positions are as those of the lion. Its head is distinguished from that of an eagle in that it has 34 WYVERN. IMAGINARY CREATURES. cars. Tin's creature is, in spite of frequent corrections, persistently confused in the popular mind with the dragon (fig. 79), which is even more purely imaginary. Its back and legs are covered with scales, the belly and fere part-. <»f the neck are termed of semi-annulations, and its wings are batlike. When it is bla/oned proper, its seal) - parts are vert, and the rest a light red colour. Much resembling it is the WYVERN (fig. No), which has but two legs, the body tapering behind them until it ends in the barbed tail. This is the dragon of foreign heraldry. The O " k \ 1 rici is like the preceding, but with the head and spurs of a cock. The Heraldk TYGER and HERALDIC ANTELOPE ETGER. are shown in figs. 81 and 82. A somewhat similar term is the man-tyger^ composed of the bodv of a lion with a human face, and some times horned like an ox. CHIMERA is represented with a fa< e o| a woman and the body of a goat, with a lion's mane and a dragon's tail. The Sal \.m inder is repre- sented as a lizard surrounded ... . . 82. HER \i I'M with (lames, and was one 01 the antelope, favourite badges of Francis 1.. Kin- of France. The well-known UNICORN has the head and body 35 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. of a horse with the tail of a lion and a twisted horn in centre of the forehead. Its hoofs are cloven, and its legs slender like those of a stag. It has tufts under the jaw and on the hind legs. As the sinister supporter of the royal arms it is blazoned, " a unicorn arg. armed crined {i.e., maned and tufted) and unguled or, gorged with a coronet of crosses patee and fleurs-de-lis, thereto attached a chain reflexed over the back gold." Composite creatures, whose principal character- istic is more largely human than that of the Man- tyger or even the harpy {q.v.), are the Centaur, the Triton or Merman, and the Mermaid. The Centaur is usually depicted holding a bow, with which he is drawing an arrow to the head, doubt- less in allusion to Chiron, the Centaur of myth- ology, who taught Hercules the use of weapons, and became the constellation Sagittarius, by which name this charge is sometimes described. It has been said to have been the arms of King Stephen, but was more probably one of his badges. The Triton, composed of the upper part of a man and a fishes tail, usually holds a trident and is some- times described as Neptune, in which case he is crowned with an eastern crown. The Mermaid, similarly formed of a woman and fish, is depicted with a mirror in one hand while she combs her long hair with the other. Both are appropriately used as supporters to the arms of Lord Viscount Hood, the head of the great naval family of that name, viz., on the dexter side a merman ppr., holding in the exterior hand a trident or, and on 36 MYTHICAL BIRD FORMS. the sinister a mermaid, holding in the exterior hand a mirror ppr. A further group of chimerical beings was formed by the addition of wings, as in the Lion of St. M irk, the winged horse, or Pegasus, and others. On a similar principle, by the addition, and in the case of maned animals the substitution, of tins, Si i-LlONS, SEA-HORSES, and Sea-Dogs were con- ceived, a fish -like tail taking the place of the hinder parts in the two former cases. Imaginary bird-forms, other than Griffins and figures to which wings have been merely added, are few, and of these the Martlet is the prin- cipal. This beautiful charge is like a swallow, but without feet, the feathery part of the leg remain- ing (fig. 62, p. 26). Others are the Phcenix and the 1 IaRPY. Tile former, shaped like an eagle with a peacock's crest, was fablecl to arise newborn from its own ashes, and is therefore represented rising from the midst of flames. When blazoned proper it is, in old examples, azure and or. Those in the standard of Sir John Scmcr, in the sixteenth cen- tury, are az. with the backs of the wings or ; and in that of Vernay, of the same period, the tinctures are reversed. It was one of the badges ol Henry VII. The Harpy is one of the contributions of Greek art to our heraldry, and is represented as the body of an eagle with the lace and breasts ol a woman. An ALLERION is an eagle without beak or members. The EAGLE, chief of birds heraldic as the lion is of beasts, is one of the oldest charges existing, and is of especial note in foreign heraldry, 37 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. where it has symbolized the state from the Roman Empire downwards. Its most usual posture is displayed, as in fig. S$, and is thus depicted in the arms of Austria, Germany, and Russia, in these cases being double headed. In the Imperial arms of France, "Azure an eagle rising and respecting to the sinister, grasping in both claws a thunder- bolt or," the eagle is represented somewhat like its Roman prototype, i.e. with wings displayed. The position usually blazoned rising is shown in fig. 84. The princes and nobles of the Holy Roman Empire bear their armorials on a double- headed eagle displayed, the privilege being exer- cised by the Duke of Marlborough as Prince of Mindelheim and by others of our peerage. Eagles and other birds of prey are armed with their beaks and membered of their legs below the thigh. Other birds are beaked and membered. The wings of birds rising may be treated with great freedom except when the term addorsed is used, in which case they must be back to back, but not neces- sarily rigidly so throughout their whole length. When a bird has its wings folded to its sides it is close. Falcons are usually represented with bells attached to their legs with thongs called jesses, and are then blazoned jessed and belled. Some- times they are blindfolded, as when they sat on the frame of the falconer, and are then said to be hooded. In rare cases vervels are shown. These were small rings attached to the jesses and bearing the crest or badge of the owner, obviously for purposes of identification. 38 EAG1 E. BIRDS. A Cock is blazoned armed of his spurs, beak, and flaws, falloped of his wattles, and crested of his comb. Peacocks arc usually affrontee with tail displayed. The blazon then is : " a peacock in his pride" The Dove is generally drawn with a tuft oi feathers on his head, which probably arose from the chance freedom of treatment of a ruffled feather developed by stupid copying into an inappropriate clump. The l'i i [CAN, the symbol of maternal love — for she was tabled to feed her young- with blood from her own breast, is always shown vulning herself, and must be SO described except when she is accompanied by her brood, when she is said to be in herpiety. The head is usually like that of an eagle, but this is a corruption. In many ancient examples the natural form is more closelv followed. Birds, blazoned simply without definition of kind, are drawn something like blackbirds. Parts of birds are frequently used as charges, but require no special mention here except the following : When two wings are joined together, as in the well- known coat of Seymour, Duke of Somerset, they are said to be con- joined in lure, in allusion to the falconer's lure, which was thrown s » into the air to bring the hawk to hand. Feathers in heraldry are of very ancient usage, 39 RISIN(i. A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. especially as crests, as is most natural from their universal use as ornaments. Ostrich feathers are those most generally used, as in the badges of the Prince of Wales and those of the Plantagenet Princes, but some others are occasionally met with. Boutell mentions the swan's feathers in the crests of Sir Hugh Courtney, K.G., and of Lord Ferrars of Chartley, and the turkey feathers crest of Sir John Harswick. A Plume of stiff upright feathers is frequently called a panache. Of fish, the Dolphin is the only example of specially heraldic character, all others being treated naturally. A Dolphin, when blazoned ppr., is coloured green with red fins and tail, and is usually emboived as in the example, fig. 85. Shells represented by the Escallop, the palmers' badge, form part of the armorials of many distinguished families, notably that of Russell, the Ducal House of Bedford. They were also used as badges, and in the beautiful collar, of the Order of St. Michael, founded in 1469 by Louis XL, King of France. Other shells, such as the Whelk and Clam, are also occasionally met with. Serpents, though depicted in a variety of ways, are usually twisted into a knot or nozoed, as in fig. 85. A snake, drawn in a circle with its tail in its mouth, is an emblem of eternity, and is bla- zoned involved. Astronomy contributes suns, moons, and stars, as well as signs of planets and of the zodiac. The Sun, when full, is said to be in splendour, but 40 DOLPHIN AND SERPEN I. HUMAN FIGURES. it is also represented rising or setting. The Moon is sometimes borne full, and is then in her pleni- tude* In the well-known form of a crescent, it is borne points up- ward. When depicted with points to the dexter it is an increscent, and when to the sinister a de- crescent. A Star is called an Estoile when it has six wavy rays, but when the rays are straight it is called a star of six or eiidit $5 points, as the case may be. Another star-like figure, of five points — the mullet — is said by Boutell and others to be de- rived from a spur-rowel. If, however, Boutell be correct in that the Rouelle-spur began to be used about 1320, and that in a Roll of Henry III. (1 2 16- 1272) appears as the arms of the Earl of Oxford, quarterly gu. and or, in the first quarter a mullet arg., the starry origin of this charge is manifest in spite of mollette being the French word tor the rowel <>f a spur. A RAINBOW has its ends vanishing into clouds. From clouds also issue .inns and other objects, e.g., the crest of Welby : Issuant out of a cloud a cubit arm in armour, ppr. garnished or, holding in the hand a sword also ppr., poind and hilt gold, and in front ol flames of fire <>f the first. 1 Iuman figures, though most frequently assigned as supporters, are also introduced in arms and crests, in the latter case usually as demi-figures. When undraped, tiny are often called wild or Savage men. being wreathed about the loins with 41 G A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. leaves and armed with clubs. Mythological figures are also depicted, while saints and other holy persons are represented mainly in ecclesiastical armoury. To the generals who distinguished them- selves in the Peninsular and subsequent wars, soldiers in the uniforms of the regiments they had commanded have been appropriately assigned as supporters, while to naval officers have been simi- larly granted sailors and marines. A man's head was often blazoned a Saracen's head, and wreathed about the temples with a torse like that which surrounds the crest on a helmet. An arm is embowed when it is shown entire with the elbow bent. If it end at the elbow it is a cubit arm, and when in armour, is vambraced. Hands, as in the well-known Ulster badge of a baronet, are generally open, and if clenched, except they be grasping something, must be so described. Also, it must be stated which hand is intended, whether dexter or sinister. Vegetation, though it contributes trees, branches, leaves, flowers and fruit, supplies but few techni- calities, and therefore needs little further notice here. Trees, which frequently grow out of a turfy bank called a mound, are also depicted with their roots bare, as though torn up, and are then eradi- cated. When bearing fruit they are fructed. A branch or stalk severed from its parent stem is slipped. Flowers of many kinds are beautifully present, and this is especially noticeable in the Tudor period. And fruit also. The trefoil, quatrefoil, and cinquefoil are con- 42 THE ROSE. ventional leaves of three, four, or five cusps. They. are sometimes stalked and slipped ; the two latter very rarely, but the trefoil invariably so, and is blazoned a trefoil slipped^ although its termina- tion differs somewhat from that of other slipped stalks. Of inanimate charges, the Rosic, from its his- torical interest as the badge of great personages, as the emblem of England, and as the centre of the triune badge of the United Kingdom, has natural prominence. Its heraldic form, which is that contemplated when it is mentioned without qualification, is a conventional treatment of the flower divested of stalk and of leaves other than those called barbs, which appear between the petals, and represent the sepals of the calyx. If, however, it is not to be so divested — and it is thus that, in conjunction with the thistle and shamrock, it forms the Union Badge — it must be blazoned leaved and slipped. This was the form in which it was used as the badge of Edward I. Most generally the flower alone appears, as in the Red Rose of Lancaster, the badge of Henry IV. The next sovereign to adopt the rose badge was Edward IV., whose York rose, being surrounded with rays, was called a rosc-cn-solcil, and was also one of the badges of Richard III. Henry VII., who united the houses of York and Lancaster, united their roses also; sometimes as a rose quarterly gu. and ar., at others, the white- rose within the red. In yet another, it was per pale, the Yorkist part retaining the rays, and the whole being ensigned with an imperial crown. 43 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. These badges were also used by Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth. The Tudor rose, with a maiden's head issuing from its centre, was that assigned to Queen Katherine Parr. Queen Mary impaled her Tudor rose with the pomegranate of her mother, Catherine of Arragon. It again ap- pears in that of Queen Elizabeth's badges, which she used in allusion to that of Anne Bullen, her mother, to whom it was given by Henry VIII., viz. : a white falcon imperially crowned and holding in the dexter claw a sceptre, standing on a tree stock, from which issue branches bearing red and white roses. This recalls the passage in Camden, that " long before the assumption of the red and white roses, a white rose tree did bear at Longleet a fair white rose on one side of a branch, and as fair a red rose on the other." James I. and his successors used the rose impaled with the thistle and ensigned with the Imperial Crown ; but in some cases they were not dimidi- ated and conjoined, but simply issued from a com- mon stem. The latter method is that adopted in the present Union badge, which is thus described among- the ensigns armorial which were settled in pursuance of an Order in Council of Nov. 5th, 1800 : " The Roses " (i.e. the red and the white, one within the other), " Thistle and Shamrock issuant from the same stalk, viz., the Roses between the Thistle and Shamrock, and alternated by the Roses between the Shamrock and Thistle, both ensigned with the Imperial Crown." The transposition of the thistle and shamrock is interesting and eloquent. 44 KOI NDLES. Roses with connecting foliage form chaplets, or garlands, the flowers being usually lour in number. The I'i i ur-de-lis, an ancient charge of great interest, is sometimes said to be derived from the lily, though some earl)- examples suggest the iris or flag as its prototype. As the emblem or badge of France, its presence in English armoury is probably due in old instances to incidents in the French wars now forgotten. Doubtless its decorative character conduced greatly to its frequent use, both simply and in combination with ordinaries and other figures. Lending itself so well to the effective embellish- ment of angles and lines, it is a charge which, for grace and beauty, is difficult to parallel in the whole range o( heraldic design. Another charge of great decorative value, part of which it owes to the fleurs-de-lis at its extremities, is the escarbuncle (fig. 86, p. 51), which was probably the ornamental boss of a shield before becoming a purely heraldic charge So admirably does it decorate its field, that it might well be more freely used in modern coats, and so help to modify the practice of ringing the changes on a comparatively small number ol charges. Roundles are circular charges having special names, according to their colour. Thus, a roundle, when or, is a bezant ; when argent, a plate ; gu., a torteau ; a/., a hurt; sa., a pellet . vert, a pomme ; and when purpuiv, a golpe; while a fountain is barrywavy of six ar. and a/. The origin of these terms is curiously set forth by Gerard Leigh. Thus he says: "Of these beisants you shall reade diurslie in Scripture, as when Salomon had giuen 45 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. unto Hiram XX Cities, he againe, of good hart, gave Salomon 120 beisaunts of golde, whereof these tooke their first name." ' Plates are so-called " bicause they are silver and have no similitude on them, but plaine rounde, as though they were shaped to the coyne." Of pommes, that they were green apples : " Yet if ye see any greene apples in their proper forme ye shall not so terme them." Hurts, he says : " appeare light blewe, and come by some violent stroke ; on men they are called hurts," i.e., bruises. Pellets are " pellets of guns." Golpes are "in signification of wounds;" while of torteaux he says: "These have bene called of olde blazoures wastelles, and are cakes of bread, but must be named by none other name than torteauxes." Where it is more convenient, as in coats counter-changed, for example, roundles may be blazoned as such, with the addition of the tincture, instead of by their special name. Marshalling is the system of arranging in their proper order two or more coats-of-arms, connected by marriage or otherwise. Impaling, which was the earlier method, was at first effected by dimidi- ation, that is, by dividing the two coats down their centres and joining the dexter half of one to the sinister half of the other — the arms of the husband being on the dexter and those of the wife on the sinister. But it was not only to marriage that an impaled shield was due, for the curious combinations of lions and ships, and lions and fish, and so forth, were doubtless due to this practice, which probably arose in such cases from a desire to connect the arms of a place with those of the 46 MARSHALl IV. sovereign, or some powerful neighbour and pro- tector. This method of combination being found inconvenient, the present mode of impaling entire co, its was adopted in the sixteenth century. With the odd exception that a bordure must invariably be dimidiated while every other part of the coat, not excepting charges on the bordure, remains whole. Arms of Office are impaled by bishops, who use the arms of their sees on the dexter, impaling their own arms on the sinister, and by Kings of Arms, who similarly impale their own arms with those of their respective offices. Quartering is effected by dividing the shield into four or more parts, each of which contains a coat. When two coats only are quartered, that in the first quarter is repeated in the fourth, and the third is as the second. If three coats are quar- tered, first and fourth are also alike, as in the ro\ ,il arms. When a wife is an heiress — a term which in this connection means one who has no brother, or whose brothers have either died without issue, or such issue has become extinct — her arms, on a small shield, are borne superposed on those of her husband instead of being impaled. The issue of such marriage quarters both coats, together with any others quartered therewith. An heiress may not, however, so place her arms whil<- a possibility exists of an heir male, and must, therefore, during the lifetime of her father, impale her arms as do other wives who an- not heire A quartering may also be borne by the de 17 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. scendants of a woman who was not an heiress in her lifetime, if, and as soon as, the issue of her brothers becomes extinct. In such a case she is described as heiress in her issue. Quarterings thus arising can, however, only be used where the husband of the heiress is rightly entitled to armorial bearings, otherwise no arms exist by which the quartered coat can be brought in, as the phrase is, and the right of descendants to bear the arms of an heiress remains in abeyance until the disability is removed by the proper as- signment to them of a paternal coat. In English heraldry, only arms thus brought in are usually quartered, whereas, in some foreign systems, arms appear for all matches, where a right to bear them exists, whether representative or not. This is only done in this country when it is desired to show " Seize Ouartiers," or descent from four generations of armigerous progenitors. A shield of quarterings, when properly marshalled, begins with the family coat, followed by the arms of the heiress whose match appears earliest on the pedigree, and by such other coats as are thus brought in ; then comes the heiress of next early date and her quarterings, and so on. In cases where the Royal Licence to assume an additional name and arms to those of the family has been granted, both coats must be quarterly in the first quarter, the paternal coat alone in the second quarter, and then the others arranged as above. If a peeress in her own right marries a com- moner, her arms are placed on an escutcheon of pretence over his, and are ensigned with the 48 LADIES' ARMORIALS. coronet of her degree. I ler arms are, in addition, displayed in a lozenge, with the proper supporters and coronet, to the sinister of her husband's achievement The arms of the wife of a peer, who is also a peeress in her own right, are treated in like manner. As it is forbidden to surround a lath's arms with the insignia of knighthood, the wife of a knight of an order has her arms placed with those of h«r husband on a separate shield, to the sinister of that on which his arms appear alone and sur- rounded with the insignia of his order. The two shields are accollee or leaning towards each other, that of the wife being surrounded by an orna- mental circlet or wreath (or both), in order to balance the design. In treating the armorials of royal personages in this manner, it is usual to avoid impaling altogether, the whole of the sinister shield being devoted to the arms of the princess, as, indeed, may be done in cases of those of lower rank. A widow bears on a lozenge her own and her husband's arms as they were used during his life, but without helmet, crest, or motto. An unmarried woman bears on her lozenge her lather's arms exactly as they appear on his shield. A widower who has re-married may impale the arms ol both wives either both on the sinister half of his shield, that side being divided fess- wise for the purpose, or by placing one coat on either side of his own, the shield being divided palewise into thn It is perhaps preferable 49 h A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. when there is no issue by the first wife to impale only the arms of the living one, though both would quite properly appear on a monument or in a window. Cadency, or the relationship of the bearer of a coat to the head of his house, is signified by the addition of various marks devised for the purpose. With the descent of arms unchanged from father to son and their simultaneous use by various members of a family, came the necessity for a definite method of differencing, the first to be formulated being that in the Boke of St. Albans, i486, thus: "The eldest son shall bere the hooll armys of his fadyr with sume lyttill differans as here " (a mullet in chief of a coat barry of six) ; " the secunde broder shall bere the hooll armys of his fadyr with III labellis to the differans" (a label of three points) ; " also the thride broder if ther be any shall bere 1 1 II labellis. . . . And the sunnys of thoos same shall beere the same labelis, and T case that the secunde brother the which bereth III labelis haue two sunnys, certanly thelder soon of thos II the wich is hayre to his fadyr shall bere the hooll armys of his fadyr with also many labelys as his fadyr did, with a littyll differans as here it apperith in thys scocheon " (? a quatrefoil), "and his secunde brodyr shall bere the hooll armys as his fadyr baare and no moo with a bordure as here in thys figure next folowyng it shall be shewytt." This system paved the way for the more complete one now used, which attained its present form in the sixteenth century and is described by Gerard Leigh, who SO MARKS OF CADENO also gives a label of five points as the difference of the eldest SOI1 of ail eldest SOU during the life of his grandfather. The difference for an eldest son is a label of three points placed on the paternal coat, as in fig. So. It extends to the sides of the shield when borne by Princes of the Blood Royal (whose coats are always differenced in a special manner), but in all other cases it 86. es< irbuncle is drawn as the example. This f an eldest son would place his crescent on the label which differences his father's arms from his grandfather's, and so <>n. These marks of cadencj are dropped or altered as the changing headship of the family requires. Ladies not of the blood Royal bear their father's 5 ■ A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. arms, with such differences only as he bears, for daughters rank equally among themselves. The armorials of members of the Royal Family do not follow the foregoing rules, but are specially differenced in accordance with the will of the sovereign, signified by royal warrant. In modern practice these always take the form of labels suit- ably varied, and are applied equally to the arms of princesses and princes, these being the only in- stances of ladies bearing on their arms marks of cadency personal to themselves. The labels of the present members of the Blood Royal may be found illustrated in the current Peerages, that of H.R. H. the Prince of Wales being a label of three points argent. These labels, when on crests and supporters, are couped at the ends in the ordinary way, while those on the shield are throughout. With regard to the distinction proper to the descendants of the sovereign when their relation- ship to the throne becomes more remote — there are but few precedents, one being the case of H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. When Prince George of Cambridge, the Duke bore the royal arms as differenced by his father, with the addi- tional ordinary couped label of an eldest son, which he dropped on his succession to the dukedom. It therefore follows that the descendants of princes other than those in direct succession to the throne will treat the label assigned by warrant as an unvarying part of their arms, using in addition the ordinary marks of cadency for temporary purposes. In cases of illegitimacy, the paternal arms are 52 AUGMENTATIONS OF HONOUR. variously differenced, sometimes by a bordure wavy and a bend sinister wavy ; the former for the arms, and the latter on the crest, blanches are also used. Indeed, it would appear that in as- signing arms in these cases, anything may be used except the legitimate marks of cadency, the object being to distinguish the coat, and not to penalize the bearer. Certainly this appears to have been the ancient practice. It must be clearly under- stood, however, that such distinctions may not be mi rely assumed as ordinary marks of cadency are; for one of illegitimate birth has no arms to difference until such have been regularly granted to him. The shield of his family arms being considered in a peculiar sense personal to the owner whose body it defended, whose career it accompanied, and whose tomb it adorned, was earl)' used to display such devices as were specially borne in honourable commemoration of distinguished services. On the other hand, when disgrace had been incurred, it was the shield which was defaced as a visible mark i 't dishonour. Such honourable augmentations, as they are called, are transmitted to the issue and borne as part of the arms. In the Heralds' College is a record of the grant by Richard II. of the arms of Edward the Con- r to Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, which is the first recorded instance. It is also remarkable as the earliest official change of arms since they hail acquired regularity of descent; for the arms of this duke were properly Mowbray, 53 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. while in the record referred to he was granted those of Thomas of Brotherton, his great-grandfather, impaled with those of King Edward. The latter, however, were soon relinquished, for on the Garter Plate of his son, John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, K.G., is the Brotherton coat alone. Augmenta- tions usually take the form of portions of the royal insignia. A modern instance is that of Sir William Gull, who was granted as an augmenta- tion to his coat a canton ermine charged with a feather argent, quilled or, enfiled with a coronet of crosses patee and fleurs-de-lis gold, to com- memorate his skill and attention durinof the illness and happy recovery of the Prince of Wales. A crest of augmentation was also granted, taking pre- cedence, as is usual, of the family crest : A lion passant-guardant, or {i.e., a lion of England), sup- porting an escutcheon az., charged with an ostrich feather as in the arms. The reverse of augmentation, called abatement, if ever much used, soon ceased to be applied, unless marks of illegitimacy can be so charac- terized. Its existence even depends for proof on allusions to, rather than examples of its use. Of defacement there are many instances in the books of the Heralds' College ; the arms of those who had backed a losing side being defaced with pen strokes, and the ugly word traitor written against others. The Crest, the most important of the acces- sories to the arms, was at first confined to knights and those of higher rank, but by the beginning of the sixteenth century this restriction was broken 54 HERALDIC (Row NS down and crests became general. 1 Usually carved in light wood, or fashioned of boiled leather, it was borne on the helmet, and sometimes on the horse's head o\ the fully- armed knight, and was represented on standards and other draperies, and on seals. Crests are not borne 87. cri -1 by ladies, nor were they in ancient corom r. times by the clergy ; but the modern practice is to ascribe to a clergyman the whole armorials of his family, except where insignia of rank occur — a bishop's mitre for instance — when the ancient and better custom is followed. The crest issued from a torse, or wreath of twisted silk, which encircled the top of the helmet. In modern times it is tinctured alternately with the first metal and first colour mentioned in the blazon of the arms. In determining these tinctures, it should be noticed that when a fur occurs instead of a metal its ground colour is taken as the metal; but where a metal also appears it is the recent practice to pass over the fur altogether. The place of the torse is sometimes taken by a crest coronet, or one of the other heraldic crowns. The former is sometimes called a ducal coronet, but incorrectly, for it has no necessary connection with ducal rank. It is composed of leaves of a trefoil character, of which three an- visible (fig. 87). The Mural Crown (fig. 88) is often used to symbolize civic institutions, and, as such, it in •• In the time of Henry the Fifth, and long after, no man had hi> b m a wreth vndei the d .1 knight. But that order is worn away." — Ge» \ki> Leigh. 5. MURAL CROWN. A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. foreign heraldry surmounts the shields of municipal arms. It also forms part of the arms of dis- tinguished soldiers, when its allusion to sieges and captured works is ob- vious. It was conferred by the Romans on the first soldier who scaled the wall of a besieged place. The Naval Crown is composed of sails and sterns of ships, set alternately on a rim (fig. 89), and the Crown Vallery (fig. 90) of stakes rising from the circlet, but called a Crown Palisado when the stakes are fastened as in fig. 91. A crown of rays or points is called an Eastern Crown, and when each point is ensigned with an estoile, a Celestial one (figs. 92 and 93). A Chapeau, or cap of maintenance, is more rarely used in this manner, and all are sometimes used as charges. Where two or more crests are borne, they, with their supporting helmets, should face each other. They should not be depicted with but one helmet between them, as is too often done, but each should have its own ; for the treatment of the torse as a stiff rod resting on the points of foliated mantlings which suggest a support where none exists, is undoubtedly bad, as also is balanc- ing it by its centre on the apex of a helmet. Flowing from the helmet is the Mantling, or lambrequins, which probably represent the drapery 56 9. NAVAL CROWN. 90. CROWN VALLERY. 91. CROWN PALISADO. HERALDIC (Row NS. used for protection against the weather. It has been surmised that it was suggested by the llowing headgear of the Saracens during the Crusades. The tinctures now follow the same rule as in the wreath. At the end of the sixteenth century (at which period wreaths began to follow the tinctures of the arms, a practice which had become well established early in the seventeenth century), mantlings began to be gules doubled (or lined) argent, and con- tinued to be so tinctured until quite the end of last century, when the present mode came into use. In Ireland the older practice was followed until quite recently, and in Scotland is still in use. The mantlings of peers not of the Blood Royal are in England the same as the torse, though formerly they were gules and ermine, as in Scot- land they now are. The lambrequin of the Sovereign is or, doubled ermine, and those of Princes of the Blood were formerly so, but in recent examples are sometimes or and doubled argent. The HELMET, which supports the i and serves as a point of issue for the mantling, varies in form and posi- tion for various degrees of dignity, but to a less extent than in foreign heraldry, where the distinctions thus shown are Very numerous. The crest of an esquire or gentleman is supported by a helmet of steel with gold embellishments, its posi 57 I EAST! RN i ROWN. 93. ' ( l M -I l \i A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. tion being either profile or three-quarter face, and with the vizor closed. The tilting helmet, with its strong beauty of line, is the form most to be recommended, but is not so applicable to the next rank — that of a knight, whose helmet is affrontee and open. The latter point might well be dis- pensed with, for the full-faced position and absence of bars are in themselves sufficiently distinctive. A peer's helmet is also of steel ornamented with gold, and is defended in front by a grille, usually consisting of five bars. It is borne in the same position as that of an esquire, and applies equally to all ranks of the peerage below the Blood Royal. The helmet of the sovereign is of gold and full- faced, as also are those of Princes of the Blood Royal. The Motto is a word or terse sentence express- ing an idea or commemorating an event of special import to the bearer, and is under the same restric- tions with regard to ladies and clergymen as the crest. It accompanies armorial insignia, but, un- like them, is not property, but may be assumed, dropped, or changed at mere will or caprice ; and the same motto may be, and frequently is, borne by many unrelated persons. One which contains a punning allusion to the name is called a canting motto, in the same way that a canting coat is so-called. Supporters, or those figures which stand on either side of the shields of those entitled to them are, whatever their origin, of much interest, as the right to bear them is one of the privileges of peers and of Knights Grand Crosses of the several 58 *& NIK IMPERIAL CROWN. Orders, a right which is sometimes extended to baronets and others, to whom it may be specially granted. The supporters of peers and baronets are hereditary, but only so far as the actual successive holders of the respective titles are concerned. In all other cases the privilege is personal to the grantee, and does not descend to his issue. It is sometimes asserted that the heads of the Irish septs and of the Scottish clans are also en- titled ; but with regard to the former, Sir Bernard Burke says that " no registry of supporters to an Irish chieftain appears in Ulster's office in right of his chieftainship only . . . nor does any authority to bear them exist." As to the latter, the same authority says, " the right to supporters belongs to the representatives of the minor barons, who had full baronial rights prior to 1 5 S 7 , and to a limited number of important families, including the chiefs of the more considerable clans." Other ensigns restricted to certain ranks are Crowns, Coronets, and Mitres. The Imperial crown is a circlet of gold, heightened with four crosses and four fleurs-de-lis, alternately. From the crosses rise two arches, which support at their intersection an orb or globe surmounted by a CI and clasped with a golden band, the whole being richly jewelled. The shape of the arches, and, indeed, ol the crown as a whole, is much modified in practice ; tor so long as the essential parts are represented it is, of course unnecessary, in this case as in others, to reproduce the style in which the crown is executed. The inclosed cap, of purple 59 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. velvet turned up with ermine, is very frequently omitted, as are also the caps of the peers' coronets hereafter described. The Prince of Wales' crown is like the Im- perial one, with one of the arches omitted, and the coronets of the other sons and of the daughters of the sovereign are similar circlets, but not enarched. The grandsons of the sovereign substitute ducal leaves for the crosses that appear at the sides of the coronet, and nephews of the sovereign have coronets composed of crosses and ducal leaves only, the latter taking the place of the fleur-de-lis in the Royal Crown. These also belong to princesses of similar relationship to the Throne. It should be noted that the coronets on the crests and supporters of Princes of the Blood Royal vary in the same way. Coronets were assigned to the various ranks of Peers not of the Blood Royal by warrant of Car. II., dated 19th Feb., 1660, before which time they appear to have pertained to the higher nobles, and to have been fashioned with a view to their ornamental character rather than as marks of definite rank, though they were undoubtedly used in the investiture of dignitaries from very early times. The coronet of a duke has its circlet heightened with eight leaves, of which five show. That of a marquis has four leaves alternating with balls of silver, technically called pearls, which are raised on spikes to about the same height as the leaves, thus showing three leaves and two pearls. An 60 CORONETS AND MITRES, earl's coronet has eight balls, raised on tall spikes which have leaves between them. A viscount has twelve balls resting directly on the circlet, and a baron six similarly placed, the former showing seven and the latter four. All coronets of degree may inclose a cap of crimson velvet turned up with ermine, but must not be jewelled, those of dukes, marquises, and earls having their rims chased in the forms of jewels, while viscounts and barons have theirs plain. Barons anciently bore a simple crimson cap turned up with white fur. The armorials of spiritual peers are surmounted by mitres in place of coronets. The mitre of archbishops and bishops is a sort of cleft cap rising from a circlet, and is represented as of gold lined with crimson. From within depend two infulae or ribands, also of gold with crimson edges and lining. The practice of heightening the circlet of archbishops' mitres is incorrect, the leaves as- cribed to Canterbury and York having no allusion whatever, and those of I hirham, which are some- times supposed to signify the secular power of former bishops, being a corruption of the coronet which, belonging to the cr<-^t, borne as Prince Palatine, surrounded the mitre instead of being part of it (see Seals in Snrtees' "History of 1 )urham " ). The dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church signify their rank, not so much by the mitre as by the hat and by the number of tassels depending therefrom. Thus a cardinal's hat has fifteen on each side, the lowest row having five. An arrh- 61 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. bishop has four in the bottom row, a bishop three, and so on. Among other adornments of armory are in- signia of office, and of the various orders of knight- hood other decorations and badges. Of the first, the batons of Earl Marshal placed behind the shield of his Grace the Duke of Norfolk, K.G., and the baton of Seneschal of the Household in Scotland which, with the Sword of the Shrievalty of Argyll, are borne by his Grace the Duke of Argyll, K.G., K.T., are well-known examples. Field-marshals also adopt this disposition of their batons, and the croziers and pastoral staves of prelates are other instances. In France, while there was yet an authority to regulate armory, this appropriate and decorative use of official emblems was very general. Want of such proper control has resulted there, as in the United States, in many abuses, so that one cannot but regret the absence of official supervision over those ensigns which, whether or no they be thought compatible with republican severity, will continue to be used, and therefore may as well be used correctly. The insignia of the various orders are placed either round the shield or suspended from it. In the Most Noble Order of the Garter, as of others consisting of the sovereign, grand master, and knight companions only, the arms are encircled with the Garter or with the so-called circle (it may be oval) bearing the motto of the order concerned, and this again may be surrounded by the collar. When an order consists of more degrees, the 62 BADGES. collar should always accompany the arms of those entitled to it, in order to distinguish them from members of the inferior degrees. Collars of the Orders referred to belong to Knights Grand Crosses, and those of analogous rank. Knights Comman- ders have no collar but surround their arms with the motto circle alone, with the badge of their rank depending from it. Companions have the badge only pendent from the shield. It may be men- tinned here that the Grand Master of the Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick, the Lord Lieu- tenant of Ireland for the time being 1 , is not o necessarily a Knight of the Order, but nevertheless continues to use the badge during his life, although he has ceased to be Grand Master. ( me other collar survives from the Middle Ages, namely, the mysterious collar of S.S., which is part of the insignia of Kings of Arms, heralds, some of the judges, and of the Lord Mayor of London. That it was a Lancastrian one we know, but not its origin or meaning, though the generally received solution of the enigma is that the letter of which it is composed signifies Sou- veragne, the favourite motto of Henry [V. A herald's collar has, in the centre of both front and back, the Union badge ensigned with an imperial crown, while that ol a king of arms has a port- cullis on each shoulder in addition. Badges are devices not borne on a shield nor on a wreath, and were mainly used by the retainers of great families to designate them their masters' men; for armorial bearings .ivr personal to the member^ of the family entitled thereto and should 6; A PRIMER OF HERALDRY. not be used by their servants. Therefore the practice of adorning livery buttons with a crest is wrong, but might readily be rectified by the omis- sion of the wreath, when the crest would become a badge which could be used with perfect propriety. That on breast and back of the picturesque Yeomen of the Guard is an excellent modern instance of correct use. Embroidered on the sleeves of the servants of the Sheriffs of London for instance, it would well take the place of the complete shields of arms seen there ; too often, alas, false arms at that. Architectural and other decoration also give scope for the use of badges as details alike of beauty and meaning. Admirable instances occur on the walls and roof of St. George's Chapel, and in other parts of Windsor Castle, at Hampton Court, Westminster Abbey, and many another of the magnificent edifices which were reared when heraldry was valued at its worth. Sometimes badges partook of the nature of augmentation, thus the badge of Earl de la Warr, a crampette or chape of a sword, was given to an ancestor who took prisoner King John of France on the field of Poictiers, a circumstance also referred to in the motto, " Jour de ma vie." Having thus endeavoured to explain as suc- cinctly as possible the main points of heraldry as a system, with a view to its consideration as art, it only remains to point out that an introduction is necessarily precluded from mentioning many matters of great interest. For such the student will naturally turn to some of the writers who have dealt fully with this side of the subject. 64 LEGEND OF nil-: HAPSBURG FESS With reference to the less referred to on p. 14, the following quotation from the Indice . Irmorial (Paris, [635) may l>c of interest :—" Leopolde II. Due d'Autriche, en I'an 1 193. a cause que se trouvant en bataille contre les infidelles, et ayant luy et son frere perdu toutes leurs Bannieres, il prit son Escharpe blanche et la serrant par le milieu avec la main, la trempa dans le sang des morts et par ce moyen toute I'escharpe qu'ils appellent volet fut entierement teinte de couleur rouge, fors l'endroict qu'il tenoit dans sa main. Lequel demeura blanc, de ce il fit une banniere, et s'ecria a Xutriche serviteur de Jesus Christ. Les soldats la dessus ayant repris courage il mit tous Its Sarrasins en deroute, avec tant de playes, neantmoins, que la cotte d'armes qu'il portoit de blanche quelle estoit devint pareillement rouge, excepte ce qui estoit souz la ceinture de son ep6e qui fit fasse aussi bien que le milieu de son volet. Et pour marque de cette victoire ce Frederic par le conseil de sa noblesse chargea l'Escu de gueules a la fasce d'argent." 65 CHAPTER III. THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS. ALTHOUGH it is doubtless true that ar- morial bearings in the form with which we are familiar were not in general and hereditary use much earlier than the twelfth century, becoming especially developed during the Crusades, and afterwards by the tournaments, it appears hardly justifiable to assign the period thus indicated as that of the actual origin of heraldic insienia. Many attempts have been made to define ar- morials, but nearly all, whether they made the hereditary principle essential or not, seem to have most generally erred from narrowness, for the attempted definitions have so many excep- tions as to be quite without validity. Indeed, it would appear to be as impossible as it is un- necessary to place too restrictive bounds to a subject which so evidently has its origin in the desire for distinction, which is part of human nature itself. Perhaps the most satisfactory view is that any badge, either of individual or family, which is used as a personal distinction and not as a merely adventitious ornament, may justly be considered heraldic. Guillim lends the weight of his authority to this wide view when he says : " Arms then as 66 EASTERN DERIVATK >\ tiny are here meant according to their original or first use may be thus defined : Anns are tokens or remembrances signifying some act or quality of the bearer." Therefore the Gorgon shield of Perseus, or the painted device by which the savage sets forth his personality ami his name are, equally with our own armorials, included within the bounds of the subject. So considered, heraldry, far from being confined to Europe and mediaeval times and connections, has been of the widest possible application. In Japan, for instance, it has an independent existence in the form of badges, called Mon, in which the hereditary principles so frequently insisted upon is a noteworthy feature. Wheth( r European heraldry as a system was derived from that of the East, or whether each was separately evolved and borrowed from the other when brought into contact, is not purposed to discus here, but comparison of examples shows that of the Eastern origin of many of its most distinctive forms ami attitudes there can be no question. The art of Nineveh, Babylon, and Egypt, con- taining objects ot special interest in this connec- tion, was brought, in the form of carvings and rich stuffs, by the Phoenicians, to whose commercial enterprise and daring navigation Greece and the whole western world owed art and letters. Thus the Greeks became acquainted with the compound forms which they have handed down t<> us, reproducing on some ol their earliest pottery centaurs and syrens, .m<\ other creatures of the 67 THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS. Oriental imagination, but, unlike the forms which came westward in later times and by other chan- nels, these mythical creatures were simply themes for an assimilative treatment harmonizing them with the art into which they were adopted. Many centuries later the productions of the Byzantine artists were the means of transmitting to us a still larger number of figures, which appear in mediaeval heraldry hardly changed from their Assyrian and Chaldean originals. Thence is derived most of the creatures which embody the idea of humanity in combination with other animals, many instances of which occur in the Assyrian bas-reliefs in the British Museum, where beautiful examples of human fio-ures with eagles' and lions' heads, of centaur-like forms, half man and half lion, and of figures made by the addition of wings to human, as well as to most other creatures. The demons of the mythological groups in the same collection have heads that hardly differ from those of the mediaeval dragons, and, indeed, it is difficult, if not impossible, to mention a figure of this class which had not its prototype in Assyria and Babylon. The earliest existing heraldic device is that on the tablet found in the excavations which are being made (with such important results to history) at Tello, the ancient Sirpoula in Chaldea, by M. de Sarzec. In the very interesting description of this bas-relief, now in the Louvre, by M. Leon Heuzey, 1 he dates it at b.c. 4000. It is not more distinguished for antiquity than for the excellence 1 " Les Armoiries de Sirpoula." Academie des Inscriptions. Paris, 1894. 68 ROYAL CHALDEAN DEVICE, of its composition, of which the decorative quality is altogether admirable. Sculptured on a black tablet is a lion-headed eagle, in the displayed position, grasping firmly with its claws the backs i — ^_ -~— \l V CHALDEAN BAS-RELIEF, I .< . 4000. of two lions passant in opposite directions. Thus used, the eagle is doubtless an instance of the widespread symbolism on which heraldry is based ; for, by the great nations of the East, as later by of the West, the eagle was considered the symbol o( empire : as such, it is represented flying 69 THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS, over the fighting warriors of Assur-nasir-pal in the Assyrian bas-reliefs (b.c. 880), and as such it is used to this day. M. Heuzey suggests that the lions may have been introduced into the design to typify powers that had been overcome, and this may well be so, for their action, biting at the feathers of the eagle's wing-s, strongly sug-a-ests the irritated but futile resistance of a conquered people. The custom of representing an enemy by a symbol subordinate to another, thus signifying exultation or contempt, is naturally widespread as regards both place and time, and of this an historic instance is recalled by Dr. Rock in the introduction to his well-known work on the textiles in the South Kensington Museum, 1 viz., that the Guelfs bore an eagle with a dragon under his feet, the latter representing the Ghibellines. The heraldic character of the Sirpoula device was shown by its frequent association with the genealogical inscriptions relating to the King Our- Nina and some of his descendants. The earliest found fragments had associated with the royal name certain parts of a design, of which lion-like heads and other details could be distinguished ; but it was only on the discovery of the complete device that they were seen to be parts of a similar composition. The position of the lions is notable as the first occurrence of that arrangement of animals in pairs, afterwards a characteristic feature of the Oriental and Sicilian 1 "Textile Fabrics," 1870. Daniel Rock. D.D. 70 EGYPTIAN DISPLAYED I [GURES. textiles which had so great an influence on mediaeval design. Similarly, early instances of complete eagles occur, both single and double-headed, the latter being represented at the end of M. I leuzey's article, and the former, which occurs on a fragment of a stele, also from Tello, is described and illustrated by MM. Perrot and Chipiez. 1 The eagle displayed also appears among the de- vices in the beautiful funereal paintings of ancient Egypt with peculiar variations and characteristics. Instances are common on the mummy cases of winged human figures and feather-winged scarabei in the same distinctive position. One, with a ser- pent head, maybe seen in the British Museum on the mummy case of a priestess of Amen at Thebes, its date being about b.c. iooo. Like Egyptian design in general, it, in addition to its symbolism, admirably fulfils its mission as decoration, having no unnecessary detail, but every line and touch possessing a definite meaning, anil contributing simply and powerfully to the perfection of the whole. The treatment of the legs and tail is dis- cernible many centuries later on a shield in the Chantry of Abbot Thomas Ramryge at St. Albans, <>t about the end of the fifteenth century, as described in Boutell.' A lion-headed eagle is painted en the coffin of Ta-heru, about b.c. 400, its wings being very widely spread, and its feet, .is is usual in the Egyptian paintings, grasping discs. •• lli-t.>n< de I' Art dans I'AntiquiteV' Paris. • "Heraldry, Historical and Popular." THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS. The lion on one of the fauteuils from the tombs of the kings at Thebes 1 is also of much interest, especially with regard to the position of the legs, which are in the same order as in western work, viz., with both hind and fore paws on the same side advanced. In the forementioned bas-reliefs from the palace of Nimroud, in which are sculptured the conquests and huntings of Assur-nasir-pal, King of Assyria, about b.c. 880, and of Assur- bani-pal, a.d. 648, are re- presentations of military ensigns, in which animals are also symmetrically grouped in pairs, thus showing the conscious use of specially decora- tive arrangement in con- trast with the realistic intention evident in the hunting scenes, where the 95. throne with passant ij ons are drawn in oreat LION, FROM THE TOMES OF • , r . i •. • variety 01 natural position. The paws of such as are in violent action should be noticed, for the strong division of their toes in almost convulsive move- ment probably suggested the claw-like feet of the mediaeval examples. The human figure with displayed wings, and 1 " Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians." Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson. 72 THE KINGS, THEBES. RAMPANT ANIMALS. sometimes holding in his hand a ring, and at others shooting with a bow, has many points in common with the winged figures ol the mummy cases. It may be well in passing to venture to suggest that what are usually called wings in this figure may, in some cases at least, be intended for a garment. Their wavy lines are exactly similar to those of what is probably drapery round the waist, while in other parts of the same work wings are otherwise depicted in a manner impossible to mistake. Also, the wavy lines much resemble those of the girdle on one of the figures in the mythological tablets. This, however, is by the way. The bronze bowls of this period are largely decorated with griffins and lions, the latter of a type which follows somewhat closely the natural forms, especially with regard to the anatomy of the feet. At Persepolis the solemn remains of her stately palaces are full of interesting material, and are finely rendered by the photographic illustrations of Herr Stolze. 1 Among the groups composed of animals in combat with men, are lions, bulls, and mythical creatures, of beautiful workmanship, reaching powerfully upwards in the position we know as rampant. In this, the earliest instance of that peculiarly heraldic attitude, there is a difference in the arrangement of the hind legs, that nearest the spectator being advanced instead of the other. With this exception the positions are the same. 1 lere is also still another combination of eagle and lion in which the Assyrians delighted. Though it ' '• Persepolis." Berlin, 1882. 75 THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS, is winged like a griffin, its other parts are differently compounded ; for while in the latter the demi-eagle and the demi-lion are simply conjoined, in the former the body, head, and fore legs are leonine, the eagle being represented by the wings and hind le^s alone. These impressive works appear to have been executed at widely different periods, the events commemorated extend over a great space of time, 97. CRESTED FIGURES FROM THE SASSANIAN SCULPTURES AT PERSEPOLIS. and it is in the later bas-reliefs that we arrive at definite heraldic use. In the first of the series, found at Istakar, which are associated with the Sassanian rulers of Persia, is a figure of Ardeshir Babak, the founder of that dynasty, who possessed himself of the throne in a.d. 226, after his victory over Artaban, the last king of the Parthians. On the head of the monarch is a curious circular object, a veritable crest, which in some form or other always accompanies the king's effigy. In the second series the globe rises from a different 76 SASSANIAN CRESTS. cn>wn, and iii the third wings .u\- added, as we shall sec was also the case in contemporary coins. In the fourth of the series at I stak.ii- the mounted king wears, in addition to the globular crest, a battlemented crown, which comparison with the ^tM^^r^ -".,. -/J 1 . is* bLi JT- i»S. CRESTE1 1'Kl FROM Mil SASSANIAN SCULPTURES \ 1 Pi RSI POLIS. 1 HIRD i ENTURY. shows to be that ot Sapor, son and successor to Ardeshir Babak. As ha-, been suggested, the coins repeat these forms, and supply many others which are similarly used. In his coin, the head of Varahran II. (a.d. 275-292) l)ear-> the round crest surmounting a winged tiara, the accompanying head of his queen having a cap in the form of a boar's head, and the 77 THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS, heir-apparent, who faces the others, wears the head of an eagle in the same crest-like manner. The heads in the earliest Sassanian coins wear a diadem, itself an evolution from earlier head ornaments, and Mr. Thomas, to whose work I am much indebted, 1 reproduces one in the British Museum wearing a " Parthian tiara " identical with the pattern of Mithridates I. (b.c. 173-136). Many are crowned with a circlet, having ornaments like the leaves of a crest coronet, and some are surmounted by an eagle crest. The headdress varies, but the crest, with a few early exceptions, is always present. The head of Ardeshir has, instead of the crest, a crescent with a small circular object within it, placed on the front of the tiara instead of sur- mounting it. This device, a disc within a crescent, appears to have been a personal badge of so- vereignty, and as such it occurs on the torso of a royal statue described by MM. Perrotand Chipiez, 2 and other instances of its use are frequent in Assyria and Egypt. By the time of Kobad (a.d. 490-520) a star and crescent, both of which had previously been separately represented on the coins, appeared one within the other, as the disc had done, and became of constant use throughout the Sassanian period, being finally adopted as part of the standard device of the Arabs, 5 from whom they come to be the Turkish ensign of the present time. 1 " Illustrations of the Rule of the Sassanians in Persia, a.d. 226-562." 2 " History of Art in Phoenicia." 3 Thomas. »)<). I. < -'IN 01 \ \K IHRAN II. ;. 1. 5, '). '). SA 5AK1 \\ • I I if -Hlk III. ;, 8, GNOS1 n OEMS. FIGURES ON ANCIENT GEMS. To the ancient Persians, who regarded with religious veneration the sun, moon, stars, and fire as symbols of the light and life of Deity, this device had probably a meaning, in which the disc and star symbolized but one idea, and so were interchangeable. In the coin of Hormazd Y. (a.D. <>3 1 - 2 ) the wavy rays of the star are very clear. The spreading wings, which were added by some of the successors of Ardeshir Babak, became fixed as a definite part of the device in the time of Ardaslin III. (\.i». 628). The collection of Sassanian engraved stones, also in the British Museum, contains many inter- esting figures of lions, griffins, pegasi, and other creatures which are well worth study : the lion in tig. 99, Xo. 5, is especially good, as also are those in Nos. 3 and 9 of the same series. An excellent example- of a sejant griffin occurs in No. 4 ; and mermen, half men, half fish, called figures of Dagon, .ire of frequent occurrence, as in No. 6. The Gnostics, who are described l>y Gibbon as "th<- most polite, the most learned, and the most wealth)- " of the early Christian sects, also engraved on their gems and amulets the figures of nature and of the imagination in a style very similar to that of the Sassanian. It will 1><- sufficient to instance tile lion amulet depicted in Xos. 7-8. To them we doubtless owe, in some measure, the transmission of heraldic types which were little, if .it all, modified in the process; for when in the third century they were at the height of their learning, taste, and power, they "covered Si m THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS. Asia and Egypt, established themselves in Rome, and sometimes penetrated into the provinces of the West." By this time classic art had fallen far from its high and glorious pinnacle, and the field was free for the reception of the Byzantine char- acter, which ultimately became part of the Gothic. Many Eastern gems were used in Europe as seals during the middle ages ; among others, Carloman (a.d, 741-747) and Charlemagne, who sealed with a serapis. Here it may be well to refer shortly to the heraldry of the Romans, as exemplified in the military ensigns which survive in their monuments, and are especially noteworthy for the treatment of the eagle. As the principal standard, it was borne at the head of the legion, its custodv and defence were the especial privilege of the picked men who formed the first cohort, and it was even venerated with divine honours. In the groups on the great column which commemorates and represents Tra- jan's conquest over the Dacians, it several times appears standing with wings expanded on the transverse top of a staff (fig. 100), or borne within a wreath on one of the plaques which, one above the other, and variously decorated, go to make up the ensign. Its naturalistic treatment, in distinct contrast with the Eastern type, seems appropriate in a figure solidly represented, though the more pattern-like eagle displayed is better adapted for the decoration of a flat surface, whether it is itself flat or in relief. In this Roman manner it has served as a model to the Napoleonic emperors for the device on their shields and banners, and 82 ROMAN ENSIGNS. to the United States of America as a support to the shield of their arms. In the east side of the pedestal is another ensign, said to be the dragon of the vanquished Dacians. It consists of a head, somewhat like the wolf's head of mediaeval art, carried at the top of a staff] ami IOO. ROMAN 1 V< .1 E. having as a neck a linen bag which, filled with the air which entered at the mouth, streamed hack- ward. In its pendent position it recalls to mind the German crests which merge into the mantlin ( )n these bas-reliefs the thunderbolt, in the form we have adopted from similar classical sources, is a • s 3 THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS, frequent device, appearing, as do some others, on all the shields of a group, as if the common badge of a particular body of men. The Roman ensigns more fully treated may be studied in "Trajan's Column," by J. H. Pollen; " La Colonne Trajane," by G. Arosa ; in the cast of the column at South Kensington Museum, and in the Arch of Constantine. In a somewhat similar way, the cross was used on its assumption by Constantine and his army in the fourth century, an event which strikes strongly on the imagination in connection with those other armies which, under the same symbol and with like enthusiasm, were to make so picturesque a mark on history. " The symbol," says Gibbon, " sanctified the arms of the soldiers of Constantine ; the cross glittered on their helmets, was engraved on their shields, was interwoven into their banners, and the consecrated emblems which adorned the person of the emperor himself were distinguished only by richer materials and more exquisite work- manship." However it may have been on other banners, the Labarum, or Standard of the Cross, carried its distinctive symbol at the top, as was customary in the Roman ensigns, and is described also by Gibbon, as " a long pike, intersected by a trans- versal beam. The silken veil which hung down from the beam was curiously enwrought with the images of the reigning monarch and his children. The summit of the pike supported a crown of gold, which enclosed the mysterious monogram, at once expressive of the figure of 84 THE FIGURES OF THE TEXTILES. the cross, and the initial letters of the name oi Christ." Though little has survived of the rich textiles for which the East was famous, there can be no doubt that they formed a large and important part of the merchandise of the times, and must have- had great influence in the transmission of Eastern forms to alien peoples. The silks woven in Sicily Strongly evince this, for the animals with which they abound are strikingly similar to the earliest oriental examples, their prevalent arrangement in pairs reminding one of the lions in the Sirpoula device and the figures of the Assyrian standards. Byzantine art also used many forms which it had inherited from a remote antiquity, and ultimately influenced the Sicilian work. A remarkable ex- ample of the perpetuation of design is represented in a painting on brown silk, by Paul Schulze, of Crefeld, in the South Kensington collection, of a Byzantine silk textile of the tenth century, woven in green and yellow on a brown ground. A double- headed eagle grasps the backs of two passant lions, as in the Sirpoula device, and in general arrange- ment so closely resembles it as to make one forget for a moment that five thousand years divide them. Just as the Chaldean fragment was peculiarly allusive to the Chaldean king, so this beautiful specimen may have been fashioned for one of the mtine emperors, who had in their palaces work- shops in which the production of precious woven work was fostered, and who kept the eagle for their own device. 1 By such means were per Dr. Rock. 85 THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS, petuated the splendid decorations of Assyria, Babylon, and Persia from the tombs and palaces of their ancient kings. The diapering which embellished the clothing of the lords of the palace of Nimroud is reproduced in this fragment, and was thus well on its way to become a valuable decorative feature of mediaeval heraldry, and to adorn in the fourteenth century the surcoat of St. George. 1 A twelfth century Byzantine silk of Samson and the lion may be compared with earlier and similar groups. The figures in the designs of Mohammedan origin are remarkable for their evidence of the lax interpretation of the Koran's prohibition of images ; eagles, for instance, frequently occurring on Saracenic stuffs, and being used as heraldic insignia to adorn the robes of Moslem princes. 2 Indeed, it is said that in later days Saladin himself bore the eagle as his device, and, in so doing, is sometimes thought to have borrowed from his Christian foes, whereas he really continued a cus- tom long established in the East. From the sixth century onward, the Sicilian looms had imitated in their products the various imported patterns, occasionally receiving some special impulse, and always being a very important link between Eastern and Western design. One such impulse was the importation of weavers, captives from the sack of Corinth, Athens, and Thebes by Roger, King of Sicily, who, in 1 146, had turned his arms against the Eastern Empire, 1 See page 125. ~ Dr. Rock. 86 IOI. DEV1CI PROM A BYZANTIN1 SILK OF THE TENTH CEN1 FROM \ PAINTING IN SOUTH • IN MUSEUM. SICILIAN FABRICS. his fleets <-\vn daring to appear before Constan- tinople itself. 1 These workmen he established at Palermo, where they made those later textiles of which the Byzantine character is conspicuous. These travelled still further westward, to unite with earlier and similar importations in becoming part of the Gothic decoration with which heraldry was intimately connected; rising with its rise and sharing in its downfall, to be again revived with its revival. The Crusades, however evanescent their results on political history, had a great effect in developing heraldry as a means of distinction between indi- viduals and peoples, and materially assisted to disseminate the work of the Sicilian designers. This especially applies to the second and third, if, indeed, as Hallam says, the whole of the latter half of the twelfth century may not be termed one long crusade. Sicily was a much used stopping-place on the way to and from the Holy Land, and the princes and warriors who sojourned there would doubtless bring away with them the beautiful fabrics for which the place was famous. The first great seal of Richard Cceur de Lion points strongly to the conclusion that these figured stutts had a very direct influence on the heraldic devices which in the twelfth century were coming into general use. Keeping in mind the orientally- derived characteristic of re-duplicated animals in the Sicilian silks, the lion which appears on this seal, being one of a pair, as is evident from its Gibbon. 89 N THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS, position with regard to the central boss, is very significant. An account of Richard's crusade, commonly attributed (but without any grounds, says Hume) to Geoffrey Vinesauf, describing the meeting between King Richard and the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, says that the king's saddle was ornamented with two golden lions, who, with open mouths and outstretched paws, appeared to attack each other. Hence we get the lions com- battant of the heralds as they appear in the arms of Carter, Wycombe, Lucas, and other families. Also, such arms as consist of a tree supported by a lion on either side, as in the coat of Boys, may have been suggested by the similarly placed " Homa," or tree of life, of the Persian textiles. Besides influencing the art fabrics of Sicily, much of the Byzantine work itself came into other parts of Europe, and of this a good example is in the South Kensington collection (No. 1239), prominent in the design being the double-headed eagle. This work, of silk damask, is said to be a fragment of the imperial tunic of Henry II., Em- peror of Germany, who was so elected in a.d. 1002. Dr. Rock suggests that it may have been a present from the emperors Basil and Constantine, and wrought in the imperial looms. Although the regular application of heraldic in- signia to helmet and shield appears to have begun to spread about the end of the eleventh century, the arms assumed were, in many important in- stances, the distinct outcome of a previously used device, of evident personal intention, which, on the adoption of armory, was placed on a shield, or, 90 EARLY FLEURS-DE-LIS. afterwards, on a helmet, or, again, on the surcoat, which thus became a coat of arms. So the eagle displayed, which Charlemagne made his badge as a sigtl of empire, became the arms of the empire. In tlie same manner, when the kings oi~ France assumed armorials they merely displayed in a 10. -K\i 01 KING ROBERT. particular way. on a shield for example, the symbol which hail long been their personal d»vice. King Robert, son of Hugh Capet, on his seal wears a circlet from which rise fleurs-de-lis (A.D. 996). Philip I. on his seal ( \.k 1. .'). holds in the left hand a short staff, called a " haste," which ter initiates in a fleur-de-lis, and the same figure is frequently held in the hand on other early seals, 9i THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS. among others, those of Louis VII. and his queen, Constance. The latter is represented holding in each hand a fleur-de-lis of five leaves, the three uppermost terminating in rings. The shape of this seal is 103. SEAL OF LOUIS VIII. that called vesica, or vessie de poisson, and is usually associated with ladies and ecclesiastics. The fleur-de-lis appears as an heraldic device on the counterseal of Philip II. (a.d. 1180). Louis VIII. has in his right hand a fleur-de-lis of five leaves, the upper pair of which turn inwards with 92 104- SEALS 01 LOUIS VII. VND QUEEN CONSTANCE. I I l.l RS DE LIS. marked resemblance to the natural iris, and was the first to bear on his counterseal the complete escutcheon of France, semee de lis. Even then, however, the placing of a device on a shield does not seem to have been considered of pre-eminent importance, for Louis IX. reverted to the simple badge in both his counterseals. These are interesting as showing the develop- ment of this beautiful device and especially with regard to the incurved petals which, derived from COIN 1 BRSE \l. OK PHILIP II. I 06. COUNTERSEAJ 01 LOCI- VIII. the iris, were sometimes modified into outward curving lines terminating in seeds or Mowers. In later times a fleur-de-lis thus drawn was said, in blazonry, to be seeded; this being one of the numerous instances of pedantic, because unneces- sary distinction, which showed marks of decadence ; for both forms occur at the same period and adorn the same object, evidently with the same intention. That this decorative lily should have been of widespread adoption is readily explained by its symbolism for, says Viollet-le-Duc, the iris, as one 95 THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS, of the plants earliest in spring, was held to typify regeneration and therefore power. ' Its similar religious meaning also, doubtless, influenced the regard in which it was held. The description of " lily " so frequently applied to it need present no difficulty, for in the middle ages and later, the yellow flag, as well as the purple iris, were spoken of as lilies, 2 and even our own lily of the valley shows how misleading a name may be. Turning to the monuments of Europe, the earliest figure with arms appears to be that of Raoul de Beaumont (a.d. 1087-1110), described by Hucher. 3 Another early memorial of the mediaeval heraldic period is the slab of Limoges enamel, which formed part of the tomb of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, the founder of that powerful dynasty which, though named after the humble broomplant, took so picturesque a part in the splendours of a magnificent age. The monument, formerly in the cathedral of Le Mans, and now in the museum there, represents the prince wearing a mantle lined with vair, and bearing on his arm the large shield, pointed and curved. Ornamented with a cross having lozenge-shaped decorations, and in the centre a boss which projects in a similar manner to that on the shield of his grandson Richard I., it is charged with eight lions rampant, but four 1 " Arrnoiries dans PArchitecture Franchise." 2 "A History of Gardening in England." The Hon. Alicia Amherst. 1895. ; ' " Monuments funeraires Sigillographiques des Vicomtes de Beaumont." Eugen. Hucher. 96 1 07. MONUMI mai. -1 KB IN I UAMPL1 VI 1 \ \\n Gl "I KKKY PLANTAGENET, COUNT OP ANJOU. PRO- DU< 1 D l ROM " L'aR 1 '."l HIQU1 ." BY l 0U1S ••■ 1W| I I 1 II ilNII RV. THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS, only are visible owing to the rotundity of the shield. These charges and that on the cap, are strongly suggestive of an eastern type, and the latter especially reminds one of the similar form on the throne of the King of Thebes. 1 Their peculiar and eagle-like heads are suggestive of the demons of the Assyrian sculptures. The spots which are distinguishable on the backs of these charges surest a knowledge of, and an intention to reproduce, leopards, although their attitude, rampant, is that which in early heraldry was considered especially leonine. An excellent diaper forms the background to the figure. Champleve enamels applied to monumental purposes are also well represented by the well- known shields of the arms of the sons and daughters of Edward III. on his tomb at West- minster. The equally familiar shield of William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, is reproduced in colour in Boutell and elsewhere. Amon^ heraldic enamels of a more domestic character, of which there are examples in the collection at South Kensington Museum, is the remarkable casket of gilt and enamelled copper which is said to have belonged to this Earl William. The decoration consists of various repeated coats of arms arranged to form a lozenge-shaped diaper, and being (with the exception of the parts which 1 " Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians." Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson. 9 8 io<). SCULPTURED PIGUR1 FROM RHKIMS CATHKDRA1 \ i 200. THE ORIGIN OF HERALDIC FORMS, have been injured in using the key) in excellent preservation, is both as metal work and heraldry of very great interest. Its period is probably about the end of the thirteenth or beQfinninof of the fourteenth centuries. Thenceforward similar monuments are found in increasing number and form a very fruitful source of knowledge. Their shields and emblazoned vestures showing the progress of heraldic art at a time when the evidence of more perishable things is rare, while their size permitted, or rather de- manded, a boldness of treatment far beyond that of a seal. The lion rampant borne on the shield of a head- less figure in Rheims Cathedral is a good example. Though of rather more naturalistic character than is usual at the period, it is vigorously de- signed, and shows good adaptability to the space of the shield. Its date is thought to be about A.D. I200. The collection of rubbings at South Kensington Museum from brasses and incised slabs contains many of great interest ; among others an incised slab of Alars de Cimai, from Nolham, Belgium, in which the figure holds directly in front a pointed shield, charged with three cinquefoils which reaches from the line of the shoulders to about the end of the trunk (a.d. 1210). The brasses of Sir Roger de Trumpington, of Cambridge (circa a.d. 1290), of Sir Robert de Bures, at Acton, Suffolk, and of Sir Robert de Septvans, at Chartham, Kent, should also be ex- amined. The surcoat of the last named is charged 102 MONUMENTAL BRASS! - with the winnowing baskets of the arms main times repeated, and the}' recur on the curious squares, or ailettes, in front of the shoulders, frequently met with at this period, and similarly charged with the arms, or part of them. The size of the shield varies considerably from being, down to the end of the twelfth century, capable of covering the bearer from shoulder to foot, like that of Geoffrey Plantagenet, until, gradually de- creasing, it had become at the end of the follow- ing century as small as that of Sir Roger de Trumpington. 10; CHAPTER IV. THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY. THE middle of the twelfth century marks the beginning of the brilliant heraldic period which lasted through 300 years, attaining its greatest glory in the reign of Edward III., con- tinuing with undiminished vigour through the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and ending in the decadence of the seventeenth. No doubt the perfecting of the feudal system and its division into various ranks powerfully conduced to the more extended use of armorials as special marks distinguishing the aristocratic class, so that the practice which had before been mainly confined to great princes became more extensively adopted by ordinary possessors of fiefs. 1 The tournaments also, involving as they did the principle of proved noble descent, aided still more the development, and made necessary the existence of officers whose duty it was to supervise the proofs and regulate the bearings. To this end rules were formulated and the existing &> 1 See Hallam's " Middle Ages. ; ' 104 BRASS] - System was ultimately evolved. Too often it has seemed in later days, that in place of spirited and ^ fG^ Fit I IO. SIR ROBES l I'l BUR! S. mi. SIR ROC 1 [13. SIR Rl >B1 kl Dl TRUMP1NGTON. ; PT\ INS. meaning beauty only the dry 1" nes of system remained. 105 1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY. With the spread of heraldry downwards, and the consequent multiplication of bearings, the draughtsman, in addition to the figures which had come down to him and to the common objects around, soon found himself confronted with other creatures, many of which he had to depict as best he could from the descriptions of travellers, prob- ably imperfect by reason of the incapacity of the narrator to accurately describe what he thought he had seen. This we can imagine to have been the origin of such creatures as appear the result of an effort to realize a description by means of varia- tions of traditional forms. Some such imperfect remembrance of a partially seen fact, combined with the credulity ot the times, may be answerable for the pelican in her piety. The observer not getting near enough to see the pouch beneath the bird's bill, but seeing the con- tents extruded from it by pressure on the breast, imagined that the young ones were indeed fed with the breast itself. The position of the artist, between the traditional forms on the one hand, and those newly brought into use on the other, was a somewhat peculiar one. But the harmony which he nevertheless established between them cannot be ascribed to conscious effort, but rather the outcome of the ancient convention which held him in a strong control from which he was unable to free him- self, even in intentional attempts at representa- tion. A convincing proof occurs in a collection of thirteenth century drawings, wherein is a lion which, a note in the margin tells us, was "drawn 1 06 MKM.KYAI. TREATMEN I' from the quick;" but, all the same, it is a con- ventional one. 1 Seeing even what he saw through the often beautiful but distorting mist of convention, he seems in some cases to have reasoned rather than observed, adding fifth toes to the hind legs o\' his lions because the fore legs had them. He decided that as the dolphin lived in water therefore it must have fish's fins. Also, he had perhaps seen its curved length rolling in the waves, and so we get the heraldic dolphin, finny and embowed. All in accordance with the naive simplicity of the period. Although the work thus produced may some- times show the errors inevitable in copies of whose originals the structure was but imperfectly under- stood, the intensely decorative feeling of the middle ages is everywhere apparent. The figures, firmly drawn, and with their parts properly dis- tributed, really decorate the spaces that contain them ; and to these they are so proportioned that the just balance of field and charge produces the best ettect of both form and colour. The resulting impression of completeness, always the essential quality of good work, shows how perfectly the result has been attained. The importance of duly covering the field is sometimes well shown in stained glass, where comparatively small patches of colour are com- pletely effective as a luminous background for objects designed in a bold and expansive manner. ' "Figure Drawing and Composition." k. (i. Hatton. 107 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY. That the decorative beauty of heraldry, far from being that of form and colour alone, was also an imaginative one depending much on the symbolic meaning of its designs there can be no doubt. Symbolism, which has existed throughout his- toric time, was all-prevailing, and spoke a well understood language even though its meaning was not invariable. Even the ereat Christian emblem, the Cross itself, was an object of rever- ence to the Egyptians of the Pharaohs, and is said by the Rabbins to have been the form of the mark on the doorposts, made with the sacrificial blood, on the dreadful night which preceded the exodus from Egypt. Dr. Rock, who has so carefully dealt with symbolism in relation to the textiles and to whose work I am much indebted, sup- poses that the Egyptians, seeing the immunity of the dwellers in the cross -marked houses, were thus led to consider it the symbol of life itself. Early Christian art was full of symbols, whose use and meaning were discussed in treatises from the second century onwards. By the eleventh, it had become systematized and ranged under various heads. Bestiaria for beasts, Volucraria for birds, and Lapidaria for stones. 1 It permeated the whole life of the people in its religious uses, and entered romantically into the half religious, half mystical observances of chivalry, the very armour of the valiant knight being full of meanings which it was his duty to know. 1 Dr. Rock. 1 08 SYMBOLISM. The swan, as the emblem of womanhood, the pivot of chivalry, held a peculiarly distinguished place in mediaeval symbolism, and, with the pea- cork, played a conspicuous part in those banquets of beaut)' and valour which followed the combats of the lists. The Vow of the Swan and the Vow of the Peacock were among the favourite themes of minstrels)-, as when Chaucer brings before our eyes the glowing colour of the stately feast, when ladies' favours rewarded the knights who had well done their devoir. Then it was that some hero of the tournament, with upraised hand to heaven, vowed by the swan. whose white beaut) - adorned the board, to do some great deed of chivalric emprise worthy of his lady and of his vow. As an object of such high regard, it was but natural that the beautiful bird should become a frequent heraldic charge and badge ; and so we find it figured on shield and seal and rich tapestry. Sometimes with its symbolism emphasized by the substitution of women's heads, as on the bed-hang- ings bequeathed to King Richard II. As symbol- ism, more poetic than exact, by no means confined itself to one interpretation, another meaning may have been ascribed to the swan, suggested by its change of plumage ; and the full glory of the perfect knight may have been typified by its pure develop- ment from the dusk)- cygnet. The emblems that religion had earl)' adopted to signify its incidents and persons obviously account for the assumption of many charges: sometimes connecting the bearer with his patron saint, at 109 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, others alluding to the central points of his faith. Thus, the fact of the peacock being considered an emblem of the Resurrection because of the periodic renewal of its beauty, and the signifi- cation of baptism by a fish, may have entered into the intention of the early bearers of such charges. Only in some such way (apart from the com- memoration of special incident) can we account for the presence of many bearings of apparently humble allusion. For example, the winnowing baskets of de Septvans convey no obvious sug- gestion of warrior-like meaning, but become noble symbols of knightly loyalty and devotion when explained by the motto, Sic dissipabo inimicos Regis mei, — so will I scatter the ene- mies of my king, — i.e., as chaff is dispersed in winnowing. Church vestments from cathedral treasuries abound with figures, sometimes purely symbolic, but frequently of heraldic import as the badges of their donors. About the middle of the thirteenth century, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, gave to Exeter Cathedral a beautiful cope figured with double- headed eagles. This earl, who was very wealthy, was brother to Henry III., and was a candidate for the empire, spending large sums to further his cause. Hallam says that during the period of contested title and general anarchy which occurred during the third quarter of the thirteenth century, Richard and Alfonso X., King of Castile, were both elected in consequence of a schism among the electors, but that a sort of possession and 1 10 '".', 'mk k I '.V 5BA1 01 mi CI IRDI IKS 01 & .HI \\|. \i n K i hi Dl \i it ..i A! i \ \\|.| R in ARMORIAL SEALS. the consent of contemporaries may justify us in considering the former emperor : hence the eagles. Another vestment wrought in the same century- is the famous Syon cope, so-called after the Monas- ter)- of Syon, at Isleworth, of which it was, in the next century, one of the treasures. 1 1 is embellished with shields of arms to the number of forty-five, most of which have been identified, and are blazoned and named in the very full and interest- ing account by Dr. Rock of what is perhaps the richest specimen of embroidered heraldry of that time. The emblems that also adorn it are full of interest, including as they do the swan and the peacock, as well as many winged angels, the wheels, and other emblems of more peculiarly ecclesiastical import. An excellent representation of this vest- ment is in Lady Marion Alford's exhaustive work on " Needlework as Art," in which is also much of great interest on symbolism, decoration, and the descent of patterns. In the seals is an enormous amount of material for heraldic stud)', and that ol the most valuable kind; for, though error was not unlikely in de- signs for more purely decorative purposes, a seal from its very nature would almost certainly be correct, and also placeable in chronological sequence. It is therefore possible to trace in the seals the change of heraldry as a system with a close ap- proach to accuracy, though their value in showing the development of heraldic form is, in the earlier HI o THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY. cases, frequently impaired by the smallness of the insignia represented. That the introduction of armory upon seals was among the later uses of formulated heraldry was to be expected, for a custom affecting in any way a matter of so great importance would only be adopted after the complete acceptance of the prac- tice by general use. Among the royal seals of England, that of Richard I. (a.d. i 189-1 199) is the first to bear an armorial shield ; among those of France, that of Louis VIII. (a.d. 1223-1226), while in Germany, which was to become the most heraldic country in Europe, the royal seals followed suit a century later. The seal of the Guardians of Scotland after the death of Alexander III., used between a.d. 1286 and 1292, and the smaller seal of David II., King of Scotland (a.d. 1 329-1 371), are reproduced here (p. 1 1 1). In the thirteenth century also began the em- blazoned rolls which were made to record the armorials of the kings, nobles, and knights who were present at battle, tourney, or festival. Some- times merely plain statements of heraldic fact ; at others they are metrically descriptive of the deeds of prowess they commemorate, and of the appearance of the actors in those scenes of chivalry. The roll of arms of those who fought at the Siege of Caerlaverock with Edward I. in 1300 is of the latter kind, and in its quaint language vividly sets forth the large part taken by heraldry in the 114 114- SMALLER 5E \l OF l>.\\M> II. 01 SCOTLAND. EMBLAZONED MSS. warlike pageantry of those vigorous days. This is the earliest, with the exception of one of tin- time of Henry III., written between 1240 and 1245; but with the fourteenth century they be- came more numerous, or it may be that more have survived of the contemporary copies which j^ % r^ieQ>^lfefflilBgf ^nr>-:; ■ (1 S»mr 'Kc? fgfic' 115. SHIELDS OF ARMS FROM A THIRTEENTH CENT1 KV Ms. were made, for the originals of both these rolls are lost. All interesting scries of arms, probably a part only of a more extensive MS., is in the British Museum, bound up with a copy of the chronicle "(Matthew Paris. The portion lure reproduced shows the marked peculiarities <>! the work, which is of about the middle of the thirteenth century. The lions may be compared with their eastern predecessors, which they not distantly resemble : while the tressure of Scotland, which is single and 1 I 7 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, suggestive of a bordure fleurette, is also note- worthy. Over the arms of the French king, whose fleurs-de-lis are distinctly blazoned- 3, 2 and 1 instead of semee, is the interesting" note "VI gladioli." The very large and imposing size of the crests, which was common to all periods before the seven- 116. SHIELDS OF ARMS FROM A THIRTEENTH CENTURY MS. teenth century, is a characteristic that at once attracts attention, for so large are they in com- parison with the shield and accessories that the artist might be more than suspected of exaggera- tion if it were not for the fortunate fact that some rare examples of actual crests remain, with an in- terest out of all proportion even to their rarity. One fine example, in the Royal Armoury at Madrid, is the crested helmet of that James, King of Arragon, who may himself be called an epitome of romance ; for beginning as a commander of 118 *->.. ARCHITECTURAL HERALDRY. troops in the held at the ai^e of twelve years, in i 2 19; he died a Cistercian monk half a century later, after a stirring life which had earned him the name of El Con- quistador. To the architectural enrichments of the cathedrals, and of the stately monuments they contain, we owe .1 large number of ex- amples of the best kind and of the greatest interest, for the heraldry is always applied with full re- gard to its decorative possibilities as well 117. helmet and crest 01 fames, KING "I tRRAGON. I K> >M I Hi U IRMORY, MADRID. IHIK [TENTH 'KM irv. t<> its meaning. as Its prominence in the design, far from the vulgarity of mere size, is due to a careful regard for proportion, and the result is perfect harmony with its surroundings. Westminster Abbey, one of the richest treasure-houses ol such 1 19 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, work, contains a great store of the very finest examples. For instance, the shields of the arms of various great personages, who were presumably interested in its rebuilding in the middle of the thirteenth century, which appear in the spandrils of the arches of the nave-aisles ; Henry III., his brother, the King of the Romans, and the Em- peror, among others. The arms ascribed to Edward the Confessor, the founder of the Abbey, are naturally among the number, and are repeated on the outside of the North Porch. It will be observed that the birds, usually de- scribed as martlets, are in this instance represented as having feet, in which respect they resemble the birds on the Confessor's coins, and it may well be that they were indeed used by him as symbols having heraldic significance ; were originally in- tended for doves, and were adopted as a badge for the same reason, probably a religious one, that caused the king to surmount his sceptre with a dove as it appears on his great seal. Boldly designed and finely carved, the shields hang from small corbel heads on either side by means of their guiges, or belts, whose lines extending from the sides of the shields con- siderably aid the design in fitting it for the space it ornaments. The beautiful tomb of Queen Eleanor of Castile, the first wife of Edward I., is an early instance of the application of a series of shields decoratively repeated in the adornment of a monument. Hanging by their guiges from tree- stocks, whose foliage appears above the shields 1 20 MONUMENTAL ARMS, and helps to fill the arched spaces of the arcading, they are remarkable tor the perfect proportion they bear to the general design. They are carved -lllMH <>l IRMS OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. FROM Mil Nnklll I'oKt II « ■ I WESTMINSTER tBBEY. with the arms of the queen's father, mother and husband; the castles and lions ol Castile and Leon, the bendlets of Ponthieu, and the lions of England. The charges from her paternal arms 12 1 R THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY. reappear in the rich diaper with which the effigy is ornamented. The memorial crosses which were erected to mark the stopping places of the dead queen's progress from Nottinghamshire to London were decorated with similar shields. The artists em- ployed were William of Ireland, and Alexander of Abingdon, 1 showing that native skill was equal to the production of very excellent work, and pro- bably, therefore, the execution of the tomb was also entrusted to their hands. A cloak clasp bearing the arms of King Edward and his queen, to one of whom it probably be- longed, w r as formerly in the Spitzer Collection, and is very interesting as an excellent piece of contemporary goldsmith work. In the fourteenth century we reach the time when heraldry came to its full splendour, when warriors' surcoats and ladies' gowns were rich with blazonry, and every important thing, whether of use or ornament, was heraldically linked to its possessor. On every hand we find in the delightful metrical romances mention of beautiful hangings and costly garments of samite and sendal and cloth of gold contributing to the glamour of a time when frank splendour and poetic imagery were the accompani- ments of high intention and noble deeds. The chivalric sympathies of Edward III., which impelled him to dedicate Windsor Castle to St. George, to found the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and to contemplate the revival of the 1 Lubke. I 22 - - '■ z y. : - : z -■ : - z - THE FOURTEENTH CEN l UK\ Round Table, at once expressed and fostered the increasing regard lor armory ; which had long be- come a regularly ordered matter, with well under- stood rules for its government. Complete arms were unhesitatingly ascribed to most of the known personages of history, both spiritual and secular, real or mythical ; a practio which, though it may to us appear ludicrous, was in close consonance with the naive romanticism which eagerly found a link between itself and that all-embracing chivalry which it loved to emulate. In the Chapel of St. Stephen, at Westminster, which was re-built by King I'M ward, was a wall painting of much interest in this connection. It represents the king ami his seven sons, preceded and, as it were, marshalled by St. George. All in armour with their arms, properly differenced, em- blazoned on their surcoats, they kneel with their faces towards the high altar. The surcoat of St. George, charged with the red cross, is beautifully diapered, and the whole work was evidently a tine example of its period. ( )n its accidental discovery behind some panel- ling in 1S00, a copy was made by Richard Smirke, which is now in the possession <>l the Society oi Antiquaries, and the painting was again walled up, only, alas! to be finally destroyed in the tire of [834. An impression of the engraving made from Smirke's copy may be seen in the National Portrait Gallery. It was customary to suspend over the dead leader the sword, helmet, and shield, with the armorial insignia he had borne in life, perhaps '^5 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, with some far-off connection with the still more ancient practice of dedicating arms to the gods, and sus- pending them in temples. The weapons of Edward III. 1 20. CREST AND HELMET OF EDWARD THE BLACK TR1NCE, IN CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL. and Henry V., at Westminster, and those of the Good Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, which formerly hung in St. Paul's, come readily to mind. Among the examples whose 1 26 INSIGNIA OF THE BLACK PRINCE. preservation we doubtless owe to this impressive CUStom are the magnificent specimens of actual 21. SHIELD Ol EDWARD TH1 BLACK PRINCE, IN ( \M l.Ki.i kv < ITHEDRAL. crest and shield which hang among the achieve- ments over the tomb of Edward the Black Prince I 2 J THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, in Canterbury Cathedral. They are very excel- lently represented in Mr. St. John Hope's admir- able monograph in " Vetusta Monumenta," vol. vii., from which, with the very kind permission of the Society of Antiquaries, they are here repro- duced. Comparison with the arms on the tomb of Prince John of Eltham and with other contemporary work shows these insignia to be, as was to be expected, characteristic, and unusually good, examples of the style of the period. In the lions of the English coat attenuation has been carried to its ultimate point, the toes being so split up as to more re- semble the claws of birds than the natural foot, however wildly extended ; nevertheless, they em- body in a remarkable degree the idea of conscious power, and are full of a certain grotesque life. The fleurs-de-lis in the French quarter are also firmly designed, the side lobes issuing from the stems with much freedom and grace. This was the shield which was borne in the funeral procession, as directed by the prince in his will, wherein he ordered that two destriers should be barded w T ith his arms, and that two mounted men should be armed with his arms and helmets : '' lun pur la guerre de noz armez entiers quartillez et lautre pur la paix de noz bages des plumes dostruce." The dilapidation to which the shield has been subjected by time is itself interesting as showing its structure, which is thus described by Mr. Hope : " It is of fir or some such light wood, in two pieces joined up the middle, and is slightly 128 STRUCTURE OF A SHIELD, convex. The whole is covered in the first place with white canvas. In front this is overlaid with a coating of gesso, which in turn is covered with paper, and lastly by a sheet of leather covering the surface. The field thus formed was divide d quarterly by closely twisted cord, part of which remains ; it was pro- bably gilt. The first and fourth quarters were then covered with fleurs-de-lis of embossed leather, and the second and third quarters each with theirlions passant gard- ant, or leopards as they were then called, also of embossed leather. The fleurs-de-lis ami leopards were modelled upon some composition and held down by small brads or nails. I 22. 5H11 LD OF I'KIM I JOHN 1 he fields were then ,,, M [-ham, from iii^ monu- punched all over with minim bffig\ in wesi a cruciform punch, minster abbey, circa 1334. but an interesting variation is produced by setting these diagonally in the French quarters and square in the English. Finally, the fields were painted blue and red alternally, and the fleurs-de-lis and leopards gilded." These arms, with the label for difference which is absent from the actual shield, are many times 1 29 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, repeated on the tomb itself, alternately with the arms " for peace," as also directed by the prince in his will. The latter, the " ostrich feather badge," was : sable, three ostrich feathers, two and one, argent ; each enfiled with a label inscribed with the motto Ich dien. From this bearing of ostrich feathers arises that which has become the especial badge of the Prince of Wales. Its origan in the overthrow of the King of Bohemia at the Battle of Crecy is quite discredited, and we must look elsewhere for its beoqnnin£. That it was not confined to the Black Prince is certain. It was a well established badge in his own time, for most, if not all, of his brothers bore it with various distinctions. Most probable is it, therefore, that they used them in allusion to the similar badge of their mother, Queen Philippa, just as, a little later, Richard II. used the white hart of his mother, Joan of Kent. In addition to the indication of descent, or of filial regard, there was the symbolic reason suggested by Guillim, when he says that King Stephen sometimes used as his device a plume of ostrich feathers with the motto, Vi nulla invertitur oi'do, By no force is its form altered. In thus typifying that knightly quality, steadfastness of purpose ; the feather acquired a definite meaning which singled it out as a fitting emblem for a princely wearer. Its position, firmly upright, with only such slight bend at top as avoids unnatural rigidity, seems best to express this virile idea, and therefore it is that the feather bending over, however gracefully (as it rarely is), appears weak and unsatisfactory. i t,o CREST OF THE BLACK PRINCE. Notre htaulme du leopard, as the prince calls his crested helmet, bears the Hon, or leopard, Statant, on a cap of maintenance. Less vigorously i : ;. [UPON 01 rHK BLACK PRINC1 (FRON1 VIEW). posed than the "leopards" of the arms, the crest appears as though the materials of its structure and the difficulties of its position had somewhat 1 3 i THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, cramped the artist, and deprived this part of his work of some of the qualities conspicuous in the rest. Still, when the crown, which is now gone, surmounted the head, and the tongue and other parts now injured were in their original glory of bright colour, the whole must have been of imposing effect. " The leopard,'' to again quote Mr. Hope, " is made of leather throughout, moulded to the shape of the animal, but the tail and the lower part of the legs are of canvas, with which material the seams of the leather are also covered. The whole surface is overlaid with lozenge-shaped pieces of gesso, ingeniously arranged, with smaller pieces to fill up the intervening spaces. These lozenges were stamped with a mould or die out of a thin sheet of the material, and then stuck on the leather. . . . The cap of maintenance on which the leopard stands is also made of leather, which has been covered with gesso and painted red. The turned up brim has been painted white, with large ermine spots, also on gesso." The weight of the crest is more than four pounds, and with its helmet, nearly eleven and a half pounds. This is the more remarkable as the helm does not appear to have reached and been sup- ported by the shoulders until a much later period. The armorial surcoats which, with other heraldic garments, were general in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, are worthily represented by the J upon of the Black Prince, which is also very care- fully described. It is extremely timeworn, and speaks eloquently in every threadbare and faded 1 12 SEALS. part, of the difficulty it has had to survive its em- broidered fellows. Tattered though it bc.it is still a veritable coat of arms, and affords a most in- teresting opportunity of seeing by comparison how the bearings of a modelled and painted shield were translated into embroidery. The omission of the label from the shield is puzzling, for traces of one were found on the sur- coat. and, perhaps, on the crest. Probably its absence arose from error caused by hurried pre- paration, for Mr. Hope is of opinion that all the achievements were made expressly for the funeral, or it may be that the correct shield was not ready, and one of the king's shields was used in its stead. The several Great Seals of King Edward ex- press in their ornament and shrinework the de- velopment of architectural decoration linked with heraldry ; while their evidence of the use of badges, and of the evolution of supporters there- from, forms additional points of interest. The in- creased elaboration of each seal over its successor is very marked. The first seal was comparatively simple, and was that used by Edward 1. and Edward II.. the latter having added, on each side of the throne, a castle, as the badge of his mother. Queen Eleanor of Castile. The shield of the figure on the reverse bears the lions of England, which are repeated on the bardings of his horse. To this a fleur-de-lis was added above the castle by Edward III., to similarly indicate his relation to his mother, Isabella of France. *33 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY. In the second seal, October 4th, 1327, to July 9th, 1338, the fleur-de-lis have taken the place of the Castile badge, and the figure on the reverse is clad in an armorial surcoat. His third seal, July 10th, 1338, to February 21st, 1340, is exclusively English ; the three lions of the royal arms on either side face towards the throne, and two others are beneath the king's feet. The fourth seal, February 8th, 1340, to June 20th, 1340, marks the assumption of the arms of France on the quarterly shield which hangs at each side ; and the lions that were beneath the feet are now sejant gardant beside the king. The figure on the reverse, whose helm had been crowned, now wears the royal crest, and bears on his shield and surcoat, and on the bardings of his destrier, the newly quartered arms. The succeeding seals of this series were similarly designed, the architectural details becoming successively richer until they culminated in the seventh. The sixth, which was used intermittently from June 21st, 1340, to 1374, is reproduced here, as from its excellent preser- vation it is a fine example of the seal of the period (p. 135). The ornaments and badges that were now more extensively introduced, were often admirably de- signed to support and emphasize the arms, as in the beautiful seal of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, the curving lines of the ostrich feathers, each differenced with a garter laid along the quill, give force and value to the shield within them. The badge is also a conspicuous feature in the seal of Thomas de Holland, Earl of Kent, 134 i-M. SIXTH GR1 \l .) y 01 I DWARD in. BADGES. whose shield of arms, England differenced with a bordure argent, is suspended from the neck ol a ducally gorged hind lodged in front of a tree, which was the badge of his mother, Joan of Kent. In such designs we doubtless see the beginning of the use ^( supporters, which came into vogue about this time. Badges were frequently borne by way of aug- mentation, ^^^^bi^^^ the case of Roger, Baron de la Warr, in the time ot Edward 1 1., who, having taken pri- soner John, King of France, at the Battle <»! Poictiers, was given as a badge a crampette, or chape of a sword- scabbard, and his motto four de ma r/<; alludes to that glorious daw I lis claim was not uncontested, decided in his and Sir John Pelham's favour over the claims of the other knights, a buckle. which thus became the- badge of the Pelhams, being assigned to Sir John lor his share «»t the action. In tin- coins, a-, on the seals, badges had long preceded the use of complete arms: thus, the gold florin, struck in 1252 at Florence, bears "the lily 137 T • l \i mi 1 iio\i \~ i>\ \\< »ODSTO< K. however, but was THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, of the city," a fleur-de-lis ; but in the fourteenth century heraldry was in full use in this manner. A fine example is the noble of Edward III., whereon the king, bearing a quarterly shield of his arms, is in a ship whose gunwale is decorated with lions and fleur-de-lis. This is said to allude to his naval victory off Sluys in 1340. The reverse bears a saltire terminating in Gothic foliations, from which issue badges of fleurs- de-lis, and between the limbs of the cross are lions surmounted by crowns, as an English badge. Somewhat similar to the Rolls, but less restricted in scope, were the armorials, collections of arms which were made by heralds to serve as a record of such bearings as were in acknowledged use. In these the subjects were carefully arranged in due order, the shields being sometimes placed ac- cording to rank, or else grouped under the names of their charges in what is called an ordinary of arms ; the latter method being intended as an index by which such coats as have features in common can be compared, and their differences noted. Alphabetical and other systems were also used. The Armorial de Gelre, so called from its author, Heynen, herald to successive Dues de Gueldre, may be taken as a fourteenth century example of this species of heraldic record. Heynen's first master was Due Renaud, the ally of our Edward III., whose sister, Princess Eleanor, he had married, and so we find (as quoted from Froissart by M. Victor Bouton in his excellent 138 ARMORIAl - edition of the "Armorial" 1 ) that Gelre was one of the heralds who carried King Edward's chal- lenge to Philip de Valois when the French and English armies were face to face on the field oi Buironfosse. The armorial proper is prefaced 1>\- some "poesies heraldiques" in Flemish, like the rest of the work. Of this MS. (now in the Royal Library of Brussels) some portions have been reproduced in facsimile, notably the group of Scottish arms published by the Society of Anti- quaries of Scotland, and give an excellent idea of the character of these documents. As in this instance, such collections by no means confined themselves to the heraldry of their own countries, but, as it was obviously con- venient to know the arms of a potential opponent, or, it might be, guest, as man)- as possible of the more important foreign coats were included. 1 Icre the lions are of a distinct type frequently met with in Flemish heraldry, and of decidedly inferior merit to those of the seals. Somewhat heavy and shape- less, they an in marked contrast with the firm "Wapenboeck ou Armorial de i . 17a par Gelre II raut d'Armes." Paris and Brussels, 1881. 139 1 26. 5EA1 I IF l HI (MAS DE HOI l \M'. 1 URL OF KENT. THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, design of, for instance, the Canterbury lions, or many others that are easily called to mind. As in the similar figure on the shield of John de Heere on his brass at Brussels (engraved about 1380), it would seem that the desire to cover the field was absolutely paramount, the object being fre- quently secured in a way which excluded other qualities of good design. A comparative careless- ness of execution is seen in this, as in many other painted documents, as though the extent of the work had dissipated the interest of the artist in an effort to complete it while its importance was still fresh. The fact that many are copies of originals now lost may also partly explain their comparative inferiority. Also, they were doubtless, in many instances, intended rather as diagrams by which to verify heraldic insignia than as examples of how such work could best be done. The effect of this memoranda-like design is apparent in some of the MSS. of all periods (though naturally more so during heraldic decadence than at other times), which, being done without any or with very little decorative intention, are on a distinctly lower artistic level than other work of the same date. On the other hand, the efforts to produce ex- cellence of decorative effect in architectural work were boundless, and we have such delightful results as the series of crests and badges in Westminster Hall, where the royal crest and the White Hart badge of Richard II. alternate throughout the edifice. Boutell says that every one of the harts 140 BADGES IN TAPESTRY. is treated individually, each boldly sculptured and different in some way or other from its fellow, similar variety of treatment being extended to the crests and so forth. This lavish use of badges is very noticeable in the heraldry of the sumptuous reign of Richard I [., the king himself having a great number, some of which form the appropriate frame decoration ol his portrait. Their use on furniture and hanging's is fre- NOBLl el I.IiWAKH III. quentl) referred to about this time. The Black Prince bequeaths to the church of Canterbury his hangings of ostrich feathers of black tapestry, and to his son (afterwards Richard II.) the worsted hangings embroidered with mermaids, swans with ladies" heads, and ostrich feathers. A little later. 1401, Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, gives to his son a bed of silk embroidered with bears and his arms. They were much employed as dress ornaments, and of this use many examples are .it Westminster, 141 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, for whose matchless abbey, in which he was crowned and married, the king had a very special regard. There, with unstinted pains, he raised a monument worthy of the place and of the queen to whom he was devotedly attached. On the tomb, which he also designed for his own sepulchre, his robe is as though embroidered with badges : the white hart of his mother, the sunburst of his grand- father, the broomplant of his house, and the ostrich feather, among the emblems that he held in high esteem. On the robe of the queen, Anne of Bohemia, her ostrich badge appears in a similar way. The monument was made in the king's lifetime, under his own solicitous care, the vestures of the effigies being faithfully copied from the actual garments. A fragment of the royal dress at South Ken- sington is described by Dr. Rock, and contains, beside the cognizances of his grandfather and his mother, the portrait of his dog Math. His queen also took great interest in armory, for the treatise of Francis de Foveis (one of the earliest known) is said to have been translated at her command, and emblazoned on vellum by John Dade. The importance as an heraldic bird which the ostrich had acquired is very remarkable, and by no means clearly explained. It can only be ascribed to a symbolic meaning, applied to it as a whole, which was in close sympathy with the same mode of thought which originated other emblems. The symbolism of the feather would not account for the adoption of the head or, as in the present case, of the entire bird. Probably its hard, desert-spent 142 THE OSTRICH BADGE. life, that made its very existence a continued triumph over difficulties, and induced the old belief thai it could even digest iron, may be the key to the enigma. So that when in the time of Queen Elizabeth the Earl of Leicester wore as his badge at a tourney an ostrich holding a key in its mouth, with the motto, " Spiritus durissima coquit " — " Courage overcomes difficulties " — he was adopt- ing the traditional meaning; that had been attached to it two centuries before. The church, however, sometimes ascribed quite a different meaning. St. Gregory says it is like a hypocrite, for it stretches its wings and plumage, and makes a great parade of being about to fly, but nevertheless does not leave the ground. 1 It is needless to say that it was not in this sense that it was one of the emblems of chivalry. The use of this badge by a princess of Bohemia may indeed have helped the legend which con- nected the Black Prince's badger with his victory at Crecy. As an example oi heraldry in metal work cer- tain parts of the great silver ark or shrine of St. Simeon at Zara in Dalmatia are of noteworthy interest. Supported by bronze angels above the high altar, it is said to contain the body of the Saint who held in his arms the infant Chris! at the presentation in the Temple, as is commem- orated on one of the panels. It dates from soon after the successful campaign of Louis the Great, King of Hungary, when his queen, Elizabeth, Paradin. '45 U THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, commanded certain nobles of Zara to cause a shrine to be made. They therefore employed a goldsmith of the city named Francisco d'Antonio di Milano to do the work, which he completed in the year 1380, as is recorded on the back of it. It consists of a long gable-ended coffer covered with silver plates of repousse work securely pinned in position. The arms which occupy the gables, boldly designed and executed, with well balanced masses and due regard to the lines of the decorated spaces, are evidently intended for those of Hungary and Anjou or Naples, though the latter coat is without difference. The crest is an ostrich's head between two feathers, issuing from a coronet and holding in its mouth a fer-de-cheval. On the mantling, lined with large skins of vair, are repeated the fleurs-de-lis of the arms, and at the sides are the crowned initials L.R., on a back- ground of vine-leaf scrollwork which serves the same enriching office as the diapers of the illumi- nations. The back of the ridge is adorned with a row of fleurs-de-lis very beautifully fashioned, the lines between the principal lobes terminating in leaves. The cloak-like character of the mantling shows no signs as yet of the evolution into scrollwork which was soon to begin, and the fleur-de-lis with which it is strewn illustrates the custom of powder- ing with charges or with badges, as in the monu- ment to John D'Aubygne at Norton Brise, co. Oxon, a.d. 1345, quoted by Boutell, a practice which was largely continued throughout the follow- 146 I 2Q. GABLE I >l- i ill-: '.ki m SILVER \i;k 01 /\KA, DAI M \l I \. A l>. ST. SIMM IN I 3 8o. I\ I III- < IHK( II OF THE ARK 01 ST. SIMEON, ing century. Francis I. thus bore his mantling semee-de-lis. It is a curious circumstance that these arms and crests arc identical with those ascribed by Litta to the great Ghibellin family of Eccelini da Romano. 1 A certain amount of latitude was evidently taken in depicting the Hungarian armorials, for they were sometimes represented as two bars (the form since adhered to) and sometimes as barry of four or mure pieces. The colours differed, those of Hungary being argent and gules, while those of Eccelini were or and vert. Reitstap says the crest of King Louis was a swan's head, but as he also refers to the fer-de-cheval in the mouth, he is probably wrong. It is a singular confusion, if con- fusion there be, for the Eccelini had suffered horrible and exterminating retribution a century before Having been originally placed in the Church of Sta. Maria, which so came to be called that of St. Simeon instead, the ark was removed in 1632 to its present position in the church, which was then dedicated to St. Stephano, who has been similarly supplanted. At that time it was re- paired by Benedetto Libani who somewhat re- duced its size. Although during the first half of the fifteenth century the character of the work differed in no very important degree from the preceding, it will well repay consideration for its decorative value as architectural ornament. Of this the chantry of Famiglie celebri I tali.. 1 f o THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY. Henry V. at Westminster Abbey is a very beauti- ful example, its heraldry forming a large and im- portant part of the design. The spandrils of the arched entrance are filled with shields of the royal arms supported by angels, and on the point of the arch is represented the crested helm and its flow- ing - mantling. The string course and frieze are enriched with a profusion of badges many times repeated, which form a beautiful decorative link between the tracery of the arch and the elaborate shrine-work above it. Their historic interest is obvious and important. Here, each telling its own story, are the swan badge of Henry's mother, Mary de Bohun, the chained antelope of his father, and in addition the badge which was peculiarly his own, the flaming cresset with its mystic allusion to his wild youth that matured into so splendid a manhood. He had continued the building of the abbey as his forefathers had done, and had founded chantries at Sheen and Sion ; the latter are those referred to in Shakespeare's " Henry V." " And I have built Two chantries, where the sad and solemn priests Sing still for Richard's soul." He, like the Black Prince, left express instruc- tions in his will for the ordering of his obsequies, and probably the beautiful monument over his tomb was erected very soon after his burial in November, 1422. Its heraldry is no less remarkable for the varied treatment of its details than for their admir- able disposition with regard to the general effect, and the whole, with its rich tracery of canopied iso l }o. \K\i- \M» BADGES OF iHNk\ \.. PROM HIS mwin IN u I -I min - 1 1 R xr.r.i \. CIRCA I j-\;. I 111 w\ STMINSTER MONUMEN is. niches, forms one of the most interesting works of its own, or perhaps of any other time Near by, on the tomb of Louis Robsait, Lord 131. MONUMEN1 IN WESTMINSTER \lll\ 01 LOUIS R01 LORD BOURCHIER, STANDARD-BEARER I" iil\i-:\ \. FIRS! 11 \ I l "1 1 1 1 1 I I N I 1 1 CENTURY. Bourchier, K.G., who fought with King Henry at Agincourt, where he was mad'- standard-bearer, is yet more carving of ;i larger and bolder style. The banners in high relief supported by lions 153 x THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, and falcons and the crested helm over, are excep- tionally well and clearly cut, the flat relief being remarkably deep. The sculptor evidently knew well how by 132. BANNER FROM THE TOMB OF LOUIS ROBSART, LORD BOURCHIER. adapting his subjects to their field, and to each other, to produce a most satisfactory balance ; and this is especially evident in the engrailed cross of the Bourchier coat, which (though much smaller than the seventeenth century pedant with his fixed proportions would have sanctioned) leaves ample 154 CRES1 <>l [-OUIS ROBSART, LORD BOURCHIKR. I Rl )M HIS TOMB. CARVED STONE, space tor the bold treatment of the water-bougets, while itself remaining clearly distinguishable. Great freedom is also evident in the beautiful treatment of the chaplets. It is curious to notice how scrupulously careful i | }. BANNI i: i ROM mi rOHB (H LOI IS R< IBSA1 I. LOKI» BOURI nil k. the artist has been to draw the banners in such .1 way that each represents the reverse side of its fellow on the opposite face o( the tomb, making, as it were, one banner, in spite of the intervening thickness of masonry. The method of support was largely imitated in the painted MSS. Those 157 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY. of the sixteenth century in the Heralds' College contain whole series of armorials similarly held up by single supporters. Over the monument, but too hicrh to be seen in the illustration, are a large number of small shields of arms, some of which are in the spandrils of the arcade and others in two rows above. Higher still is a course of shields and badges, the whole structure thus forming a very notable combination of heraldic forms. The decorative idea is well carried out in the arrangement of the gartered escutcheons on the panels, the position of a shield or badge in what may be called the focus of the cusped tracery around it being, moreover, one of great emphasis, and therefore well befitting a device of such significance. Of carvings in wood of this period there are many good examples in the collections at South Kensington, and of these the front of an oak coffer of French workmanship is very fine. The crowned fleurs-de-lis and the arms of France, also crowned, are very charmingly adapted to the Gothic tracery. The fleurs-de-lis, though perhaps a little wanting in grace of design, are boldly done, their surface decoration greatly helping the general ornate effect. The expansively designed crown over the shield is fine and free, and though those over the fleurs- de-lis have a tendency to confuse themselves with the tracery, the whole is certainly a notable piece of work. Another carved coffer-front in the same collec- tion, of simpler design but charmingly perfect in 158 WOOD-CARVING, its way, is also represented here. Of about the same period as the last more elaborate example, its clear and simple treatment is quite satisfactory. The monumental brasses, which had kept pace with the architecture in elaborate increase ot decora- tion, naturally resembled other monuments in their heraldry, with only such variation as was rendered necessary by difference of material. The < \R\ ED 1 K<'N ! OF A ("111 K. I kl.Ni B, I II 1 I I.N I II ( EN I IKY. figures are still more generalized by the omission ot .ill dispensable detail ; no attempt to suggest shading is visible, and the resulting flat effect is proper to the conditions under which the work was produced, and was probably not without its effect on the somewhat similar flat treatment of the MSS. The beautiful brass which formerly covered the 1 6 1 v THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, monument in St. Mary's Church, Warwick, of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who died in 1 40 1, and of his wife, Margaret, who died a few years later, is very excellent. It is here re- produced from the fine work on brasses by J. G. Waller. The arms, veritable coats, are finely proportioned, and the charges are beautified with diaper, the rounded ends of the cross-crosslets showing: that that which was later called a cross botonee was not an essentially different cross. The armorial gown and mantle of the countess are especially interesting, for while the former bears the mascles of her own family (she was a daughter of William Lord Ferrers, of Groby), it is covered, and as it were defended, by the mantle of her husband's arms. In a similar manner the sisters of the earl were represented in the windows of the choir ; such as were married having mantles of their husband's arms, one lady appearing twice in order to display the arms of her two husbands, and such as were spinsters wearing mantle and gown alike. 1 At the feet of the earl is the bear, and on various parts of his armour the ragged staff, the immemorial badges, either singly or conjoined, of his house. A very sumptuous example is the tomb of Duke John at Cleves (a.d. 1482), of which many rub- bings are at South Kensington. The whole are included in Creeny's beautiful work. 2 It is there- 1 Dugdale's " Warwickshire." 2 " Monumental Brasses of the Continent of Europe." The Rev. W. F. Creeny, M.A., F.S.A. 162 ;: xxxxxxx axxxxa jcxhxxx xx xxxxb 137. MONUMENTAL BRASS 01 tUOMAS BEAUCHAMP, i\ '• [I k. BAKU Mill IA l !l 1 I.\ l IKY. THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERALDRY, fore only necessary to reproduce a portion here as examples of the style which has served to inspire much of the modern German work. The lambrequins, flowing boldly from the helm in large curves, which well support the shield, are good examples of the deeply divided mantling of the time, and indeed are used as such to this day. Originally a plain piece of drapery depending from the helm as a protection from the weather, its heraldic value was quickly realized, and we very- early find it draped over the shield and sometimes charged with various figures, as, for instance, the mullets of John d'Aubygne in 1345. It was also frequently charged with the entire arms, and many instances of this occur in early MS., notably the Armorial de Gelre. The first definite step in the evolution of orna- ment from drapery appears to have been taken about the end of the fourteenth century, when the edges were cut into the same leaf-like serrations that were prevalent in contemporary costume, and tassels were attached to the ends. Before this period the mantling had preserved its cloak-like character, and did not lose traces of it till some time after. It then became divided into two longer and narrower pieces, one on either side of the helmet, and both edges of each were more deeply serrated than before, the larger leaves being sub-divided generally into three, and frequently charged on one side or both with badges. The principal divisions were then made to ex- tend almost through the whole length, thus divid- ing it into several main parts, and increasing its 164 1*8. BRASS lk'>M THE fOMl IN DUKE 01 i I l \ I -. 139- BRAS I HI. rOMB OF JOHN DUKE 01 < I I \ I -. EVOLXJ riON OF MANTLING. ornamental character. In the middle of the fifteenth century it was made to nearly surround the shield, and thus, becoming more and more elaborate in course of time, it ultimately became the ornate and complicated scrollwork, mantling only in name, of the sixteenth century. Thenceforward it is a frankly ornamental adjunct, whether treated as of silken stuff, as in the Coats of Arms with the Cock, and that of the 1 )eath's 1 lead of Albert Diirer, or in the more solidly depicted curves of his own coat of arms and of German heraldry in general. Always, however, with some, perhaps far away, suggestion of its parentage in its graceful flow and beautiful harmony of line. As a proof of date the mantling is, of course, evidence in one direction only, for the earlier forms continued to be used side by side with the later ones. In the artistic perception which seized on the covering of the helm and made of it a beautiful ornament inclosing the shield, or sometimes, as in the carved door at p. 171, forming an excellent surface treatment of a panel, we see an evident outcome of deliberate decorative intention, for the purely ornamental arrangement of this important sory was contemporary with the actual use of the helm drapery which suggested it. Of this a beautiful instance is in an illuminated book of romances (of the fifteenth century) in the British Museum, where in a tournament scene, which is. by the way, a wonder of miniature painting, the unshaped mantling, apparently of some thin silken material, floats lightly behind the helm of the charging knight. 169 Z CHAPTER V. THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE. ABOUT the second quarter of the fifteenth century, when the re-awakening classic art began to stir in Italy, heraldry also began to feel the new influence which, at first making for grace and beauty, was afterwards to become, in the hands of tasteless pedantry, a means of ruinous debasement. Although heraldic decoration accompanied the architecture of the early Renaissance with a har- monious effect especially visible in the Italian examples, it was at first influenced but slightly in its forms, and then rather in the direction of refinement than of actual change. Shields de- signed in this spirit, excellent in detail as well as admirably disposed as part of the scheme of decoration, abound in the churches and palaces of Florence, Naples, and Milan, among other places. Among the many beautiful proofs of the sculp- tor's genius on wall and monument the pedestal of the lion by Donatello may be taken as charac- teristic, in its heraldry, of the refined Gothic of the early Renaissance. The sejant lion, for which it formed the base, supports a shield bearing the I/O I LOREN riNE EXAMPLES, fleur-de-lis, the arms and name-type of Florence, the city in which it was erected. This emblem is repeated, within ribboned chap- 140. CUPBOARD DOOR. FRENCH, FIFTEENTH CENTURY. lets, on the panels which fill the side spaces between the pillars of the pedestal, and is <>t especial interest both as a development ol the earlier undeo » rated form, and as part of a design 1 7 1 THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE. which we shall meet with later on the English monuments. Florid treatment of this charge had begun a century before in the work of the Italian illumin- ators, but it was reserved for Donatello to give it the delicate grace so beautifully evident in the later examples. Around the frieze a series of shields, of that oval-topped variety which is one of those peculiar to Italian heraldry, bear the eagle and dragon of the Guelphs, the semee-de-lis of Charles of Anjou, the papal keys, the " lily of the city " again repeated, and others similarly significant of events in Florentine history. The lion is itself a little wanting in majesty, and is somewhat heavy, but the pedestal is evidence of a truly decorative heraldic feeling, producing a beautiful combination of old forms with new grace. The shields are derived from ancient Roman types, especially that supported by the lion, which is similar to that of Donatello's celebrated statue of St. George ; but the eagles, dragons, and so forth, are Gothic. In the glazed pottery of Lucca della Robbia (about 1450) a new style is evident in full force ; the Gothic has been cast aside as far as possible, and a frank effort at realism has taken its place with distinctly unsatisfactory results. The arms in the medallion represented at p. 175 will serve as a typical example, at the same time suggesting the different effects produced on the mind by the two modes of treatment, the conventional and the realistic, and their consequent relative excellence in a decorative sense. The lions in this instance, 172 DELLA ROBBIA WARE, from their evident intention to represent nature, challenge attention to their unnatural position, and i (:. [ERRA-COTTA MEDALLION IN DELLA ROBBIA WARE. 1 1 \! I \\, III 1 1 I M II CEM rURY. inevitably produce a sense of ludicrous incongruity that is fatal to serious design. This note of 175 THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, absurdity being absent from the older and more pattern-like style, which was suggestive rather than pictorial, enables it to adequately perform its decorative mission with the greater success in that it does not pretend to anything else. What we have called the refined Gothic con- tinued side by side with the more realistic manner, and for long predominated in the monuments. Throughout the fifteenth century it maintained its excellence ; its lions, for instance, being lithe, strong and full of life, while its more delicate de- vices had much of the beauty of Donatello's fleur- de-lis. The use of historic shields in Florentine decoration is similarly applied in the singing gallery, fashioned of white marble by Bacco d'Agnolo for the Church of Santa Maria Novella, and in the architecture of the Zecco among other edifices. The panels, carved in Istrian stone (figs. 143-4), are other fine examples of the satisfactory way in which the Italian artists of this period handled their subject. Another Italian relief, interesting for the peculiarly free, iris-like treatment of the fleurs-de-lis, is also represented here. The shield and its supporting figure are repeated at the end of the panel, the centre of which is occupied by a group of St. George slaying the dragon. The panel is finely executed in black slate, the Pietra di Lavagna, and originally adorned a palace door- way in Genoa (p. 182). Much excellent material for the study of Italian heraldry in various substances is in the collections at South Kensington : wood-carving, copies of sculpture, painted china and others. The Pavoise, 176 I43« PANE! "I ISTRIAM STONE. FROM A PALAC1 \l CESSNA. ITALIAN, ABOUT 1500. A A 144- PANE1 01 ISTRIAN 5T0ME. FROM I PALAC1 M CESENA. I I.\l IAN. kEOUl 1500. 1 l.M.I.W STONE CARVING, or tournament shield, from the Palazzo Guadagni in Florence, is an especially fine specimen. The monuments and inlaid pavements of Santa Croce I |:. PANEL in ISTRIAN STON1 FROM Nil I tSTELLO DJ IIONDOLFO. ITALIAN, -i\ I I I \ I M I I \ M in . arc also rich in heraldic work in their respective methods. The shield in the panel from the ( as- tello di Mondolfo, in the Duchy of Urbino, is of a i, Si THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, type which is characteristic of Italian work, and is sometimes compared to the chamfron or face-plate of horse armour. It is probably derived from the H/^" la * «£<£ £z ijgdV W - : _. a^t^WFr ErVj^fjSB ' , . WjKWp 1 ■si, ! > f 1^ ' ' M II r__ ^ .--Mr lf: ''^ I46. PART OF A PANEL OF BLACK SLATE. GENOESE. angular shields ot the Roman bas-reliefs, and in its great decorative value has something- of affinity to the engrailed forms of our Tudor period, with which it was contemporary. 182 14' PAVOISE I ROM mi PALAZZO GUADAGNI, I LO M \l I \n \|> II \l I FIFTEENTH CENT! I PRINTED BOOKS. In Germany the new found art of printing from movable types formed another extensive field for heraldry, an early example being the frontispiece t< > I trydenbach's Travels, printed at Mentz in 1 486. Here the heraldry, which is the principal feature ot the design, is chiefly remarkable for the small of the helmets, unusual at this period, with the resulting sense o\ weakness inevitable in such lack of proportion. The crests are large and freely drawn, especially so in the treatment of the wings. The mantling, though profuse and involved, is still of rather primitive design, the edges being simply serrated without much attempt at a gracefully drawn leaf; and the lion of the arms has some- thing of the extravagance usual in the German school. The whole, however, is distinctly decora- ti\e, and embodies some of the characteristics that intluenced later work. The early printed books abound with similar plates of the arms of princes and other patrons, as well as with the mythical devices ascribed to traditional heroes — King Arthur and Lancelot, ami Gawayne. The custom of denoting ownership by heraldic labels affixed to books also made rapid progress, and the execution of such book-plates was no small part of the engravers work of the period. In the hands of Albert Diinr and the Little Masters heraldic draughtsmanship soon attained a high degree of excellence, showing in its Style a certain affinity with that of Italy, but with strong and special characteristics of its own. Neither copying and refining the Gothic on the one hand, [ 8 q b b THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, nor paying exclusive attention to naturalism on the other, DUrer combined both methods, and while retaining the ancient spirited pose and decorative proportions, applied to the details the study of nature that the Renaissance taught. The lion on the shield of the coat of arms with the cock, already mentioned, clearly shows this. Its position is based on the traditional one, followed even in the anatomy of the feet, which have the old erroneous number of toes and are as bird-like in the claws ; but the hair and other details show the effort to use nature decoratively, as the earlier draughtsmen doubtless intended, but with completer means than they. The method has produced results obviously strong and satisfactory, and therefore teaches valuable lessons that may be made of great use in modern design. The balancing of nature and convention con- tained within itself, however, the germ of weakness, in that it was a balance depending on perfect taste for its equilibrium, and when, as the sixteenth century advanced, the naturalistic element became overpowering, deterioration of style began. The designs, which had before been characterized by simplicity of composition, became crowded and confused, the figures extravagant, and finally we lose touch, to a great extent, with the German style as a factor in English heraldry. Before Durer engraving had confined itself to outline, which was frequently filled in with colour, much as the enamel was placed within the metal outlines in the Limoges slabs. This flat treatment became modified as the art progressed, the solidity 186 THE LITTLE MASTERS. iA~ the figures was recognized, and shading and modelling were used to express it. In this change the heraldry shared, and thenceforward the en- graved heraldic charm's arc: represented in a high degree of relief, in some cases carried to excess, as when Aldegrever in the " Vices and Virtues" not only treats the bearings on flags with the greatest solidity, but even carries folds behind them, so that they seem to be in front of, rather than on their held. This practice, however, is not so evident in the painted arms of the MS. for some considerable time, as we shall see. At this period the great freedom with which the shield is drawn is very notable. The number of different shapes, some oi them very beautiful and useful, being only limited by the fancy of the designer. Curious shields with handle-like projections at the sides are in great variety in Aldegrever's works, but are generally more strange- than beautiful. The Little Masters, Virgil Solis, Cranach. Heham, fost Amman and others, used a large number of curved and voluted forms, ol great advantage in their capacity for helping the charges they bore to a harmonious arrangement. An interesting and unusual shape is that shown above. It was found under a book-plate in one 187 14S. SHIEl I' OF AKMs. i.l KM \\. -I\ I I.I.N I II 1 I NfTURY. THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE. of Luther's books in the collection of Sir Wollaston Franks. There are many points in which the German and the later Italian work resemble each other, though the latter has generally the additional grace that gives it so much distinction. Thus, the lion armed with helmet and crest, so frequent in German design, was also borne in Italy by the family of Aquaviva di Napoli and others ; while the lion and bear in the printer's mark of Antonio Gardane of Venice, in 1537, 1 might almost have been the work of a German artist. The curious square banners, which have the tops continued in long streamers, and are charged with the whole insignia of the bearer (helmet, mantling, and crest as well as arms), were also common to both countries. The effigy of Count Otto von Henneberg at South Kensington Museum bears such a flag at the head of his lance. In a similar way, the whole achievement was sometimes painted on a square shield or target, as in Plate LXIV. of Skelton's " Arms and Armour," where, also, heraldry applied to swords, partisans, glaives, and other weapons may be studied. The effect of the Renaissance on English her- aldry was felt about the beginning of the sixteenth century, and Ltibke mentions, as a characteristic fact, that the new style of Italy first asserted its sway in foreign countries on the monumental tombs. 2 From the twelfth century there was a constant 1 Yriarte's " Florence." 2 " History of Sculpture." 188 THE RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND, succession of foreign artists In England employed on architecture and sculpture. Most of them, like Torell, who carved the effigies of Henry III. and Queen Eleanor about 1290, were Italians, generally Florentines, who practised here the art which had attained a high degree of excellence in the prin- cipal cities of Italy. The English sculptors, such as those who made the crosses that marked the stopping places of Queen Eleanor's remains, could not he unaffected by the foreign influence, although in [518 we find Torregiano seeking in Elorence assistants among his own countrymen to take the places at Westminster of those with whom he was dissatisfied. Being thus in closer touch with continental art movement than the more slowly changing MSS., it is to the monuments and other architectural details that we must look for the first effects of the new style. The conclusion of the Wars of the Roses had given the country leisure to resume the practice of the arts, and the end of the fifteenth century marked the beginning of that wonderful period of intellectual effort which culminated in the many-sided glories of the Elizabethan age In this revival beautiful decoration shared to the full. The monuments, on whose making cost had never been spared, however other affairs may have suffered, now became more magnificent and the pageantry more sumptuous than before. Holbein shows us, and the chroniclers describe, King I lenry \ III. and the no less resplendent Francis I. at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, or how King Henry kept Christinas in his own court at Greenwich ; I So THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, and whether in historic ceremonial or semi-private revel we find an access of splendid colour in which heraldry bore no mean part. To this period belongs the Monumental Chapel of Henry VI I. in Westminster Abbey, an example of decorative heraldry hard indeed to parallel. Its wealth of arms, badges, and other insignia, would need a book of its own for even an attempt at adequate description. Of the keenest interest to him who was to be its occupant, we are told by Dean Stanley how the king, overcoming the parsimony which was part of his nature, resolved that his tomb, which was also to be a chantry, should be of a magnificence to compare with those of his ancestors, doubtless having in his mind that of Henry V. On the 24th of January, 1503, the first stone was laid by Abbot Islip ; and the king had died and it was well on in the reign of his successor before the whole work was finished. Its architect was Sir Reginald Bray, who also completed St. George's Chapel at Windsor, where his badge, many times repeated on the string course, signs as it were his work. And not in- appropriately was he associated with the end of his master's reign, for it was his hand that brought the crown of the dead King Richard from where it had been flung into the hawthorn bush, to be placed on Henry's head on the field of Bosworth. It was to commemorate this that a hawthorn with a crown therein became one of the royal badges, and appears as such in the stained glass of the chapel windows. The magnificent gates, with their royal crowns 190 1 }')■ BRONZ1 I IS "I III \k\ VII. S CHAPEL, WESTMINSTER VBBEY. -IX I I I \ I II i I N I URY. PART "l nil. rOMB-S i iin 01 im\i\ VII., SHOWING I HE Kn\ \l \K\I-. SIX1 I I \ I II < 1 N I I KV. HENRY SEVENTH'S CHAPEL and badges, fittingly herald the glories within, and are among the finest examples of heraldic metal work. Like the equally beautiful grille which surrounds the tomb itself, the devices are pierced 50 that the light appears through the interstices and produces a decorative effect more exactly suited to its purpose than even the most perfect bas-relief. This effect is, from their size, especially evident in the arms over the gates of this tomb screen and behind the brackets, formed of crowned Tudor roses, which held the ceremonial candles. Extending from side to side over the doors of the chapel is a course of badges — roses, tleurs-de-lis, and portcullises — alternating with demi-angels ; this decoration being continued along the sides of the chapel and, at a lower level, round the apse. In the richly traceried ceiling badges again appear, and, indeed, in every part of this marvellous build- ing". Wherever an ornament was wanted there was placed a fleur-de-lis. Wherever was a space between the points of cusped tracer)- there is a rose or a portcullis. The banners and other insignia of the Knights of the Bath, though of little artistic worth in detail, form in the mass a valuable addition. Even the occasional gleams from the stall-plates of the knights and esquires add richness to the picture, and it is only on nearer inspection that they show, like some of those at Windsor, a poverty of treatment little fitted to bear comparison with the beautx of their surroundings. The recumbent statue of the king is by Tor- regiano the Florentine sculptor, a rival even of '95 THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE. Michael Angelo, who lived many years in the abbey, and was to have stayed to carry out the ambitious designs for the tomb of Henry VIII., a work that was never begun. 151. MONUMENT OF MARGARET liEAUFORT, DUCHESS OF RICHMOND, IN T CHAPEL OF HENRY VII. SIXTEENTH CENTURY. He also executed the effigy of the mother of Henry VII., Margaret Beaufort, Duchess of Rich- mond, whose tomb is in the south aisle of the chapel. Whether or no the sculptor designed the 196 I lAl.I.W INFLUENCE. whole of the monument, it affords a fine example of the influence of the Italian Renaissance, and if not carved by him was doubtless done under his direction. The figure of the: duchess, in gilt metal, lies on the tomb which is <>t touchstone, ami 152. I'\KI <>l nil rOMB Ol MARGARE1 BEAUFORT, Dl (III 5S <'i RI< HMOND. rests her head on .1 badge-embroidered pillow; while the Lancastrian antelope is lodged at her feet At each side is a Gothic column decorated at the base with Tudor badges, and over the head a raised and crocketted canopy. The whole gives one the impression of an effort to translate into '97 THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, high relief the flat design of the brasses, carried out in refined and exquisite workmanship. The Renaissance feeling is strongly marked on the sides of the tomb, both in the ribboned wreaths and in the classic pillars between them. The shields of gilt metal show the edges of the raised stone to which they are fixed, and a band, also gilt, goes round the top of the tomb and bears the inscription composed by Erasmus. The excellence of the composition of these heraldic panels is very marked, the finely designed coronets of imposing size being in beautiful re- lation to the lines of the shields, and, if the fleurs- de-lis are a little stiff, the charges as a whole are m o satisfactorily dealt with. In the treatment of the lions the decorative arrangement of the earlier examples has been followed ; but individually they have a definite character of their own, and though somewhat wanting in extreme vigour have a supple leopard-like strength which is admirably suggested. Torregiano also made the altar over the grave of Edward VI., which thus became his monument. It was destroyed by the Puritans, but a piece of the frieze was discovered during an examination of the vaults, and is represented at p. 199 as an interesting piece of Renaissance decoration containing badges. It now forms part of the altar in front of Henry VII.'s tomb, where it was erected by Dean Stanley as near as possible to its original position. The monument of the Duchess of Richmond with its wreath-encircled shields served as a model for many subsequent tombs, the fashion, one may call it, extending into the next century. 198 - SB - - c ^ ~. < H * - < O - \ W 3 « : — — Z _ - - ■ EARLY SIGNS OF DECADENC1 , The deterioration of the heraldry in the monu- ments is already evident in the middle of the six- teenth century, of which an instance may be found on the tomb of the I hichess of Suffolk, mother of Lady Jane Grey, where the clumsy lack oi distinc- tion is very marked. The wood-carvings, linked in technique with the sculptures in stone, partook of the same influence, much of such work of the early sixteenth century being very beautifully conceived and carried out. 154. PART OF I'MK FRIEZE OF \ CHIMNEY-PIECE IN I tRVED <>\k. FRENCH, KAklN SIXTEENTH CENTURY. The walnut panel of French production, bearing the arms of a cardinal, is a fine example. Another is the very charming composition here shown, was formerly the front of a chimney-piece. It is remarkable for its perfect adaptability to its purpose as well as its general excellence ; in the supporters especially, an idea of grace i-> well conveyed in spite ot obvious faults of draughtsman ship. The escallop shells which partially surround the shield and add much to the beauty of the whole design, form the collar ot the ( )rder founded by Louis XI. to commemorate the apparition of St. Michael on the bridge of ( Orleans defending the 201 D D THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, city against the English. It was also in imitation of the founder's father, Charles VII., who, at his entrance into Rouen, bore an image of the saint on his banners. This work is a good instance of the freedom with which the early artists adapted the accessories of the shield to their needs. In the same spirit it may be considered unnecessary that a supporter should in all cases physically hold up the shield ; for when circumstances render this undesirable the idea of moral support may be considered suffi- cient for the heraldic verities. Turning to the illuminated manuscripts, we find the change of style much less evident ; the tradi- tional figures, the lions and eagles, and so forth, being as yet but slightly, if at all, affected, and the rest, though treated with great freedom, is charac- terized by a fine simplicity of effect, attained by the due suppression of all that was not essential ; and the result is direct and expressive. The arms are generally depicted in flatly filled- in outlines, and sometimes the charges, without outlines, are simply bounded by the field colour, and their parts defined by lines of the same ; but the crests and other accessories are frequently in full relief as though drawn from the round. Among the earliest examples of heraldic painting in England is a manuscript in the British Museum of the time of Henry III., where the charges are firmly outlined in black. Conversely, the charges which were themselves black were defined by white or gold lines, after the manner of the shields of champleve enamel which form a con- 202 155' WALNIT1 I\MI. FRENCH. tBOUl i coo. COLOUR TULA I MEN I spicuous part of some accommodate it to the neighbouring design, that of Queen Elizabeth of York. The Tournament Roll ol I bury VIII., also in the Heralds' College, is a magnificent example "t the class of illuminated MSS. which ileal with ceremonial. Made on the occasion of the jousts held a: Westminster i >n New War' , I ),iy, i 5 1 1 >- 1 1 . THE HERALDRY OE THE RENAISSANCE, to celebrate the birth of Prince Henry and in honour of his royal mother, Katherine of Arragon, who is alluded to in the splendid badge which begins and ends the roll. The badore is formed of the king's rose and her own pomegranate, dimi- diated and impaled together, and having at the sides the initials H. and K. attached to the rest of the device by a lacing ; such linking together with cords of the various parts of a design being very prevalent at this period. The procession to the lists, the tournament, and the return therefrom are shown in one continued progress of sumptuous pomp, and, as in some of Holbein's paintings, where many incidents are grouped together in one picture, the same persons are many times represented in the various inci- dents of the day. The habits of the knights and officers, the hangings of the royal pavilion, and the bardings of the horses are gorgeous with badges, Spanish as well as English, and everywhere appears the gold monogram of the queen. A descriptive account of this beautiful work, by Mr. Everard Green, F.S.A., is in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of May 31, 1894, and an enoravinor of it is in " Vetusta Monumenta," vol. i. Reproductions in colour of certain parts, including; Oueen Katherine's bad^e, are included in the Catalogue of the Heraldic Exhibition re- cently held by the Society at Burlington House. The naval use of armorials is plentifully shown in Holbein's painting of the embarkation of Henry VIII., whose ships with their towering castle-like 208 IMPRESSES, super-structures are gay with a great profusion of heraldry. The royal banner adorns each of the tour corners of the after deck, and around the gunwale is a close succession of royal badges, the portcullis and Tudor rose many times repeated, on ground of the king's colours, white and green. Thus arranged they form yet another instance of the continuity o( decorative ideas ; from the shield- hung gunwales of the Norsemen's ships onward. From the mastheads float great streamers of the cross of St. George, and even the boats which go between the Meet and the shore have no less than tour little badge-charged banners, one on either side of the stem and stern. The remarkable degree to which badges had superseded regular armorials in pageants and tournaments, was one of the fashions imported from Italy, where the practice of using a badge in conjunction with a motto had been adopted by the leaders in the Neapolitan war, about 1460, in place of coat armour. It was of course only in this sense that the practice was a new one. Like other Italian fashions, it was adopted with avidity in England among other countries, and continued more or less throughout the sixteenth century. Used in this manner, and known by a new name — impress, an Anglicized version of the Italian impressa badges were characterized by a greater, though more ephemeral, fancy in the expression of the sentiment of the moment ; and also by the explanatory word or sentence which accompanied them. Much complicated ingenuity was lavished on their devising, a connected idea being ^<>\u<- 209 1 1 THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, times worked out through a series of impresses ex- tending, day by day, throughout the whole period of a festivity ; until at last the sequence was completed and the full meaning made known. At the same time badges of the more permanent kind continued to be used as a fitting means of commemorating incidents without interfering with the regular fixed armorials ; thus the crowned hawthorn bush of Henry VII. has been already mentioned. The same king's portcullis was more impress-like, sometimes having the motto Altera securitas ; obviously signifying that ready strength which keeps possession sure. The favourite badge, the Tudor rose of Henry VII., is, of course, well known, and was borne in a variety of ways ; for the designer was not con- cerned to draw every line exactly as it had been done before, but while vividly preserving the dominant idea, expressed it with confident free- dom. So it appears as red and white roses one within the other ; a rose per pale gules and argent with the latter irradiated ; a rose quarterly gules and argent, and as separate roses. The salamander badge of Francis I. (also borne says Paradin, by his father, Charles Comte d'An- gouleme) had the motto : Nutrisco ct extinguo, for it was believed that the animal could live in fire, which it even extinguished by its coldness. Among other forms of this legend is that of the cavern of everlasting flames where sellat, or satin, was made by the salamanders. 1 The illustration 1 Needlework as Art. 2IO 15"- SALAMANDER BADGE 01 H<\Mb I.. KING 01 PRANCE. H<1 N< II, I \u\.\ SIXTEENTH MM i KV. 157- ARMS 01 ROKBY. ARMS OF ROKBY AND HASTINGS, is in mi a beautifully wrought contemporary carving in oak, now in South Kensington Museum. \ ery spirited execution is evident in the drawing, even in work some- what roughly done, as might be the e ise in arms drawn while a visita- tion was in progress. For instance, the rook in the arms of Rokby, recorded in the Visitation ot the North in 1530, is full of spirit, ex- pressed, moreover, with the re- markable simplicity of means which is so especially decorative. The arms of Hastings, Marl of Huntingdon, from a somewhat late MS. (temp. Kliz.) are also very fine, both as a beautifully decorative arrange- ment of curved lines and as an instance of the most complete conventionalization. The figure as its name (maunche) implies, was originally a sleeve and is so called by Drayt< >n in this very c< ►nnection. 1 •• A Lie- high-spirited Hastings won It is, therefore, of additional inter- as a figure whose transition from a representation of an actual object to a conventionally allusive pattern is clearly evident There is also in the I leralds' College a very curious book of arms iii trick, the style of which is most unusual, but is nevertheless • 1 be Barons' Wars." Book I. - ' 3 ll \-l INGS, l \KI 01 HUNTINGDON. THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, designed in a very decorative spirit (the arms of the Isle of Man, for example) and was probably a copy, with additions, of an earlier work. The % 4 -was 159. ARMS IN TRICK FROM A SIXTEENTH CENTURY MS. lions are distinctly extraordinary, such as are rampant having the throvvn-back pose of the head exaggerated to eccentricity. The guardant 214 ARMS IX TRICK, lions, both rampant and passant, arc without this peculiarity, but like the rest arc unsatisfactory in the way they fail to occupy their field ; having indeed everv appearance of being removed from their original surroundings to be placed on shields which were- not designed to contain them. So that the fault that may be said to characterize Stuart, and most subsequent, heraldry was not un- known in the decorative Tudor time. The MS. includes ,i scries of legendary arms in which the Kings of the Hept- x I archy are cheer- fully mixed up with Edward the Con- fessor thus : " The Armes of the VII Kinges that I dwelled in Inglond all at one tyme, R<»y de Northum- berland, Roy de Kent. Roy de Essex, Roy de Southsex, Roy de North folke, Roy de Marchland in lyncolnshyre ami Sent Edward Kyng the VII.," also "Sr Lawncelot de Lake and Sr Gawayne ye good Knight." Though ot varying excellence the manuscript is lull ot interesting detail, and was made between the years i 540 and 1 560. The bindings ot the ever-increasing number of hooks, which the printer-,' art had but recently made ible, soon afforded .1 fresh scope for armoury, and from the end of tin- fifteenth century then- is I [I 'V FROM -l\ ill NTH ( I \ I I l<\ MS. THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, no lack of sumptuous volumes in whose decora- tions it took a very prominent part. The earlier examples are executed in what is called blind- stamping, i.e. without gilding, and generally on calf; but the introduction of gilding and colour soon led to the splendours which succeeded. The cover represented on p. 2 1 7 is blind-stamped, in the shape of a panel, containing the arms and sup- porters of Henry VIII. in the upper part, and in the lower a Tudor rose, which in this instance is triple, is surrounded by a motto on a circular scroll supported by angels, and below is the pomegranate of Arragon. Beneath the arms is the Garter, ex- tended horizontally between the two halves of the panel. The border is ornamented with portcullises and fleurs-de-lis, and near the centre of the design the binder's mark is on small escutcheons. This fine example of its kind is in the possession of Durham Cathedral. A very similar panel is part of the design on a volume of historical papers in the Stowe MSS., and is described and illustrated by Mr. W. T. Fletcher, in his fine work on the English bookbinding in the British Museum, who says it was the work of John Reynes. The com- panion panel contains a coat-of-arms compounded of the instruments of the Passion, a not uncommon device of the time. A very distinctive method of book-decoration soon made its appearance in the form of needle- work bindings, which afford some of the best instances of embroidered heraldry. One of these is the " Petrarcha," printed in Venice in 1544, but bound in England. It is of purple velvet, de- 216 tyM iv'iuWV.j'A'S^ 161. njooR bookcovi r in the library 01 Durham ( \ nil DRA1 . 1 1 I'U. II I'l IR\KUI\. EMBROIDER! :> B I >k < OVER. < I NTURY. - 1 \ ll I \ l 1 1 EMBROIDERY, corated with the arms and supporters ol Queen Katherine Parr, worked in silk and gold thread. "They were first worked in some material, most likely linen." says Mr. Fletcher, " while the orna- mental tracing; surrounding them consists of gold cord sewed on the velvet itself." No doubt many such works were done by ladies who were themselves interested by ties of blood or affection in the armorials they depicted with so much pains and skill. Embroidery, especially as a means of expressing honourable achievement, was always regarded as a fitting occupation lor gentle fingers, even from before the time ol the noble .Elfleda, who, with her women, thus recorded the deeds of her husband Brithnoth, the gallant Northumbrian antagonist of the Danes. 1 In the sixteenth century, a similar feeling found expres- si< >n in the working of armorials; and this considera- tion gives an added and personal interest to work well worth)' of admiration on its own account. Both Queen Mary and her royal sister were accomplished needlewomen, to whom the making of embroider) - was a recreation or a solace, and many of the embroideries which are a remarkable feature of the bookbindings ol the period are said to be the work of Queen Elizabeth's needle. It is also said that Tasso had a book embroidered for him by Leonora d'Esfc , A splendid work of this description is the sump- tuous " Tres ample Description de torte la terre Dr. Rock. \ llework a> Art." 22 I THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE. Saincte," by Martin de Brion, among the Royal MSS. in the British Museum. In this, the dedica- tion copy to Henry VIII., coloured silk, gold thread and seed pearls, unite in producing a work remarkable, even among the exquisite embroideries which are always so delightful a form of decorative art. The design, whose excellence is obvious, is worked on crimson velvet, and in each corner is a single rose of red satin worked with gold thread. A contemporary embroidery, into whose design badges largely enter, decorates a pair of leather gloves which were given by Henry VIII. to Sir Anthony Denny, Knight and Privy Councillor, who was afterwards his executor. The eauntlets are covered with white satin, the embroidery is in coloured silk enriched with seed pearls, gold thread and spangles, and the trimming is of gold and silver lace. Each of the three panels into which the design is divided is filled with a rose or thistle badge, each surmounted by a crown. The thistles suggest that the gloves were not made for the especial purpose of a gift by the king to his friend, but may have originally come from the Court of his sister Queen Margaret. Unless, per- chance, they had at first been designed as a present to Scotland in some connection with the marriage of the Tudor Princess to the Scottish Kincr. The gold tooling which was introduced into bookbinding about the beginning of the sixteenth century soon attained a high degree of excellence, and became thenceforward the most usual form of decoration. A fine instance is the book in the British Museum, which formerly belonged to 22 2 ARMS «'l HENRY VIII. On .1 copy with embroidered binding of " Description de toote It ncte," by Martin de Hri.. n [Royal Mss. Brit. Mr - Z - Z - - p >< — BOOKBINDING. Francis I., on which is the crowned shield of France within the collar of St. Michael, with the salamander badge below. This is one of the illus- trations to Mr. Fletchers monograph on " French Bookbinding" in the Portfolio. The " Libanius," of considerably later date, is also very fine. Its design, stamped in gold on olive morocco, consists of the arms of France and Navarre on two shields placed side by side, and sur- rounded by the collars of the Orders of St. Michael and the Saint-Esprit. The crowned badge and monogram of Henry IV. decorate the margin, and the king's initials also appear on the intersection of the laurel branches below the escutcheons. This excellent binding was reproduced in the catalogue of the late Exhibition of Bookbindings at the Burlington Fine Arts Club. Also included in that exhibition was the Hook of Common Prayer, 1631, which belonged to Charles, Prince of Wales, afterwards King Charles I. A good specimen of the Knglish embroidered binding of its date, it suggests something of the coarseness in drawing which was making itself apparent in heraldry at that time, but is, nevertheless, a v< r\ fine piece of decoration. It is executed in silver thread on blue velvet, and is in the collection of her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle. Although at the end of the sixteenth centun sign-, were not wanting of the decadence in heraldic art which became so marked in the following period, shields and other insignia continued to be largely used for decoration, especially on friezes and spaces which, in a similar manner, lent themselves to 22^ <; 1. THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, ornamental repetition, in this way producing a general decorative effect of which the component parts were, nevertheless, poor in design. On the monument which marks the grave of Queen Elizabeth, and her sister, Queen Mary, in the north aisle of Henry VII. 's chapel, the frieze which surrounds it, and is continued under the vaulted canopy, is occupied by a large number of impaled shields, and round the base are larger shields of Ireland, Wales, Chester and Cornwall. These have doubtless been many times repainted, but their original appearance may be inferred from the achievements which on the sides of the canopy are modelled in relief. On one side the arms and supporters of Queen Elizabeth, and on the other those of her successor, James I., by whose com- mand the work was done. 1 Of about the same period, or perhaps a little later, is the monumental tomb of Margaret Lennox, grandmother of James I., in the south aisle of the chapel. Its shield is in the full Renaissance style, with all the weakness of form and want of balance in distribution that are among its worst faults, but the very spirited treatment evident in the mutilated supporter is in vivid contrast with that of the feeble lion in the arms, and somewhat redeems the design. Another example of the early seventeenth century is the tomb built by Thomas Cecil, ist Earl of Exeter, who died in 1622, in which Torregiano's method of design, as exemplified in the tomb of the 1 See " Vetusta Monumenta," vol. iii., fo. 18. 226 164. ARMORIALS OR IM1 TOMB "I LADY IIARCAR1 1 U I\ WESTMINSTER ABBEY. EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. M,;. CRES1 (K.)\i rHE TOMB Ol rHOMAS CECIL, EAR1 01 KXETER, K G. l \Kl N SEVENTEENTH CI MTURY. l66. CRES1 I ROW I HI TOMB 01 i HOM IS CECIL, EAR1 01 l \l 11 EL K.G. I mi 1 SEVENTEENTH CEN1 URY. rOMB OF THOMAS CECIL. Duchess of Beaufort, is to some extent followed ; as it was in many other works. The panels are !<>;. GARTERED SHIELD KK<>\1 THE MONUMEN1 "l [UOMAS II. EAR1 "l EXETER, K.G., IN WESTMINSTER IBBEY. similarly divided by pilasters and decorated with shields of arms, but there the likeness ends ; for the ii ii THE HERALDRY OF THE RENAISSANCE, lions are lacking in character, the charges generally are too small, and the whole effect is weaker. The tendency to decrease the size of charges in proportion to their field becomes very marked about this time. In a similar way the crests at the feet of the effigies are also unsatisfactory, for though the garb of wheat has something of the beautiful simplicity of the earlier work, the lions again are equally without dignity or spirit. The best part of the whole heraldic decoration is undoubtedly the let- tering of the garter around the arms, whose shield is of the shape which afterwards developed into the hideous eared form that is still sometimes used. The recumbent figure of the earl is accompanied by that of his first wife, Dorothy Neville, who died in 1 608. Space was left for his second wife, Frances Brydges, but it has remained vacant, for, says Dean Stanley, she refused to have her effigy placed there, and when she died, forty years after her husband, was buried at Windsor. The period of good heraldry may be considered to have ended in England with the sixteenth cen- tury, and thenceforward throughout the eighteenth and a great part of the present century there are few examples of really satisfactory treatment. 234 CHAPTER VI. THE DECADENCE OF HERALDRY. DURING the Commonwealth little heraldry was clone, and much that existed was de- stroyed. Some monuments, such as the tomb of Edward VI., known as Torregiano's altar, were the victims of religious animosity, and much de- struction was thus wrought in stained glass and other heraldry which was involved in the same ruin with tin,- images ot saints. Also the very personal and representative quality of armorials made them obvious marks for vindictive attack. Many instances occur in the wood-carvings of arms deliberately hacked out of their places .mi chimney-piece or panel, while the merely orna- mental accompaniments were spared, and similar cases of mutilation could be multiplied. With the Restoration heraldry naturally became again conspicuous, with the worst form of the Renaissance character in full sway, the last vestiges of the Gothic having disappeared. Indeed, the contempt with which the superseded style Was n guarded amounted to fanaticism, and explains, in a measure, how so much of good could be relin- quished in favour of so weak a successor. Thus - 3 5 THE DECADENCE OF HERALDRY. Evelyn, quoted with approval by Sir Christopher Wren, in his " Parentalia," says of the Gothic style in architecture, that the " Goths and Vandals having demolished the Greek and Roman archi- tecture, introduced in its stead a certain fantastical and licentious manner of building which we have since called the modern Gothic!" and this seems a hard saying in these days. The effect on heraldic form and composition was disastrous. The decorative possibilities of charges were generally ignored; they were no longer suitably adapted to their surroundings, but whether the space occupied were round or square, pointed or obtuse, the same feeble figure served for all. A deplorable lack of taste conduced to make each work worse than its predecessor, and even the beautiful fleur-de-lis of the early Italian Renaissance became vulgarized into ugliness. Derived from a naturalistic idea, the animals were not even na- tural ; and a new convention simply took the place of an older and better one. Thenceforward seventeenth century Renaissance became the re- cognized style, and was doubtless quoted in its youth, as it has many times been in its decrepi- tude, against those, if such there were, who pre- ferred a method which could orive a reason for its composition. The book-plates of the period give some idea of the depths to which heraldic art had descended. That of the great collector, Ralph Sheldon of Beoley, to whom the Heralds' College owes many interesting possessions, is one of the most glaringly ill-designed arrangements it is possible to find, 236 si.\ I.N I I.IN III i I.N rURY HERALDRY . with its ludicrous lions feebly paddling about in company with an equally futile dragon. The plate of our old friend Samuel Pepys, of about the same time (16S0), which is reproduced in Mr. Egerton Castle's " English Book-plates," Bl M 'k-l'l \ I K ( <\ K \l I'll -HI I l» 'V p. 53, is hard to beat for pure ugliness unmitigated by any one j^ood point. Another is that of William Musgrave, M.D., whose arms impale those ot Speke. In the plate, dated i 7", >, the helmet is, as usual then and since. insignificantly small, the mantling confused, the name tablet weak and scrabblv; and, worst of all, THE DECADENCE OF HERALDRY. the double-headed eagle, symbol of imperial power! appears like a partially plucked fowl of abnormal species. Examples could be multiplied indefinitely, but these will suffice as object-lessons in what to avoid. All the heraldry, however, was not quite so bad as this, and there are a few works of the period which are on a higher level. The work of Richard Wallis, citizen and arms painter of London, whose plates of the armorials of the City Companies were published under the title of " London's Armory," in 1677, and sold at " his shop against ye Royall Exchange," is perhaps the finest of its kind. Although the designs are over-elaborated and heavy, and have the faults of proportion which are apparently inherent in the style, they are some- times drawn with great power, as in the inter- twining dragons of the illustration. The work was probably engraved after drawings by Wallis, for the plate of the royal arms is signed with the initials " W. V.," as those of the engraver. Taking this as an example of the more pre- tentious work of the time, it really shows how much heraldry had degenerated. The effort to produce something exceptionally good is very apparent, but the general result is a sense of confused crowd- ing of mantling, figures, and other objects round the shield, in a way that is crudely fanciful but without restraint or grace. Thus the Musicians' Company have their arms supported by musical instruments appearing in great number from behind the shield. The voluminous mantlings, which are attached to the disproportionately small helmets, in some cases SmnuM Pepys of 2 rarnpwn in Ihin&rytonsfa Ijtf. Secretary oftfe Mmiralii/U) hu Aa&Kbuj ".harLes the Second -.Descended ofy ' axhentfamuu cfPepi/f cfCaazitkam in Cam&riBjsAix* " BOOK-PLATi "i SAMUE1 PKPYS. THE DECADENCE OF HERALDRY, make attempt at original treatment by splitting up into narrow angular ribbons, spikely unsatisfactory. In the arms of the Clerks' Company the fleur- de-lis is an excellent proof of the quality of the methods in vogue. The form is evidently derived from that of the Italian cinque-cento, but all the 170. BOOK-PLATE OF WILLIAM MUSGRAVE. feeling and grace are gone, and it is almost as coarse as the even more lumpy figure that suc- ceeded it. The work also shows another step downwards, when the idea of symbolism, being to a great extent lost or dispraised as part of the despised Gothic, an effort at pictorial representation of incidents, 240 DECLINE OF SYMB< ILISM. followed the attempted natural treatment of form. So in the arms of the " Mines Royall " is a miner working in a mine with a candle stuck in the pit wall behind him, all complete, instead of the pick which at an earlier time would have conveyed the same meaning in a more satisfactory way. Again, the Gardeners' Company has a man digging, instead of a symbolic spade. With every wish to remain guiltless of the 171. part "i nil. niii I'M. i "i "London's armory." 1677. artistic bigotr) which can see no good outside a particular style <»r period, one cannot help feeling a certain animus against the seventeenth century form of the Renaissance. It so deliberately ignored, with Mich smug self-satisfaction, all that was good in the pre-Renaissance work, and went on producing clumsily feeble ugliness with the irritating air of doing great things; while in so doing it infected heraldr) for a century and more. The additional heraldic rules which during the previous century had been formulated wire now 241 1 1 THE DECADENCE OF HERALDRY, still further multiplied, and a number of pedantic restrictions were devised, many of which one half suspects were for the purpose of enhancing the learning of their authors in comparison with the ignorance of the uninstructed. The effect of some of these rules on heraldic composition was, and is, most absurd. Formerly the helmets were disposed with the primary object of displaying- their crests in the most effective way, but towards the end of the sixteenth century attempts to denote rank were begun, and ultimately, after various changes of system, it was definitely settled and ordained at the end of the seventeenth century that the helmet should be posed according to the degree of its owner. The crest, however, remained unmoved in all the twisting of its support, and a full-faced helm had, and has, its crest across, as though looking over its bearer's shoulders instead of facing the adversary as the old crests did. The consequent ludicrous effect is especially emphatic when solid carving is used, as in the crests of the Knights of the Garter at Windsor, or of the Bath at West- minster, whose faults of detail so much detract from the decorative value of the insignia as a whole. The glorious associations of historic edifices ne- cessarily making such imperfections additionally painful. At the same time the hinged helmet took the place of the more boldly formed tilting helm, and the position of its visor, open or closed, was made to distinguish a knight's armorials from those of an esquire. The want of some distinction in this case, caused by the absence of any other mark of 242 POSE OF HELMET. rank, appears the only excuse for an objectionable system, and even this difficulty might well have been met in a better way. In other cases the coronets of peers and the badges of baronets answer every purpose in this connection, and therefore there seems no reason why the inco- herence involved in a helmet and its crest looking different ways should not be avoided. The whole practice is a conspicuous example of those charac- teristics of a tasteless period, complication and redundance. The practice of using lines to indicate tincture which became general towards the middle of the century had been in some measure foreshadowed 1>\ endeavours to distinguish one portion of a parti-coloured field from the other by means of a tint composed of lines, and even to give greater weight to simple charges and ordinaries by the same means. The " Indice Armorial" of Geliot, , contains many instances where the blazons show that no particular colour was intended. Amon^- others a gyronnycoat in which the spaces .ire made light and dark alternately by means of lines radiating from the centre of the shield. Such use of a tint which does not denote tincture may be very Useful, but has of course been rendered more difficult, though not impossible. At the beginning of the century coronets, which had formerly been decorated circlets worn as marks of general rank by the higher nobles, had come to be distinguished one from another accord- ing to the various decrees, and have so remained with but little alteration. The ermine-lined cap J 1 3 THE DECADENCE OF HERALDRY, which is sometimes represented, and is now always part of the actual coronet of a peer, may have originated in a cap of maintenance, being sur- rounded by the coronet, for in several early ex- amples the turned-up fur lies flatly on the circlet which it covers to a considerable height. The low level to which heraldry had descended, a natural consequence of the prevalent want of decorative taste, was broken but slightly from the end of the seventeenth century until the time of the Gothic revival in the present one. A monotonous succession of uninteresting productions showing alike the ignorance of the public, and the indif- ference of the artist. It has been found possible to identify but few of the heraldic works of Hogarth, although he began life as an engraver of arms, about 1720, but such as are known show no attempt to improve on the general style of the period. Among his known works are a sketch design of arms, crest, and supporters for the Foundling Hospital with the consequent engraving, and an engraving of the arms and supporters of the Duchess of Kendal, which was probably meant for a book-plate. A design for a book-plate for George Lambert, the herald painter, is also referred to, but none of them call for special remark. Later in the century, soon after 1760, Bartolozzi and Cipriani carried on the succession of Florentine artists who practised their art in England, but, un- like their distinguished predecessors, their influence on heraldic decoration was practically nil. For, elegant and charming as are the graces and 244 bar roi OZZI. amorini which formed an important part of their designs, the heraldry was no better than that of their contemporaries, if, indeed, it was as good. There may, however, have been some contributions ■':> .»•' TOSTEM r/\ JTFEJBAK 172. W EIGHTEENTH CENTUR\ BOOK-PLATE. B\ BARTOLOZZI. to the improved grace of the mantling which, based to some extent on the acanthus-leaf ornament. was superseding the heavier form. A sufficient example is the book-plate engraved by Hartolozzi for Sir Foster Cunliffe, Dan., where beautiful amorini, delightfully drawn, support a -45 THE DECADENCE OF HERALDRY, shield whose bearings are treated badly beyond description. The fact that the baronet's badge is a personal addition to a pre-existing shield is quite ignored, and the attempt to emphasize it by depressing the conies in order to make room, merely results in emptiness. One may almost wonder, vaguely, if the conies, " who are a feeble folk," may not have specially influenced the execution. The heraldry of English book-plates has always, until quite modern times, been their weak point, for such marks of ownership were not used here until a time when the decadence was in full effect, as a consequence of the renaissance which in England appears to have been more a fashion than a belief, and the outcome of a blind desire for change rather than an effort to find decorative beauty in new ways. The illuminated arms of the Pedigree Rolls and other documents is chiefly characterized by the high and smooth finish which has always been a marked feature of work on vellum, but is, of course, unable to compensate for the absence of stronger qualities. The mantlings were often treated with much grace and flow, but were generally designed in too small a manner. The parts are sometimes well done where too little attention seems to have been paid to the general effect, and while the acanthus-like leaves and flutings are beautifully rendered, the structure and flow of the whole is less satisfactory. In addition, the comparative disproportion of the helmet in relation to the shield, and of the charges to the space at disposal, 246 BARTOLOZZI. combined to produce a result far removed from the Strength and completeness of the earlier work. Among the artists of recent times, Samuel [reton, his pupil W. E. Eve, and the now living Mr. Manley, among others, did much careful work, full of knowledge and of a miniature-like finish, very beautiful in its way, but full also of that effort to reproduce the details of figures rather than their spirit which, as well as the lack of decorative proportion, was characteristic of the style that (had become obligator)-. The plates in Burke's " Heraldic Illustrations" arc from drawings by [reton, and may be taken to represent the style. Of the average book-plate in what Mr. Egerton Castle aptly calls the " Modern die-sinker style," ' i as of the other work of the ordinar\- heraldic shop- keeper, nothing need be said. Indeed, criticism is impossible. A returning regard for the earlier excellencies had already begun, whose results were produced side by side with the work of the later Renaissance , style, which they are at last superseding in general | use, as they have long done in special cases. i ■• English Book-plates." -4 7 glass about 1812. CHAPTER VII. THE REVIVAL. THE great change in taste with regard to architecture and decoration which marked the early years of the century culminated in the triumph of the Gothic revival which was to bring a re-vivified heraldry in its train. Among the first to return to the study of really decorative heraldry, and to apply it, was Thomas Williment, F.S.A., who began his work in stained Among the more important of his productions, of which he did a laro^e number during the first half of the century, are the windows of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, where the various royal shields and badges are treated in a manner not unworthy of the earlier de- coration of that magnificent fane. His great regard for heraldry, as well as his untiring industry, were evi- dent when, availing himself of the scaffolding used in the restoration of the chapel, he made a catalogue 248 173 ARMS FROM THE HOUSES OF PARLIA- MENT. BY PUGIN. 174- ARMS PROM THE HOUSES OF PARLIA- MENT. BY PUGIN. PUGIN. of the arms and badges with which it is so pro- fusely decorated. He published this very useful work in i S44. " Regal Heraldry" is also among the more important of his contri- butions to heraldic literature. The armorial windows in the Great Hall of Hampton Court Palace, showing the royal descent of each of the queens of Henry VIII., are also amoiiir his finest efforts, and, equally with those at Windsor, show how well he had studied the Tudor work. Almost contemporary with Williment, and at least as keenly interested as he, was a greater per- sonality — Augustus Welby Pugin — who was fur- thering the revival of good heraldic treatment as an in- timate part of the Gothic architecture for which he worked so strenuously. Proofs of his love for the early work, and of his skill in reproducing it. are nowhere t^Sfe^SO-^t ,J mor<- richly evident than in M^h^^^'V*^'-'^ the Houses of Parliament, v for whose decorative details he was largely responsible. The neighbouring Chapel of Henry VII. has here furnished him with material for his purpose, and its frieze, composed of demi- 240 K K / 3 ARMS 1 ROM I 111 HOUSES OP PARLIA- MENT. BY I'll, in. THE REVIVAL. angels with badges, has served as a model for the embellishment of the lobby of the House of Com- mons, as well as of St. Stephen's Hall. The royal arms on the throne, and the arms and badges which form a large portion of the decoration, both within and without, are very satisfactory examples of the modern use of ancient forms. In spite of this new excellence, and of the delighted approval which it elicited from dis- tinguished critics, the influence of the revival on heraldry at large, was much less than might have been expected, and for long the " established " or popular style was generally insisted upon as it is in some measure to this day. Of course, the influences which tend to perpetuate any style, affect a bad as much as a good one, and a want of knowledge or taste in the patron is reflected in the work. This is especially so when, and because, good work is costly, as it must needs be. More recently the fine work of the late Dom. Anselm has produced a marked effect. The de- corative quality of his illustrations to the " Peerage and Baronetage," edited by Mr. Joseph Foster in 1 880- 1 -2, was immediately recognized, and his work was thus brought to the notice of a far larger circle than that which had before known and valued it. Working with much of the patient thoroughness of his monkish predecessors, he was not content to copy the mere forms of his art, but succeeded in infusing some of the true spirit of the earlier artist into what was largely his own. His simplicity of means, as well in colour as in black and white, suggest that he had studied the 250 arms of CAKDIKA1 STAMPEKDIS, BV DOM. ANSELM. tampcnDt^ DOM. ANSELM. enamelled shields of the fourteenth century, and had recognized the ornamental value of their method. Originally a glass painter, he was fortunate in meeting with sympathetic help from some of those who, actuated by a sincere regard for artistic excellence, were most keenly interested m& 1 j; ^ nil •7"- DETAl HI ARMORIAL DECORATIONS "i TH1 HOUSES "I PARLIAMENT. i:\ it.. in. in worthy heraldic treatment. By these he was directed to ea> () d examples, and how well he- availed himself of his opportunities is abundantly evident. His work in colour is her.- exemplified in the arms of Cardinal Wolsey, one of a series of arms of English Cardinals in the possession of Mr. W. II. Weldon, Norroy King of Arms, by whose kind 251 THE REVIVAL. permission it is here reproduced. In this, as in most of Dom. Anselm's colour-work, it is remark- able how completely he has discarded the strong outline to which the leads of stained glass so obviously tend. In addition to its artistic value the work is an excellent example of how armorials were, and are, allusively compounded. This has been fully dealt with by Mr. Everard Green in his admirable article on the Resurrection of Heraldry, 1 wherein he points out that here we see "the sable shield and cross engrailed of the Uffords, Earls of Suffolk ; in the azure leopards' faces those of the coat of De la Pole, Earls of Suffolk ; in the purple lion, the badge of Pope Leo X. ; in the rose, the Lancas- trian sympathies of the builder of Cardinal's College (Christ Church), Oxford ; and in the choughs, the reputed or assigned arms of St. Thomas of Canter- bury — argent, three choughs proper." " Thus in the cardinal's coat we see his county and its history {i.e. its two earldoms), his religion and his politics, his Christian name and his patron saint." In a similar way, the arms at first devised for Cardinal's College had, on the chief, charges which alluded to the other ecclesiastical dignities which the founder had held. The complete arms of Wolsey as here given are those now used by Christ Church College in his memory. It is noteworthy that the arms forming the official impalement with the archbishop's personal 1 "The Nineteenth Century," June, 1896. 252 \k\t- 'U CARDINAI l-.AIiiN, nv i„,\i. ANsHM. INSIGNIA OF ARCHBISHOPS. coat are those usually ascribed to the Archi- episcopal See of Canterbury, and an interesting point arises in this connection. The pall and eross were impaled by Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin, as well as of Canterbury, and, as in the present instance, of York. This extensive use of practically identical coats, for the differences are too slight to constitute essential distinction, and the fact that these arms were sometimes impaled with the keys and crown, now regarded as the arms of the see, as well as with archbishops' personal coats, points to some exceptional kind of usage. The evidence bearing on this question has been very completely considered by Mr. Everard Green, who has arrived at the opinion that the so-called arms were not arms at all, in any ordinary sense, but were the " insignia of an archbishop" as one who had received the pallium, and not the arms of any particular See. With regard to the manner in which we shall work now and in the future, there will naturally be many and various opinions. One thing, however, is essential if heraldic art is to be other than mere unintelligent repetition. Heraldry must be treated with the same consideration for the ordinary principles of good design that would be applied to any other species of composition. It has too frequently been the custom to regard heraldry as something of so profoundly mysterious a nature, that — to paraphrase what was well said of etching by Hamerton — it was thought to excuse poverty of intention, ignorant drawing, and incoherent composition. Small wonder, then, that when it by 253 THE REVIVAL. chance found itself in juxtaposition to good decora- tion, its own poverty was manifest. Every form of art has, naturally, peculiarities which more or less control its technique, and heraldry no less than others ; but that is all. Artistic weakness is no less weak because it is heraldic. So long as the essentials of armory are accurately given, the method of their setting forth may well be trusted to the taste of the artist, to worthily handle the subjects in accordance with the dictates of his Own personality. He should be free, within the necessary forms of order, in every respect, and none should say " this is wrong because its style is not my style" or '! that is right because I like it." Heraldry, in short, should be subject to the same sane methods of criticism as ought to be applied to other forms of design. Even when we, rightly or wrongly, fail to approve of a given work, it is still permissible to gratefully welcome a sincere attempt to grapple with difficulties by any reason- able means that make for a consistent result. Whether it be thought well to follow the lines of mediaeval work in form, as well as in spirit, and this may sometimes be a valuable link in the sequence of ideas, or whether the greater freedom of more purely original design be attempted, the result of sincere effort may be considered equally worthy of consideration on its merits. Thus within the laws of the science of heraldry, which prevent confusion, and to that extent must be scrupulously observed, the greatest freedom for heraldry as art is fortunately possible. If an original method of expression be preferred, 254 MODERN DESIGN. as it well may be, it must obviously follow a careful and comprehensive study of past efforts. So if we wish to depict a suit of armour, whether by copying a real suit, or by designing - a new one, we must ascertain how the real thing was evolved, the manner of its structure, and the scope of its movement, before we can pretend to a satisfactory conclusion. Possibly, after we have thought out .1 particularly satisfying armour, we shall find that the great old workers of the middle ages have anticipated us after the manner of their vigorous kind, but in any case we shall be on obviously right lines. If it were desirable, or possible, to suggest rules for heraldic design, they would be rather of the nature of specified aims than inflexible directions. It would be sufficient to say, for instance, that the device should well cover its field ; the degree of balance between meagreness on the one hand, and crowding on the other, being left to the capacity of the executant. Certainly the necessities of each case should be thought out on their merits. Thus diaper and colour lines should be used or not as circumstances make desirable, and not merely in accordance with a hard and last rule. Lines indicating tincture, if used at all, should be rather as a tint than as distinctly evident bars, and when the method of the work (strong line, lor instance-) does not permit of their use in this manner, the)- had better be omitted. Otherwise, in accordance with the well-known fact that the eye naturally follows lines to their conclusion, which tendency is emphasized - 5 5 THE REVIVAL. in the case of re-duplicated and parallel lines, the effect is to dissipate the attention, and impair the unity of the design. Whether or no colour lines are used, sable may, if necessary, be shown as solid black, as was customary in the early wood engravings. As we have seen, diapers may be usefully employed in surface decoration and even, as curved lines which emphasize the objects they inclose, maybe made to accentuate the chief points of a coat-of-arms. • The enriching effect of diaper in stained glass, sculpture, and many other modes of heraldic ex- pression is evident, while in stencils it may serve the additional and useful office of forming the necessary ties. Breadth is certainly a quality to be striven for, since hardly anything detracts so much from vigorous decorative effect as a niggling regard for unimportant detail. On the other hand, essential characteristics, strongly seized and simply expressed, will vividly interpret the form dealt with, and make it suitable to harmonious embodi- ment in decorative design. The freedom possible in treating form is also as applicable to colour, and the specified tinctures being, of course, used, their quality and consequent harmony may properly become the concern of the artist. The crude reds and staring blues, that are ignorantly called heraldic, may be modified in tone or broken up by diaper with charming effect. The degree of finish to which a work is carried is quite subordinate to clear conception and due regard to harmony of line, just proportion and 256 MODERN DESIGN. balance. Without these, no amount of paint or labour will make the work other than unconvincing and futile. Much that has been said is perhaps the mere commonplace of design, but what would be truisms if applied to art generally must find, in the present connection, their excuse in their apparent necessity. Much also necessarily depends on the knowledge and taste of those for whom works are done ; for the thought and skill of the artist will be of little permanent avail in the absence of that instructed appreciation which brings encouragement and reward. Too often those who pay the piper have exercised their right of calling the tune in complete disregard of what constitutes < >K I'l \ I » BY w. k. wis i R. INDKX. aethy, arms of, 1 5. • It- Cimai, slab of, 102. rever, 1 1., 187. nder of Abingdon, 12:. Allcrion. 37. Animals, in heraldry, 5$. Anion. Count of, slab of. 97. Anne of Bohemia, 142. Anselm, Dom., 5, 205, 250, 262. Antelope, ;;. Aquaviva di N'apoli, 188. shir II., coin of. 7S, 79. .. 10 Argyll, Duke of, Amies a enquerre, 28. Ann-, right to, 7 ; of office. 47 ; of « omen, 4" Ann- in trick, 2 13, 214. Armorial de Gelre, 138, 104. Armorial bearings, origin of, 66. Armorial-. Of, his behnet ami a 119, Arundel, Ralph de. arms Astronomical figures in heraldry, Augmentations of honour, 5^, .11. 12. Bacco d'Agnolo, 1 ~ . es, 63, 1 yj : on teals, 134 : : / 3 on coins, 137 ; in architecture and tape-try, etc., 140. 141 ; supersede regular armorial-. 209. Bar, Bar < remelle, 14. Barry, 20, 21. Bartolozzi, 244, 243. Base, 10. Bassingburne, arms of, 20. Baton, 14. Beaufort, Margaret, Duche-- ol Richmond, tomb of, 196-198, Bend, 13, 14. Bendlet, 15- Bendy, 20, 22. Bindings, heraldic, 215, et stg. ; embroidered, 216, 21 1. Bishops, aim- of, 47. Blazon, -•;. Bohun, Mary de, 150. Hook-plates of the Restoration period, 236, et teg. ; by Barto- lozzi, 245 ; modern. Bordun Bourchier, Louis Robsart, Lord. tomb of, 153-157. t, 105, l6l Sir Reginald, 190. Martin de, MS. with em- broidered 1 over, 222. Brotherton, Thomas of, 54. " Brydenbai h's 1 1.1 • • 53- N N INDEX. Bures, Sir Robert de, brass of, 102, 105. Burke's " Heraldic Illustrations," 247. Burlington Fine Arts Club, book-plate of, 259. Butler, Lord James, mural tablet to, 262, 267. Byron, arms of, 15. Byzantine art, 85. Cadency, 50. Caerlaverock, siege of, 114. Cambridge, Duke of, arms of, 52. Campbell, arms of, 262, 265. Cantelupe, arms of, 33. Canton, 16, 18. Catton, Charles, R.A., 2. Cecil, Thomas, Earl of Exeter, tomb of, 226, 229, 231, 233. Centaur, 36. Chaldean bas-reliefs, 68, 69. Chapeau, 56. Charges, 10, 28. Charlemagne, badge of, 91. Chequey, 22, 23. Che\Ton, Chevronel, 16. Chief, 10, 15. Chimera, 35. Christ Church (Oxford), arms of, 252. Cinquefoil, 42. Cipriani, 244. City Companies, arms of, 238. Clarence, Duke of, 271. Clerks' Company, arms of, 240. Cleves, John, Duke of, tomb of, 162, 165, 167. Cock, 38, 39. Cockatrice, 35. Colour, treatment of, in heraldry, 202, 205, 256. Colours, heraldic, 12. Common Prayer, book of (163 1), embroidered binding, 225. Compony, 22, 23. Constance, Queen, seal of, 92, 93- Constantine, the cross used by, 84. Corbet, Eustace Kynaston, book- plate of, 260, 261. Cornwall, Richard, Earl of, no. Coronets, 55, 59, 60, 243. Cotise, 15. Couped, 19, 32. Courtney, Sir Hugh, crest of, 40. Crest, the, 54, 55 ; of James, King of Arragon, 119 ; of the Black Prince, 126, 131. Cross, the, 16, 17 ; forms of the, 27-30 ; adopted by Constan- tine, 84. Crowns, 55-57, 59, 60. Crusades, effect of, on heraldry, 89. Cunliffe, Sir Foster, book-plate of, 245. Dancettee, 23, 25. D'Aubygne, John, 146, 164. David II. of Scotland, smaller seal of, 114, 115. Dawson, Nelson, 271. De la Warr, Earl, 64, 137. Delia Robbia, Lucca, 172, 175. Demi-lion, 32. Denny, Sir Anthony, gauntlets of, 222, 223. Design, heraldic, hints on, 253, et seq. Diaper, 24, 256. Dolphin, 40, 41. Donatello, pedestal of the lion by, 170, 173 ; statue of St. George, 172. Dove, 39. Dovetailed, 24, 26. Dragon, 34, 35. Diirer, Albert, 169, 185. 276 blazoning of, | Chaldean lion-beaded, 69; Eg) ptian, 71 ; Roman, E l'.\ tantii 'K> : Mo- hammedan, 86 : of Richard, ol Cornwall, 1 io. Earl Marshal, baton of, 62. elini, the, arms of, 14 >. Edward I., badge of, 4 3 Edward III , tomb of, 1,98; in- creased interest in heraldry under, 122. 125 ; wall painting of, .mil In- sons, 125; weapons of, 1 -'> ; great seals of, 133- 1 ;; ; nob 141 ; arms «>D tomb of, 205. Edward IV., badge of, 43 Edward VI., altar monument to, 5 Edward tin- t onfessor, arms <>(, 1 20, 121. Edward the Black Prince, in- aia of, i2''. tt >-y. tian paintings, 7 1. Eleanor of Castile, < v hieen, 120, 123 Elizabeth, Queen, badge of, 44 ; embroideries by, 22 1 ; tomb Of, 2 2': Elizabeth Woodvilli 207. Elizabeth of York, Ouecn, 207. Embattled, 24. Embroidered book-covers, 216, 221, 22;. Endorse, 15. -4- i. 32. Ermine, ermines, erminois, 12. 1 lop, 40, 20I. Escarhum l<-. 4;. ; 1 Eve, W. I Feathers in heraldry, Eer dc Molinc. tNDEX. Ferrars, Lord, « rest of, 40. Fess, i". i.i. 14 : legend of the 1 [apsbui Field, points of the, Fimbnation, [9. Fisher, Alexander, 2t»>, 271. Flanches, 1 1. Fleur-de-lis, 4.5 ; early examples, 91 j seeded, 95 : on the shield of the Black Prince, 1 27- 1 29 . on the shrine of St. Simeon, 140, 14- : in Frem li wood- 1 an ings, 1 58, 1 59, 161 ; of Florence, 171-173 ; Italian. 176-1S2 ; later examples, 216, 240. Florence, heraldry in, 170-176. Flowers, heraldic, 2 Foster's " Peerage," 5, 250, 262. Fox, t reorge Edward, France, arms of, 26, 38 ; badge ot, 45 : seals of early kin--- of, or, tt seq. Erancis I., 149; Salamander badge of, 35, 210, 21 1. 22;. Francisco d Antonio di Milano, 146. Fretty, 22, 23. Furs, 12. Gamble, (.one-. ( lardane, Antonio, 188. Gardeners 1 Company, arm- of the, 241. • 1. ( >rdrr of the, 62, 122. Geliot's " Indice Armorial," 24;. 1 \ Plantagenet, slab of, Germany, heraldry in, 3, 114. 164, ( iifford, ann- of, 26, VJ. < rilbert, Alfred. 271. Gladstone, W. 1... book-pl 260. Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of, ^ 1 ( inostii gems, 7 INDEX. Gobony, 22, 23. Greeks, mythical creatures of the, 67. Green, Everard, 4, 208, 252. Gryphon, 34. Gules, 10, 12. Gull, Sir William, 54. Guttle, 22, 24. Gyron, 18. Gyronny, 20, 21. Haden, Sir Seymour, book-plate of, 259. Hampton Court, armorial win- dows at, 249. Hands, as charges, 42. Hapsburg fess, legend of the, 14, 65. Harpy, 37. Harrison, T. Erat, 259-261, 263. Harswick, Sir John, crest of, 40. Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon, arms of, 213. Helmet, the, 57 ; forms of, 57, 58 ; pose of, 242 ; barred, 266 ; of Edward the Black Prince, 126, 131. Henneberg, Count Otto von, effigy of, 188. Henry IV., badge of, 43. Henry V., weapons of, 126 ; chantry of, 150, 151. Henry VII., badges of, 43, 210 ; chapel of, 190, et scq. Henry VIII., badge of, 44; Tournament Roll of, 207. Heynen's "Armorial de Gelre," 13S, 139- Hogarth, heraldic designs by, 244. Holbein, 208. Holland, Thomas de, seal of, 134, J39- Holy Roman Empire, 38. Hood, Lord Viscount, arms of, 36. Hope, W. St. John, book-plate of, 262, 266. Houses of Parliament, arms from the, 248-251. Howard, arms of, 34. Human figures in heraldry, 41. Huntingdon, Hastings, Earl of, arms of, 213. Impaling, 46. Impress, 209. Indented, 24, 25. Invected, 23. Illegitimacy, differences for, 52, 53- Ireton, Samuel, 247. Iris, 95, 96. Isle of Man, arms of, 214. Italy, heraldry in, 170 et seq. ; use of badges in, 209. Jamb, 33. James I., badge of, 44. Japan, heraldry in, 67. John of Eltham, Prince, 128 ; shield of, 129. John de Heere, brass of, 140. Katherine of Arragon, badge of, 44, 208. Katherine Parr, badge of, 44 ; arms of, 221. Kent, Earl of, 134, 139. Labarum, 84. Label, 51. Ladies, arms of, 47-49, 51. Lambrequin. See Mantling. Leicester, Earl of, 145. Lennox, Lady Margaret, tomb of, 226, 227. Leopard, 32, 131. Leopard's face, 32. " Libanius" (binding), 225. Lion, heraldry of, 30, 31 ; of Scotland, 31. 27S Lions, of England, 31 ; Chal- dean, 69 ; Theban, 73 \ Sas- sanian and Gnostic, 79, 81 ; of Kit haul I., 89, <>o : of the Count of Ani"u, 96, 97 : From Rheims Cathedral, 102 ; on the shield of the Bla< k Prince, 127- 139 : in the Armorial de ( ielre, 1 J9; Italian,] 70, etseg.; Dun ano's, from a i6th century MS., 214. 21 ;. Little Masters, the, 185, 187. " London Armory," by Richard Wallis, 238, 241. VII. --«_-. 1 1 of, 92, 93. Louis VI I [., seal of, 92, 1 14 ; counterseal of, \ Louis IX., badge of, 95. Louis, Kin;.; of Hungary, 14'', 149. 22. Mauley, Mr., 247. Mantling, 50 : evolution of, 164, 169. Manuscripts, shields of arms from, 117; illuminated, 202, Marlborough, Duke of, arms ofj Marshallin] Marti. Martlets, in Edward the ;tniN 120. 121. Mary, Queen, embroideries by, 221 : tomb of, - Mauni he, 21 3. Mermaid, 36. Metals, 10. Michael A; " Mines Royall," arms of the, 241. ..litre Moon, a^ a I liar.^e, 41. Mortimer, arms of, 18. INDEX. Mowbray, ["homas, I>uke of Norfolk, 53. Mullet, 41. Musgrave, William, book-plate of, 237, 240. Mush tans' Company, arms of, »38. Naval use of armorials, 20S. Xehulee. 23, 24. Neville, Dorothy, effigy of. 234 Nixon, J. Forbes, :<•-, 205-267. Norfolk, Duke ol Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray, Duke of, 53. Northumberland, Duke of, book- plate of, 259. Or, 10. ( >rdinaries, 10, 13. Orle, 18. I Istrii b, heraldic importance of, 142. < Ostrich feathers, badge of the Prince of Wales, 130. < )\ford. Karl of, arms of, 41. Pale, 15. Pallet, 15. Paly, 20, 22. Paly-bendy, 20, 22. :< he. 40. >n, ( 'oloncl. book-plate of, »73- l'< a. oi k, 39, 109, 1 10. I 'can. 12. • Rolls, 246. Pelham, Sir John. 137. Pelii an, 39. Pembroke, William d< ' '5- Pepys, Samuel, book-plate of, --. per Dale, et'.. 20, 21. polis, sculptures at, ~ \ 75 INDEX. " Petrarcha, II," embroidered book-cover, 216, 219. Philip I., seal of, 91. Philip II., counterseal of, 92, Philippa, Queen, badge of, 130. Phoenix, 37. Pile, 16, 17. Potent, 13, 24, 25. Precedent, use and misuse of, 6. " Prince Arthur's Book," 206. Pugin, A. W., 249. Purpure, 11, 12. Quarter, 16. Quartering, 47. Quarterly, 20, 21. Quatrefoil, 42. Ragulee, 24, 26. Rainbow, as a charge, 41. Ramryge, Abbot Thomas, chan- try of, 71. Raoul de Beaumont, monument of, 96. Renaissance, the, effect of, on heraldry, 170. Restoration, heraldry of the, 235. Reynes, John, bookbinding by, 216. Rheims, figure from the cathe- dral, 101, 102. Richard, Coeur de Lion, seal of, 89, 114. Richard II., heraldry in the leign of, 141. Richard III., badge of, 43 Richmond, Duchess of, tomb of, 196-198. Robert, King, seal of, 91. Robsart, Louis, tomb of, 153- Rogei", King of Sicily, 86. Rokby, arms of, 213. Rolls, emblazoned, 1 14. Roman Catholic dignitaries, arms of, 61. Roman heraldry, 82. Rose, in heraldry, 43. Roundles, 45. Royal Family, armorials of, 51, 52, 57, 60. Sable, 11, 12. St. Albans, 71. St. George, 125. St. Gregory, on the ostrich, 145. St. Michael, Order of, 40, 201, "202. St. Patrick, Order of, 63. St. Simeon, shrine of, 145, 147. Salamander, 35, 210, 211. Saltire, 16, 17. Saracen's head, 42. Sassanian sculptures, 73, 76 ; coins, 77, 78 ; gems, 79, 81. Scotland, seal of the Guardians of, 1 1 1, 1 14. Seals, 89, 91, et seg., 113, 133. et seq. Semer, Sir John, standard of, yj. Seneschal of the Household in Scotland, baton of, 62. Septvans, Sir Robert de, brass of, 102, 105. Serpents, 40, 41. Shamrock, 43, 44. Sheldon, Ralph, book-plate of, 236, 237. Sherborn, C. W., 258, 259. Shields, size of, in early times, 103 ; first use of on seals, 1 14 ; structure of, 128, 129 ; Italian, 181, 182 ; German, 187. Sicily, fabrics of, 86, 89. Sirpoula, excavations at, 68. Somerset, Seymour, Duke of, 39. Stag, attitudes of, 33. Stag's head caboshed, 33, 34. Stars, 41. Stephen, King, badge of, 36, 130. Sub-ordinaries, 13. Suffolk, Duchess of, tomb of, 201. Sun, the, as a charge, 40. 80 Suppoi - beginning of use of, 137; wrong assign- ment of, 266. Swan, 109. Symbolism, mediaeval, ioS, 109; decline »»»", 240, 241. Syon cope, 1 13. Ta-heru, coffin of, 71. Teck, Duke of, arms of, 33. ■ I ntillitiae," 1 1 . Thebes, tombs »>t" Kings of, 72 Thistle, 43- 44- Tincture signs, IO, II, 243, 255. TorelL 189. J, 196. Tournament Roll of Henry VIII., the, 207. s, 42. • 42. I Trick, 12 ; arms in, 213, 214. Triton, 36. Trumpington, Sir Roger de, brass of, 102, 105. . heraldic, 35. . 42. Union badge, 43. 44. Vair, vairy, vair ancient. 12, 1 j. e, William ile, Karl of Pembroke, 98, 205. Varahran II., coin of, 77, 79. Vemay, an Vert, II, 12. Arthur, 4. INDEX. Wales, Prin< e of, badge of, v j ■ label of, 52 ; crown of, 60. Wallis's " London Armor) . 241. Warwick, Thomas Beauchamp, Karl of, 141 ; brass of, l62. Warwick, Karl of, memorial portrait of, 269, 271. Waterhouse, Allied, 268. Wavy, 23, 24. Welby, < rest of, 41. Weldon, W. I!., 4. Westminster Abbey, heraldry in, 119, et passim', Henry VI I. 's chapel, 190; tombs in, '5- Weyer, W. K.. 265, 27;. Wife, arms of a, 47. William of Ireland, I 22. Williment, Thomas, 248 : h\* •• Regal Heraldry," 249. Windsor, St. George's chapel, windows in, 248. Wings, Winnowing baskets of de Sept- vans, 103, 105, 1 10. Wolsey, Cardinal, arms of, 251. Wood-carvings, French, 1 5-S, et .201. Woodsto* k, Thomas of, seal of, 134. 137. Wnothesley, Sir [homas, 206. Wyvern, 34, 35. Yeomen of the Guard, the, 04. Zara, shrine of St. Simeon at, I45i '47- 2S1 CUISWICK PRESS :— CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AMI to. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. RETURN ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN LIBRARY TO— ► 210 Wurster Hall 642-4818 LOAN PERIOD 1 QUARTER 2 3 4 5 6 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS Return books early if they are not being used DUE AS STAMPED BELOW ; SEP 19 1991 rzm sep 2 o m 1 ECEIVS UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY FORM NO. DD1 3, 30m, 477 BERKELEY, CA 94720 ©s L I I llll IM| ER . K » L . E . YL,8 »*«IES C03MA3333A