GIFT OF MICHAEL REESE A PRIMER OF HERALDRY FOR AMERICANS OF THB UNIVERSITY Book-plate (arms) of President Greorge Washington, PRIMER OF HERALDRY FOR AMERICANS BY EDWARD S. HOLDEN, LL.D. NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1898 Mr Copyright, 1898, by THE CENTURY Co. THE DEVINNE PRESS TO M M AND E H TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE EMBLEMS 2 FLAGS 4 SEALS 5 ARMS 7 HERALDRY IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES ... 18 HERALDRY IN ARCHITECTURE . . . .23 HERALDRY IN LITERATURE AND HISTORY . . 24 THE COAT OF ARMS 27 CHARGES 33 HELMETS . .48 CRESTS 49 CROWNS AND CORONETS 51 SUPPORTERS 51 BADGES 52 MOTTOS 52 KNOTS 55 BLAZONING 55 MARSHALING 57 ARMS OF KINGDOMS AND STATES 63 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE THE SEAL, ARMS, AND FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 65 TITLES OF NOBILITY 68 ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD 72 SILVER PLATE 77 HEREDITARY PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES 78 How TO TRACE A PEDIGREE . . . .88 ANCIENT LINEAGE 90 INDEX TO HERALDIC TERMS 100 PLATES (FIGURES 1 TO 119) . . End of the look INTRODUCTORY NOTE IT is usual to commence American books on heraldic and genealogic matters with a half -apology for introducing such subjects to the notice of the citizens of a republic. The writer believes apologies to be entirely unnecessary. Such topics deserve their due share of attention (though it may not be a large share) in a country which con- tains millions of descendants of good fami- lies of England and the Continent. General George Washington inherited a coat of arms from reputable English ancestors, and used it on appropriate occasions. Ben- jamin Franklin applied for and obtained a grant of armorial bearings, and his motto was, Exemplum adest ipse homo (" Conduct marks the man "). Where two such Eepub- licans led, Americans need not fear to follow. The writer began his heraldic studies as a school-boy with Scott's novels and Frois- sart's Chronicles. The present book has ix INTRODUCTORY NOTE been written at spare moments, as a relief from very different work. The informa- tion that it contains will help to solve many enigmas in Architecture, Art, Literature, and History (both European and colonial), and will enable the reader to take an in- timate pleasure in matters that otherwise are merely puzzling and, at first sight, re- pellent. Much of our mother-literature (especially Shakspere, Scott, Tennyson, etc.), and very much of foreign literature (Ariosto, Tasso, Froissart, etc.), cannot be intelligently read without a little learning of the sort. Gothic Architecture tells no story, and Painting often tells an incom- plete one, without some rudiments of heraldic knowledge. Half the point of History is lost unless it is studied in its details. To comprehend its details (espe- cially in the period from the Crusades to the French Eevolution) an accurate knowledge of heraldry is a material aid. La Bruyere, in his " Caracteres " (De la Ville), enumer- ates the uses to which armorial bearings were put in his day (1688). "They are emblazoned everywhere," he says: "on stained-glass windows, over the doors, INTRODUCTORY NOTE even on the locks, on coaches, and on liveries." What was true in 1688 is also true to-day. The seals of countries, prov- inces, and states are heraldic ; so are their flags. Coins and medals are stamped with heraldic emblems; each government de- partment or office has its seal ; cities, cor- porations, colleges, universities, employ seals and devices, as do societies and indi- viduals. Heraldry is a doctrine which has to do with all these things, and it is inter- esting and advantageous to know something of it. The visiting-cards of foreigners counts, barons, Freiherren bear their coro- nets, and the rank and title can be decided at a glance. Note-paper is similarly marked, and the sex and condition of the writer can be discovered from the coat of arms. As such devices are in every-day use in this country, and still more in foreign countries, it is worth while to understand the universal rules according to which they are employed, and not to make blunders that may easily be avoided. Not to follow these rules is simply to refuse to admit the alphabet of the language which one is em- ploying. For instance, no woman except OF THE UNIVERSITY xii INTRODUCTORY NOTE a queen may bear a crest. Let American ladies remember this simple rule in order- ing their book-plates and stationery. No unmarried woman may bear arms on a knight's shield. Since A.D. 1350 (except on American letter-paper) such arms have been borne on a lozenge (0). The present little book treats of such matters in a compact form and a simple manner, and it is fully illustrated. Its materials have been gathered from leisurely and extensive reading, not only in English but in continental heraldry; and some of them, at least, will be new to most Ameri- cans. It will serve as a primer for young people, and as a handy book of reference to their elders; and it should be espe- cially useful to the members of the many hereditary patriotic societies now formed, and forming, throughout the country. Special attention is here paid to such organizations, and it is believed that a perusal of this book will make the reader a better, not a worse, American. E. S. H. NEW YORK, January, A PRIMER OF HERALDRY FOB AMERICANS A PRIMER OF HERALDRY FOR AMERICANS ARMS (or armorial bearings) are heredi- tary heraldic devices, arranged according to conventional rules, appertaining to and honorably distinctive of individuals, cor- porations, cities, countries, etc. They are usually blazoned (painted in color) on a shield, and surmounted by a helmet and crest, and they may be accompanied by supporters, mottos, and mantlings. An achievement of arms is the aggregate of all these devices as borne by a person; so called because in old days the honor of arms was achieved by knightly deeds. Heraldry (or armory) is the body of doc- trine (it used to be ranked as a science) which prescribes the rules by which arms A PRIMER OF HERALDRY are composed ; in its widest scope it has to do with honorary distinctions of all kinds. The business of the herald, as Dr. Johnson well says, " is to proclaim peace and to de- nounce war; to be employed in martial messages ; and to judge and examine coats of arms." EMBLEMS THE tribes of Israel had their distinctive emblems Judah its lion. ^E schylus, He- rodotus, and many ancient writers describe the devices borne on the shields of warriors. Such devices were more than mere orna- ment, and partook of the nature of perso- nal badges ; but they were not hereditary, as armorial bearings are. Alexander the Great distributed such special distinctions among his generals, precisely as Napoleon granted arms to his marshals. Trajan's Column in Rome was erected in the years A. D. $-117, and the shields of the Dacians sculptured upon it are covered with em- blems, as the sun, the moon, etc. Even our Red Indian clans were distinguished by totemic signs, and each individual warrior had his personal cognizance. From remote EMBLEMS antiquity nations and tribes have employed devices and insignia, which were often dis- played on their standards, banners, etc. The eagle of the Roman Empire is a famil- iar example. The white horse was borne by the Saxons from the earliest times, and it is to-day the cognizance of the house of Hanover ; it was the emblem used by Alfred the Great (died 901). The kingdom of Wessex bore a golden dragon. The wivern was the emblem of the Vandals ; the raven that of the Danes. The wolf was the em- blem of the city of Rome ; the horse's head that of Carthage ; the olive-branch and the owl those of Athens. So far as is known, these devices were not emblazoned on shields ; but they were the forerunners of true heraldic charges. Pope Benedict VIII (1013) presented to the Emperor Henry II, at his coronation, a globe surmounted by a cross, as an emblem of the power of the cross over the world. In later times this became the symbol of imperial or royal power among Christian nations (see Fig. 66). Such emblems among European nations laid the foundation for true heraldry. The A PRIMER OF HERALDRY arms of the knight were borne upon his shield, oftentimes repeated in his crest, painted on his banner, sculptured on his castle and on his tomb, and finally became a precious inheritance to his descendants. Here we have the marks of veritable arms as distinguished from non-hereditary em- blems. Emblems were personal badges, and were not necessarily inherited. Arms are hereditary. FLAGS THE oldest of existing flags is that of Denmark the Danebrog, which was cer- tainly adopted in the thirteenth century. Tradition says that in A. D. 1219, during a combat with the heathen Esthonians, the white cross of the Danish flag appeared in the sky. It was adopted as a national em- blem, and an order of knighthood founded, which, under much-changed conditions, still exists (the Order of the Danebrog). The earliest banners were ecclesiastical. The oriflamme of France was the flame- colored banner of the Abbey of St. Denis, which was carried before the army as a SEALS sacred sign (A. D. 630). The banner of England, St. George's cross (argent, a cross gules), had a religious origin also. SEALS PHAEAOH gave his seal to Joseph (G-en. xli. 42), and Darius sealed the den of lions with his own signet (Dan. vi. 17). The seal of Haggai, son of Shebaniah (B. c. 700), has come down to us, and copies of it can be bought for a trifle. The seals of monarchs and great nobles prove that during the twelfth century they bore, as personal devices, true armorial bearings. It was not until the return of Richard the Lion-heart from Palestine (1194) that the three lions passant gardant became fixed as the arms of England (Fig. 78). Louis le Jeune of France seals with a fleur-de-lis in 1180. During the Third Crusade (1189) armorial bearings were common, as they had been proved to be useful by experience in war. The English soldiers were distinguished by a white cross sewed to their surcoats ; the French bore a red, and the Flemings a green, cross. A PRIMER OF HERALDRY The nobles charged their shields with such personal devices as pleased their fancy, or as recalled the object of their mission. The lion, the eagle, the cross, the scallop-shell of the pilgrim, etc., became common. The dragon, the wivern (emblem of the Van- dals), Saracens' heads, etc., bespeak an Eastern origin. The double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire was adopted from an Asiatic device. The early ecclesiastical seals were im- pressed in the form of an elongated pointed oval, the shape of a fish, in allusion to the Greek initials of the sentence, Jesus Christy the Son of God, the Saviour ixers. As the early universities were ecclesiasti- cal corporations, the seals of colleges often take this form (see Johns Hopkins Uni- versity, 1 Fig. 116). The seals of bishops are, in general, of this form also. 1 The very beautiful seal of the Johns Hopkins Univer- sity is reproduced here as a model of what such devices should be. In the design for the seal, symbols of learn- ing have been added (in the chief) to the well-known arms of Maryland, which are those of Lord Baltimore (Cecil Calvert), the first proprietor (1649). The Calvert arms (in the quarters I and III) are "paly of six, or and sable, a bend dexter counterchanged." Quarters II and ARMS AKMS AKMS were granted by the greater nobles to the Crusaders for gallant deeds, or they were assumed at will. They were at first merely individual cognizances, but they became hereditary about the end of the thirteenth century. A victorious knight had the privilege of assuming the arms of his vanquished enemy. The Carys of Car- isbrook in Virginia bear the arms (argent, on a bend sable, three roses of the field) which their ancestor, in the reign of Henry V, assumed from those of a Spanish knight whom he overcame in a trial of arms. The three feathers of the crest of the Prince of Wales were once the badge of the King of Bohemia, which, with his motto, Ich dien, were assumed by Edward, Prince of Wales, IV are for Crossland (derived by Lord Baltimore from his grandmother, Alicia Crossland, an heiress), namely, "quarterly argent and gules, a cross flory counter- changed." The chief is azure, and it bears a terrestrial globe or between two open books argent. The whole seal presents an heraldic picture of a university devoted to science (signified by the globe) and literature (the open books), situated in the State of Maryland. A PRIMER OF HERALDRY after the battle of Cressy, where the king was among the slain. The very earliest Crusaders did not bear arms. The shields of the French knights at Constantinople, about 1100, are described by Anna Com- nena as polished and plain. The Bayeux tapestry, tradition says, was embroidered by Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror. At all events, it represents the invasion of England by the Normans, and contains the figures of more than six hundred men, with horses, ships, banners, etc., all worked in colors, with minute at- tention to detail. Experts are agreed that true armorial bearings are not found in this work, which must have been subsequent to 1066. It was not until the last part of the twelfth century that arms came into gen- eral use. No coins bear arms until the thirteenth century. The latest researches indicate that armorial bearings originated about the year 1150. Heraldic seals dated 1157, 1159, 1163, etc., are still extant in Germany. It is reported that the tomb of Varmond, in the Church of St. Emmeran at Eatisbon, bears a shield parted per pale, charged with ARMS a lion over all, and the date MX. It is likely that the carving was done long after- ward in this case, as in many others. The earliest Pope of Eome who can be proved to have borne arms is said to have been Boniface VIII (1294-1303), though arms are ascribed to nearly all the popes since Lucius II (1144). The seal of Philip, Count of Flanders (1164), bears a lion rampant, which is still the cognizance of Flanders; and this is one of the very earliest exam- ples of an heraldic device. It is to be noted that a seal, whose impression was necessarily contemporaneous with the doc- ument to which it was attached, is evidence of the first importance. Coats of arms can be cut upon monuments and tombs at any time, and brasses set up whenever their evidence is wanted. 1 For many years the Viscounts MacDuff claimed de- scent from the ancient Earls of Fife ; and to substantiate the claim an ancient monument (belonging to another family) was removed to the Duff mausoleum, and the date altered so as to read (in Arabic numerals!) 1404. A family of Deardens constructed in Rochdale Church a complete family chapel, with effigies, slabs, brasses, etc., all recording the lives and deaths of a line of sham ances- tors, no one of whom ever existed ! The lions of England cut on the monument of William the Conqueror at Caen, 10 A PKIMEE OF HERALDRY Experts in heraldry are often asked to " explain the meaning " of heraldic charges. Is gules a noble color! Does the lion sig- nify generous courage ! Does azure denote justice, loyalty? argent, purity ! or, force, constancy, riches! Is sable a sign of grief! etc. The earliest arms were assumed by individuals at will, or granted for specific deeds; and in such cases there may once have been a special meaning to the shield. Retainers were granted arms resembling those of their overlord. The branches of a family differenced their coats with differ- ent tinctures, etc. Many new coats were granted to new men. In most cases there was little "meaning" to the arms; and where there was a significance, it was (usu- ally) soon lost sight of. For example, the arms of Arnold Linden, Comte d'Archot, were or, three fleurs-de-lis sable ; and these arms descended to his eldest son. The second son assumed for arms, gules, three fleurs-de-lis argent; the third son, argent, three fleurs-de-lis gules; the fourth son, ar- gent, three fleurs-de-lis sable ; the fifth son, in 1642, were never borne by him. Seals impressed on documents cannot be so readily counterfeited. ARMS 11 gules, three fleurs-de-lis or. If there were any special significance to the tinctures of the original arms, it was quickly lost in those of the sons. In other families totally different devices were employed by the vari- ous branches. In some cases the arms are rebus-like, and spell the name : as the swallows (hirondelles) in the arms of Arundel; the three towers (tours) in the arms of Tours ; the golden lion in the arms of Lyons ; the column in the shield of Colonna; the hen (Henne) on a mount (berg) for Henneberg ; etc. Here we may say the arms have a meaning. The Abbey of St. Denis has among its relics one of the passion nails of the cross; and its shield is charged with a passion nail, in al- lusion to this precious possession. But in general it may safely be said that coats of arms have now no " meaning," in the usual sense of the term. As Americans have no central office (like the Heralds' College in England) which has authority over the granting and bearing of arms, and as our governments take no offi- cial notice of them (except when they are borne as seals or trade-marks), it is impos- 12 A PEIMEE OF HEEALDEY sible to lay down any rules in their regard that shall be really authoritative. Good taste and good usage must govern us here as elsewhere. In England, France, Germany, Austria (and in the United States), there is no legal obstacle to the assumption of armorial bearings by any individual or corporation. Any individual has the right to assume and to bear a coat of arms. In most coun- tries those who make use of arms (on seals, carriages, etc.) are subject to an annual tax ; and in Germany, etc., the law expressly forbids any individual to bear a coat of arms belonging to another person. 1 The annual tax, and the law protecting each person in the possession of his own coat, 1 The following is a translation of a part of a letter re- ceived from the editor of the " German Herald " : "It is lawful for every citizen to assume a coat of arms. He may either bear a coat used by his ancestors, or he may assume and use a coat according to his own pleasure. It is, however, forbidden to assume a coat which is al- ready in use by another family. A register of arms is kept by the Heraldic Society of Berlin (Schillstrasse No. 3), in which arms are entered without cost." The same rule obtains in Austria and in most countries of the Continent. If heraldry is to be a live science some such provision must be adopted. Otherwise it becomes ARMS 13 serve to regulate the whole matter; 1 and the tax is a very proper means of raising revenue. The seals of corporations and the trade- marks of individuals may be registered, and governments take measures to insure their exclusive use by those to whom they appertain. Armorial bearings were always strictly regulated in France, and during the reign of Louis XIV they were subject to a tax of twenty livres or forty if they contained fleurs-de-lis. The Revolution in 1790 swept away arms ; but they were again revived under Napoleon, whose heralds devised new charges, pyramids, etc., that recalled his own wars, and not those of the Crusades. The Heralds' College was established in England in 1483. Its business was to reg- ister grants of arms, and to see that such distinctions were not borne illegally. From of antiquarian interest only. It is a practical fact that arms continue to be used in democratic countries as well as in monarchies. It is therefore only rational to recog- nize and to reduce to some kind of orderly rule proceedings that cannot be ignored or prevented. 1 The annual tax in England is one guinea, or two guineas if the arms are borne on carriages. 14 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY 1528 to 1704 its officials made periodic visi- tations to the various counties, registering genealogies, etc. It is still in existence, though shorn of much of its power. Arms are still granted by the college to any ap- plicant for a moderate fee (ten pounds). The Montjoie roi cParmes of France dates from the thirteenth century ; and the office of Lyon king-at-arms of Scotland was es- tablished before 1371. The name " herald " first occurs in 1152 in the imperial consti- tutions of Frederick Barbarossa, though the office is as old as warfare. Heralds were the spokesmen for all the messages of the king or commanding general. During the fourteenth, fifteenth, six- teenth, and seventeenth centuries the kings of France ordered various heralds' visita- tions, because the wrongful assumption of nobility disturbed the incidence of taxes (from many of which nobles were exempt). The most thorough of these visitations was made in 1666-74. It was then laid down as a principle that those nobles who had borne titles and arms continuously since 1560 were to be confirmed in their rights, provided they still held their lands, while ARMS 15 those who had alienated their lands were required to prove that they had borne their titles since 1514. In 1714 proofs were re- quired no further back than 1614. A prac- tice dating back one hundred and fifty or one hundred years was sufficient confir- mation of a title, therefore, in monarchical France. Those Americans whose ancestors assumed arms in colonial days (as so many did) may be glad to have this precedent to refer to. The English idea of armorial bearings is that they are given as property to an in- dividual, and from him descend as property to his children and their children. Hence in England there is no such thing as the arms of a, family, except as the sons, grand- sons, etc. (not the brothers), of the grantee constitute Ms particular family. The prac- tice is quite different on the Continent. In theory, every Englishman who bears a coat of arms is noble. Nobiles sunt qui arma gentilicia antecessorum suorum prof err e pos- sunt. The arms of the bourgeois (citizen) are not recognized unless they are registered at the Heralds' College, when he becomes (in strict theory) a petty noble. In Grer- 16 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY many, Austria, etc., arms are granted by the emperor to the noble class; but citi- zens may assume them, and are rather en- couraged to do so. When a citizen assumes arms they descend to his children. If a new coat of arms is to be designed, the following points, among others, should be attended to, and in all cases the advice of an expert should be sought. The shield, helmet, mantling, crest, and the lettering of the motto should all be designed in one style (as of the fourteenth or fifteenth cen- tury, etc.), and the models chosen from good examples. The divisions of the shield should be few, the charges simple; but pains should be taken to make the arms in fact new, and not a copy of those of an an- cient family. What right has a new man to bear the arms of the Howards or of Hohenlohe ! The crest should also be sim- ple, and it may well repeat the colors and the forms of the principal charge of the shield. The helmet should be in profile when the arms are designed for a simple gentleman. The mantling and the wreath should repeat the colors of the shield. In designing the helmet, the artist should re- ARMS 17 member that it was slipped over the head, and that no part of it, therefore, should be so small that this could not be done. The helmets of many modern knights, as de- picted in their coats of arms, could not be put on even, much less worn. Coats of arms for cities, corporations, etc., are usually designed from the seal of the city, etc. It may be convenient to bring together a few important dates. Arms were first used by persons about A. D. 1150 ; on coins in the thirteenth century. They came into general use in the thirteenth century, and at the end of this century they became hereditary. The oldest grants of arms (in Germany) date from 1401. Patents of nobility were granted by the German em- perors in the second half of the fourteenth century ; in France as early as 1270. Some cities had seals in the twelfth century, and arms in the middle of the fourteenth. Crests began to come into use (in England) about 1300, and soon became general. Mantlings first appeared (in England) with Richard I (1189-99), and they were in gen- eral use in the fourteenth century. Sup- 18 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY porters were used from about 1300. Badges were worn in England before 1400. HERALDRY IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES THE origin of heraldry must be referred to the Crusaders, who brought its customs with them on their return to their native countries. In each country the art has had a different development, so that Eng- lish, French, and German heraldry have dis- tinctive characters. In all countries the essentials are the same, and in each one heraldry has passed through three distinct and well-marked periods. In the first period (1150 to about 1200) the shield alone bore the arms. There were no crests. In the second period (1200 to about 1500) the armorial bearings of the warrior displayed the actual shield, hel- met, crest, which were worn by him in battle. This is the best period of heraldry, naturally. Fig. 64 (after Albrecht Diirer) may be taken as an example of it. As the implements of war were perfected, and especially as the use of gunpowder be- came general and effective, the armor of HERALDRY IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES 19 the knight was modified or laid aside. The third period, that is, modern heraldry, com- menced here. Since that epoch heraldry has become a conventionalized art, and its usefulness has been manifested in new directions. A lively picture of the condi- tions of warfare after the introduction of gunpowder may be had by conceiving the dismay and amazement of the incas of Peru when opposed by the firearms of the con- quistadors. An entirely new conception of military skill and valor came in with the harquebus and musket (1575). Gunpowder was the great leveler of the sixteenth cen- tury, as steam and electricity have been of the nineteenth. It may serve to throw light on the de- velopment of heraldry in different coun- tries if we compare it with architecture with Gothic architecture, for example. We have Gothic art exhibited in England, in France, in Germany, but in each country it has developed individual peculiarities. Just as the facade of the cathedral at Eouen is distinctively in the French style, just as that of York is distinctively English, so the style of a French or English coat of 20 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY arms is felt by one versed in such matters ; and a sort of pleasure, akin to that derived from good architecture, is to be had from an armorial achievement which is well and suitably composed. No one can mistake a collection of Russian coats of arms for French or English. Their national char- acter is entirely obvious. In a general way it may be said that Ger- man heraldry best represents the spirit of the middle ages, though a collection of Ger- man coats seems to an English herald to lack somewhat in imagination and variety. The partitions of the German shield are simple, colors and metals are well disposed, and the charges are few. The crests are often elab- orate and seem heavy. English and French heraldry are much alike, though there are characteristic differences. The use of marks of cadency in France and England (to dis- tinguish the eldest, the second, the third son, etc.), and of helmets appropriate to each rank, are consequences of the law of primogeniture which prevailed in both these countries. The eldest son must needs have his privileges marked and guarded. Azure (the royal color of the HERALDRY IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES 21 Bourbons) predominates in French shields ; vert in those of Holland (why!) ; gules (the national color) in those of Poland. The ermine, so frequently occurring in English coats of arms, is doubtless a reminiscence of the arms of Brittany (whose shield was ermine). Italian heraldry has a style all its own. Italian shields have a special shape also. The symbol of the party of the Guelfs (a, chief azure, with fleurs-de-lis) and of that of the Ghibellines (the eagle- displayed of the empire) are very common. Spanish and Portuguese heraldry have been much influenced by that of France, though their national styles are plainly marked. The fields are frequently parted in three pieces, and the charges are nu- merous and confused. Danish heraldry re- sembles that of France and England, except that rebus arms (armes parlantes), which spell the name of the bearer, are more common. Arms in Russia have a well- marked style also. Japan was for centu- ries under the regime of a feudal system, and an elaborate emblematic armorial was there developed, which is in use to-day. Every noble Japanese family has its em- 22 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY blem, which is emblazoned on the dress and weapons. The principal sources from which the history of heraldry can be derived are seals, coins, monuments, tombs, patents of nobility, grants of land or arms, the visi- tations and other records of the heralds, records of tournaments, rolls of arms, por- traits (which often bear the arms of the sitter), coats of arms carved on the exterior of buildings or in their interior decorations, woven in tapestries, etc. Almost every large library in the United States has a section devoted to works on heraldry and genealogy, and those who have read this little book will find it a good introduction to further explorations in this interesting field. Excellent articles on heraldry are to be found in many books of reference, and the reader may well consult these after he has mastered the principles here set forth. Perhaps the best of them within the reach of everybody are to be found in the Ency- clopaedia Britannica, in Johnson's Encyclo- pedia, and (under various heads) in the Century Dictionary. Many of the excel- lent cuts of this book are taken from the HERALDRY IN ARCHITECTURE 23 latter work. In the cyclopedia of Cham- bers (which gives great prominence to Scottish matters) the reader will do well to consult the articles on the chief Scottish families, as Argyle, Bruce, Douglas, Lind- say, Mar, Stewart, etc. The Almanach de Gotha gives the genealogy, etc., of the princely houses of Europe. There are simi- lar works relating to the counts, the bar- ons, etc. HERALDRY IN ARCHITECTURE GOTHIC architecture can scarcely be ap- preciated in its details without a consider- able knowledge of heraldry. It was a uni- versal custom to display the coat of arms on buildings, tombs, monuments, windows, etc. The same custom is wide-spread in the United States, where the seals of the States and departments are to be found on many public buildings. The monuments erected at Gettysburg display the State seals, the badges of army-corps, etc., in a very instructive fashion. The new University Club in New York is to display the arms of American colleges on its facade. The new Library of Con- 24 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY gress, in Washington, contains (in the read- ing-room) the arms of the States of the Union in colored glass. It is worth while to have some knowledge of the pictorial language of heraldry in order to derive the great pleasure which comes through such a familiarity. An he- raldic device, displayed in the right place and in the right way, produces precisely the kind of pleasure which a scholar feels from an apposite quotation. 1 HERALDRY IN LITERATURE AND HISTORY IF history is to be written at first hand, original documents must be consulted, and these cannot be properly understood with- out a knowledge of heraldry, which enables one to decipher the seals that they bear 1 For instance, the seal of Harvard College on the eighteenth-century gateways to its grounds ; the Mapes memorial gateway at the new Columbia University in New York. But, on the other hand, what are these " eagles with wings displayed cheeky n doing in front of the Boston Public Library? They are a part of the arms of a noble Roman family. They are certainly decorative ; but they are as appropriate in that place as a door-plate "Beau- champs " would be on Governor Winthrop's mansion no more, no less. HERALDRY IN LITERATURE AND HISTORY 25 and by which they are authenticated. This is not only true of England and Europe, but also of the colonial period in America. All colonial papers were sealed by either public or private signets, and the seal employed will often fix the date of the document. As heraldry was a part of daily life up to very recent times, and a most essential part from 1200 to 1700, it is naturally re- flected in history and throughout literature. Fully to understand what one reads, these allusions must not be missed for want of a little study. The history of trade is illus- trated by the arms of the powerful London companies (gilds), which received their charters from 1327 onward ; and the seals of the Oxford and Cambridge colleges con- stitute a most interesting chapter in the history of learned foundations. The connection of families can often be traced by their arms and in no other way ; as Guillim says, in his " Heraldry " : " The Shaws are known to be Mclntoshes by their arms." The relation of the early Ameri- can emigrants to the English (and Dutch, French, etc.) families from whom they de- 26 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY scend is often to be fixed by arms or crests engraved on silver plate, or by signet-rings, etc. Comparatively little use was made of arms in America during the century 1620- 1720. It was a period of stress, and dis- tinctions of rank were more or less forgot- ten. With acquired wealth came leisure and a general desire to connect one's self with the mother-country. From 1700 on- ward more attention was paid to such mat- ters, and arms were quite generally borne by those who inherited them, or were as- sumed by others who had acquired fortune. The cemeteries of Boston, New York, New- port, Philadelphia, Annapolis, Richmond, etc., contain many gravestones engraved with armorial bearings. A few date from the seventeenth century; most are later than 1720. It is not possible to read the plays of Shakspere, the poems of Chaucer, Spenser, Tasso, Ariosto, Scott, Tennyson, and others, with full understanding without some know- ledge of heraldic rules and language. Awake, awake, English nobility ! Cropped are the flower-de-luces in your arms ! of England's THE COAT OF AEMS 27 coat one half is cut away (SHAKSPERE, Henry VI, Part I, act i, sc. 1), refers to the lilies of France, which Edward III had quartered with the lions of England. Where is proud Scotland's royal shield, The ruddy lion ramped in gold (ScoTT, Marmion, Canto IV), is one of the hundreds of allusions in Sir Walter Scott's poems and tales to armorial bearings. THE COAT OF AKMS The Shield* Arms are generally borne upon a shield to signify their military ori- gin. The shape of the shield may be chosen at will, but it is essential, in good heraldic drawing, to have the style of the heraldic achievement harmonious throughout. A shield of the thirteenth century must not be surmounted by a helmet of the sixteenth, nor accompanied by a mantling of the sev- enteenth. Too little attention is paid by artists to this matter of style. The shield was originally made of wood and covered with leather (on which the arms were 28 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY stamped) or with parchment (on which they were painted). Metal bands, fesse- wise, palewise, bendwise, 1 etc., and bosses were used to strengthen the shield; and some of the ordinaries of heraldry have probably been thence derived. A number of ancient shields are still extant usually in churches in Europe, or in museums. The shield of Heinrich of Hesse (died 1298) is still to be seen in Marburg, for example. The pointed Norman shields (Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 54) are the most graceful in form, and they are well suited to simple blazons. The conventionalized shields (like Fig. 51) are convenient for displaying charges, and are here employed for that reason only; but they are not suitable for seals, illumi- nated drawings, etc. The proper proce- dure is to select, from ancient drawings or monuments, the forms for crest, mantling, shield, and charges, and to reproduce them all in one consistent style. The style of any century may be chosen at will. Figs. 106-112 are instructive in this connection, and especially Fig. 64. The shape of the shield employed is more 1 That is, horizontal, vertical, inclined. THE COAT OF ARMS or less determined by the arrangement of the bearings to be charged upon it, and it is an essential of good design that the charges should fill the entire shield. The size of a charge has no relation to its sig- nificance. The three lions of Fig. 78 have equal importance. The shield of a man, a warrior, the head of a house, is, as has been said, a knight's shield, and it is surmounted by his crest. His wife, in English practice, may bear his arms on his shield, but without the crest. His daughters may bear their father's arms on a lozenge ( ). The French practice is to blazon the arms of all women on lozenge- shaped or oval shields. The arms of na- tions, of provinces, cities, etc., are borne on a knight's shield. Monasteries, colleges, and the like often employ a pointed oval as a shield (see Fig. 116). Parts of the Shield. In describing a shield and its charges, it is always supposed to be borne as in war. That is, the left-hand side in Fig. 1 is called the dexter side, the right hand the sinister. The upper third of the shield is the chief. E, in Fig. 2, is the fesse-pointj .Fthe nombril-point. Nom- 30 A PRIMEE OF HERALDRY bril-points are not named in English her- aldry, though they are used on the Conti- nent. The whole surface of the shield is called the field. It is necessary for the reader to pay some attention to the defini- tions of this section. They give the heraldic alphabet, as it were, without which the bla- zon of a shield cannot be read. Division of the Shield (see Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). :The shield is seldom all of one color. It is generally divided into parts. It is parted per pale in Fig. 3 ; per fesse in Fig. 4; quartered in Fig. 5; parted per bend (dexter) in Fig. 6 ; per saltire in Fig. 7. A shield may be parted per bend sinister also. If it is divided into any number of equal parts with square corners, as six, eight, twelve, sixteen parts, etc., it is said to be quarterly of six, eight, etc. The lines of division may not always be straight lines. They may be a single smooth curve (embowed), or composed of several curves (unde), or edged like a saw (indented), or like battlements (embattled), etc. (see Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13). Tinctures* The surface of the shield is supposed to be covered, wholly or in part, by either metals, furs, or colors. THE COAT OF AEMS The heraldic metals are two : gold, or; silver, argent. If the shield is emblazoned in colors, these are to be painted yellow and white respectively. They may be represented conventionally in black and white, as in Fig. 18 and Figs. 1, 2, etc. (i. e., a plain shield signifies argent). The principal heraldic colors are : Red gules (see Figs. 19 and 23) ; Blue azure (see Figs. 20 and 23) j Black sable (see Figs. 21 and 23) ; Green vert (see Figs. 22 and 23) ; Purple purpure (see Fig. 23). The latter color seldom occurs in English coats of arms. In French heraldry vert is called sinople, and flesh-color is called car- nation. Fig. 23 also shows the conventional method of depicting other colors (rarely used), as tenne, sanguine, etc. Of the heraldic furs, three are most com- mon, viz. : Ermine (see Fig. 24) ; Fair 1 (see Fig. 25) ; Potent (see Fig. 26). 1 Dr. Edward Everett Hale shrewdly surmises that Cinderella's slippers were of fur=vair, and not of glass = verre. 32 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY Other furs are shown in Figs. 27, 28, 29. If new coats are to be devised, it is con- venient to employ these rarely used furs, especially as they lend themselves to effec- tive designs. The shield is wholly covered with these metals, furs, and colors. Upon it are " charged " certain devices, which are also of metals, furs, and colors. A funda- mental rule of blazoning is that metal must not be superposed on metal, nor fur on fur, nor color on color. A lion gules, for example, must not be charged on a field azure, nor a lion argent on a field or. Color may be placed on metal or fur. Metal " " " " color or fur. Fur " " " " metal or color. These rules have been universally fol- lowed in modern times, especially in Eng- land. There are many ancient coats, however, that do not conform to the rule. The arms of the kingdom of Jeru- salem, for instance, consist of crosses or charged on a field argent; the arms of the Inquisition in Spain were sable, a cross vert. Moreover, when a charge is blazoned CHARGES 33 in its proper color the rule does not apply. Azure, an oak-tree proper (i. e., vert), is an allowable blazon. CHARGES A charge is any figure or device placed upon a shield. In the nature of things most shields must be distinguished by charges. The arms of D'Albret were originally a field gules without any other thing, says Froissart, until "the French king gave to his cousin-german, Sir Charles d' Alb ret, for the augmentation of his honor, two quarters of arms of France with flower- de-luces." The arms of Brittany are ermine and no more. But only a few shields can be composed with simple tinctures and without charges. The heralds have divided charges into several classes. It is only necessary here to distinguish two, namely, ordinaries and common charges. The ordinaries are as follows : The chief, which occupies the upper third of the field (see Fig. 30). Its diminutive is the fillet one fourth of the chief, and lying at its 34 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY base. Tlcispale is a vertical band, one third of the width of the shield (see Fig. 14). The pallet is one half of the pale. The bend (dexter) is as in Fig. 31 when it bears another charge (as a lion, an eagle, etc.), and it then is one third the width of the shield (see Figs. 12 and 51). If it bears no charge it must be one fifth of this width. It has several diminutives (see Fig. 33). The bend sinister crosses the shield diagonally from sinister to dexter. It is not the sign of illegitimate birth. The baton is one fourth the width of the bend. It is couped (cut off) at its extremities, and is often used to mark illegitimacy. The cadets of the house of Bourbon bore the baton ; the illegitimate sons the baton sinister (Fig. 34). The fesse (Fig. 35) is one third the width of the shield, and the bar (Fig. 35 bis), is one fifth of this width. (The bar is borne in groups of two, three, etc. The fesse is fixed in position, while bars may be placed any- ; where in the field. A " bar sinister " is an impossible charge.) For various forms of the fesse see Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11. The chevron (Fig. 36) is formed of two bars conjoined (see also Figs. 56 and 57). A chevronel is CHARGES 35 a small chevron of half -width. In conti- nental heraldry the bend, f esse, and chevron are often arched or "bowed (as in the arms of Saxony, for example). The saltire is a St. Andrew's cross ; its form is shown in Fig. 37. The cross of St. Patrick, Ireland, is argent, a saltire gules ; the cross of St. Andrew, Scotland, is azure, a saltire argent. The Cross (see Fig. 38, which is the cross of St. George, England, argent, a cross gules). -There are very many forms of the cross. When no special designation is given the form of Fig. 38 is implied . Drawings of many of the forms are given in Figs. 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46. In Fig. 46 the Latin cross (2) has its lower limb the longer. The Greek cross is as in No. 7. The patriarchal cross (5) is a cross with a short bar across its upper limb. The cross of St. Anthony (3) is like the Greek letter tau. The cross potent (Jerusalem cross) is shown in No. 13. The Maltese cross (10) (so called because it was the cognizance of the Knights of Malta) is well known. The cross crosslet (Fig. 39) is a cross each of whose limbs is traversed by a short bar. If the lower limb of a cross is sharpened as if to fix it in the ground, 36 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY it is described as fitche. Such crosses were set up by the Crusaders in their devotions (see Fig. 45). Crosses and saltires may be " voided," as in Fig. 37 bis. The quarter is, as the name implies, one fourth of the field (see Figs. 5, 51, 52, 57). The canton is a little quarter occupying one third of the chief, usually on the dexter side (see Fig. 47). The gyron is half of a quar- ter, bisected bendwise (see Fig. 48, where the whole field is gyronny). The gyron is said to have originated in Spanish heraldry. The bordure is one fifth of the width of the shield (see Fig. 49). It is frequently added to a coat of arms, especially on the Con- tinent, to distinguish an offshoot of a family from the original stock ; or, as frequently, in Spain, as an augmentation of honor. The treasure is one fourth of the bordure, In the arms of Scotland it is borne double, and fleury -counter -fleury, i. e., with eight fleurs-de-lis issuing from each tressure (Fig. 50). These fleurs-de-lis are said to allude to the early alliances of Scotland with France. The inescutcheon is a small shield borne on the center of the field (Fig. 52). Bezants small roundels of or (see Fig. 16 for roundels). When a shield consists of more than one tincture, the dividing-lines are described, as to their direction, as in the titles to Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16, 17, 61, 62, 63. Fig. 15 is blazoned paly of six, because the lines divide the shield into six parts and lie in the direction of the pale. Fig. 61 is blazoned barry of six, etc. A field cheeky is divided like a chess-board (Fig. 62). The Stewarts bear a fesse cheeky. They were at first hereditary stewards of the Scottish kings; and the checkered board was used in making up accounts, it is said. The foregoing gives an account of the ordinaries and most of the subordinaries. The reader should consult the titles to the various figures in the plates at the end of this book. See especially Figs. 58, 59, 60. We have now to consider what figures may be charged upon the field, or upon any one of the ordinaries. Common Charges* Any device may be charged upon the field, animals, birds, letters of the alphabet, weapons, etc., and all such devices, except the ordmaries just 38 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY described, are called "common charges. 77 Each of these devices may be represented in its native tints (when it is called proper), or it may be displayed in any one of the heraldic metals, furs, or colors. A lion vert would be a zoological curiosity, but it is a perfectly correct heraldic charge. The forms of heraldic animals, etc., are highly conventionalized also. For instance, an heraldic lion is all mouth and paws; the features which represent his ferocity and strength are purposely exaggerated. A con- ventional heraldic style has been evolved in the course of centuries, which is not with- out its excellences, and which gives plea- sure to the expert. Fig. 64 is an admirable example of medieval heraldic design (in Germany), by Albrecht Diirer. It is a combination of medieval design with Re- naissance forms. Heraldic animals are described as to their position in technical terms, as rampant, sejant, etc. An examination of the figures at the end of this book will convey a bet- ter notion of the heraldic postures than verbal descriptions. In German heraldry it is indifferent in which direction the CHARGES 39 charges face. In English they always face to dexter, as has been said. If the arms of man and wife are marshaled on two shields, or on the same shield side by side (see Fig. 65), it is a fixed rule in Germany that the charges must face toward each other, so that the arms of the baron (dexter half of the shield) are necessarily contourne, while those of the femme (sinister half) face in their natural direction. All English hel- mets in profile must also face to the dex- ter ; but it is not so in G-ermany. This rule is carried so far that in G-erman heraldic books it has been customary to make all the charges and helmets face toward the inner side of the pages ! This would not be tolerated in English practice. A few of the more important charges will be named. Heraldic terms not given here maybe found in the Century Dictionary. The lion (see Figs. 33, 55, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, and 78). The lion was for several centuries the charge most frequently used. In a roll of the time of Edward II the arms of 918 bannerets are given. Lions occur in 225 coats; and eagles, a very frequent charge, in 43. It 40 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY has been the badge (cognizance) of England since the time of Henry I (A. D. 1127). Lions may be statant 1 (standing), passant (walk- ing), passant gardant (walking with the full face seen), rampant (as in Fig. 33), salient (as in Fig. 70), sejant (seated), etc. Lions are generally blazoned " armed and langued gules," i. e., with claws and tongue (langue) gules, unless the field is gules, in which case the color is usually azure. The stag (see Figs. 82, 83, 84, 85, 86). A stag is not said to be passant, but trippant ; not salient, but springing; not sejant, but lodged; etc. The eagle (see Figs. 87, 88). The eagle is usually displayed, i. e., as in the arms of the United States, Russia, etc. It is single- headed in the arms of the United States, ancient Eome, Germany, etc.; double- headed for Russia, 2 Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, 3 etc. The eagle of Mex- ico, with the cactus, is derived from Aztec manuscripts. 1 These words are pronounced as they are spelled in English, not as in Norman French. 2 The Czar of Russia assumed the double-headed eagle as a cognizance, in 1470, on his marriage with the niece of the last Byzantine emperor. 3 The double-headed eagle has been the cognizance CHARGES The boar (see Fig. 17). The peacock is said to be " in his pride w rhen the tail is spread. The pelican is said to be " in her piety " rhen in the nest feeding her young with )lood from her breast. Other birds are iown in Figs. 89, 90, 91. The wings of birds, in pairs or single, are very common in the crests of Ger- man heraldry. A plume of (three) feathers is the badge of the Prince of Wales. It was assumed from that of the King of Bohemia who was killed at the battle of Cressy (1346), and has since been the cog- nizance of the princes of Wales. Three allerions (eagles without beaks or claws) occur in the arms of Lorraine (alerion = loraine). The martlet is a swallow with no beak and no feet, and is frequently found in English heraldry (see Fig. 89). Fish. A fish is haurient when it is in pale with the head upward. A dolphin (dauphin) was the cognizance of the dau- phins of France (see Fig. 92). It is usually embowed (see also Figs. 93, 94). since the beginning of the fifteenth century. Before that time the emperor bore the eagle with a single head. 42 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY Wild men or savages are most frequently met with as supporters. Parts of the human body (a hand, an arm, etc.) are often used as charges. The heart (of Bruce) appears in the arms of Douglas (Fig. 95). The dragon (see Fig. 79). The dragon is an heraldic charge, either with or without St. George (see the beautiful design on the obverse of the gold sovereigns of the Eng- lish currency). The cockatrice and wivern are fabulous beasts of the same nature, and, like the dragon, have heraldic forms all their own (Figs. 80 and 81). The sun usually appears "in his splen- dor," i. e., front face, or with rays (as in the seal of Bowdoin College, for example) (Fig. 53). The moon is usually either crescent (Fig. 96) (a new moon with the horns pointing upward), or increscent (horns to dexter), or decrescent (horns to sinister). The three crescents interlaced of Fig. 97 is a very old design of religious origin. Stars have six wavy points (see Fig. 98). A five-pointed star is heraldically a mullet. The mullet as a charge is often pierced, i. e. 9 ith a hole in the center, through which ie tincture of the field shows. Trees. The oak is most common, or the >ts and branches. Trees appear in crests tore frequently than as charges. The fleur-de-luce (see Fig. 54). " France icient " bore azure sprinkled with (many) Les or, as in Fig. 54. " France modern " >re azure, with three lilies only, arranged " two and one," i. e., with two lilies in chief and one in base. The fleurs-de-lis have figured in the arms of France since Louis VII (1179). Charles V (1364) first reduced their number to three. They were early introduced into English heraldry, and oc- cur twenty times in the roll of Edward II. Whatever may have been the origin of the charge now called fleur-de-lis, it is certain that it was not originally designed to rep- resent a lily. It is a very old emblem. The Empress Theodora (A. D. 527), for in- stance, bears one in her crown. The rose. The rose gules was the badge of the house of Lancaster, the rose argent of the house of York. A rose quarterly argent and gules was the badge of Henry VII, and is known as the Tudor rose. 44 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY The thistle is the emblem of Scotland. The shamrock (quatrefoil) is the emblem of Ireland. Several of the States of the Union have formally adopted a flower as an emblem, as follows : Alabama, the goldenrod ; Califor- nia, the yellow poppy; Colorado, the co- lumbine; Delaware, the peach-blossom; Idaho, the syringa; Maine, the pine-cone and tassel; Minnesota, the cypripedium; Montana, the bitter-root; Nebraska, the goldenrod ; New York, the rose ; Oklahoma, the mistletoe ; Oregon, the goldenrod ; Utah, the sego-lily; Vermont, the red clover; Rhode Island and Wisconsin, the maple- tree. A garb (or gerbe) is a sheaf of wheat. A mount vert (usually in the base of a shield) is a green mound of earth out of which other charges rise (as in the beauti- ful and appropriate seal of the United States Department of Agriculture) (see Fig. 118). The broad-arrow is often found as a charge. The master-general of the ord- nance (1693) used this charge, which oc- curred in his coat of arms, to mark cannon, etc. Ever since that day it has been em- ployed as a mark for government stores in general at all British stations, and it is as well known as the lions of England. The castle appears in the arms of Castile (gules, a castle or). The ladder is found in Galileo's arms and in the arms of the Scaligers of Verona. The spear. The arms granted to Shak- spere's father were or, on a bend sable, a tilting-spear of the field (i. e., or). The sword. The arms granted to Joan of Arc were azure, a sword in pale, point upward, supporting a royal crown, between two fleurs-de-lis or (Fig. 32 shows a sword in bend). When there is more than one charge on a shield, it is necessary to specify the posi- tion of each one. Three charges of one kind (in English heraldry) are always ar- ranged "two and one" unless otherwise specified. In continental heraldry the ar- rangement is always described. Cadency* The arms of a father descend, of right, to all his sons, each of whom may in turn become the head of a family. In early times the " differences " employed to mark the various branches were obtained 46 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY by the use of bordures, by changing the colors of the coat, etc. English practice prescribes the following rules, which have not been strictly followed, however: The eldest son bears the paternal arms, " differ- enced " by a label, i. e., by a sign like the device in chief of Fig. 102. Here the fa- ther's arms would be or, and the eldest son's coat would be or, a label of three points ar- gent. The second son differences Ms coat by a crescent (Fig. 96), the third son by a mullet (a five-pointed star), the fourth by a martlet (Fig. 89), etc. The grandsons (during the life of their grandfather) difference their coats in the same manner. The second son of the eldest son would place a cres- cent upon his father's label, or "mark of cadency." Englishmen entitled to bear arms brought coats so differenced to America; and marks of cadency labels, crescents, etc. still remain on many American coats, and have, in fact, now become a part of the arms. They were not removed at the death of the parent, as they should have been. The arms of daughters are not differenced in this manner, as they are in- CHARGES 47 capable of founding a family. So long as they are unmarried their arms are the same as those of their father. If his arms are differenced, theirs must be, of course. The marks of cadency should be borne on the crest and on the supporters, as well as on the arms, in English heraldry, according to rule. RAs we have seen, the shield may be di- ded in different ways by a few partition- lines. The different parts may be of differ- ent tinctures, and a comparatively small number of charges may be superposed on the shield in differing positions. These are the elements from which armorial bear- ings are built up, and they lend themselves to a great variety of relatively simple com- binations. It has been estimated that there are at least two hundred thousand different coats of arms known to-day. 1 It is by no means difficult to compose an entirely new coat that shall be simple and yet entirely distinct from any coat now in use. While the right of bearing arms was 1 The " Armorial Ge"ne"ral " of M. Eiestap (1861) alone contains the coats of more than sixty thousand families. 48 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY formerly confined to the class of nobles, merchants were permitted to adopt distinc- tive devices, merchants' marks, which were placed upon their merchandise. Such marks, which are often mere monograms or letters of the alphabet, are frequently found in Polish coats of arms as charges. Of printers' marks, the best known is that of Aldus the dolphin and the anchor. In modern times we find ancestral arms put to practical use as trade-marks. The Montebello champagne is marked with the arms granted by Napoleon to Marshal Lannes (vert, a naked sword in pale), and there are many like instances. HELMETS ABOVE the shield, and solidly resting upon it, is the helmet. It is full-faced with bars, for kings, princes, and the higher nobility ; full-faced, open, for baro- nets and knights ; in profile, closed, for es- quires and gentlemen in English practice, and also in French. These rules do not apply in Germany. Upon the helmet rests the wreath, a twisted band (six twists) of two tinctures. The principal metal of the CEESTS 49 arms occupies the first, third, and fifth twists (counting from the dexter), and the principal color occupies the other twists. For different forms of helmets see Figs. 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 119, and 64. CEESTS CRESTS came into general use in the thirteenth century, and are an essential part of the arms. In German practice they often repeat the charges on the shield, and are very elaborate and of exaggerated size -very much larger than the shield, in many cases. The arms of the dukes of Mecklen- burg are or, a bull's head sable, crowned gules. Their crest is a fan or and gules, supporting a peacock's tail, and between the latter and the fan the shield is repeated. This crest, with its helmet, must neces- sarily be drawn very much larger than the shield. Many German crests bear horns in pairs, with or without additions. Wings in pairs occur very frequently in German heraldry as crests. In English practice there is seldom a relation between the crest and the charges of the shield. 50 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY The crest is in theory a badge, to be as- sumed at will by an individual. In prac- tice the crest, like the arms, usually remains the same from father to son. In England the crest is frequently displayed over a wreath of the colors ; in Germany it is never separated from the helmet, on which it must rest solidly. German heralds make merry over our English crests floating in the air. In Germany all crests face as the helmet faces. If this is in face, so must be the crest; if in profile, the crest must also be in profile. This rule does not obtain in England, though it is the logical practice (see Fig. 55, however, where it is carried out; and compare Fig. 71). The German helmet may be borne full face or in profile, according to fancy. In England (and in France) each rank has its appropriate helmet. Moreover, a quartered coat (i. e., quarterings of various coats derived from different families) in Germany always has the right to at least two helmets and crests, though they are not always borne. In Eng- land it is not common to display more than a single helmet and crest, even when the right exists. CROWNS, CORONETS, AND SUPPORTERS 51 CROWNS AND CORONETS THE helmet is often crowned, or the crown may appear without the helmet. Fig. 105 represents various crowns and coronets, such as are engraved on the visiting-cards of noblemen in continental countries. The chapeau (a red cap turned up ermine), the miter, the bishop's hat, etc., take the place of the helmet in appropriate cases. SUPPORTERS IN English heraldry supporters are used only for the nobility and for a very few other persons. No woman (except the Queen and peeresses) is authorized to bear her coat of arms with supporters. In Germany the practice is entirely differ- ent, and good authorities hold that any person is free to assume supporters at will. Usually the supporters have no relation to the charges of the shield (the savages of Prussia, the angels of ancient France, the griffins of Austria, etc.) ; but occasionally there is such a relation (the bears of Orsini, the monks of Monaco, etc.). 52 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY BADGES BADGES were borne by nobles at least as early as coats of arms, and they con- tinued in common use in England down to the times of Queen Elizabeth. The planta genista (broom) of the Plant agenets, the roses of York (white) and Lancaster (red), the bear and ragged staff of Earl Warwick, are well known : The rampant bear chained to a ragged staff This day I '11 wear aloft my burgonet (SHAKSPERE, Henry VI, Part II, act v, sc. 1). The Scottish clans still employ their badges of heather (Buccleugh), ivy (Gor- don), pine (MacG-regor), thistle (Stewart), etc., to which their chiefs (only) add two eagle's feathers. Badges are cognizances the marks by which individuals are dis- tinguished. MOTTOS THE motto was anciently the cri-de- gmrre (the war-cry) as well as the personal motto of the noble. Froissart speaks of the cry, arms, and name" as if this rere the order of their importance; and it is true that war-cries were not per- dtted to the lesser nobles. Again, it is >robable that the arms did in fact precede ie family name in many cases. The de- vice in the shield of the noble gave the name to the family in some instances. The swallow (hirondelle) in the arms of Arundel was the origin of the family name. The family name or motto is frequently im- plied in the arms or crest (armes parlantes). Thus Sir Thomas Lucy, Shakspere's enemy, bore lucies (a fish, the pike) ; the Spurrs bear spur-rowels; Wolff von Wolffthal (Germany) a wolf in arms and crest ; the dauphins of France a dolphin (dauphin) ; etc. Hereditary surnames were not adopted until the thirteenth, and were not common till the fourteenth, century. The French de (De la Roche, for example) shows that many surnames arose from the name of a property, etc. There were few Americans bearing three names before 1770. In old German heraldry mottos were not employed. Bismarck's motto, In Trinitate 64 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY Rolur, is not hereditary. It was assumed by the present prince when he received the decoration of the Danebrog from the King of Denmark. Dieu et mon droit, is the motto of England ; Gott mit uns, of Prus- sia; Plus ultra, of Spain ; Epluribus unum, of the United States ; etc. F. E. E. T. (the device of the house of Savoy) stands for Fortitudo ejus Ehodum tenuit. The device of the house of Austria the five vowels may be interpreted, Austria Est Impe- rare Orbi Universe; etc. The war-cry of the Templars was Beauseant, in allusion to their black-and-white flag. Beauseant is Old French for a black-and-white charger. The motto of the coat of arms may be a purely personal one as well as the war-cry. Mme. de G-enlis, speaking of personal mot- tos, well says : " Chaque personne, par sa devise, revele un petit secret, ou prend une sorte d'engagement." A few mottos may be here set down as examples. Aberdeen: Bon Accord (A. D. 1308). The French Academy : A Vimmortalite. Beauharnais : Autre ne sers. Sara Bernhardt : Quand meme. Douglas : Jamais arriere. KNOTS AND BLAZONING 55 Erasmus (with a figure of the god Ter- minus) : Credo nulli. Louis XIV (with a sun in splendor l ) : Necpluribus impar. Mistral the poet (with a locust) : Le soleil me fait chanter. Montaigne: Sais-je? Peter the Great, in Holland, sealed with a signet on which the device was a carpen- ter's apprentice and the motto : Mon rang est celui d'un ecolier, et fai besoin de maitres. Eohan: Plaisance! Mme. de Sevigne (with a swallow) : Le froid me cJiasse. Voltaire: Au fait. KNOTS KNOTS are a kind of personal badge (see Fig. 101, which gives the principal forms of heraldic knots). BLAZONING BLAZONING 2 a coat of arms means its accurate description in heraldic terms, 1 Charles V of France used the same device, according to Froissart. 2 Blazon (blazonry) is the doctrine according to which arms are described and marshaled. The word is proba- bly derived from the German blasen, to blow, in allusion 56 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY so that it can be understood or drawn out from the description. The language of the herald is technical and brief, and its use cannot be learned except by practice on many examples. Only the barest outline of the art can be given here. In the first place, the description (the blazon) must be brief, and all tautology must be avoided. Each charge must be mentioned in the strict order of its importance (in the order of its nearness to the surface of the shield, for example). The first mention of a color (or metal) must give its name, as gules, azure, etc., and this name must not be re- peated. If it is necessary to refer to the color again, it is called "the first," "the second," etc. Thus a silver field with a green f esse, charged with two green crosses above the fesse and one below it, and bear- ing on the fesse itself three silver stars of five points, would be blazoned: argent, a fesse vert between three crosses of the sec- ond, as many mullets of the first. This blazon, and others like it, becomes very to the trumpets of the heralds at tournaments, where the name, arms, and lineage of the contending knights were proclaimed. MARSHALING plain when we recollect the fundamental rule that color must not be charged on color, nor metal on metal. The silver mullets must be on the fesse. If the stu- dent will carefully read the titles to the figures given in this book (especially Figs. 16, 17, 56, 57, 64, etc.) he will obtain some insight into the rules of blazon. MARSHALING A COAT OF ARMS is hereditary. Every son inherits the paternal coat. If there are no sons, all the daughters (heiresses) inherit it, and can transmit it to their children. When one marries the arms go with the alliance. The husband has the right to "marshal" her coat with his, and their children inherit the new quartered coat. The marshaling of such complex coats has been performed in various ways at different epochs. Anciently the hus- band's coat was cut in two per pale (di- midiated), and its dexter half formed the dexter half of the new shield (A, Fig. 3), while the sinister half (B in the same fig- ure) was formed of the sinister half of the heiress's coat. This arrangement was very 58 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY unsatisfactory, for obvious reasons. Parts of three lions of the husband's coat might be continued by parts of three ships of the wife's, etc. The next process (about A. D. 1500) was to marshal by impalement. In Fig. 65, A, is the whole of the husband's coat, B, the whole of the wife's. The modern fashion is as follows : The husband bears his paternal arms (A) on a shield, and over the shield an inescutcheon (a small shield cen- trally placed, as in Fig. 52) bearing the arms (B) of the heiress, his wife. Unless his wife is in fact an heiress, he may not bear her arms. The children of such a marriage bear a quartered coat (see Fig. 5), with the paternal arms in the first and fourth, the maternal in the second and third, quarters, thus . Should the issue of such a mar- Jt> XX riage be an only daughter (heiress), she would carry the quartered coat to her husband. During his life he would bear his paternal arms (C), with his wife's quartered coat on an inescutcheon ; their children would bear a coat of six quarters, and so on (see Figs. 51, 52, 57, for examples of quartered coats of arms). Such is the English practice. COATS OF ARMS The custom in Germany and France (and in Scotland) is far more rational. Every ancestor and ancestress who has a coat of arms is represented in the quarter- ing. It would be well to adopt this rule in America. The coat of the German Empire contains a quarter for every province. The arms of Castile and Leon are quarterly, I and IV Castile (gules, a castle or), II and III Leon (argent, a lion rampant gules), and so on. In order to give the reader a little needed practice, the blazons of a few simple coats of arms are given below. If he will sketch out for himself the divisions of the various fields, and indicate the disposition of the different charges, he will acquire consider- able familiarity with the elements of the subject, and will be prepared to attack more complex cases. Angouleme : France ancient (i. e., azure, sprinkled with fleurs-de-lis or), a label of three points gules. Anjou : France modern (i.e. azure, three fleurs-de-lis or), a bordure gules. Aragon : paly of ten, argent and gules. Arundell of Wardour: sable, six swal- lows argent, 3, 2, 1. 60 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY Austria : gules, a f esse argent. Sir Francis Bacon: gules, on a chief argent, two mullets pierced sable (i. e., two five-pointed black stars with white centers). Baden : or, a bend gules. Brandenburg : argent, an eagle displayed gules. Bruce : or, a saltire and chief gules. Chateaubriant : gules, seme (sprinkled) with fleurs-de-lis or (like Fig. 54). Chaucer: per pale argent and gules, a bend counterchanged (i. e., the dexter half of the bend is gules; the sinister is argent). For examples of counterchanging see Figs. 16, 17, and 116. Croy : argent, three bars gules. De Vogue: azure, a game-cock or, wat- tled and armed gules (i. e., with red dew- laps and spurs). Douglas: argent, a human heart gules, ensigned (i. e., crowned) with a royal crown proper, on a chief azure, two stars of the first (i.e., argent) (see Fig. 95 for a part of this blazon). Dukes of Orleans: France modern, a baton argent. John Evelyn: azure, a gryphon passant UNIVERSITY COATS OF ARMS and a chief or (i. e., both animal and chief are or). Flanders : or, a lion rampant sable, armed gules. Frontenac : azure, three eagles' gambs, 2, 1. Greece : azure, a Greek cross argent. Grenada : argent, a pomegranate proper. Guienne : gules, a lion passant gardant or. PHohenzollern : quarterly sable and argent. Knights of St. John of Jerusalem : they bore on a chief gules a cross argent. London : argent, a cross gules, in dexter chief a dagger, point up, proper. Lords of the Isles: argent, a lymphad (i. e., an ancient war-galley) sable. Magdeburg : per f esse gules and argent, a bordure counterchanged. Knights of Malta : gules, a Maltese cross argent. Mar : azure, a bend between six crosses crosslet fitche or. Percy (ancient) : azure, a fesse engrailed (i. e., with edges like Fig. 12) or. Pola (city) : vert, a cross or. Sardinia : argent, a cross gules, cantoned by four Moors' heads (i. e., one in each angle of the cross). 62 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY Shelley : sable, a fesse engrailed between three whelks (i. e., shells) or. Sir Philip Sidney: or, a pheon (i. e., arrow-head) azure. Sleswick : or, two lions passant gardarit in pale (i. e., one above the other) azure. Stuart: or, a fesse cheeky argent and azure. Suabia : argent, an eagle displayed sable, armed gules. Thun and Taxis : azure, a badger proper (a badger in German is Dachs, which is a rebus for Taxis). Tyrol : argent, an eagle displayed gules. Ulster : or, a cross gules. University of Bologna : gules, two keys argent in saltire ; on a chief azure a closed book, palewise, or. University of Cambridge, England : gules, on a cross ermine, between four lions of England, a book of the first (arms first used in 1580). University of Heidelberg: sable, a lion rampant or, crowned gules, holding in his paws an open book. University of Oxford: azure, between three open crowns or an open book proper. ARMS OF KINGDOMS AND STATES 63 Venice: azure, the winged lion of St. Mark or. Washington (George) : see the frontis- piece. Wellington (Duke of) : see Fig. 52. AKMS OF KINGDOMS AND STATES HERALDRY is closely allied with history in the armorial bearings of kingdoms and monarchs. The evidences of the alliances of ruling kings, and even of their aspira- tions, are, as it were, petrified in their coats of arms. The gold noble (coin) of Edward III of England displays his arms quarterly, I and IV France ancient, II and III Eng- land, and thus exhibits two interesting facts : first, that Edward claimed the crown of France as of right ; and, second, that he gave France precedence over England. And, in fact, the France which he claimed (western France, from Nantes to the Pyre- nees) was then a richer inheritance than his island kingdom. The fleurs-de-lis on the tressure (fleury-counter-fleury) surround- ing the lion of Scotland (see Fig. 50) mark the alliances of the Scottish and 64 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY French royal houses. The Guelf s, who had claims on the throne of England (about 1300), bore the English arms diminished, i. e., gules, two (not three) lions of England. Their crest contains the white horse of the old Saxons over a kingly crown. The seal of Trinity College, Dublin (1591), bears the name of Queen Elizabeth and the Tudor rose (the badge of all the Tudors), but also displays the portcullis, the badge of the Beauforts, and thus exhibits a piece of early history. The present arms of England are well known ; they are quarterly, I and IV gules, three lions of England (or) in pale j 1 II Scot- land (or, a lion rampant within a tressure fleury-counter-fleury gules) ; III Ireland (azure, a harp or, stringed argent). The shield is surrounded with the collar of the Garter, and surmounted by the royal crown. The crest is a lion of England. The sup- porters are a lion (for England) and a uni- corn (for Scotland). The motto is Dieu et mon droit. The full coat of arms of a monarch con- tains many quarterings to exhibit his many i See Fig. 78. ARMS OF THE UNITED STATES 65 alliances with princely houses. Whenever the daughter of the Elector of Bavaria was not in mourning it was a sign that "all Europe was in good health" (court of Louis XV). THE SEAL, ARMS, AND FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THE history of the great seal of the United States is given in an official docu- ment issued by the Department of State in 1892. Fig. 113 is a copy of the seal now in use. It is blazoned as follows : argent, six pallets gules, a chief azure, 1 borne on the breast of an American eagle displayed proper, hold- ing in his dexter talon an olive-branch with thirteen fruits, in his sinister a sheaf of as many arrows, all proper; above his head a sky azure, charged with as many mullets of the field, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, environed with a halo of rays or, and encircled with clouds proper; in his beak a scroll of the last, with the motto E pluribus unum. 1 The arms. It should be noticed that the outer edges of the shield are argent; of our flag, gules. Notice also that the stars are not borne on the shield. 5 66 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY The Congress of the United States adopted a national flag June 14, 1777. In the early days of the Revolutionary War the different colonies made use of various banners. The national flag adopted was to have thirteen stripes (corresponding to the thirteen original States), alternately red and white (red stripes bordering the field). The Union was to be blue, charged with thirteen white stars. After various slight changes, the flag remains as above, except that the Union is now charged with as many stars as there are States. When a new State is admitted its star is added on the Fourth of July next succeeding the date of its entrance into the Union. Our flag, in this form, was first displayed on July 4, 1818. The flag does not exactly reproduce the arms, it will be seen nor, of course, is there any reason why it should do so. Both flag and arms are strictly heraldic. In the opinion of most persons, the flag of the United States is used too freely, and with too little respect, for advertising pur- poses, as a trade-mark, etc. A movement is on foot to regulate its use in such ways, ARMS OF THE UNITED STATES 67 and several of the States of the Union are considering laws to restrain its improper dis- play. Such laws should be very carefully drawn so as not to impose restrictions that are merely vexatious. The more the flag is displayed the better, provided al- ways that it is done in a respectful man- ner. The national coat of arms is used very freely in England, Germany, Austria, etc., with excellent results. Besides the great seal of the United States, each of the executive departments (State, Treasury, War, Navy, etc.) has its seal ; and many of the bureaus (Bureau of Navigation, Hydrographic Office, etc., in the Navy, Engineer Department in the Army, etc.) have adopted seals. The Senate and House of Representa- tives also have their seals. The seal of the Treasury Department may be seen on all our paper money, the arms of the United States on our coins. Each State of the Union has its great seal. Those of the older States are often very appropriate and well designed (as those of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, etc.). Many of the seals of 68 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY the newer States contravene all heraldic rules, and are mere monstrosities (those of Nevada, Kansas, Minnesota, etc.). They were adopted in a stage of culture in which such things were valued simply for their legal use. From time to time real improvements are introduced (by law), and it is instructive to note that these are al- ways returns to heraldic usage. Some of the States have adopted State flags (Con- necticut in 1897, for example) ; and a State emblem, usually a flower, has also been chosen in many instances. Most of our cities have seals, a few of them being very well designed. A very full account of American official seals is given in Zieber's " Heraldry in America." TITLES OF NOBILITY THE highest hereditary title that can be held by a British subject is that of Duke. The premier duke of England is Henry Fitzalan Howard, Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Surrey (1483), Earl of Arundel (feudal title about 1139, confirmed 1433), Earl of Norfolk (1644), Baron Fitzalan, TITLES OF NOBILITY 69 Clun, and Oswaldestre (1627), Baron Mal- travers (1330, by writ). The premier duke of Scotland is Alfred Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Ham- ilton and Marquess of Clydesdale (1643)^ Marquess of Douglas (1633), Marquess of Hamilton (1599), Earl of Selkirk (1646), Earl of Lanark, Arran, and Cambridge (1643), Earl of Angus (1389), Baron Ham- ilton (1445), Baron Abernethy and Jed- burgh Forest (1633), Baron Avon, Pol- mont, Machanshire, and Innerdale (1643), Baron Daer and Shortcleuch (1646), Duke of Brandon and Baron Dutton (1712). The premier duke of Ireland is Maurice Fitzgerald, Duke of Leinster (1766), Mar- quess of Kildare and Earl of Offaly (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Baron of Offaly (1205, by tenure). There are 22 English, 8 Scottish, and 2 Irish dukes. The next hereditary rank is that of Mar- quess. In 1896 there were 22 English, 4 Scot- tish, and 10 Irish marquesses. Next in order come the Earls (121 English, 44 Scottish, 62 Irish titles). The Earls are followed by the Viscounts (29 of England, 5 of Scotland, 37 of Ireland). Then follow 70 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY the Barons (310 of England, 25 of Scotland, 65 of Ireland). The oldest title of Baron is held by De Courcy, Lord Kingsale, Baron Courcy, Baron of Ringrone (an Irish title of 1181, confirmed by patent in 1397, which was preceded by an English barony by tenure, from the Conquest, 1066). The title of Baronet was created by James I in order to fill his treasury for the con- quest of Ireland. Any gentleman with an estate of the annual value of one thousand pounds, who would agree to maintain thirty soldiers for three years in Ireland, might receive the title; and the treasury issued a receipt to him for the first year's pay of the soldiery, at the rate of eightpence per day. One of the most amusing of survivals occurs in this connection. The baronets of to-day are no longer obliged to maintain the quota of soldiers ; but the treasury, to preserve the ancient form of the warrant, still issues to the newly created baronet of 1898 a receipt for the pay of thirty men for one year ! The first baronet of England (1611) was Sir Nicholas Bacon, father of Sir Francis, TITLES OF NOBILITY 71 afterward Lord Bacon. A descendant still holds the title as eleventh baronet. There are 771 baronets of England and the United Kingdom (1896), 91 baronets of Scotland, 64 of Ireland. A baronet is " Sir Nicholas Bacon, Bart.," for example; his wife is " Lady " Bacon. All the foregoing dignities are hereditary, and they are seldom conferred upon persons who have not wealth to maintain them. Personal honors are conferred upon indi- viduals, for their lives only, by bestowing the decorations of the various orders of knighthood, as the Bath, etc. The Knight is " Sir Nicholas Bacon, K. C. B." ; his wife is " Lady " Bacon. The lowest distinction is that of Knight Bachelor. It is conferred by the sovereign in person, and is personal, not hereditary. A Knight Bachelor is " Sir Nicholas Bacon, KtJ 9 ; his wife is "Lady" Bacon. The nobility of Germany is divided into different classes, as follows: (1) Herzog (Duke) ; (2) Furst (Prince) (there are two classes of princes: the higher, who are addressed as Durchlaucht; the lower, who are styled Fwrstliche Gnaderi); (3) Graf 72 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY (Count) ; (4) Freiherr (Baron) ; (5) nobles ; and this class includes the Eitter (Knight). In Austria the nobles are, in order, Her- zog, Furst, Marquis, Graf, Conte, Baron (Freiherr), Eitter, etc. In France, Due, Prince, Marquis, Comte, Vicomte, Baron, Chevalier. In Italy, Duca, Principe, Marchese, Conte, Viconte, Bar one, Nobile. In Sweden, Graf, Baron, Adel (noble). In Russia the order is, Princes, Counts, Barons, and nobles. One of the titles of the King of France was " Most Christian King " ; the King of Spain is " His Catholic Majesty " ; the King of Hungary "His Apostolic Majesty." Henry VIII of England received the title of " Defender of the Faith." These titles were conferred by the Pope. OKDEKS OF KNIGHTHOOD IN a small book like the present, written for Americans, little need be said of the orders of knighthood. At a diplomatic re- ception at the White House, or at a ball in London, the insignia of modern orders (which are worn only with full dress) may ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD 73 be seen. The Knight wears the jewel (usually a cross) on the left breast of the coat ; the Knight Commander wears it sus- pended from a ribbon round the neck (en sautoir) ; the higher officers wear a star on the breast, with a wide ribbon over the shoulder. In evening dress miniatures of the orders are often worn at the buttonhole of the coat. In morning costume a ribbon or rosette may be worn, also at the button- hole. In former days Knights of St. John (Knights of Malta) augmented their coats of arms by a chief gules, charged with a cross or; and the Knights of the Teutonic Order bear its cross in their arms. For the higher grades of an order of knight- hood the collar of the order surrounds the shield of the coat of arms, and is charged with the motto of the order, as, Honi soit qui mat y pense (" Shame to him who thinks evil of it ") for the Garter. The lower grades (commander, knight) suspend the cross be- low the shield by the ribbon. In English heraldry the helmet of the knight must be in full face, not in profile. The history of the ancient orders of chiv- 74 A PEIMER OF HERALDRY airy the Golden Fleece (founded 1430), the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1048), the Templars (1118-19), etc. may be found in most books of reference. Some of the more important orders are mentioned below, with the dates of their foundation, etc. England* Order of the Garter (A. D. 1350). This order, like those of the Thistle (1540) and of St. Patrick (1783), is bestowed only on princes and great nobles. Order of the Bath (1399) G. C. B., K. C. B., C. B. It is given to both soldiers and civilians. Order of St. Michael and St. George G. C. M. G., K. C. M. G., C. M. G. It is usu- ally conferred for services in the colonies, except India, which has two orders of its own, viz., the Star of India, and the Indian Empire K. C. S. I., K. C. I. E., etc. The Victoria Cross is not an order, prop- erly speaking ; but it is a high distinction for military valor. France* The old orders of France were swept away by the Revolution. A famous order the Legion of Honor was instituted by Napoleon I in 1802, and is still in exis- ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD 75 tence. Its ribbon is red. Though very freely given, it is highly prized. It is be- stowed on civilians as well as soldiers. Denmark. The Order of the Elephant (1190) is one of the oldest in Europe, as well as the Danish Order of the Danebrog (1219). The former is given only to princes and kings. Austria* Austria maintains an Order of the Golden Fleece (1430), and many other distinctions of the sort. The Order of the Iron Crown (of Lombardy) was instituted by Napoleon I in 1805, and has been adopted by Austria. Prussia. The Order of the Black Eagle (1701) is the highest distinction in Prussia, and its wearers are all of the higher nobil- ity. The Bed Eagle (1705) and the Order pour le Merite (1740) are given for civil merit as well as for military service. The Iron Cross is given for military valor alone. Saxony. The kingdom of Saxony has various orders, of which the Albert Order (1850) is most often seen. The Saxon duchies bestow the Ernestine Order (1690). Both are given to civilians as well as soldiers. 76 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY Belgium. The Order of Leopold (1832). Greece.-The Order of the Redeemer (1829). Italy. The Order of the Annunciation (1362) is one of the most ancient of Europe, and is bestowed on princes only. The orders of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus (1434) and of the Crown of Italy (1868) are given for both military and civil merit. The Pope bestows various orders also. Portugal has several orders, of which those of St. Benedict of Avis (1143), St. James (1170), the Order of Christ (1317), the Tower and Sword (1459), are very ancient foundations, connected with the Crusades. Spain also has several ancient orders: Calatrava (about 1150), St. James (1170), Alcantara (1156), Our Lady of Montesa (1316), the Golden Fleece (1430). Russia. The most famous order of Rus- sia is the St. George (1769), which is be- stowed only for the highest military ser- vices. The orders of St. Vladimir (1782) and St. Anne (1735) are often seen. Venezuela. The only order maintained on the South American continent is the Order of the Liberator (Bolivar), which was founded by Peru in 1825 (and subsequently SILVER PLATE 77 dissolved), and adopted by Venezuela in 1854. United States* The Cincinnati is a true order, in which the honor descends to the eldest son. It was instituted at the close of the War of the Revolution (1783). Gen- eral Washington was its first president. The Medal of Honor, given by the United States to its soldiers and sailors, is a true decoration (see the section of this work on patriotic societies, pages 83 and 86). SILVER PLATE A VERY interesting chapter might be written on the silver plate of colonial times now in the possession of churches, corpora- tions, and individuals. Much was brought here from England and the Continent (and this can usually be identified and dated by the hall-marks). From early days there were American silversmiths, of whom Paul Revere (1735-1818), who made the night- ride from Boston to Lexington (1775), is perhaps the most famous. Pieces of silver- ware are often marked with the initials of married couples, thus w B A, which might mean that the piece belonged to William UNIVERSITY 78 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY and Agnes Blake, for instance. Many of the seventeenth-century pieces were engraved with arms when they were brought from England. In the eighteenth century it be- came common for prosperous gentlemen in the colonies to assume armorial bearings, which were sometimes entirely new achieve- ments, but more often were similar to those of some branch of the family in the old country (see Fig. 119, which represents a piece of plate made in Boston before 1750). HEREDITARY PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES WITHIN the past few years there has been a remarkable movement in the United States, which has resulted in the formation of many patriotic hereditary societies of large membership, with chapters in every State of the Union. Those only are eligi- ble to membership who can prove their descent from an ancestor of colonial or Eevolutionary times, from an officer or soldier or seaman of the various wars, from a pilgrim in the May flower , an early Hugue- not emigrant, etc. These societies bring AMERICAN PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES 79 men (and women) of like traditions to- gether, and organize them in an effective way for action. The action contemplated is patriotic never religious or related to party politics. The general society from its headquarters issues charters to branch societies in the different States. Each State society forms an organized group of persons well known to each other, by name at least, and often personally. Certain of the societies have been very active in preserving old monuments, build- ings, landmarks, and historic documents, or in erecting tablets and monuments at historic places, or in marking the sites of battles or the graves of Revolutionary sol- diers. Others have founded prizes to be given annually to school-children for essays on events in American history. Others, again, formally celebrate the nation's anni- versaries. All of them foster patriotism and historical research, and teach organization the sinking of individual desire in a common loyalty. There are probably too many such organizations at present, and more are forming. The weaker societies will, however, die ; and those that remain 80 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY will represent some real aspiration of their members. The exact significance of this remarkable movement this return to mutuality from individualism is not yet apparent. Some of its results are already obvious. Thou- sands of persons in sympathy with each other have been organized. If their col- lective action is needed, it can be com- manded. In the case of a foreign war, for example, the centers for defense, for hos- pital service, etc., are already in existence. 1 The path of a military dictator in the United States would never have been strewn with roses, but such societies insure the effective distribution of thorns. The larger affairs of our States and cities will undoubtedly be greatly influenced by the union of good citizens, of like traditions (and those excellent), for common and un- selfish ends. Finally, the educative power of such unions, where, as has been said, loyalty to an abstraction is cultivated and individualistic aims are discouraged, is im- mensely important to our development as 1 The Greek-letter fraternities of colleges could also be utilized in these ways. AMERICAN PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES 81 a nation. They supply exactly what was needed by the country at large, and more especially by its younger and cruder por- tions. In what follows a brief enumera- tion of some of these societies will be made. It must be remembered that many of them count their membership by thousands. A note directed to any of the secretaries-gen- eral (whose addresses are here given) will bring printed circulars in return, which give more detailed information than can be printed here. It is worth while for every citizen who is eligible to make inquiries, at any rate, and to determine whether it is not desirable to join at least one of these organizations. Each of these societies and orders has a seal (and often a flag) for the general so- ciety, as well as seals for the separate State chapters. A diploma is given to members, and each member has a right to wear the badge or decoration suspended from a rib- bon of the society's color. A rosette of the colors may be worn at the buttonhole of the coat. The right to use such insignia has been protected in many States by law, and the United States has authorized its 82 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY officers and soldiers to wear the badges of the military and naval orders. It is some- times flippantly said that the right to wear such insignia is the sole motive for joining the societies. This judgment is entirely superficial. The greatest satisfactions of mankind have always been found in joint action for unselfish ends. In their special way these organizations foster a common effort for ends that are thoroughly worthy. As the entrance to such societies is through descent from some ancestor, gen- ealogy has been powerfully stimulated, and thousands of family records have been examined and summarized in print. Our colonial and Eevolutionary history has been studied in its details, which is the only way to fully realize it. The men of to-day have been connected with colonial and Revolutionary times. The children of the coming century will find their ancestral records all prepared for them, and they will be face to face with high standards of duty and effort. A few of these societies are very exclu- sive, and require high social standing of their members as well as eligibility on AMERICAN PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES 83 grounds of ancestry. The complaint has been raised that such societies are too aris- tocratic for a republic. The same charge might lie against many exclusive social or literary clubs. Such clubs and such societies often perform a very useful part. If they do not meet an actual want, they will most assuredly die. If their preten- sions are too great, they will be laughed out of existence. The world is wide ; there is room for us all. To allow full scope to all individualities is the mark of a strong nation. The Society of Colonial Wars (instituted 1892) is open to the lineal male descendants of civil or military officers, or of soldiers, who served the colonies between May 13, 1607 (Jamestown), and April 19, 1775 (Lex- ington). The address of the secretary-gen- eral is 4 Warren street, New York city. The Society of American Wars (founded in 1897) includes the lineal male descendants of soldiers or civil officers from 1607 to 1783, and of officers of the War of 1812, of the War with Mexico, and of the Civil War. The recorder's address is 500 Eighth street, South, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 84 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY The Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (founded 1896) is open to any male citizen of the United States who is lineally descended in the male line of either parent from an ancestor who settled in any of the colonies between 1607 and 1657, and whose intermediate ancestors adhered as patriots to the cause of the colonists throughout the War of the Revolution. Secretary-gener- al's address, 101 West Eighty-ninth street, New York city. The Society of the Cincinnati (instituted 1783) is composed of descendants of officers of the Revolutionary army, usually the eldest male direct descendant. The address of the secretary- general is 31 Nassau street, New York city. The Aztec Club (founded 1847) is open to the descendants of officers of the army who served in Mexico, usually the eldest male direct descendant. The secretary's address is War Department, Washington. The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (founded 1865) is composed of officers who served in the War of the Re- bellion, and of their eldest direct male lineal descendants. A letter addressed to AMERICAN PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES 85 the recorder-in-chief, Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, will be delivered. The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (instituted 1894) is composed of officers who have served in such wars, and of their lineal male descendants. Sec- retary-general's address, 478 Classon Ave- nue, Brooklyn, New York. The Society of the War of 1812 (organized 1814) is composed of lineal male descen- dants of soldiers or sailors of the War of 1812. General secretary's address, Grerman- town, Pennsylvania. The Naval Order of the United States (in- stituted 1890) is open to officers of the navy who have served in war, and to their male descendants, etc., and also to enlisted men who have received a Medal of Honor from the United States for bravery. Secretary's address, Navy Department, Washington. The Sons of the American Revolution (in- stituted 1875) must prove their descent from a Revolutionary ancestor. The Sons of the Revolution (1876) is organized on the same basis. It is expected that these two large societies will soon be consolidated. Secretary-general, S. A. E., 143 Chestnut 86 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY street, Newark, New Jersey. Secretary- general, S. R., 146 Broadway, New York city. The Holland Society (incorporated in 1775) is composed of the direct male descendants of Hollanders resident in America before 1675. Secretary's address, 346 Broadway, New York city. The Huguenot Society of America (organ- ized 1883) admits descendants of Huguenots who came to America before 1787. General secretary's address, 105 East Twenty-second street, New York city. The Society of Colonial Dames of America (organized 1891) is composed of women descended from an ancestor who held an office of importance in the colonies previous to 1750. The secretary-general's address is 825 St. Paul street, Baltimore, Maryland. There are various other societies for women, of which the most important are Daughters of the American Revolution (1890) (1710 I street, Washington, D. C.), and Daughters of the Revolution (1891) (128 West Fifty-ninth street, New York city), etc.; and there is also a society of Children of the American Revolution (1895) (902 F street, Washington, D. C.). AMERICAN PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES 87 The Society of "Mayf lower " Descendants (organized 1894) includes male and female descendants of the passengers of the May- flower (1620). General-secretary's address, 228 West Seventy-fifth street, New York city. Medal of Honor Legion. The one decora- tion that is given by the government of the United States is the Medal of Honor, which was authorized by acts of Congress of 1862 and 1863 to be awarded to officers and en- listed men of the army for " gallantry in action and soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection." It has been bestowed only for conspicuous services. For example, the Twenty-seventh Eegiment of Maine Infantry was present on the field where the battle of Gettysburg was fought, and its term of service had expired. The entire regiment, to a man, volunteered to remain on the field and to fight the battle ; and for this gallant conduct a medal was awarded to each officer and man. A Naval Medal of Honor is also awarded by the government, and it is highly prized. The United States also authorizes its officers and men to wear the decorations of those patriotic hereditary 88 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY societies which commemorate service in any of the wars of the nation (not those of the colonies). There are a number of other societies, formed or forming, which are not men- tioned here for lack of space. HOW TO TRACE A PEDIGREE CANDIDATES for membership in any of the hereditary societies are required to furnish a written pedigree showing their descent from some ancestor in Revolutionary or colonial times. For each person in the line to be traced back there should be given (1) the full name, (2) the date of birth, (3) the date of marriage, (4) the date of death ; and it is desirable to know for each male ances- tor, (5) his place of residence, (6) his civil or military service, etc. These data should be obtained from liv- ing persons for as many generations back as is practicable. Documents in the posses- sion of one's family may serve to carry the pedigree further. Finally, recourse must be had to town, county, and State records, and to genealogical books and publications. HOW TO TRACE A PEDIGREE 89 It will often be the simplest way to apply lirect to some professional genealogist, 1 id to make an arrangement by which the dssing links are to be looked np. It is always more instructive and inter- sting to do this work one's self among the Family histories of a large library. Several of the States (Massachusetts is a striking example) have their colonial and Revolu- tionary records admirably arranged, so that the original documents (rosters, deeds, wills, etc.), or copies of them, may be readily con- sulted. All public libraries^ have many works on genealogy, and the librarians are prepared to give needed advice. A little perseverance, and a little system in keeping one's notes, will usually bring out what is needed. After the data are obtained, it is very necessary to arrange them in an or- derly form. Whitmore's Ancestral Tablets are well suited for such a purpose. These general directions are all that need be given here. The particular methods of research and the special books to be consulted are 1 Addresses of such experts may be found on the ad- vertising pages of the publications of genealogical and historical or patriotic societies. 90 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY different for different States. It is the busi- ness of the librarian or of the expert to put one on the track, and it is not difficult to follow it if one has access to the books. ANCIENT LINEAGE THE Egyptians have possessed written records for something like six thousand years. There might conceivably be a pedi- gree as long as this. A very little acquain- tance with the history of dynasties or of families shows that a proved descent of a thousand years is a marvel, and that one of two thousand is unknown in Europe. This brings us to ask, What is ancient lin- eage ! Mr. Samuel Pepys, who knew a little of everything, was in conversation with the Garter King-at-arms of his day (November 11, 1664), who "in discourse did say that there was none of the families of princes in Christendom that do derive themselves so high as Julius Caesar, nor so far by a thou- sand years, that can directly prove their rise ; only some in G-ermany do derive them- selves from the patrician families of Rome, but that uncertainly ; and he did much in- veigh against the writing of romances, that ANCIENT LINEAGE 91 five hundred years hence being writ of things in general true, the world will not know which is true and which is false." Since Pepys's time genealogy has become an exact science, and precise data are available. Among the barons of Great Britain, Lord Kingsale can trace the pos- session of his English lands to the Con- quest, and Lord Wrottesley to within a century of that time; Lord Sudeley in France to the Counts of Yexin in the tenth century, etc. The Danish sculptor Thor- waldsen claimed a proved descent from one of the Icelanders who returned from the discovery of America (A. D. 1000), etc. Mar was a powerful mormaership before St. Columba came to Scotland (A. D. 563), and its lord was one of the seven earls of Scotland. The descent is proved from 1093, step by step. About A. D. 609 King Ethelbert of Kent granted lands in Essex to the church, on condition that the income should go to old St. Paul's in London (founded by St. Austin before 607), and the same land is still held by the church. This is the oldest tenure in England, and probably in Europe. 92 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY All over the Orient, in Mohammedan countries, one meets with descendants of the Prophet (who was born in A.D. 570). It is probable that there are many pre- tenders to this honor ; but it is certain that there are hundreds and hundreds of per- sons whose claims are entirely authentic, and whose descent is carefully registered by the chief of the family, who has his seat in Mecca. Such a lineage is ancient, beyond a doubt. In China, where the tablets of an- cestors are preserved in a family hall and periodically honored, descent can be traced for centuries without a break. The de- scendants of Confucius (born B. c. 551) are hereditary nobles to-day. Among the Jews, too, especially the Jews of Spain and the East, and in Venice, Bosnia, and Bulgaria, genealogies of many centuries are common. The Mikado of Japan was the religious head of his nation as well as its ruler. The dig- nity is hereditary, and has remained in one family since the time of Nebuchadnezzar (B. c. 660). Here is the most ancient lin- eage known, though it includes adopted sons. The present Emperor of Japan is the one hundred and twenty-second of his ANCIENT LINEAGE 93 line. There are few religions as old as this dynasty. Among Western nations, poverty extend- ing over two or three generations, seems effectively to extinguish family pride, ex- cept, perhaps, in parts of Spain, where the common laborer may have the ancient coat of arms of his house built in among the stones of his hovel. Certainly in England and America poverty soon effaces all know- ledge or interest of the sort. Ancient lineage of the kind known to Moslems is the rarest thing in our Western world. Of the English barons in the House of Lords (some five hundred in number) there are less than a dozen whose baronies date back to 1400, and the earliest is 1264. The Moslem Seiyid goes eight centuries further back, to the great-grandfather of Mohammed (A. D. 472), or even, if we are to believe the commentators, to Adnan (B.C. 122). There are less than a dozen English peerages of the fifteenth century even. The vast majority have been created since 1700 for services in war, on the bench, or at the bar, or for landed power and influ- ence. The same thing, in a less degree, is 94 A PEIMEE OF HERALDRY true of the princely and ducal houses of the Continent. There are comparatively few of the German counts whose titles date back to the sixteenth century. In 1863 the House of Lords had not a single descendant of any of the barons who were chosen to enforce Magna Charta (1215), nor of any one who fought against the French at Agincourt (1415). The Almanach de Gotha is a trustworthy guide to the genealogies of the princely houses of Europe. The house of Hapsburg springs from Gontran the Rich, 1 Count of Altenburg, whose seat was in Switzerland, A. D. 952. His descendants first became Counts of Hapsburg, 1020 ; Kings of Ger- many, 1273 ; Dukes of Austria, 1282 ; Kings of the Romans and Emperors of Germany, 1519, etc. The ancestor of the Bourbons was Robert the Strong, 1 Count of Anjou, 864 ; Count of Paris and Orleans, 866 ; his son Eudes became King of France in 888. The Bourbons of Spain date from 1700. The house of Hohenzollern has its origin in the marriage of Friedrich, Count of Zol- 1 Riches and strength have been the sources of power and rank from time immemorial. ANCIENT LINEAGE 95 lern (1192-1200), with the heiress of the Counts of Nuremberg. It was not till 1411 that a branch of this house was called to govern the mark of Brandenburg. In 1520 they were Dukes of Prussia, and assumed the title of kings so late as 1701. It is in- teresting to remark that the right to bear the present crest of the Hohenzollerns (a dog's head, quarterly argent and sable) was purchased for a large sum of money in 1317. Every one remembers the pleasing tale of that Prince of Croy whose painting of the deluge represented Noah bearing into the ark a precious box labeled " Records of the family of Croy " ; and yet this ancient family appears " authentically " only in 1207. The family of the Chancellor of the German Empire, Hohenlohe, has borne that name since 1182, but is still more ancient. The Metternichs date from 1350. The fa- mous family of Montmorencyhas for "prob- able origin" an ancestor in 1214; it is tradition only that carries them back to the Seigneur of St. Denis in 998. Talley- rand dates from 1199; Harcourt appears authentically in 1024; Bismarck in 1270; 96 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY the Rohans (by that name) in 1128 ; Broglie in 1254; Gramont in 1381; Doria in 1335; Borghese in 1450; La Rochefoucauld in 1019 ; Graham (Dukes of Montrose) in 1128 ; Noailles in 1230; Poniatowski in 1142; Choiseul in 1060 ; Radziwill in 1412 ; Riche- lieu in 1596 ; Grosvenor (Dukes of West- minster) in 1066; St. Maur (Dukes of Somerset) in 1240 ; Corsini in 1170 ; Rocca in 1102. The Colonnas were a patrician family of Rome, from which came, according to tradi- tion, four popes of Rome between the years 300 and 884. Genealogically speaking, their origin is not proved beyond 1100. The Or- sini are descended from another patrician family, from which issued, according to tradition, two popes (A.D. 752 and 757). The popes elected in 1191 and 1277 did cer- tainly belong to this ancient and powerful family, which traces its authentic origin to a senator of Rome in 1190. The foregoing are some of the oldest names in Europe, specially selected out of long lists that include hundreds of later origin. The dates of the dukes of Napo- leon's creation Ney, Murat, Lannes, Ber- NIVERSITY J ANCIENT LINEAGE "^ 97 thier look very modern beside those of the Montrnorencys and Turennes ; but they are all in the lists for the same reason for magnificent services rendered to their country. The Almanach de Grotha has only room for kings and princes; but a reference to any book on the landed gentry (of England or of the Tyrol, for example) would show that long descents are by no means con- fined to the peers, and that there are very few really ancient lineages. If one is allowed to count the stream of blood as it runs through female as well as male ances- tors, the list of long descents is much in- creased by reckoning the marriages with the daughters of kings. Count Albert de Mun, the Catholic socialist, and leader of the " Eight " in the French Assembly, descends (through females) from Clovis the Great (born A. D. 465), and from the grandfather of Clovis, Merovseus, from whom the Mero- vingian kings derive their name. Here is an ancestry which puts that of the Bourbons (who do not even go back to Charlemagne) to shame, and it is, without doubt, the long- est proved pedigree of the Western world. 98 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY If such descents in the female line are counted, England and America possess many long pedigrees, not a few of which are derived from descents from the daugh- ters of the Scottish kings, and may be traced back to Kenneth I (died 860), or to Kenneth's ancestor Fergus, who crossed from Ireland to Britain in A. D. 503. Many Irish pedigrees are portentously long, also. It is practically impossible to trace de- scents other than those of royal person- ages further back than the eleventh cen- tury, except in one special class of cases. When funds have been left with religious bodies for the saying of masses for the souls of ancestors, it is sometimes possible to connect them with their descendants. It was not until the eleventh and twelfth centuries, indeed, that an individual was known by a surname. An individual known by one name only is identified with difficulty, except under very special cir- cumstances. Consider how much labor has been expended on the pedigree of Shakspere or of Washington, and how little, comparatively, has been learned. In America there is an astonishing num- ANCIENT LINEAGE 99 ber of families that can trace their descent from the first emigrant, and comparatively few which can prove their descent from an English ancestor. The first settlers, espe- cially of New England, kept excellent records of all their public transactions. Our public records have been, on the whole, admirably preserved, and the gene- alogical and patriotic societies throughout the country, as well as the governments of several States, have provided against their loss by reprinting many of them. It is not a little remarkable how easy it is to trace the growth of a family from the seven- teenth century down to the War of -the Revolution; and as Americans in general have a decided taste for genealogy, the re- sult has been a vast library of such family histories. Family pride of a perfectly legitimate sort has thus been stimulated, and this can never grow to be a dangerous thing in a republic. In fact, it is an ad- mirable lesson to learn to prize something less tangible than stocks and bonds. More- over, people in general have thus learned that there are hundreds of families as good as their own, and this is also an excellent 100 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY thing to realize. Tradition tells us that the Laird of Macnab refused to acknowledge his descent from Noah (" the Macnabs had a boat of their own "), because he was used to live in a small community without equals. INDEX TO HERALDIC TERMS THE titles to the separate figures in the following plates contain nearly all heraldic terms in common use. 1 Accompanied Fig. 56. Adorsed Fig. 93. Affronte . . Fig. 55. Anchored cross Fig. 41. At gaze Fig. 82. At speed Fig. 83. Augmentation Fig. 52. Azure Fig. 20. Bar Fig. 36. Barry Fig. 61. Base Fig. 1. Baton Fig. 34. 1 For formal definitions of these terms the reader may consult the Century Dictionary, in which they are given with much fullness, or any of the other large dictionaries. INDEX TO HERALDIC TERMS 101 Bend Fig. 31. Bendlet Fig. 33. Bendwise Fig. 32. Billets Fig. 59. Bird Fig. 91. Book-plate Frontispiece. Bordure Fig. 49. Bottony Fig. 42. Budgets Fig. 99. Caboshed Fig. 86. Canton Fig. 47. Cheeky ......... Fig. 62. Chevron Fig. 36 bis. Chief Fig. 30. Cleehe Fig. 43. Close Fig. 90. Coats of arms .... Fig. 106 et seq. Cockatrice Fig. 81. Combatant Fig. 73. Compony Fig. 49. Couped Fig. 74. Coupe Fig. 34. Counterchanged .... Figs. 16, 17. Counter-fleury Fig. 50. Courant Fig. 84. Crescent Fig. 96. Crosses Fig. 46. 7* 102 A PRIMER OF HEEALDEY /.\ i f.-V, !.;.:' >'. - - Cross bottony Fig. 42. Cross cleche Fig. 43. Cross crosslet Fig. 39. Cross fitche Fig. 45. Cross of St. George Fig. 38. Cross patte . Fig. 44. Cross raguly Fig. 40. Crowns Figs. 103, 104, 105. Dancette Fig. 9. Debruised Fig. 33. Demi-lion Fig. 75. Descendent Fig. 88. Displayed Fig. 87. Dolphin Fig. 92. Dormant Fig. 72. Dove Fig. 90. Dragon Fig. 79. Eagle / . . Fig. 87. Embattled Fig. 10. Engrailed Fig. 12. Ensigned Fig. 95. Erased Fig. 74 bis. Ermine Fig. 24. Ermines Fig. 29. Erminois Fig. 27. Estoile Fig. 98. INDEX TO HERALDIC TEEMS 103 Fesse Fig. 35. Fish Fig. 94. Fitche Fig. 45. Flanched Fig. 58. Fleurs-de-lis Fig. 54. Fleury-counter-fleury .... Fig. 50. Fusil Fig. 60. At gaze Fig. 82. Gules Fig. 19. Gyronny Fig. 48. Hart Fig. 82. Haurient Fig. 92. Heart Fig. 95. Impaled Fig. 65. Inescutcheon Fig. 52. Interlaced Fig. 97. Invected Fig. 13. Issuant Fig. 76. Knots Fig. 101. Label Fig. 102. Lion Fig. 67. Manche Fig. 100. Martlet Fig. 89. Mound Fig. 66. Murrey Fig. 23. Naissant Fig. 77. 104 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY Natant Fig. 94. Nebule Fig. 11. Nombril Fig. 2. Or Fig. 18. Pale Fig. 14. Paly Fig. 15. Paly bendy Fig. 63. Party per bend Fig. 6. Party per fesse Fig. 4. Party per pale Fig. 3. Party per saltire Fig. 7. Passant regardant Fig. 68. Patte Fig. 44. Pean Fig. 28. Potent Fig. 26. Purpure Fig. 23. Quarterly Figs. 5, 51, 52. Rampant Figs. 33, 69. Regardant Fig. 68. Sable Fig. 21. St. George's cross Fig. 38. Salient Fig. 70. Saltire . . Fig. 37. Sanguine Fig. 23. Seals Fig. 113 et seq. Sejant Figs. 55, 71. Silver plate Fig. 119. INDEX TO HERALDIC TERMS 105 Sinople Fig. 22. Sleeve Fig. 100. At speed Fig. 83. Stag Fig. 84. Star Fig. 98. Statant gardant Fig. 67. Sun Fig. 53. Sword Fig. 32. Tenne Fig. 23. Tinctures Fig. 23. Tressure Fig. 50. Trippant Fig. 85. Unde Fig. 8. Yair Fig. 25. Yert Fig. 22. Voided Fig. 37 bis. Volant Fig. 91. Water-budgets Fig. 99. Wivern Fig. 80. PLATES PLATE I A = center; B = chief ; C = base. Fig. 2. E = fesse-point ; F = nombril j G = base-point. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 3, Party per pale ; Fig. 4, Party per fesse ; Fig. 5, Quarterly ; Fig. 6, Party per bend (dexter) ; Fig. 7, Party per saltire. Fig. 8. Fig. 9. Fig. 10. Fig. 8, Argent, a fesse unde gules; Fig. 9, Or, a fesse dancette* sable; Fig. 10, Argent, a fesse em- battled gules. PLATE II Fig. 11. Fig. 12. Fig. 13. Fig. 11, Argent, a fesse nebule gules. Fig. 12, Argent, a bend engrailed gules. Fig. 13, Argent, a pale "invected" gnh- Fig. 14. Fig. 15. Fig. 16. Fig. 14, Argent, a pale azure. Fig. 15. Paly of six, argent and gules. Fig. 16, Per pale gules and argent, three roundels coimterchanged, two and one. Fig. 17. Fig. 18. Fig. 19. Fig. 17, Per pale gules and or, a boar passant counterchanged. Fig. 18, Or (gold). Fig. 19, Gules (red). PLATE III Fig. 20. Fig. 21. Fig. 22. Fig. 20, Azure (blue). Fig. 21, &?e (black). Fig. 22, Vert (or sinople} (green). Fig. 23. Fig. 23, The tinctures: a, or (gold); b, argent (silver) ; c, gules (red) ; d, azure (blue) ; e, sable (black) ; f, rert (green) ; g, purpurc (purple) ; h, san- guine or murrey (blood-red); j, k, tenne or tcnney (tawny, orange). Fig. 24. Fig. 25. Fig. 24, Ermine. Fig. 25, Fair. Fig. 26, Potent. Fig. 26. OF THB UNIVERSITY PLATE IV ill! '''& '.'' -T- '."-'. L 'at ^^tgJ 'li I' ' ^^ Fig. 27. Fig. 28. Fig. 27, Erminois. Fig. 28, PetfH. Fig. 29, Ermines. Fig. 29. Fig. 30. Fig. 31. Fig. 32. Fig. 30, Argent, a chief #MZes. Fig. 31, Argent, a bend (dexter) azure. Fig. 32, A sword bendwise. Fig. 33. Fig. 34. Fig. 33, A lion rampant "debruised " by a bendlet. Fig. 34, Argent, a baton sinister, coupe, gules (the mark of illegitimate descent). Fig. 35, Argent, a fesse gules. PLATE V Fig. 36. Fig. 36 bis. Fig. 37. Fig. 36, Argent, a bar gules. Fig. 36 bis, Argent, a chevron gules. Fig. 37, Argent, a saltire azure. Fig. 37 bis. Fig. 38. Fig. 39. Fig. 37 bis, Azure, a saltire voided argent. Fig. 38, Argent, a cross gules (St. .George). Fig. 39, A cross crosslet gules. ft Fig. 40. Fig. 41. Fig. 40, A cross raguly. Fig. 41, Anchored cross. Fig. 42, A cross bottony or. Fig. 42. PLATE VI Fig. 43. Fig. 44. Fig. 43, Argent, a cross cloche" vert. Fig. 44, A cross patte fitche. Fig. 45. Fig. 45, Three crosses fitche gules. TT? Lr-ir-d Vnp^ ( 3 AA 13 Fig. 46. Fig. 46, Crosses: 1, Cross of Calvary; 2, Latin cross ; 3, Tau-cross (like the Greek letter tau) ; 4, Lorraine cross ; 5, Patriarchal cross ; 6, St. Andrew's cross (a saltire) ; 7, St. George's cross = Greek cross ; 8, Papal cross ; 9, Cross nowy quadrant ; 10, Maltese cross; 11, Cross fourche ; 12, Cross forme or patte; 13, Cross potent (the arms of Jerusalem) ; 14, Cross flory. OF THB UNIVERSITY PLATE VII Fig. 47. Fig. 48. Fig. 49. Fig. 47, A canton dexter. Fig. 48, Gyronny of eight, gules and argent. Fig. 49, A bordure compony argent and gules. Fig. 50. Fig. 50, A double treasure fleury-counter-fleury. Fig. 51, Quarterly : I and IV of the paternal an- cestor ; II and III of allied families. PLATE VTII Fig. 52. Fig. 53. Fig. 52, Arms of the first Duke of Wellington, with the augmentation of honor granted to him, viz., an inescutcheon of England. Fig. 53, The sun in his splendor. Fig. 55. Fig. 54, A shield seme of fleurs-de-lis (arms of ancient France). Fig. 55, A lion sejant affronte (the royal crest of Scotland). PLATE IX Fig. 56. Fig. 57. Fig. 58. Fig. 56, Gules, a chevron accompanied by three crosses argent, two and one. Fig. 57, Quarterly: I and IV argent, a chevron gules; II and III gules, a cross argent. Fig. 58, Or, flanched gules. Fig. 59. Fig. 60. Fig. 61. Fig. 59, Argent, in chief three billets azure. Fig. 60, Argent, a fusil asure. Fig. 61, Barry of six, argent and gules. Fig. 62. Fig. 63. Fig. 62, Cheeky azure and argent. Fig. 63, Paly bendy argent and gules. >^ S OFTHE UNIVERSITY PLATE X Fig. 64, Arms of De Berghes, from Albrecht Diirer's original. ( " D'or au lion de gueules arme d'azur : Cimier [crest] un coq d'or crete et bar "be de gueules.") PLATE XI Fig. 65. Fig. 66. Fig. 65, The arms of the wife (B, B) impaled with those of the husband (A, A). Fig. 66, The mound. Fig. 68. Fig. 67. Fig. 67, A lion statant gardant. Fig. 68, A lion passant regardant Fig. 69, A lion rampant. Fig. 69. Fig. 70. Fig. 71. Fig. 70, A lion salient. Fig. 71, A lion sejant. Fig. 72, A lion dormant. PLATE XII Fig" 73. Fig. 74. Fig. 74 bis. Fig. 73, Two lions combatant. Fig. 74, A lion's head couped. Fig. 74 bis, A lion's head erased. Fig. 75. Fig. 76. Fig. 77. Fig. 75, A demi-lion. Fig. 76, A lion issuant. Fig. 77, Arycnt, out of a fesse gules a demi-lion nais- saiit proper. Fig. 78. Fig. 78, Three lions passant gardant in pale (the escutcheon of England). OFTHB UNIVERSITY PLATE XIII Fig. 79. Fig. 80. Fig. 79, A dragon passant. Fig. 80, A wivern. Fig. 81, A cockatrice. Fig. 81. Fig. 82. Fig. 83. Fig. 82, A hart at gaze. Fig. 83, A hart at speed. Fig. 84, A stag courant. Fig. 84. Fig. 85. Fig. 86. Fig. 85, A stag trippant. Fig. 86, A stag's head caboshed. Fig. 87, An eagle displayed. or THB UNIVERSITY PLATE XIV Fig. Fig. 89. Fig. 90. An eagle descendent. Fig. Fig. 89, A martlet. Fig. 90, A dove close. Fig. 91. Fig. 92. Fig. 91, A bird volant. Fig. 92, A dolphin haurient. Fig. 93, Two dolphins adorsed. Fig. 93. Fig. 94. Fig. 95. Fig. 94, A fish natant. Fig. 96. Fig 95, Argent, a heart gules, ensigned with royal crown (part of the arms of Douglas). Fig. 96, A crescent. OF THB UNIVERSITY PLATE XV Nte W; Fig. 97. Fig. 98. Fig. 100. Fig. 97, Three crescents interlaced (device of Diana of Poitiers). Fig. 98, A star (estoile). Fig. 100, The manche. Fig. 99. Fig. 102. Fig. 99, Two forms of water-budgets. Fig. 102, Or, a label of three points argent. Fig. 101. Fig. 101, Knots : 1, Lacy knot ; 2, Dacre ; 3, Bowen ; 4, Wake (Ormond) ; 5, Stafford; 6, Knot of Savoy (Order of the Annunciation) ; 7, Harrington (or true- love) knot; 8, Bouchier; 9, Heneage knot. PLATE XVI Fig. 103. Fig. 103, The royal crown of England. Fig. 104. Fig. 104: 1, The crown of Charlemagne; 2, The Austrian crown; 3, The Eussian crown; 4, The French crown. \ PLATE XVII PLATE XIX Fig. 108. Fig. 106, Coat of arms (Germany), about A. D. 1300. Fig. 107, Coat of arms (Germany), about A. D. 1350. Fig. 108, Coat of arms (Germany), about A. D. 1400. 2*5 * f*C'D L.U SIPS tsfi'- a . n , , 4 fV7l J , RC. CiH. _ 50m8 , 61 .General Library ' M U^iO^ / 74505 H7 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY