The Curiosities of Heraldry Part 15

Edward III (in a skirmish near Calais) 'Ha! St. Edward! Ha! St.

George!'

The dukes of Burgundy, 'Montjoye St. Andrew!'

The kings of Scotland, 'St. Andrew!'

The dukes of Normandy, 'Dieu aye!' (aide.)

The emperors of Germany, 'A dextre et a sinistre!'

The counts of Milan, 'Milan the Valiant!'

The counts of Hainault, 'Hainault the n.o.ble!'

The use of mottoes became very fashionable in England from the example of Edward III. The motto of the Garter, '=Honi soit qui mal y pense=,' with the order itself, dates from this reign.[194] Edward made use of various mottoes suited to different occasions and circ.u.mstances. Many of these are now obscure, and appear dest.i.tute of point, such as 'It is as it is,'

embroidered upon a white linen doublet made for this king. Others are more easily understood, as the daring and profane couplet wrought upon his surcoat and shield, provided to be used at a tournament:

"=Hay, hay, the wythe Swan; By G.o.de's soul I am thy man!="

Mottoes upon antient seals are extremely rare. Mr. Montagu says, "I have examined many hundred early seals and engravings and drawings of seals preserved in the British Museum, and I know but of about half a dozen....

One is of the year 1418, inscribed 'SIGILLUM JEAN DE JUCH,' and contains the motto =Bien Sur=. Perhaps the very earliest instance of a motto anywhere is afforded by the seal of Sir John de Byron, appended to a deed dated 21{o} Edward I."[195] The motto here is CREDE BERONTI, surrounding the arms.[196]

Many mottoes retain their original orthography, and stand in Old English or Old French. The greater number are Latin or French, though we occasionally see mottoes in Welsh, Irish, Cornish, Scottish, and Italian; and I have even met with two or three in Greek.

Mottoes have been divided into three sorts: the enigmatical, the sentimental, and the emblematical. A better cla.s.sification might probably suggest itself; but, in the absence of one, I shall make use of this in the examples which follow.

The ENIGMATICAL are those whose origin is involved in mystery, as that of the Duke of Bedford, "Che sara, sara," _What will be, will be_; and that of the Duke of Bridgewater, "Sic donec," _Thus until----!_ A late barrister used "Non Bos in Lingua," _I have no Bull upon my Tongue!_ alluding to the Grecian didrachm, a coin impressed with that animal, and expressive, probably, of the bearer's determination not to accept a bribe.[197] The motto of the Lords Gray was "_Anchor, fast anchor_," and that of the Dakynses, of Derbyshire, "=Strike Dakyns; the Devil's in the Hempe="--enigmatical enough, certainly!

SENTIMENTAL mottoes are very numerous. A mult.i.tude of them are of a religious character, as "Spes mea in Deo," My hope is in G.o.d; "In Deo salutem," In G.o.d I have salvation; "Sola virtus invicta," Virtue alone is invincible; "Non mihi, sed Christo," Not to myself, but to Christ; "Sub Cruce," Under the Cross. Many are loyal and patriotic, as "Vincit amor patriae," Love of country conquers; "Non sibi sed patriae," Not for himself, but for his country; "Patria cara, carior Libertas," My country is dear, but my liberty is dearer. Others are philanthropic, as "h.o.m.o sum," I am a man; "Non sibi solum," Not for himself alone. Treffry of Cornwall used '=Whyle G.o.d wylle=,' and Cornwall of the same county, '=Whyle lyff lasteth=.'

But the most curious cla.s.s of mottoes are the EMBLEMATICAL, some of which allude to the charges in the arms, and others to the surname, involving a pun. Of those allusive to the arms or crest, the following are examples: That of the Earl of Cholmondeley is "Ca.s.sis tutissima virtus," Virtue the safest helmet; alluding to the helmets in his arms: and that of the Egertons, "Leoni, non sagittis fido," I trust to the lion, not to my arrows; the arms being a lion between three pheons or arrow-heads. The crest of the Martins of Dorsetshire was an ape, and their motto, HE . WHO . LOOKS . AT . MARTIN'S . APE, MARTIN'S . APE . SHALL . LOOK . AT . HIM!

Much wit, and, occasionally, much absurdity are found in punning mottoes.

That the soundness of a sentiment is not necessarily injured, however, by the introduction of a pun, is proved by such mottoes as these:--

ADDERLEY of Staffordshire. _Addere Le_-gi Just.i.tiam Decus. 'Tis a support to the Law to add Justice to it.

FORTESCUE (E.) _Forte Scu_-tum salus duc.u.m. A strong shield is the safety of commanders.

PETYT. Qui s'estime _petyt_ deviendra grand. He who esteems himself little shall become great.

JEFFERAY of Suss.e.x. _Je feray_ ce que je diray. I shall keep my word.

Some mottoes are intentionally ambiguous, as--

HONE of Ireland. _Hone_sta Libertate, OR, _Hone_, sta Libertate. With a just Liberty, or, Hone, support liberty!

VERNON. _Vernon_ semper viret, OR, _Ver non_ semper viret; Vernon ever flourishes, OR, Spring does not always bloom.

By far the greater number, however, exhibit punning for its own sake; for example--

BELLASISE. Bonne et _belle a.s.sez_. Good and handsome enough.

CAVE of Northamptonshire. _Cave!_ Beware!

D'OYLEY of Norfolk. ='Do' no 'yll,' quoth Doyle!=

DIXIE of Leicestershire. Quod _dixi dixi_. What I've said I have said.

ESTWICK. _Est hic._ Here he is.

FAIRFAX. Fare, fac! Speak, do! (A word and a blow!)

HART of Berks. Un coeur fidelle. A faithful _heart_.

ONSLOW. Festina lente. _On slow!_ OR, Hasten cautiously.

PIEREPONTE. _Pie repone te._ Repose piously.

SCUDAMORE. _Scutum amor_is divini. The shield of Divine Love.

COURTHOPE. _Court hope!_

Here is a _truism_:

VERE Earl of Oxford. _Vero_ nil _verius_. Nothing truer than truth.

And here a _c.o.c.kneyism_:

WRAY of Lincolnshire. Et juste et _vray_. Both just and true.

"_Set on!_" says SETON, Earl of Wintoun; "_Boutez en avant!_" Lead forward! says Viscount b.u.t.tevant;

='Fight on,' quoth Fitton!

'Smite,' quoth Smith!=

Pugnacious fellows!

Many a gibe has found vent in a motto. A London tobacconist who had set up his carriage, requiring a motto for his arms, was furnished with "QUID _rides_?" Why do you laugh? and a great hop-planter found the following chalked beneath the arms upon his chariot:

"Who'd 'a thought it, _Hops_ had bought it?"

Dr. _c.o.x Macro_, the learned Cambridge divine, consulting a friend on the choice of a motto, was pithily answered with "_c.o.c.ks may crow_!"

There are some 'lippes,' as Camden says, which like 'this kind of lettuce.' For the behoof of such the following list is set down, without regard to any cla.s.sification:

CAVENDISH. _Cavendo_ tutus. Safe by caution.