The Handbook to English Heraldry Part 9

_Queue fourchee_: having a forked tail.

_Double-queued_: two tails, as No. 181, which is a _lion rampant double-queued_.

_Coward: pa.s.sant reguardant_, his tail between his legs, No. 182.

Two Lions rampant, when face to face, are _Counter rampant_, or _Combatant_: when back to back, they are _Addorsed_: when pa.s.sant or salient in contrary directions, they are _Counter pa.s.sant_ or _Counter salient_.

Lions, whatever their tincture, except it be red, or they are charged on a field of that tincture, are _armed and langued gules_; but _azure_ in the case of either of these exceptions, unless the contrary be specified in the blazon. When several Lions appear in one composition, or when they are drawn to a comparatively very small scale, they are sometimes blazoned as "_Lioncels_." This term "_Lioncel_," it must be added, when used alone, denotes a _small Lion rampant_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 183.--Lion's Head.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 184.--Lion's Face.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 185.--Lion's Jambe.]

A Lion's _head_ is a Charge: it may be _erased_, as in No. 183; or cut off smooth, when it is _couped_. A Lion's _face_ also is a Charge, No.

184; so is his _jambe_ or _paw_, No. 185. A _demi-lion rampant_ is the upper half of his body and the extremity of his tufted tail, as in No.

186.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 186.--Demi-Lion Rampant.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 187.--England.]

The LIONS OF ENGLAND are _golden Lions leoparde_, three in number, placed one above the other on a red Shield. They are blazoned--_Gu., three Lions pa.s.s. guard., in pale, or_, No. 187.

A Lion in this att.i.tude, of this tincture, and on a field gules, may be blazoned as a "Lion of England." These three Lions _first_ appear upon the second Great Seal of RICHARD I., A.D. 1194, on the Shield of the King, No. 188. An earlier Seal, used by Prince JOHN before his brother's accession, has a Shield charged with _two_ Lions only, and they are _pa.s.sant_, No. 189. The first Great Seal of the lion-hearted King has a Shield, bowed in its contour, and charged with a _single_ Lion rampant facing to the sinister, or _counter-rampant_, No. 190; and it has been conjectured that, were the whole face of this Shield visible, a second Lion rampant facing to the dexter would appear, thus charging the Shield with _two Lions combattant_; this, however, is a conjecture which is not supported by the authority of many Shields of the same form. A red Shield charged with _two golden Lions pa.s.sant guardant in pale_ (No.

22), and therefore closely resembling No. 189, as I have already shown, has been a.s.signed to WILLIAM I., and his two sons and his grandson, WILLIAM II., HENRY I., and STEPHEN. The Shield bearing the three Lions, No. 187, has been a.s.signed to HENRY II., but it first makes its appearance on the Great Seal of his son. The probability is that up to this period the device was simply a lion, indeterminate in position or numbers. This same Shield has continued, from the time of RICHARD I., to display the ROYAL ARMS of the REALM OF ENGLAND: how, in the course of ages, these Arms become grouped with other insignia, I shall presently have to show.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 188.--Richard I.--2nd Gt. Seal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 190.--Richard I.--1st Gt. Seal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 189.--Prince John.--Seal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 191.--Le Strange.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 192.--Giffard.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 193.--Mowbray.]

The _Lion pa.s.sant_ is carefully distinguished in the earliest Rolls as a different Charge from the _Lion pa.s.sant guardant_. Thus (H. 3), for HAMON LE STRANGE--_Gu., two Lions pa.s.sant arg._, No. 191; and for JOHN GIFFARD--_Gu., three Lions pa.s.s. arg._, No. 192: for Sir NICHOLAS CAREW (E. 2),--_Or, three Lions pa.s.s. sa._

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 194.--De Lacy.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 195.--De Segrave.]

From the numerous early Shields which bear _Lions rampant_, I select the following examples, a.s.sociated with names ill.u.s.trious in English History. For ROGER DE MOWBRAY (H. 3)--_Gu., a Lion rampt. arg._, No.

193: this Coat is quartered by the present Lord MOWBRAY, SEGRAVE and STOURTON. For FITZ-ALAN, Earl of ARUNDEL--_Gu., a Lion rampt. or_ (H. 3), No. 193. For DE LACI, Earl of LINCOLN--_Or, a Lion rampt.

purpure_ (E. 2), No. 194. For Sir JOHN DE SEGRAVE (E. 2)--_Sa., a Lion rampt. arg., crowned or_, No. 195. For PERCY, Earl of NORTHUMBERLAND--_Or, a Lion rampt. az._, No 196: this Shield is drawn from the fine counter-seal of Sir HENRY DE PERCY, first Lord of Alnwick, who died A.D. 1315.

Two Shields of the DE BOHUNS, Nos. 114, 115, already described, exemplify the display of Lioncels as heraldic charges. An earlier Shield, charged with six Lioncels, but without any Ordinary, was borne by FAIR ROSAMOND'S son, WILLIAM LONGESPeE, Earl of SALISBURY, A.D. 1226: it is boldly sculptured with his n.o.ble effigy in Salisbury Cathedral, and it also appears upon his Seal--_Az., six Lioncels or_, No. 197. The Roll of Edward II., confirmed by his Seal, gives for Sir WM. DE LEYBOURNE the same composition, with a difference in the tincturing--_Az., six Lioncels arg._ Other members of the same family change these tinctures for _gules and or_, _gules and argent_, and _or and sable_ (E. 2). Examples of Shields which bear Lions or Lioncels with various other charges will be described and ill.u.s.trated in succeeding chapters.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 196.--De Percy.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 197.--Longespee.]

Lions also fulfil important duties of high honour in English Heraldry as _Crests_ and _Supporters_, and also as _Badges_. From the time of EDWARD III. a Crowned Lion, at the first standing on a Cap of Estate, and afterwards upon the Crown, has been the Royal Crest of ENGLAND; a Lion also has always been the Royal Crest of SCOTLAND (see Chapter XVIII.). The Princes of the Royal Houses of England, in like manner, have always borne the Royal Lion distinguished by some "Mark of Cadency"

(see Chapter XII.): No. 198 is the Lion Crest of the BLACK PRINCE, from his Monument at Canterbury, the Lion differenced with the Prince's silver label. The Lion also appears as the Crest of many n.o.ble and distinguished families, as the DE BOHUNS, the PERCIES, and the HOWARDS.

The Lion Crest of RICHARD II., sculptured _statant guardant_ upon his helm, with a chapeau and mantling, and with the Badge of two Ostrich feathers, in Westminster Hall, is without any crown: No. 199.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 198.--Crest of Black Prince.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 199.--Crest of Richard II.]

As a Royal Supporter of the Arms of _England_, the Lion appears in company with some other creature from the time of HENRY VI., EDWARD IV.

sometimes having his Shield supported by two Lions. On the accession of JAMES I. of Great Britain, the Royal Lion Supporter formed that alliance with the Unicorn of Scotland which still continues, and will continue, it is to be hoped, throughout all time. Lions, as I shall point out more in detail in Chapter XVI., were frequently introduced into the composition of Seals before true heraldic Supporters were in use. In more recent Heraldry the Lion is a favourite Supporter: he now appears supporting the Shields of the Dukes of NORFOLK, ARGYLL, ATHOLL, BEDFORD, GRAFTON, NORTHUMBERLAND, PORTLAND, and WELLINGTON; also, with many others, those of the Marquesses of BATH, EXETER, HEADFORT, and SALISBURY; of the Earls of ALBEMARLE, BROWNLOW, CARLISLE, CARNARVON, CORK, ESs.e.x, and HARDWICK; of the Viscount HARDINGE; and of the Barons ARUNDEL, CAMOYS, DUNBOYNE, MONSON, MOWBRAY, PETRE, and SOUTHAMPTON. As a Supporter the Lion is represented _rampant_, _rampant reguardant_, and _sejant rampant_. Lions also, and Demi-Lions, are frequently borne as modern Crests.

In our own treatment of the Lions of Heraldry, whatever their att.i.tude or tincture, whatever also the position they may occupy or the heraldic duty they may discharge, we are always to draw and to blazon them as true _heraldic Lions_, while, at the same time, in their expression and general characteristics they are to be _genuine Lions_.

In becoming fellowship with the Lion, the EAGLE appears in the earliest English Rolls and examples of Arms. The Royal bird, however, does not occur in English blazon so frequently as the Lion; and his appearance often denotes an alliance with German Princes. A Roll of Arms (printed in "Archaeologia," x.x.x.) of the year 1275 commences with the Shields of the "EMPEROR OF GERMANY," and of the "KING OF GERMANY," which are severally blazoned as,--"_Or, an Eagle displayed having two heads sa._,"

and, "_Or, an Eagle displayed sable_." In York Cathedral, in stained gla.s.s, there are Shields with both the double-headed and the single-headed Eagles, all of them German, which may be considered to have been executed before the year 1310. In the north choir-aisle at Westminster, the Shield (now mutilated) of the Emperor FREDERICK II. is boldly sculptured by an heraldic artist of the time of our HENRY III., No. 200; here the Eagle had one head only. The German Emperors naturally adopted the Eagle for their heraldic Ensign, in support of their claim to be successors to the Roman Caesars; and the Russian Czars, with the same motive, have also a.s.sumed the same ensign. The Eagle having two heads, which severally look to the dexter and the sinister, as in No.

201, typified a rule that claimed to extend over both the Eastern and the Western Empires; as the Eagle with a single head, No. 202, might be considered to have a less comprehensive signification. The Eagles of the Princes of Germany are frequently to be found, blazoned for them, in England.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 200.--In Westminster Abbey.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 201.--Imperial Eagle.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 202.--Royal Eagle.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 203.--Cornwall.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 204.--Seal of Euphemia Leslie.]

RICHARD, the second son of King JOHN, in the year 1256 was elected King of Germany (he is generally styled "King of the Romans"), when he bore the Eagle of the Empire: but the only Seals of this Prince that are known to exist in England display the Shield of his English Earldom of Cornwall, No. 140. His Son EDMUND, who succeeded to his father's Earldom, on his Seals has represented an _Eagle bearing in its beak his Shield of Cornwall_, as in No. 203: this is a peculiarly interesting example of an heraldic usage of striking significance, and it also ill.u.s.trates the early existence of the sentiment which at a later period led to the adoption of "Supporters" to Shields of Arms. In the early Heraldry of Scotland, a single displayed Eagle is occasionally found supporting an armorial Shield; as in the Seals of ALEXANDER STEWARD, Earl of MENTEITH, A.D. 1296, and WILLIAM, Earl of DOUGLAS and MAR, A.D.

1378 (Seton's "Scottish Heraldry," Plates VIII. and XII.): sometimes also, as Mr. Seton has observed, "the Eagle's breast is charged with more than one Shield, as in the case of the Seals of MARGARET STEWART, Countess of ANGUS (1366), and EUPHEMIA LESLIE, Countess of ROSS (1381), on both of which _three_ escutcheons make their appearance" ("Scottish Heraldry," p. 268, and Plate XII., No. 5): in No. 204 I give a woodcut of this interesting composition; the Shields are, to the dexter, LESLIE--_Arg., on a bend az., three buckles or_; in the centre, the Arms of the Earl of ROSS--_Gu., three Lions rampant arg., within a tressure_; and, to the sinister, c.u.mMIN--_Az., three garbs or_. The Imperial Eagle is sometimes represented crowned; the heads also in some examples are encircled with a _nimbus_ or glory, as in No. 212. I must add that in the Heraldry of the English Peerage the Imperial Eagle still supports the Shields of some few Peers of different ranks; as, for example, that of Baron METHUEN.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 205.--Shield of Piers Gaveston.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 206.--Montacute and Monthermer.]

PIERS GAVESTON, who was created Earl of CORNWALL by EDWARD II., bore--_Vert, six Eaglets or_, No. 205, (E. 2 and York stained gla.s.s): on his Seal, however, the number of the Eaglets is reduced to _three_.

Another early example is the Shield of that gallant and persevering knight, RALPH DE MONTHERMER--_Or, an Eagle displayed vert_, No. 206, who became Earl of GLOUCESTER in right of his wife, JOAN, daughter of EDWARD I., and widow of GILBERT DE CLARE, the "Red Earl"; this green Eagle of Monthermer long held a place of high distinction in the mediaeval Heraldry of England, marshalled on the Shields of the Earls of SALISBURY and WARWICK; in which, as in the example, No. 206, the Eagle of Monthermer is quartered with the coat of Montacute, No. 20 (page 17).

The Eagle of early Heraldry was sometimes blazoned as an "_Erne_,"[4]

and sometimes as an "_Alerion_," WILLIAM D'ERNFORD (H. 3) bears--_Sa., an Erne displayed arg._: and, at the same period WM. DE ERNFIELD bears a pair of Erne's or Eagle's Wings, called a "_Vol_," No. 207. From Shields of the fourteenth century which bear Eagles, and are blazoned in the Roll of Edward II., I select the following small group as good examples:--Sir WM. DE MONGOMERIE--_Or, an Eagle displayed az._: Sir NICHOLAS DE ETONE--_Gu., a Chevron between three Eaglets arg._: Sir JOHN DE CHARLESTONE--_Arg., on a Chevron vert three Eaglets or_: Sir PHILIP DE VERLEY--_Or, a Bend gu., between six Eaglets sa._: Sir JOHN DE LA MERE--_Arg., on a Bend az. three Eaglets or_, No. 209: a Shield bearing a Bend charged with three Eagles, but with different tinctures, No. 88, I have shown to have been the Arms of the Grandisons.

[Footnote 4: Query if this is not really a herne or heron.--A. C. F.-D.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 207.--A Vol.]