Manche, Maunche. A lady’s sleeve with a long pendent lappet, worn in the time of Henry I., and borne as an armorial charge by the families of Hastings, Conyers, and some others. Hastings (H. 3)—Or, a manche gu.: No. 276.
Mantle. A flowing robe worn over the armour, or over their ordinary costume, by personages of distinction of both sexes: the mantles of ladies were commonly decorated with armorial blazonry.
Mantling, or Lambrequin. A small mantle of some rich materials, attached to the knightly basinet or helm, and worn hanging down. It is usually represented with jagged edges, to represent the cuts to which it would be exposed in actual battle: No. 199. (See Panache.) Mantlings blazoned with achievements of arms are sometimes adjusted in folds to form a background to the composition, and they are also occasionally differenced with various charges.
Marquess, Marquis. The second order of the British Peerage, in rank next to that of Duke. This rank and title were introduced into England in 1387, by Richard II., who then created his favourite, Robert De Vere, Marquess of Dublin. The next creation was by Henry VI. A Marquess is “Most Honourable”; he is styled “My Lord Marquess”: all his younger sons are “Lords,” and his daughters “Ladies”; his eldest son bears his father’s “second title.” The Coronet, apparently contemporary in its present form with that of Dukes, has its golden circlet heightened with four strawberry leaves and as many pearls, arranged alternately: in representations two of the pearls, and one leaf and two half-leaves are shown, No. 277. The wife of a Marquess is a “Marchioness”; her style corresponds with that of her husband, and her coronet is the same.
Marshalling. The disposition of more than one distinct coat of arms upon a shield, so forming a single composition; or the aggroupment of two or more distinct shields, so as to form a single composition; also the association of such accessories as the helm, mantling, crest, &c., and of knightly and other insignia with a shield of arms, thus again forming a single heraldic composition. See Chapter XI.
Martel. A hammer.
Martlet. The heraldic Martin, usually represented without feet: Nos. 160, 161, and 70 and 86.
Mascle. Lozenge voided: No. 143. Masculée. A field divided mascle-wise.
Masoned. Representing brickwork.
Membered. To denote the legs of a bird.
Merchant’s mark. A device, adopted as early as 1400 by merchants, as a substitute for heraldic ensigns which were not conceded to them. Such marks are the predecessors of the Trade-brands and Marks of after times.
Mermaid, Merman, or Triton. The well-known fabulous creatures of the sea, borne occasionally as charges, but more frequently as supporters, badges, or crests. A mermaid was the device of Sir William de Brivere, who died in 1226, and it is the badge of the Berkeleys.
Metal. The Tinctures Or and Argent: Nos. 50, 51.
Mill-rind. See Fer-de-Moline.
Mitre. The ensign of archiepiscopal and episcopal rank, placed above the arms of prelates of the Church of England, sometimes borne as a charge, and adopted by the Berkeleys as their crest. The contour of the mitre has varied considerably at different periods, the early examples being low and concave in their sides, the later lofty and convex. See No. 159.
Moline. A cross terminating like a Fer-de-moline, No. 97. In modern cadency it is the difference of the eighth son.
Moon. No. 166, page 80.
Motto. A word, or very short sentence, placed generally below a shield but sometimes above a crest, an idea perhaps derived from the “war-cries” of early times. A motto may be emblematical, or it may have some allusion to the person bearing it, or to his name and armorial insignia; or it may be the epigrammatic expression of some sentiment in special favour with the bearer of it. As a matter of course, allusive mottoes, like allusive arms, afford curious examples of mediæval puns. I give a few characteristic examples:—“Vero nil verius” (nothing truer than truth, or, no greater verity than in Vere)—Vere; “Fare, fac” (Speak—act; that is, a word and blow)—Fairfax; “Cave” (beware)—Cave; “Cavendo tutus” (safe, by caution, or by Cavendish)—Cavendish; “Set on,” says Seton; “Fight on,” quoth Fitton; “Festina lente” (On slow—push forward, but be cautious, that is), adds Onslow. Again: Jefferay says, “Je feray ce que je diray” (I shall be true to my word); Scudamore—Scutum amoris divini (the shield of Divine love); says James—“J’aime jamais” (I love ever); says Estwick—“Est hic” (he is here); and Pole—“Pollet virtus” (valour prevails); and Tev—“Tais en temps” (be silent in time). The crest of Charteris, an arm with the hand grasping a sword, has over it—“This our charter is.” In his arms the Marquess Cholmondeley bears two helmets, and his motto is—“Cassis tutissima virtus” (valour is the safest helm); the crest of the Martins of Dorsetshire was an ape, with the significant motto—“He who looks at Martin’s ape, Martin’s ape shall look at him!” The motto of Perceval is—“Perse valens” (strong in himself); but, “Do no yll,” quoth Doyle. Some “lippes,” as Camden remarks, have a taste for “this kind of lettuce.”
Mound. A globe, encircled and arched over with rich bands, and surmounted by a cross-patée, the whole an ensign of the royal estate. A mound or orb forms part of the regalia, and the same form appears upon the intersecting arches of the crown of the Sovereign; and it also surmounts the single arch of the coronet of the Prince of Wales: Nos. 234, 289.
Mount. A green hill.
Mullet. A star, generally of five, but sometimes of six or more points (if more than five the number to be specified), always formed by right lines, as No. 278. A mullet is sometimes “pierced,” as in No. 279, when the tincture of the field is generally apparent through the circular aperture. In modern cadency an unpierced mullet is the difference of the third son. See Estoile.
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| No. 278.— Mullet. | No. 279.— Mullet, pierced. |
Mural Crown. Represents masonry, and is embattled: No. 280.
Naiant. Swimming in fesse. See Hauriant.
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| No. 280.— Mural Crown. | No. 281.— Naval Crown. |
Naissant. Equivalent to Issuant, but applied only to living creatures.
Naval Crown. Has its circlet heightened with figures of the stern and the hoisted sail of a ship alternating: No. 281.
Nebulée, or Nebuly. No. 38, H.
Nimbus. A glory about the head of a figure of a sainted personage: sometimes used to denote sanctity in a symbolical device.
Norroy. See Herald.
Nova Scotia, Badge of. See Baronet.
Nowed. Coiled in a knot, as a snake.
Ogress. A Pellet, or black roundle.
Opinicus. A fabulous heraldic monster, a dragon before, and a lion behind with a camel’s tail.
Oppressed. An alternative for Debruised.
Or. The metal gold: No. 50.
Ordinary. An early principal charge of a simple character. See Chapter VI., and Nos. 71-128: see also page 14.
Ordinary of arms. A list of armorial bearings, classified or arranged alphabetically, with the names of the bearers. See Armory.
Oreiller. A cushion or pillow, generally with tassels.
Orle. A Subordinary formed of a border of a Shield, which is charged upon another and a larger shield, as in No. 134. In Orle. Arranged after the manner of an Orle, forming a border to a Shield, as in No. 86.
Ostrich feathers. A Royal Badge: also a Device in a few instances charged by Royal and some other personages on an Armorial Shield. See Chapter XV.
Over all, or Sur tout. To denote some one charge being placed over all others.
Overt. With expanded wings.
Pale. One of the Ordinaries: No. 87. Pale-wise, or In Pale. Disposed after the manner of a Pale—that is, set vertically, or arranged vertically one above another, as are the Lions of England in No. 187, page 87.
Pall, Pallium. A vestment peculiar to Archbishops of the Roman Church: in Heraldry, as a charge, half only of the pall is shown, when it resembles the letter Y; it is borne in the arms of the Sees of Canterbury, Armagh, and Dublin.
Pallet. Half a Pale.
Palmer’s Staff, Pilgrim’s staff, or Bourdon. No. 282. John Bourdon (H. 3) bears—Arg., three palmer’s staves gu.
Paly. Divided per pale into an even number of parts, which all lie in the same plane, as in No. 88. Paly Bendy. Divided evenly pale-wise, and also bend-wise, No. 118.
Panache. A plume of feathers, generally of the ostrich, set upright and born as a crest. A panache sometimes consists of a single row of feathers; but more generally it has two or more rows or “heights” of feathers, rising one above the other. In the greater number of examples the tips of the feathers are erect; in others they wave, or slightly bend over. A panache may be charged with some device or figure, “for difference,” as by the Tyndalls, with an ermine circlet, a martlet, and a fleur de lys. In Nos. 283, 285, from the seals of Edward Courtenay, and Edmund Mortimer (A.D. 1400 and 1372) the “heights” both expand and rise in a curved pyramidal form. No. 284, from the seal of William le Latimer (A.D. 1372), shows a remarkable variety of both panache and mantling. Waving plumes formed of distinct feathers first appear near the end of the fifteenth century, and are prevalent during the sixteenth century.
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No. 283.— Edward Courtenay. |
Panache Crests: No. 284.— William le Latimer. |
No. 285.— Edmund Mortimer. |
Party, Parted. Divided.
Passant. Walking and looking forward: No. 173. Passant Guardant. Walking and looking out from the shield, No. 174. Passant Reguardant. Walking and looking back. Passant Repassant, or Passant and Counter Passant. Walking in opposite directions.
Pastoral Staff. The official staff of a bishop or abbot, having a crooked head, and so distinguished from an archbishop’s crozier.
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Patée, or Formée. Patonce. Patriarchal. |
Pean. The Fur, No. 60.
Peer. That general title, expressing their equality as members of a distinct “order” in the realm, which is applied to Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, and Barons of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Peerage. The hereditament of a Peer: also rank of a Peer; a list of the Peers.
Pegasus. A horse with wings—a classic as well as an heraldic imaginary creature.
Pelican. Blazoned “in her piety,” when feeding her young with her own blood.
Pellet. A black roundle.
Pendent. Hanging.
Pennon. An armorial lance flag, pointed or swallow-tailed at the fly. No. 286 is from the Brass to Sir John d’Aubernoun, A.D. 1279; the arms are—Az., a chevron or.
Per. By means of, or after the manner of.
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| No. 286.— A Pennon. | No. 287.— A Pheon. |
Pheon. A pointed arrow-head, borne with the point in base, unless the contrary is specified, No. 287.
Phœnix. A fabulous eagle, always represented as issuant from flames.
Pile. One of the Ordinaries, in form like a wedge, Nos. 126, 127, 128. In Pile. Arranged after the form of a pile.
Planta Genista. The broom plant badge of the Plantagenets, No. 21.
Plate. A silver roundle.
Plenitude. The moon when full. See No. 166.
Plume. See Panache.
Points of Shield. No. 27. In Point is the same as In Pile.
Pomme. A green roundle.
Popinjay. A parrot (H. 3).
Port. A gateway, as the entrance to a castle: No. 222.
Portcullis. A defence for a gateway, No. 288: the badge of the Houses of Beaufort and Tudor, borne by the former with the significant motto, “Altera securitas” (additional security).
Potent. A variety of the heraldic cross, No. 108; also a Fur, No. 64.
Powdered, Poudrée. The same as Semée.
Preying. When an animal devours its prey. See Trussing.
Prince, Princess. In this country the rank and title of the members of the Royal Family. Their style is “Your Royal Highness.” The Coronet of the Prince of Wales differs from the crown of the King, only in having a single arch instead of two intersecting arches: No. 289. The coronets of the Princes and Princesses, the sons and daughters of the King, are the same as the coronet of the Prince of Wales, but without any arch: No. 290. The coronets of the Princes and Princesses, the grandchildren of the Sovereign, differ in having the circlet heightened with two crosses patée, as many strawberry leaves, and four fleurs-de-lys, No. 291. Other Royal coronets have the circlet heightened with four crosses patée, and as many strawberry leaves. No. 292. For the arms of their Royal Highnesses, see Chapter XVIII.
| Circlets of Royal Coronets: | |
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| No. 289.— Prince of Wales. | No. 290.— King’s Daughters and Younger Sons. |
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| No. 291.— King’s Grandchildren. | No. 292.— Royal Dukes. |
Purfled. Lined and bordered or garnished.
Purpure. A colour: No. 56.
Pursuivant. A Herald of the lowest rank. In the Middle Ages, these officers were attached to the households of personages of high rank, and bore titles generally taken from the armorial insignia of their lords.
Quadrate. A form of cross: No. 94.
Quarter. The first (from the dexter chief) of the divisions of a shield that is parted per cross, as in No. 30; also any other division of a shield, to be specified in blazoning. See No. 36, and Canton.
Quartering. Marshalling two or more coats of arms in the different quarters of the same shield. When two coats are thus quartered, the one in the first quarter is repeated in the fourth, and the one in the second in the third; when three are quartered, the first quartering is repeated in the fourth quarter. Any required number of coats may be quartered on the same principle. This same term is also applied to denote the dividing a shield “quarterly,” as in No. 30, or into more than four divisions, as in No. 36.
Quarterly. A shield divided into four divisions, as in No. 30: each division to contain a complete coat of arms, or a distinct heraldic device or composition. Should the shield be divided into more than four sections, the number is to be specified: thus, No. 36 is “quarterly of eight,” &c. See Nos. 252, 253.
Quarterly Quartering and Quartered. The quartering of a “quarter” of a shield that is divided “quarterly”; also distinguished as “Compound Quartering.” See page 34.
Quatrefoil. A flower or figure having four foils or conjoined leaves, No. 293. In modern cadency a Double Quatrefoil is the difference of the ninth son.
Queue Fourchée. Having a forked tail; No. 181.
Quilled. Used to blazon the quills of feathers: thus, a blue feather having its quill golden is blazoned—A feather az., quilled or.
Radiant. Encircled with rays.
Rayonée. Formed of Rays.
Ragulée, Raguly. Serrated, as No. 38, G. A “ragged staff,” No. 294, is a part of a stem from which the branches have been cut off roughly. This “ragged staff,” or “staff ragulée,” is the famous badge of the Beauchamps, and, derived from them, of the Nevilles. No. 294 is from the monument of the great Earl, Richard de Beauchamp, K.G., who died in 1439, at Warwick.
Rampant, Rampant Guardant and Reguardant. Nos. 171, 172; when reguardant, the animal looks backward.
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| No. 295.— Rebus of Abbot Kirton. | No. 296.— Rebus of Bishop Beckyngton. |
Rebus. An allusive charge or device. A cask, or tun, to represent the final syllable “ton” of many surnames, is frequently found. I give a few examples of several varieties of Rebus:—John Oxney, Canterbury—An eagle (the emblem of St. John the Evangelist, to denote “John”) standing on an ox, charged on its side with the letters NE. John Wheathamstede, St. Albans—An eagle and an Agnus Dei (the emblems of St. John the Evangelist and St. John the Baptist, to denote “John”), and clusters of ears of wheat. John Ramryge, St. Albans—A ram, gorged with a collar inscribed with the letters RYGE. Woodstock—The stump or stock of a tree. Abbot Islip, Westminster—A man falling from a tree, exclaiming, “I slip!” and a human eye, and a slip (small branch of a tree). Walter Lyhart, Norwich—A hart (stag) lying down in water. An owl, with the letters DOM on a scroll in its beak, for Bishop Oldham, at Exeter. A church (“kirk”) on a tun, with a pastoral staff and the initial R, for Abbot Robert Kirton, No. 295; and a bird on a tun, and a tree growing out of a tun, for Burton and Ashton, all at Peterborough. At Wells, with an initial T, a fire-beacon planted in a tun, for Bishop Thomas Beckyngton, No. 296; and at Lullinstone, Kent, in stained glass, the shield of Sir John Peché, A.D. 1522—Az., a lion rampt. queue fourchée erm., crowned or—is encircled by peach-branches fructed and in foliage, each peach being charged with the letter É, No. 297; the crest-wreath also is formed of a similar peach-branch.
No. 297.— Arms and Rebus of Sir John Peché.
Recercelée. A variety of the heraldic cross: No. 98.
Reflexed, Reflected. Curved and carried backwards.
Reguardant. Looking backwards: see No. 182.
Rein-deer. Heraldically drawn with double antlers, one pair erect, the other drooping.
Respecting. Face to face—applied to creatures not of a fierce nature.
Rest. See Clarion, No. 228.
Ribbon, Riband. A diminutive of a Bend.
Rising, Roussant. About to fly.
Rompu. Broken.
Rose. Represented in blazon as in Nos. 298, 299, and without leaves. The five small projecting leaves of the calyx, that radiate about the flower itself, are styled barbs, and when they are blazoned “proper” these barbs are green, as the “seeds” in the centre of the flower are golden. Both the “red rose” of Lancaster and the “white rose” of York, but more especially the latter, are at times surrounded with rays, and each is termed a “rose-en-soleil,” No. 300. The rose, the emblem of England, is generally drawn like the natural flower; or with natural stem, branches, leaves, and buds, but with heraldic rose-flowers. In modern cadency the heraldic rose is the difference of the seventh son.
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| Nos. 298, 299.—Heraldic Roses. | No. 300.— Rose en Soleil. | |
Roundle. See page 72.
Rustre. A mascle pierced with a circular opening: No. 144.
Sable. The colour black: No. 54.
Sagittary. The fabulous centaur, half man and half horse.
Salamander. An imaginary being, supposed to live in flames of fire; it is represented sometimes as a kind of lizard, and at other times (as in the crest of Earl Douglas, A.D. 1483) as a quadruped somewhat like a dog, breathing flames.
Salient. Leaping or bounding.
Saltire. An ordinary, in form a diagonal cross: Nos. 120, 121, 122. Saltire-wise, or in saltire. Arranged after the form of a saltire.
Sanglier. A wild boar.
Sans. Without. “Sans nombre,” without any number fixed or specified.
Savage-man, or Wood-man. A wild man, naked except large wreaths of leaves about his head and loins, and carrying a club.
Saw, or Frame-saw. Borne as the crest of Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, which is thus blazoned—Out of a ducal crest-coronet or, an oak-tree fructed and penetrated transversely in the main stem by a frame-saw ppr., the frame gold; above the crest the motto, “Through!” This device is said to commemorate the escape into Scotland, in 1323, of Sir Gilbert Hamilton, a reputed ancestor of the present ducal house. At the court of Edward II. Sir Gilbert had unadvisedly expressed admiration for Robert Bruce, on which John le Despencer struck him. Despencer fell in single combat the next day, and Hamilton fled, hotly pursued, northward. Near the border the fugitive and a faithful esquire joined some wood-cutters, assumed their dress, and commenced working with them on an oak, when the pursuers passed by. Hamilton, saw in hand, observed his esquire anxiously watching their enemies as they passed, and at once recalled his attention to his woodman’s duties by the word, “Through!”—thus, at the same time, appearing to consider the cutting down the oak to be far more important than the presence of the strangers. So they passed by, and Hamilton followed in safety. This crest does not appear in the Hamilton seals till long after the days of Bruce and his admirer, Sir Gilbert: No. 301.
Scarpe, Escarpe. A diminutive of a Bend sinister.
Scintillant. Emitting sparks.
Seax. A Saxon sword.
Seeded. Having seeds or seed-vessels, as in the centre of an heraldic rose. See Nos. 298-300.
Segreant. A term applied to a griffin when rampant.
Sejant. Sitting.
Semée. Sown broadcast or scattered, without any fixed number, over the field; parts of the charge thus semée appearing at the border-lines of the composition. See Nos. 247, 250, 252.
Shake-fork. Resembles the letter Y, but does not extend to the margin of the shield, and is pointed at its extremities.
Shamrock. A trefoil plant or leaf, the badge of Ireland.
Shield, or Escutcheon. The Shield of Heraldry is fully described at page 32. See also Nos. 27, 39-49.
Ship. Sometimes blazoned as a modern vessel, but sometimes also as an ancient galley. See Lymphad.
Shoveller. A species of duck.
Simple Quartering. Dividing a shield quarterly, with the quartering of any of the quarters. See Quartering.
Sinister. The left side. No. 27.
Sinople. The colour vert in French Heraldry.
Sixfoil. A flower of six leaves: No. 302.
Slipped. Having a stalk, as a leaf or branch: No. 309.
Spear. The spear or lance is not of common occurrence in blazon; but it appears, with heraldic propriety, in the arms granted in 1596 to the father of the great poet, who bore—Or, on a bend sa. a spear gold, the head arg.—the arms of Shakespeare, No. 303. (In the woodcut the bend is accidentally shaded for gules, instead of sable.)
No. 303.— Arms of Shakespeare.
Spur. Not common as an heraldic charge. Before about 1320 the spur had a single point, and was known as the “pryck-spur”; about that time appeared a “rouelle-spur” of simple form; in the middle of the fifteenth century spurs of extravagant length were introduced.
SS., Collar of. See Collar, and No. 231.
Stafford-knot. No. 304.
Stall-plate. A plate bearing the arms of a knight and placed in his stall. The stall-plates of the Knights of the Garter and the Bath are severally placed in the Chapels of St. George and of Henry VII., at Windsor and Westminster. The earliest plates now in existence at Windsor, though many of them bear arms of an earlier date, were executed about 1430.
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| No. 304.— Stafford Knot. | No. 305.— Stapleton Badge. |
Standard. A long narrow flag, introduced for the purpose of heraldic display, in the time of Edward III., but not in general use till a later period. Standards generally had the Cross of St. George next the staff, to which succeeded the badge or badges and the motto of the owner. See Chapter XVII.
Staple. Borne by Stapleton: No. 305 represents a badge formed of two staples.
Statant. Standing.
Star. See Estoile and Mullet; also a knightly decoration.
Stirrup. Borne, with appropriate straps and buckles, by Scudamore, Giffard, and a few others.
Stock. The stump of a tree.
Stringed. As a harp or a bugle-horn; or, suspended by, or fastened with, a string.
Sun. When represented shining and surrounded with rays, he has a representation of a human face upon his disc, and is blazoned “In splendour.” Sunbeams, or Rays, are borne in blazon, and form an early charge. See Collar.
Supporter. A figure of whatsoever kind that stands by a Shield of arms, as if supporting or guarding it. Single Supporters occasionally appear, but the general usage is to have a pair of Supporters—one on each side of the supported Shield. They came gradually into use in the course of the fourteenth century, but were not regularly established as accessories of Shields till about 1425, or rather later. At first they were generally alike, being then duplicate representations of the badge, but subsequently the more prevalent custom was that the two Supporters should differ, as in the case of the Royal Supporters, the Lion and the Unicorn, famous in History as in Heraldry. See Bearer, Tenant, and also Chapter XVI.
Surcoat. Any garment worn over armour; but especially the long flowing garment worn by knights over their armour until about 1325, when its form was modified by cutting it short in front, and it was distinguished as a Cyclas. See Jupon.
Surmounted. Placed over another.
Swan. When blazoned “proper,” white with black beak and red legs. It is the badge of the Bohuns, and of their descendants the Lancastrian Plantagenets, the Staffords, and some others. This Swan has his neck encircled with a coronet, from which a chain generally passes over his back. By Henry V., the Swan badge of his mother, Mary de Bohun, was borne with the wings expanded.
Sword. When borne as a charge, straight in the blade, pointed, and with a cross-guard. All the appointments of the weapon are to be blazoned. It appears, as a spiritual emblem, in several episcopal coats of arms; in the arms of the City of London, No. 306, the first quarter of a Shield of St. George (arg., a cross gu.) is charged with a sword erect gules, the emblem of St. Paul, the special patron of the English metropolitan city. The sword is also borne in blazon in its military capacity.
No. 306.— Arms of City of London.
Tabard. A short garment with sleeves, worn in the Tudor era. It has the arms blazoned on the sleeves as well as on the front and back: No. 307, the Tabard of William Fynderne, Esquire, from his brass, A.D. 1444, at Childrey in Berkshire: the arms are—Arg., a chevron between three crosses patée sable, the ordinary being charged with an annulet of the field “for Difference.” A similar garment is the official habit of heralds.
No. 307.— Tabard; A.D. 1444.
Tau, Tau-Cross. A cross formed like the letter T, so called in Greek, No. 93; borne as a charge in the arms of Drury, Tawke, and some others: this charge is also called the Cross of St. Anthony: it is sometimes borne on a badge, as in the Bishop’s Palace at Exeter. See Chapter XV.
Templars, Knights. See Chapter XIX.
Tenent, Tenant. Used by French Heralds to distinguish human figures from animals, as supporters.
Tennée, or Tawney. A deep orange-colour; in use in the Middle Ages as a livery-colour.