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 illustrates 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, Cummin—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.
| see text | see text |
| No. 203.— Cornwall. | No. 204.— Seal of Euphemia Leslie. |
Piers Gaveston, who was created Earl of Cornwall by Edward II., bore—Vert, six Eaglets or, No. 205, (E. 2 and York stained glass): 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 mediæval 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.
| see text | see text |
| No. 205.— Shield of Piers Gaveston. | No. 206.— Montacute and Monthermer. |
Eagles, under their name of “Alerions” (which early Heralds represented without feet and beaks), are blazoned in the same disposition as in No. 209, in the Arms of the Duchy of Lorraine,—Or, on a Bend gu. three alerions arg.: and this device the Dukes of Lorraine are said to have borne in commemoration of an exploit of their famous ancestor, Godfrey de Bologne, who is also said, when “shooting against David’s tower in Jerusalem,” to have “broched upon his arrow three footless birds called alerions.” “It is impossible,” remarks Mr. Planché upon this legend, “now to ascertain who broached this wonderful story; but it is perfectly evident that the narrator was the party who drew the long bow, and not the noble Godfrey.” Mr. Planché adds, that the Alerions of Lorraine may indicate an alliance with the Imperial House; and he directs attention to “a similarity in sound between ‘Alerion’ and ‘Lorraine,’” and also to a singular Anagram produced by the letters ALERION and LORAINE, which are the same (“Pursuivant of Arms,” p. 87). The Arms of Lorraine are still borne by the Emperor of Austria: and in England they were quartered by Queen Margaret of Anjou.
| see text | see text |
| No. 207.— A Vol. | No. 209.— De la Mere. |
The Roll of Edward II. gives also for Sir Hugh de Bilbesworth these arms—Az., three Eagles displayed or. A similar Shield, the tinctures changed to—Arg., three Eagles displayed gu., armed or, was borne by Robert de Eglesfield, Confessor to Philippa of Hainault, Queen of Edward III., who in the year 1340 founded Queen’s College, Oxford: this Shield of the Founder is borne by the College. One of the Shields in the Chantry of Abbot Ramryge in St. Albans Abbey Church bears the same charges—three eagles displayed, No. 210: the drawing of the eagle in this Shield is remarkable, and the form of the Shield itself is singularly characteristic of the close of the fifteenth century. Another Shield in the same monument bears a single Eagle, drawn in the same manner, and sculptured with extraordinary spirit.
No. 210.— Shield at St. Albans.
The German Heralds, and also their brethren of France, delight in exaggerations of what I may distinguish as the Westminster Eagle, No. 200. The Austrian Eagle, besides having both its heads crowned, has a large Imperial Crown placed between and above the two heads, as in No. 211. The Imperial Eagle (Holy Roman Empire) sometimes has a nimbus or glory about each head, which dignified accessory is represented by a circular line, as in No. 212. In some examples of Eagles, as well in our own Heraldry as in that of continental countries, the wings are represented as erect (the more usual form in England), and having the tips of all the principal feathers pointing upwards, as in No. 213. The Eagle borne as the Ensign of Imperial France was represented grasping a thunderbolt, in an attitude of vigilance, having its wings displayed, but with the tips of the feathers drooping, as they would be in the living bird; No. 214.
No. 211.— The Austrian Eagle.
| see text | see text |
| No. 212.— Imperial Eagle, with Nimbus. | No. 213.— Eagle “displayed,” with Wings erect. |
Edward III., as a Second Crest, bore an Eagle. An Eagle also was borne for his Crest, as the imperial bird was displayed upon his Shield (No. 206), by Earl Ralph de Monthermer. In the more recent Heraldry of England, the Eagle is a Supporter to the Shields of the Earls of Clarendon, Coventry, and Malmesbury; the Viscounts Bolingbroke and St. Vincent; and the Barons Heytesbury, Radstock, Wynford, and others. Eagles also and Demi-Eagles are borne as Crests in the English Heraldry of our own day.
No. 214.— French Imperial Eagle.
In drawing our heraldic Eagles, we can scarcely improve upon some of the examples in which early English Heralds expressed their ideas of the king of birds.
4. Query if this is not really a herne or heron.—A. C. F.-D.
CHAPTER X
THE GRAMMAR OF HERALDRY
Section VII
Glossary of Titles, Names, and Terms
“The several denominations given to these tokens of honour ... with the terms of art given to them.” —Randle Home: “Academy of Armoury,” A.D. 1688.
In this Glossary, which obviously must be as concise as possible, I shall include no word that is ordinarily well understood, unless some special signification should be attached to it when it is in use in armorial blazon.