Teach Yourself Heraldry Module 8

The Language of Heraldry – 4

Heads

Heads can be cut off from the rest of the body in different ways. If there is a single clean cut, the head is said to be couped. It may be couped at the neck or it might be couped close if the cut is at the top of the neck.

If the division is ragged, as if the two parts have been roughly torn apart, the head is said to be erased.

A head looking towards us (affronté) and showing no neck is caboshed.

Gules a horse’s head couped between three crosses crosslet fitchy argent

Argent a chevron between three boars’ heads couped close sable armed or and langued gules

Azure a wolf’s head erased argent

Azure three bulls’ heads caboshed argent eyes gules

Deer

The deer most frequently met in heraldry is the red deer, the male with antlers being called a stag or alternatively hart. The term buck is used for the fallow deer which has broader antlers. Females, lacking antlers, are called hinds.

Some special terms are used to describe a deer. If it is walking it is said to be trippant, and if it is lying down it is lodged. A deer standing looking out at us is at gaze. If its antlers are a different colour from its body, it is described as attired gules (or whatever). Similarly, its feet could be unguled azure.

Vert three bucks trippant argent attired or

Per fess argent and gules a hart lodged sable

Azure a stag at gaze argent

Sable three bucks’ heads caboshed argent

Eagles

Many and varied are the heraldic terms used to describe the different positions that eagles, and other birds, can adopt. They can be close when standing with wings closed, perched, rising when taking off, soaring when flying upwards, or volant when flying horizontally.

When the outer wingtips are pointing upwards they are elevated, and if the outer wingtips point downwards they are inverted. If the two wings are raised back-to-back they are addorsed.

Most frequently, eagles are shown from below, affronté with wings open and legs splayed, the head normally turned to the dexter. If the wings are elevated, the eagle is described as displayed. If the wings are inverted, it is blazoned as displayed wings inverted.

If an eagle’s legs are a different colour, it is membered gules, say; if only the claws are different it is taloned gules, and its beak and tongue may also be specified.

Gules an eagle displayed argent

Vert an eagle displayed wings inverted argent

Or a two-headed eagle displayed wings inverted sable

Per pale or and sable a two-headed eagle displayed counterchanged, membered. beaked and langued gules

Study Exercise 1

Blazon these coats of arms.

Answers to this study exercise ☛☛

Roundels

Roundels are discs usually displaying a tincture or fur. We’ve already met a bezant, which might otherwise be described as a roundel or, and the other roundels also have individual names.

Gouttes

Like roundels, the various shades of gouttes are given specific descriptions. We’ve avoided these terms up to now, but the droplet referred to previously as a goutte gules should more properly be termed a goutte de sang.

Stars and Foils

Stars have rays that are either straight-sided or curved. The straight-sided ones are called mullets and, by default, they have five points. Stars with curved rays are called estoiles and, by default, they have six rays.

Quatrefoils, cinquefoils etc. are multi-lobed flowers or clusters of leaves, with just the heads being shown. The trefoil is a stylized version of the three-leaved shamrock or clover. Trefoils are ‘slipped’ showing, at the bottom, a portion of the stem holding the leaf.

By default, stars and foils are shown with one ray, or lobe, at the top. They may have a small circle removed in the centre, in which case they are pierced. By default, the tincture of this small circle is that which is naturally beneath the star or foil.

Gules two bendlets argent, in sinister chief a mullet of the same pierced

Argent four bars, on a canton gules a mullet of six points of the field

Checky gules and argent, on a chevron gules three estoiles or

Per pale azure and argent three cinquefoils counterchanged

Gules a quatrefoil or pierced

Per pale or and argent, on a chevron azure between three trefoils vert an escallop argent

Other Common Charges

It is beyond the scope of this course to introduce more than a few of the charges that occur most frequently in coats of arms. Literally hundreds of charges appear from time to time, so a good reference book is a must. Here are a few more charges and positions to add to those already described.

Griffin

A griffin is half eagle and half lion. with ears. Four-legged creatures with wings addorsed and elevated are segreant.
Argent a griffin segreant gules taloned and beaked or

Wyvern

A wyvern is a dragon with only two legs, and which has a long tail. Its default position is shown here.
Gules a wyvern argent

Maunch

The maunch is a representation of a medieval lady’s detachable sleeve. Note that the French call the English Channel ‘La Manche’.
Or a maunch gules

Sun in Splendour

The sun in splendour always has a face. It is frequently shown with alternate straight and curved rays.
Argent a sun in splendour proper

haurient

Fish swimming upwards are ‘haurient’. The family of Lucy used lucies on their arms which are present-day pike.
Gules three lucies haurient argent

addorsed

These fish are addorsed (back-to-back) and curved (embowed)
Argent two fish addorsed and embowed sable between five crosses crosslet gules 3, 2 & 2

Rose

The 5-petalled rose has, by default, green sepals and golden seeds.
Per bend sinister argent and sable, a rose gules barbed and seeded proper

Buckle

Buckles come in different shapes. By default the ‘tongue’ is to the dexter as here
Vert a lozenge-shaped buckle and a round buckle in pale argent

Water Bouget

A water bouget is a stylised pair of leather pouches strung together for carrying water.
Or three water bougets gules

Mill-rind

The mill-rind is a stylised metal support for the turning stone in a mill
Azure semy of mill-rinds or, on a canton of the same a lion rampant gules

Pheon

The pheon differs from a broad arrow in having serrated inner edges on the spikes. Pheons point downwards by default.
Or a pheon purpure

Dolphin

This is the default attitude of the heraldic dolphin
Per fess wavy azure and argent, in chief a dolphin and in base three escallops all counterchanged

Horse Barnacle