anxa 88-B 26002 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/onbannersofbayeuOOfren ON THE BANNERS OF THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY, AND SOME OF THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. GILBERT J. FRENCH. Reprinted fp.om the Journal of the Archeological Association of Great Britain and Ireland, July 1857. FOR PRESENTATION ONLY. LONDON: PRINTED BY T. RICHARDS, 37, GT. QUEEN STREET. 1857. ON THE BANNERS OF THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY, AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. It is now generally admitted by archcEologists that the shields represented in that invaluable specimen of early art, the Bayeux Tapestry, are not to be regarded as examples of true heraldry. Although ornamented with various devices—probably symbolical—they yet appear to bear a general character, and to have no particular reference to the individuals who carry them. Thus, most of the shields borne by Saxon warriors have upon them rudely drawn cross-like ornaments that in no respect re¬ semble any of the numerously varied forms which inge¬ nious heralds have since given to that sacred symbol; whilst upon the Norman shields the most frequently occurring ornament is a winged dragon. Subsequently, however, when heraldry had become a science, and dis¬ tinctive personal bearings were generally assumed, the dragon is not to be found among the charges adopted by the Norman nobles. 1 But if we fail to discover traces of true heraldry on the shields, the banners of the Bayeux tapestry supply indications of some early and very inter¬ esting charges. In pi. 15, Nos. 1 to 12, are figured tracings 1 The hoy’s popular toy, known in England as the kite, is in Scotland com¬ monly called the dragon. B 2 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, of banners which occur in the tapestry, taken from the well- known engravings published by the Society of Antiquaries, after the accurate drawings of the late Mr. C. A. Stothard. The number of the pennons carried by the Norman sol¬ diers, figured in the entire tapestry, amounts to thirty- seven ; and of these, no less than twenty-eight will be found to have their ends cut into the form of three flame¬ like points, or streamers. This appears to have been a very general custom with the Christian warriors of that period. Numerous examples may be met with in illu¬ minated manuscripts, on stained glass, and more particu¬ larly on the seals of the time, among which we may refer to the great seals of William I, Henry I, and Stephen, kings of England ; and Duncan II, Alexander I, David, Malcolm IV, and William the Lion, of Scotland. Plate 15, figs. 13,14, 15,16, represent various forms of triple pointed pennons taken from other authorities than the Bayeux tapestry; and I also exhibit impressions from early seals in which they occur. 1 Among these will be found examples of our Lord, under the symbolical form of Agnus Dei; in which, as in all early representations of the resurrection and of the descent into hell, the Saviour holds a three- pointed banner surmounted by a cross: from which cir¬ cumstance it may be inferred that this military custom had been derived from a religious origin, and that it indi¬ cated a significant religious symbolism. 1 The seals exhibited to the Association were— 1. Great seal of Duncan, king of Scotland, a.d. 1096. 2. -Alexander I, king of Scotland, a.d. 1112. 3. Seal of David earl of Huntingdon, afterwards David I, a.d. 1120. 4. -Milo Pitzwalter, earl of Gloucester, a.d. 1130. 5. Great seal of David I, king of Scotland, a.d. 1140. 6. Seal of Saer de Quinci, first earl of Winchester, a.d. 1170. 7. -Walter Fitzalau (Stuart) a.d. 1170. 8. Great seal of William the Lion, king of Scotland, a.d. 1170. 9. Seal of chapter of Glasgow, a.d. 1180. 10. -Galfrid Pestoris, sacc. xiii. 11. -Aden Pastorelli, ssec. xiv. EL. 15. J-R.Jbbbius. AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. 3 The peace of the Christian church was, during the first six centuries, greatly disturbed by nearly one hundred heresies, most of them impugning, in one way or other, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. These, doubtless, assisted the rapid progress of the Moslem faith (of which a belief in the “ unity of God” formed the corner-stone) and the success of the Arab arms, which, between the seventh and the tenth centuries, nearly swept Christianity from Asia and Africa, threatening also its safety in Europe. To oppose the doctrines of Mohammed, the members of the Christian church appear at this time to have adopted numerous symbols and emblems, all bearing allusion, or having reference, to the Trinity. The cross was, indeed, the acknowledged emblem of Christianity ; but when it is remembered that the Moslems held our Saviour in high reverence, as the greatest of all inspired prophets before the time of Mohammed,—that they incorporated many of his benign precepts into the Koran,—were well acquainted with the events of his life, and with the manner of his death,—it may be assumed that the cross, the instrument of his martyrdom, would be a symbol much less obnoxious or objectionable to them than other Christian symbols, which, whilst demonstrating the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, struck also directly at the very foundation of the Moslem faith. In a former paper (“ On the Nimbus”), read before the Association, and printed in the Journal ,* I endeavoured to shew that rays of light passing from any representations of divine or holy objects had a well understood meaning ; and in particular, that three such emanations almost inva¬ riably distinguished the glories which were placed by mediseval artists around the heads of the persons of the Holy Trinity. I apprehend that the triple-pointed pennon was, in a similar spirit, adopted by the western warriors 1 Vol. x, p. 332 et seq. 4 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, as a practical demonstration of their religious creed, in opposition to that of the followers of Mohammed, who, since the seventh century, had carried on a successful warfare under the black banner of their prophet, inscribed with the peculiar confession of their faith, “ There is but one God—Mohammed is the apostle of God.” It may be urged in objection to this view, that the Bay- eux tapestry represents events which were known to have occurred thirty years antecedent to the first Crusade, and therefore could bear no allusion to the circumstances of that war. It is, however, acknowledged by antiquaries of much skill and learning, that the work was pro¬ bably executed several years after the occurrence of the events which it illustrates, and consequently at a time of much excitement, from the preparation for, or in the pro¬ secution of, the first Crusade. This might probably be a sufficient reason to induce the artists of the tapestry to invest the Christian knights with the characteristic attri¬ butes of a war so popular at the time among the western nations. That many of the warriors of the first Crusade did really bear upon their lances three-pointed pennons, is proved by the painted glass formerly in the church of St. Denys (see pi. 15, figs. 14, 15, 16), but now unhappily destroyed. It was placed there by the abbot Segur, about 1146, during the progress of the second Crusade, the subjects repre¬ sented being taken from the first of these religious wars: engravings of these had, however, been fortunately made; and to Montfaucon 1 we are indebted for the three speci¬ mens here depicted. Whether the supposition that the pennons with their triple terminations were intended to symbolize the creed of the Christian church, be correct or otherwise, there can exist no doubt as to their having been extensively used 1 Regal ?„nd Ecclesiastical Antiquities of France, vol. i. Saxon Earner -Bayeuso Tapestry. J.R. Jolh - AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. 5 during the time of the earlier Crusades, and that upon the subsidence of the enthusiasm for these religious wars they gradually disappeared, and their place was supplied by square banners, or by long flags terminating in swallow¬ tailed ends, known as standards or guidons. It must, how¬ ever, be remarked, that pennons or flags with one, two, and even with four or more flame-like terminations, are to be met with during the period of the Crusades, and also upon the Bayeux tapestry; but these occur much less fre¬ quently than the triple-rayed pennons. The following cut represents one of these banners with four terminations, which is to be observed always in the hand of, or near to, a figure conjectured to be that of duke William of Normandy, and is presumed to be the flag said to have been presented to him by pope Alex¬ ander before the invasion of England, in testimony of his assent to William’s claim upon the English throne. This banner is charged with a cross within a border, and is ter¬ minated by being cut into four flame¬ like points very si¬ milar to the ori- flamme (pi. 15, fig. 17) represented on the stained glass of Chartres cathedral, and also to ano¬ ther (fig. 13), from a mosaic of the eighth century, re¬ presented as being presented by St. Peter to Charles the Great. The former of these has five, the latter three flame-like points. A rayed banner with four points, in a painting of the thirteenth century by Bruno, as held by St. Orsola, is given in tav. xii. of Giov. llosini’s Storia della Pittura Italiana. 6 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, Having ventured to claim for these rays the character of symbolical nimbi , I shall endeavour to show the cir¬ cumstance which probably led to their disuse. Assuming that they were adopted by the Christian war¬ riors as badges of their engagement to the Crusade, it may reasonably be supposed that, upon their return from Palestine, they would detach from their banners the mark which indicated that obligation. The probability of such a practice is supported by the following well-known cus¬ tom of chivalry, which obtained in this country during many centuries :—When, for any valiant exploit, a knight was advanced to the more honourable rank of banneret, the king, or his general, on the field of battle, caused the pointed ends to be cut from the knight’s pennon; which thus became a square banner. The presumed change in the pennon of the returned crusader was in all respects similar when he removed the symbol of his hostility to the Saracens, now no longer appropriate, and added to the religious emblems embroidered upon the still remaining portion of his banner such other distinctive heraldic charges as may have been adopted by, or conferred upon him. That the returned crusaders did in fact use small square banners, may be satisfactorily proved. Edmund Crouch- back, earl of Lancaster, was interred in Westminster abbey, having returned from the Crusade of 1270. A tomb was erected over his body by his brother, king Edward I, upon which were painted the figures of ten companions who had accompanied the earl to the east and returned with him to England. The tomb remains to this day; but the figures are now defaced. They were, however, carefully copied in the year 1783, with the colours restored, from vestiges then existing, by the accurate antiquarian artist John Carter, and engraved in his Specimens of Ancient Sculpture and Painting in England. 1 Each knight holds his 1 Vol. i, pp. 21-23. AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. 7 banner, most of which will be found to have a curiously close resemblance to the pennons of the Bayeux tapestry, supposing them to be deprived of their three-rayed termi¬ nations. I have now to direct attention to the shields of Saint- Omer, “azure a fess or”; and of Grentemesnil, “ gules a pale or” (plate 16, figs. 1,2); and request a comparison of these with two of the pennons from the Bayeux tapestry (figs. 3, 4), placed in juxtaposition. It can scarcely be doubted that they represent, in each case, corresponding objects. Both of these knights participated in the first Crusade. I do not, however, presume to suggest that they are repre¬ sented in the tapestry; but it may be assumed that the fess and the pale on their respective shields have a common origin in the earlier pennon, and that the difference in these charges arises from the mode of representing it: in one example it is held horizontally, and in the other erect. But, returning to the rays, it may be assumed that any symbol which proved that a knight had shared in the danger and glory of a Crusade would continue to be cherished as an honourable badge, though removed from the banner under which he had led his vassals in the field. I suggest that they were frequently depicted on the shield,, and under a different name, became one of the earliest “ honourable ordinaries” of true heraldry. No heraldic device has been more disputed, with refer¬ ence to its origin and use, than the pile. I refrain from attempting to enumerate all the fanciful foundations which have been claimed for it; but I mention those which have been generally accepted. Guillim “ took the pile to be derived from pilum , an ancient weapon peculiar to the Homans, shaped somewhat like a dart without feathers”. 1 Mackenzie “ held it to represent that engine whereby sol- 1 Display of Heraldry; with Additions by Sir George Mackenzie, etc. Lond.,. 1724, fol., p. 46. 8 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, diers and others secured the foundations of their build¬ ings”, 1 though he also supposed “ that when placed three together they represented the nails of our Lord’s cruci¬ fixion ; and he blazoned the arms of Wishart ( argent , three passion nails, gules , meeting in point), because, on the authority of Spelman, the Wisharts got their name (Wise- heart) out of malice from the Saracens, whom Robert, the first of that name, did much persecute about the time of the Norman conquest.” “ The pile”, says the editor of Guillim, “ is an ancient addition to armoury, and is a thing that maketh all foundations to be firm and perfect, especially in waterworks”; 2 and the editor of the Glossary of Heraldry states it to be “an ordinary, generally-repre¬ senting a stake used in the construction of a military bridge”. This last is the usually received modern opinion of the origin and use of the pile ; but it is altogether in¬ consistent with numerous varieties of that ordinary borne on shields. Of these, on plates 17 and 18, we have given sixteen examples taken from Holme and other authorities : Wallingcon, from Burke. Waterhouse, from Guillim. Borlach, from Randle Holme. Kerdell, ditto. Schinkey, ditto. Eberbach, ditto. Senfetell, ditto. Van Hoggey, ditto. Formanshaw, ditto. Hoflow, ditto. Proctor, ditto. Anstruther, from Guillim. -—, 3 from Holme. Debar, ditto. Platter, ditto. Wail, from Guillim. 2 lb., p. 47. 3 To this coat no name is given, but it is engraved in Randle Holme’s Acci¬ dence of Armorie and Blazon , fol., Chester, 1688, book i, chap. 3, p. 20, No. 9, and described on p. 25, No. xc. Plate 17. 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 Plate 18. 99 99 99 1 Ibid., p. 46. Wall m^ton Jrromlliirke/ Waterhouse From/ GwiZlim/ Borlacl From; R. Holme/ Tan Hog gey Formans haw From/ R/Hobne/ Hoflow Proctor Aiistnittier of tbat Uk From/ GwULcrn' / 'Tail From' &v,'tUvn/ Doctrme of the Holy Trinity AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. 9 It will be noticed that, upon respectable heraldic autho¬ rity, piles were borne wavy—ingrailed—with three points, and twisted or curved in all possible directions,—forms utterly inconsistent with the idea of a piece of timber intended to be driven into the ground as a foundation for a bridge or building; but all of them, as well as every other arrangement and combination of the pile which I have yet met with in heraldry, are entirely in accordance with the supposition, already advanced, that they repre¬ sented the rayed pennons which the soldiers of the Cru¬ sades, after flaunting them in the faces of their pagan foes in Palestine, removed from their banners on their return from the holy wars. Whether this supposition be correct or otherwise, it is at least certain that three piles, often proceeding from a chief, is a frequently occurring charge in the arms of the ancient nobility of England and Scot¬ land ; and that these piles have a striking resemblance to the pennons carried by the Norman warriors depicted on the Bayeux tapestry. It may be objected, that the points of these pennons could never converge in the manner most frequently met with when piles are represented on shields. But this may be readily explained. The early kite-shaped shield was sufficiently long to admit of the rays being displayed in a perpendicular direction ; not so, however, the smaller heater-shaped shield of a later period, upon which it was necessary to gather the points together in the base, to enable the shield to contain the objects. That this change did take place, for this or some other reason, is proved on the authority of sir David Lindsay, who, in a heraldic manuscript, preserved in the Advocates’ Library at Edinburgh, represents both arrangements in the arms of the same family. On the shield of “ Erskyn lord of Brechine”, the piles converge to the base; and on that of the “lord of Brechane of auld'\ i.e., as anciently borne, c 10 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, the piles are placed perpendicularly. In the same inte¬ resting manuscript, and nearly at the end of the volume (which bears the date of 1542), are the arms of John Young, the ancestor of a distinguished existing family. The arms of Young are blazoned, argent , three piles sable , on a chief of the first, as many annulets of the second. This charge bears so close and curious a resemblance to the three-rayed banners of the Bayeux tapestry, that it becomes interesting to trace its origin. The first of the family I have been enabled to find mentioned, was John Young, a burgess of Edinburgh, who, in 1541, married Margaret Scrymgeour, of the ancient and noble house of that name Her father, Scrymgeour of Glasswell, was the descendant of an immediate branch of the Scrymgeours of Didupe, who were, in 1057, created hereditary standard bearers to the kings of Scotland, by Alexander I, and afterwards became earls of Dundee. It is quite reasonable to suppose that the worthy burgess would, on his marriage with a lady of so distinguished a family, apply for, and obtain a grant of, arms; and in doing so embrace the opportunity of paying a graceful compliment to his wife; which he appears to have done by adopting the standard borne by her ancestors as the charge on his armorial shield. This may have been done at the suggestion of the poetical lyon king-of-arms, sir David Lindsay of the Mount. The intention was, doubtless, to perpetuate the memory of the honourable office which had been held by Young’s wife’s ancestors, 1 On plate 16, fig. 6, is repre¬ sented the most common form of pennon from the Bayeux tapestry, which may be compared with the preceding cut of the arms of Young. 1 The descendants of this family have been distinguished by learning and valour. One of these, the gallant sir W. Young, of the 23rd regt., fell on the heights of Alma. PI. 19 Bayeuoo Tapestry. II. 20. Baiibarian. Ensign. Jrrcmv th&Arch/ of Tihis ETox ton. I) ’ Auvergne lEJobbins. AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. 11 In English examples of early banners, they are, for the most part, cut into sharp pointed ends, exactly correspond¬ ing with the piles in English and Scottish heraldry. But the French pennons of the same time, though likewise divided into three, had usually more obtuse terminations, of which examples may be seen on plate 15, figs. 14, 15, 16, previously referred to. This is particularly the case in the instance of the gonfanon of the noble house of Au¬ vergne, which corresponds in form with the usual arrange¬ ment of the pile in French heraldry, of which an example is exhibited in the arms of the comte de Briey (see plate 19, fig. 6). But a still more remarkable proof that the piles of heraldry are identical with the points of ancient pennons, is the correspondence of the arms of Norton (“or, a pile triple-pointed flory sable , issuing from the dexter chief bendways”) with the pennon on the seal of Milo de Gloucester , created earl of Hereford in 1140. (Plate 19 fig. 5.) It will be noticed that the points of the pennon have a triple tie, nearly coinciding with the fleur-de-lys ends of the Norton triple pile. I must not omit to call attention to the fact that the field of the shields on which piles occur as a charge, is for the most or or argent , while the piles are of some heraldic tincture ; this would be the natural arrangement in representing the textile fabric of the pennon points upon the bright metal shields. In concluding the subject of triple-pointed banners, it may be remarked that they occur on the Trajan column and on the arch of Titus at Pome. (See plate 20, figs. 1, 2.) It is said that these represent the banners carried by bar¬ barians. Whether or not they may also have been Chris¬ tians, I do not venture to conjecture ; but the coincidence is sufficiently curious to be worthy of notice. Six of the three-pointed banners of the Bayeux tapestry have very distinctly marked upon them three circles, rings, 12 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, or balls; and similar rings may be seen on the pennon carried by king Henry I on his great seal. It is impos¬ sible to believe that these were accidental ornaments, par¬ ticularly as they occur very frequently on Christian coins, implements, and drinking vessels. I am disposed to claim for them a religious symbolism ; and further, I believe them to be the origin of a very popular and much used heraldic charge. It is however necessary, carefully to dis¬ tinguish these three circles from rings used by the Anglo- Saxons to attach their banners to the supporting lances ; particularly since these rings, or corresponding loops, are also mostly three in number. In my previous paper upon “ The Nimbus”, already referred to, I endeavoured to shew that a circle constituted a well understood symbol of eternity long before the intro¬ duction of Christianity, and that pagan deities were often represented crowned with such circles or glories, as the usual attributes of divinity. 1 The practice was continued by the early Christians, who adopted, probably from politic motives, many customs of pagan worship which were in themselves unobjectionable. A medal of the emperor Constantine 1 represents the religious emblems of his parti¬ cular epoch. The banner of the cross piercing the body of the serpent, and surmounted with the monogram of Christ, with the motto spes publica, ex¬ presses the hope of the Chris¬ tian world from the conversion of the emperor. Upon the banner which hangs from the cross three circles are distinctly marked, which closely corre- 1 See Montfaucon, Antiq. expliquee. 2 The reverse represented in the woodcut is taken from the Storia dell' Arte of Seroux d’Agincourt, tom. ii, plate xnvin. AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. 13 spond with those on the banners of the Bayeux tapestry, and with numerous examples of the eleventh century. All the other objects upon this medallion of Constantine having a distinctly symbolical meaning, it may be assumed that such also was the case with the three circles. We are informed that, during the reign of that emperor, “ the authority of a general council, to which the Arians them¬ selves had been compelled to submit, inscribed on the banners of the orthodox party the mysterious characters of the word homoousion , which essentially contributed “ to maintain and perpetuate the uniformity of faith, or at least of language”. 1 That the three equal circles which appear on the banner of the medallion are intended to represent the mysterious characters of the word “ homoousion”, is more than I dare venture to assert; but it is certain that the meaning of that word, which is “ having the same essence ”, or “ consubstantial , having the same substance \ is very fairly expressed by this symbolism. It is to be remembered that Constantine, though tolerant of, and liberal to, the Christians, “ persevered till he was near forty years of age in the practice of the established (pagan) religion: his liberality restored and enriched the temples of the gods: the medals which issued from his imperial mint are im¬ pressed with the figures of Jupiter and Apollo, of Mars and Hercules; and his filial piety increased the council of Olympus by the apotheosis of his father Constantius.” 2 As it may be objected that Constantine was not always a Trinitarian, since his persecution of Athanasius is a well known and received historical fact, it may be proper to state, on the authority of Gibbon, that “ the Nicene creed was ratified by Constantine .... Arius was banished into one of the remote provinces of Illyricum ; his person and disciples were branded by law with the odious name of Porphyrians; his writings were condemned to the flames. 1 Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. xxi. 2 Ibid. 14 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, and a capital punishment was denounced against those in whose possession they should be found.” 1 It is certain, therefore, that at one —probably an early—period of his reign, the emperor favoured and patronized, if he did not himself adopt, the Trinitarian doctrine. His respect for the ancient pagan customs of his ancestors would natu¬ rally induce the use of the symbols which they had em¬ ployed to indicate the divinity of their mythological gods, as the fittest and best understood emblem of the Triune Deity of orthodox Christianity. I am not prepared to insist that this symbolism of Con¬ stantine’s time was handed down through seven centuries to be used by the Norman conquerors of England, though I regard such as by no means an improbable circumstance : at ■ all events, reasonable proof can be offered that the symbolical meaning which I have claimed for the circles on the banner of the Constantine medallion, is at least equally applicable to those on the pennons of the Bayeux tapestry. There, the circles are, for the most part, repre¬ sented in a line parallel with the lance of the pennon, but not always close to it. When transferred to a shield, they usually occupied that portion of it called the chief; but they also frequently occur in fess and in bend. In one instance (plate 18, fig. 1) only, a different arrangement of these circles may be met with on the tapestry. They are placed two and one, forming an irregular triangle. This was a favourite mode of representing, upon shields, all objects which occurred in triplets, and was probably adopted from its convenience in filling up the space to be covered. In further proof that the three circles were intended to symbolize the Holy Trinity, a frequently occurring medi¬ aeval device is exhibited (plate 18, fig. 2), in which they 1 Chap. xxi. AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. 15 are employed to demonstrate that doctrine. 1 The circles are respectively marked “ Pater”, “ Filins”, and “ Spiritus Sanctus”; a fourth circle, placed in the centre, is inscribed “ Deus”. These are connected by a double set of labels, one set marked with the words “ non est”, the other with the word “ est”: the entire arrangement being intended to develope the mystery of Trinitarian doctrine to the under¬ standing of uneducated people. Such a device was dis¬ played upon a banner in the army of Henry V when he fought the famous battle of Agincourt. His troops, in that celebrated campaign, appear to have been placed under the special protection of the Holy Trinity, since a poet of the period writes that, on their embarkation, “The wynde was goode, and blew but softe, And fourth they went in the name of the Trynyte.” But this holy patronage was invoked for other purposes besides that of war: the ancient banker and the modern pawnbroker have conducted their occupations under the protecting sign of three balls, while the purses, almoniers, and pockets, in which men of mediaeval times were wont to carry their treasures, were very generally ornamented with three similar balls of metal, which, at a later period, displayed themselves under the form of tassels. To these circular ornaments the heraldic writers of the seventeenth century have applied various names, according to their metals or tinctures, attributing to them fanciful and unauthorized origins and meanings which have entirely supplanted the simple and religious idea which they at first expressed. The great number of families bearing this favourite ancient charge on their shields of arms, com- 1 In Carter’s Specimens of Ancient Sculpture and Painting (vol. ii, p. 46) is an account of a brass of John de Campden, in the church of the hospital of St. Cross, near Winchester, upon which an illustration of this arrangement of the Trinity is observable on a shield, as if adopted for his arms, described by the rev. Mr. Milner. 16 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, pelled, first, a change into every heraldic metal and colour, under the names of bezants, plates, pomees, hurts, pellets, golps, oranges, guzes, ogresses, torteauxes, wastals, wells, and whirlpools ; and subsequently these were probably modi¬ fied in form, and became crescents, roses, mullets, cinque¬ foils, estoiles, escallop shells, and other heraldic devices,— not greatly differing in form from the circle,—which are known to have been adopted amongst the earliest heraldic charges, and all of which may owe their origin to the three circles which the Norman invaders displayed on their pennons ; or, it may be, to the much earlier myste¬ rious device on the labarum of Constantine the Great. It is well known that the religious heraldry peculiar to the time of the earlier Crusades gradually merged into heraldry of a personal character; and this appears to have been effected chiefly by the addition of bearings allusive to the eastern war, without, however, displacing the crosses, fesses, bars, or circles, which distinguished such banners as are figured on the Bayeux tapestry. These religious bearings are still retained on the arms of many English and French families, whose ancestors are known to have participated in the honours of the earlier Crusades, and are exemplified by the shields of Wake (fig. a), Dawney (fig. b), Hugh de St. Amand (fig. c), and Richard de Grey (fig. d). a. Baldwin de Wake. e. Dawney. AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES 17 c. Hugh de St. Amand. I now solicit attention to the two objects represented on the Bayeux tapestry, which have obtained the name of Saxon standards. Two winged dragons (plate 19, tigs. 3, 4), exactly corresponding in form, size, and colour, with those on the Norman shields (figs. 7 and 8), are held by two Saxon warriors on the points of their spears, which pass through the heads of the animals. They certainly, in a great measure,resemble the ancient dragon bannersof the Dacians (figs. 1 & 2), which were adopted by the Roman armies; and this may have led to the supposition that they also are banners. But it is remarkable that one of these so called banners, if elevated on the spear which transfixes it, would be displayed reversed, or back downwards,—a most improbable position for a banner. This circumstance, together with the fact that there is no other known ex¬ ample of a British flag cut out to the form of the animal represented , induces me to suggest that the intention of the artists was to shew the valour of Harold and his imme¬ diate companions, by those ornaments which, with their lances, they have torn from the shields of their Norman enemies; and this is the more probable as these dragon¬ shaped ornaments appear to be in relief, and attached to the shields by studs of metal. There is yet another banner, which has not, I appre¬ hend, hitherto received the attention it deserves. It is represented (see plate 16, fig. 5) falling to the ground, from the hands of a Saxon warrior transfixed by the spear D 18 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, of a Norman horseman, and is the sole banner of the Saxon army, supposing the dragon-shaped objects already noticed to be the ornaments of shields, and not banners. It falls at the particular time and place that the tide of battle turned against the Saxons; for there Gurth and Leofwin, Harold’s brothers, are both slain. This banner is trian¬ gular in form : from one side four streamers proceed, each of which is terminated with a triple tuft. Excepting that it has no ornament in its field, it resembles, in all other respects, the banner on the coins of the Anglo-Danish king Anlaf, or Olaf, minted in England (see plate 18, figs. 3, 1 4); but the banner on these coins had a cross within the triangle. Examples are here exhibited of a Spanish 2 (fig. 1), a French 3 (fig. 2), and an English 4 (fig. 3), Fig. 2. French. 1 This coin is figured by Speed in his History of England, p. 53; and also by Worsaae in the Danes in England, p. 53. The other coin (fig. 4) is of Knut, or Canute, and is likewise figured by Worsaae, p. 53. 2 Spanish standard taken from a MS., a.d. 1109, figured by Shaw, and also in Planche’s Pursuivant of Arms, p. 62. 3 French. This is given from a French miniature of the fifteenth century, and has been engraved in Didron’s Iconographie Cliretienne, p. 461. 4 English. A triangular banner taken from a mural painting formerly in the chapel of St. Stephen, Westminster. AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. 19 triangular banner; the French representing the Holy Spirit as a nimbed dove descending from heaven to earth. The last banner of the Bayeux tapestry which I desire to bring under your notice, represents a bird within a semi¬ circle of rays (fig. 4). This has been usually called a Danish war-flag, and the bird supposed to be the raven, sacred to Odin, the principal god of the Scandinavian nations before their conversion to Christianity. I claim for this banner another name and a very different meaning:— The Danes had, long before the conquest of England by the Normans, adopted Christian insignia on their banners, as has been already shewn by the cross on the coin of Anlaf: it is, therefore, improbable that they should dis¬ play as a national banner any emblem of their former idolatry, particularly in the eminently religious army of duke William; still less, that such a banner should be associated with the flag bearing a cross, presented by the pope to the duke, which, on the tapestry, immediately follows that with the bird. Speed, who appears to have consulted the best available authorities, informs us that the duke of Normandy, “ with three hundred ships fraught full of his Normans, Flemings, Frenchmen, and Britaignes, weighed anchor”. In this list there is no mention of Danes or Norwegians; and there 20 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, is good reason for supposing that no soldiers of the Scan¬ dinavian nations were present in the army of the Con¬ queror. The strength of these nations had invaded Eng¬ land in the north, and been subdued in a sanguinary and decisive battle only four days before the duke of Normandy landed at Hastings. The probability, therefore, is, that neither Dane nor Danish banner would be found in the Norman army. Herr AVorsaae 1 adopts the opinion that the bird banner of the Bayeux tapestry is the danbrog , or war-flag, of the Scandinavian Vikings; and states that “an old chronicle (Emma’s Encomiast) relates that, in the time of peace, no image whatever was seen in the flag (or mark) of the Danes ; but in the time of war there Avaved a raven in it, from whose movements the Danes took auguries of victory or defeat. If it fluttered its wings, Odin gave them a sign of conquest; but if the wings hung slackly down, victory would certainly desert them.” Again, referring to the danbrog , AVorsaae adds: “ AVhat colours were used can now hardly be decided .... There can be no doubt that the ground was often red .... It is, perhaps, therefore most probable that the banners (or marks) of the ancient Danes were, in times of peace, of a light colour; but in war time of a blood colour, with a black raven on a red ground.” 2 This opinion is entitled to the highest respect; but it is entirely against the supposition that the flag of the tapestry represents the raven of Denmark, since, after the lapse of six hundred years, the bird remains of a pale blue colour upon a field of what appears to have been white, or some very light tint: and it is represented with closed wings, in an attitude as completely peaceful and dovelike as can w T ell be imagined. There is, therefore, no great hazard in expressing a belief that this singular and interesting banner bears a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit, within a nimbus of rays. 1 The Danes in England, p. 57. 2 The Danes in England, p. Gl. AND THE EARLIEST HERALDIC CHARGES. 21 Having, in this paper, claimed for some of the earliest heraldic charges an origin and meaning differing from those usually ascribed to them by heraldic writers, I never¬ theless present my opinions on the subject with consider¬ able diffidence. I do not assume to have determined any of the positions which I have ventured to advance: they are, however, singularly suggestive ; and it is hoped that they may induce inquiry into the subject by other asso¬ ciates who enjoy better opportunities for investigating it? and possess more extended means of observation than fall to the lot of the writer. ADDITIONAL NOTES. When tliree-pointed banners were discontinued, flags with bi-forked ends were for a long time used, under the name of standards or guidons. (Plate 20, fig. 9.) These probably induced the use of th e plural number in refer¬ ence to one flag, on the same principle that it is misapplied to modern male femoral garments. This mode of expres¬ sion was very common during the last two centuries, and is still used by an eminent writer of the present day. “ He looks indeed like an old tatter’d colours, That every wind would borrow from the staff.” Fletcher’s play of The Captain, Act ii, sc. 1. “ Most certain it is, that being a younger brother his friends had procured him a colours, and in that post he was sent to serve in Flan¬ ders .”—Original Letters from the Island of the New Atalantis. Lon¬ don : 1711. 22 ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY BANNERS, ETC. “Her interest was indeed of great use to her relations; but none of them was so fortunate as her eldest brother John, a fine youth who carried a pair of colours in the foot-guards.”—Macaulay’s Hist, of Engl., vol. ii, p. 457. Division lines dancette, or indented, are probably derived from the ancient charge of three piles. Nisbet says that “ Henderson of Fordel, the principal family of that name, bore ‘ gules three piles issuing out of the sinis¬ ter side argent and that Henry Henderson of St. Law¬ rence, Doctor of Medicine, bore ‘ parted per pale indented sable and argent ’, remarking, ‘ Here an indenting is used in place of the piles, carried by Fordel ’.”—System of Heraldry , by Alexander Nisbet, vol. i, p. 203. In numerous instances piles have shrunk into a modern chief indented.