.PRACTICAL HERALDRY OB Sin Epitome of lEnglisfj SHOWING HOW AND BY WHOM ARMS MAY BE BORNE OR ACQUIRED, HOW PEDIGREES MAY BE TRACED OR FAMILY HISTORIES ASCERTAINED. BY CHAELES WOKTHY, ESQ., (Formerly H.M. 82nd Eegt.) SOMETIME PRINCIPAL ASSISTANT TO THE LATE SOMERSET HERALD, AUTHOR OF "DEVONSHIRE PARISHES," ETC. ETC. WITH 124 ILLUSTRATION From Designs by the Author " It is a reverend thing to see an ancient castle or building not in decay, or to see a fair timber tree sound and perfect ; how much more to behold an ancient noble family which hath stood against the waves and weathers of time ? for new nobility is but the act of power, but ancient nobility is the act of time." BACON, " Of Nobility," Essay XIV. LONDON GEORGE REDWAY YORK STREET CO VENT GARDEN 1889 P RE FACE. I HAVE long realized the fact that everyone has a Pedigree, and that, whether gentle or simple, all who live beyond the present hour must have an interest, latent possibly in many instances, in those who have gone before them. Therefore I have written this book. I have always found that /the great drawback to the majority of Heraldic and Genealogical compila- tions is their extreme dryness; an enormous mass of uninteresting detail must of necessity be waded through in order to arrive at one single item in- teresting or applicable to individual cases, whereas it has been my aim to produce something to interest as well as to instruct those who wish to ascertain particulars about their ancestors. I have had, of course, to use the language of Heraldry in connection with matters Heraldic, but I have endeavoured to make that language as plain iv Preface. and simple as possible, as I hope my readers will admit. I have also given as much information as is necessary to enable the Amateur to set about working up his origin in the most economical and reliable manner, and with this end in view I have added from my experience the most probable modern sources of information. Should any of my readers have any hints to offer in view of a Second Edition, or should they desire further assistance in the matters I treat of, I shall be very happy to receive and attend to their com- munications if they will address me through my publishers. CHAELES WOETHY. November 17th, 1888. CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER I. Science of Heraldry Increasing interest in its Study The Object of this Work Knowledge of Heraldry Universal in the Middle Ages The Clergy as Heralds The Antiquity of Heraldry Its Origin, Rise, and Progress Acquires a System early in the Thirteenth Century English Gentlemen Seal Engravers- Heraldic Stationers Bishop Kennett on Antiquarian Studies . 1 CHAPTER II. Coats of Arms Varieties of Arms The Escutcheon or Shield Points of the Shield Partition Lines Tinctures and Furs Ordinaries Varieties of the Cross Sub-Ordinaries Roundles Guttae or Gouttes Marks of Cadency . . . . .10 CHAPTER III. Common Charges Human Figure Lions, Leopards, Jessent-de- Lis, Stags, Greyhounds, Foxes, Boars, Rabbits, Horses, and other Beasts Monstrous and Fabulous Animals, Birds, Fish, Reptiles, Insects, Trees, Flowers Celestial Bodies The Letters of the Alphabet 42 CHAPTER IV. Technical Terms Miscellaneous Charges General Information arranged Alphabetically for Convenience of Reference . . 59 CHAPTER V. Derivation of the term " Blazon" Tautology to be Avoided How to Blazon Debruised v. Surmounted Metal and Colour Ordinaries Plain or Irregular Position of Charges Field of more than one Tincture Examples of Blazon Ravenous and Non-Ravenous Beasts Horns of Deer Birds of Prey River Fowl, &c. Fins of Fish Trees, Plants Parts of Living Objects Issuant or Naissant 78 vi Contents. PAGE CHAPTER VI. Marshalling Arms by Dimidiation Impalements, Quartered Coats When Introduced Arms of Man and Wife Arms in Eight of Wife Eschutcheon of Pretence Smith Impaled with Jones Smith Pretends to Jones Smith Quarters Jones Brown Quarters Tomkins, Smith, and Jones Impalement of Official Arms Quarterings How the Arms of Heirs and Coheirs are Marshalled 89 CHAPTER VII. Origin of Crests Fan Crests Crest of Edward III. Montacute, Earl of Sarum Ladies not to Bear Crests They cannot Transmit them The Torse or Wreath Crest Coronets Chapeau Helmets Mantlings Supporters Scroll and Motto Carew Arms Augmentations Abatements so called Badges Hatchments 98 CHAPTER VIII. The Sovereign Coronation Regalia Prince of Wales His Coronet The Lords Spiritual Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, Barons Their Robes and Coronets Described Heraldic Coronets Baronets Their Badge Knights Banneret Knights The Most Noble Order of the Garter The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle The Most Illus- trious Order of St. Patrick The Most Honourable Order of the Bath The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India The Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order The Order of the Indian Empire Orders for Ladies The Order of Victoria and Albert The Imperial Order of the Crown of India Knights, Bachelors, Esquires Gentlemen 114 CHAPTER IX. Upper, Lower, and Middle Classes of Society Precedence, how p]stablished Regulation of State Processions The Order of Precedence amongst Men The Nobility, Baronets, Knights, Esquires, Gentlemen The Order of Precedence amongst "Women Ordinary Social Precedence The First Gentleman in England The Premier Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, Baron and Baronet , 141 Contents. vii PAGE CHAPTER X. Pedigree Hunting Heralds' Visitations College of Arms accepts nothing on Tradition Arms in Parish Churches Court of Probate How to Compile a Family Chart or Pedigree Notes in Family Bibles Wills to be seen without Cost District Probate Courts American Families " Peculiar Courts" Confusion consequent on Great Rebellion Specimen of Chart Pedigree Parish Registers Episcopal Registers Public Record Office British Museum Lambeth Palace Close Rolls Fine Rolls Inquisitio Post Mortem Record Agents Court Hand Knowledge of Latin .... 151 CHAPTER XI. The Heralds' College Heralds of England Incorporation of the College of Arms Kings of Arms Heralds Pursui- vants Their Dress, their Office and Duties College Library Heraldic Fees Scotch Heralds Irish Heralds . . . 183 CHAPTER XII. Antiquity of Badges William De Redvers The Courtenays' Original Intention of Badges Accompanied with Motto Royal Badges Edward the Black Prince Plume of Prince of Wales Personal Badges Courtenay Badge Rebuses Bishop Oldham and others Merchants' Marks Their Origin What they should not be like 193 CHAPTER XIII. Liveries Origin of the Term Early Liveries The Barons' Retainers' De Vere, Earl of Oxford Servants' Liveries They are governed by Heraldic Law Colours of Liveries Buttons not to bear Crest The Cockade Who are permitted to use it Its Origin and History Epaulettes, Aiguillettes Hammer Cloths and Harness The Livery Companies of London Names of the twelve Greater Companies . . . 212 CHAPTER XIV. Flags and Banners Their Association with Heraldry and History The Pennon The Banner The Standard The Royal Standard Why our Sovereigns used the French Arms When Abandoned The Union Jack Its Description and History Red, White, and Blue Ensigns Cavalry Standards Regi- mental Colours 219 viii Contents. PAGE CHAPTER XV. Seals Their Antiquity Seal of Edward the Confessor Origin of his Supposed Arms Oval Seals Their Meaning Secular Seals Seals Charged with Arms Colour of Seals Their Heraldic Value Arms on Tombs often inaccurate Country Parishes Information to he Procured in Them "Bogus" Pedigrees Recumbent Figures Brasses Armour Head- dress of Ladies at various Epochs Jacobean Monuments District Registries More Notes on " Peculiar Courts" . . 225 CHAPTER XVI. How to Practically apply the foregoing Remarks Westminster Abbey City Churches St. George's Chapel Record Office Country Wills Inventories Tricking Tracing Drawing and Emblazoning The Colours to use and how to mix them How to Copy Brasses or Seals How to Paint a Coat of Arms Outlines General Rules Conclusion 237 INDEX . . 245 PRACTICAL HERALDRY. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. Science of Heraldry Increasing Interest in this Study The Object of this Work Knowledge of Heraldry Universal in the Middle Ages The Clergy as Heralds The Antiquity of Heraldry Its Origin, Rise, and Progress Acquires a System Early in Thirteenth Century English Gentlemen Seal Engravers and Heraldic Stationers Bishop Kennett on Antiquarian Studies. THE science of Heraldry, which was somewhat neglected, I fear, by our immediate ancestors, is now very popular, and is daily becoming more so. Many things have conduced to this result ; the chief amongst them being possibly the spread of education. This has naturally caused a great increase in the number of those who take an interest in antiquarian literature. They have learnt something about the manners and customs of their forefathers when at school, and they are anxious to turn the knowledge thus acquired to some practical account when they have reached man's estate ; and although there are many whose tastes lead them to enquiry into more abstruse subjects, yet the element of personal interest which pervades matters of history enlists the sym- 4 Practical Heraldry. gation shall they pitch " (Numbers ii. 2) . Gradually the rude devices of an earlier period assumed a regular and systematic form as civilisation pro- gressed, until it eventually became a science and known as Heraldry," the office of the " Herald," a term which Yerstigan derives from the Saxon words Here, an army, and held (Teut.), a champion. The most reasonable derivation of the word, however, appears to be from the German " Haren," to cry, to proclaim. As a science, it was probably introduced into this country from Germany through France, during the latter half of the twelfth century. It is true that certain arms are attributed to Edward the Confessor, to William the Norman, and to other notable men who nourished before that period, but there can be little doubt but that they were designed for them afterwards, and that, personally, they knew nothing of them. Had the Norman knights landed at Pevensey with Heraldic shields, these would surely have been handed down to us upon the Bayeux Tapestry. Minute details are there scrupulously noticed, but nothing whatever occurs that can by any possible amount of ingenuity be twisted or tortured into an armorial bearing as we understand the term. There certainly is a plain cross upon the flag of one of the vessels, and King William himself, in another portion of the tapestry, is represented as holding a small banner similarly charged. But the " two lions," or leopards, which have been ascribed Introductory. 5 to him, and which, with Henry the Second's addition of a third, are still to be seen in the royal arms, are conspicuous by tJieir absence. Heraldry must really be associated with the feudal system of the Middle Ages. The defensive armour then in use so entirely concealed the wearer, that some special cognizance was absolutely necessary to identify the knight and his immediate following, and the necessity of such a distinction began to be espe- cially felt about the time of the Holy Wars. Then the devices upon the shields soon became associated with the prowess of the bearer, and hence arose that chivalric feeling which has since prevailed, and which now again obtains amongst us, that eager desire to prove right to the coat-armour which some valiant hero of yore defended with his heart's blood on many a battle-field -just as our modern soldiers defend their colours and thus to claim him as an ancestor. But, as I have already said, the Normans were un- lettered men, and very soon after the conquest seals began to be employed in lieu of signatures. A knowledge of reading and writing was then chiefly confined to the clergy, and some sign was requisite to ensure the validity of deeds, and other instru- ments. It is probable therefore that certain symbols, such as birds and beasts at first, adopted with this object, were subsequently transferred to the shields of those who had hitherto used them for different purposes, and thus Heraldry, or at least the charges used in Heraldry, may possibly be considered to have 6 Practical Heraldry. originated in the " Arts of Peace," and to have speedily become identified with the "pomp and panoply of glorious war." It was early in the thirteenth century that Heraldry became possessed of a regular system, and acquired a language of its own which still survives. It had by that time obtained a firm hold upon the hearts of the people ; it was daily becoming more systematic, and the cognizances which had been assumed by, or assigned to, particular families, began to be ranked by them amongst their most treasured possessions. The passion for military glory which then prevailed, encouraged by the Crown and the great nobles and fostered by the Church, could not but exercise an enormous amount of influence upon the youth of the period. They were told from their earliest infancy what their fathers and grandfathers had done upon the field of battle, or in border forays ; they saw their armour, their helmets, and their great cross- handled swords hanging in the halls, and they prayed with simple faith that they might grow up to emu- late the actions of those who had gone before them, and keep their arms as unsullied as their sires had left them. How could " gentilicial " arms fail to be popular under such conditions ? And when it is remembered that they were only granted by the Crown to men of indisputable lineage, or to those who had made a name for themselves by acquiring military distinction, it is not wonderful that they have been considered in all succeeding Introductory. 7 ages the indispensable appendage of an " English Gentleman." Now, as Sir Bernard Burke remarks, " The feudal lord and his frowning fortress, the mailed knight and his gorgeous tournament, have passed away ; and Heraldry alone survives, the only existing relic pro- bably of either : its vitality may be traced though to attributes peculiarly its own. Ministering largely to the pride of man without deeply trenching on his purse, pandering to pomp without taxing pru- dence, conferring honour without imposing danger, Heraldry, cherished since its nativity, has flourished in every age, in every country, and almost under every form of government." Although, as I have said above, the Crown was particular in its grants of Arms, yet it must be remembered that in the earlier days of Heraldry many coats were voluntarily assumed by their first owners as military ensigns, and others were occasionally granted by the greater nobles .to their tenants or followers. The latter was the exception, however, and not the rule. Abuses crept into the Heraldic system as they will into every fresh institution after a certain time, and it was to remedy these abuses that the Officers of Arms were appointed. No one, by the law of Arms, can obtain a grant of Arms unless he is able to establish his claim to the position of a gentleman, and none have a right to bear Arms save those who possess them by descent or grant. If this latter law was rigidly enforced by the law of England, I fancy that seal Practical Heraldry. engravers and Heraldic stationers in London and other large towns would find a sensible diminution in the number of their customers. Numerous authors have treated of Heraldry, but the works of many of these, although, of course, of the highest value to those skilled in the science, are too formidable both from their size and quaint phraseology to be of much use to the beginner. Of recent productions there are several alike excellent in their design, and absolutely correct as to detail, which will be found valuable as books of reference. I propose in the following pages to endeavour to arrange my subject so as to prevent confusing my readers with dry technical details, but at the same time to convey to them, in a pleasant and readable form, the information necessary to enable them to successfully prosecute this attractive study if they feel inclined to do so. Apart from the personally interesting information they may acquire by it, they will find that a thorough knowledge of it, and of its kindred subjects, will assist them not only to under- stand and appreciate those magnificent old buildings which are scattered throughout our land, by affording them some knowledge of their original founders and of those who have added to their beauty and adornment in succeeding generations, but it will also largely add to their knowledge of general history, which is so intimately associated with the lives of illustrious men long gone to their rest, who have assisted, each and all, to build up the mighty kingdom Introductory. 9 to which they belonged. They will find it no slow and unprofitable study, but a pursuit which teems with fresh interest at each successive step. If com- menced in early life, it will tend to elevate and refine the young 1 idea, by instilling a love and veneration for antiquity, and thus arm its believer against the specious arguments of this materialistic age ; for, as good old Bishop Kennett says, though "there be some who slight and despise this sort of learning, and represent it to be a dry, barren, monkish study, I dare assure any wise and sober man that historical antiquities do deserve and will reward the pains of any English student. I wish the excellent parts of many other writers were not spent upon more fri- volous arguments, where by subtilties, and cavils, and controverting quibbles, they serve only to weaken Christianity, and (what otherwise were pardonable) to expose one another." 10 Practical Heraldry. CHAPTER II. HERALDIC TERMS. Science of Heraldry Coats of Arms Varieties of Arms The Escut- cheon or Shield Points of the Shield Partition Lines Tinctures and Pure Ordinaries Varieties of the Cross Suh -Ordinaries Eoundles Guttae or Gouttes Marks of Cadency. THE science of Heraldry teaches us, in the first place, how to describe in proper phraseology every- thing pertaining to armory, or, to use technical words, how to Blazon coats of arms, and how to dis- pose or Marshal them on a shield with proper regularity. In the second place, it explains the method to be adopted in the regulation of processions, and other public ceremonies, at Coronations, Eoyal Baptisms and Marriages, Installations of Knights of the various Orders, Creations of Peers, and the conduct of public funerals. In the third place, it instructs us as to the proper arrangement of Pedigree and Family Histories, and embraces all matters connected with Genealogy. Arms, so called because they were originally borne upon the shield of the owner, subsequently became known as " Coats of Arms," from the fashion which prevailed of embroidering them upon the surcoat or long robe which was worn over the armour. There are ten varieties of arms, which are distin- guished by different names, viz., Arms of Dominion, Heraldic Terms. 11 of Pretence, of Community, of Assumption, of Patronage, of Succession, of Alliance, of Adoption, of Descent, and of Concession. Arms of Dominion are those borne by Emperors and Kings as annexed to their territories ; such are the Lions of England, the Harp of Ireland, and the Lion, within a double tressure (or floriated border), of Scotland. Arms of Pretence are Coats also borne by Sovereign Princes to denote a claim, either real or imaginary, to certain countries outside their actual dominions. Thus, England, from the time of Edward III., who assumed the title of King of France in supposed right of his mother, Isabel, daughter of Philip IV., continued to quarter the Arms of France until the union with Ireland in the reign of George III., when the use of these ensigns were discontinued. Arms of Community are those attached to Bishoprics, Cities, Universities, the various trade guilds, and other incorporated bodies. With these may be in- cluded Arms of Office, such as those used by the Officers of Cathedral Chapters, and the Kings of Arms. Arms of Assumption are Arms which have been assumed with the approbation of the Sovereign. According to the laws of Arms, a man being no gentleman by blood or entitled to Arms, or even a gentleman of birth and in possession of a Coat of his own, might assume and bear the Arms of a conquered enemy. Thus, in the reign of Henry V., Sir Robert 12 Practical Heraldry. Cary ? having vanquished in Smithfield a knight called Aragonise, assumed the Arms of his opponent, Arg. on a bend Sa. 3 roses of the field, which have been ever since used by the Gary family instead of their ancient Coat, Gu. a chevron arg. between 3 Swans pp. (Izacke " Antiquities of Exeter.") Arms of Patronage are such as Governors of Pro- vinces, Lords of Manors, Patrons of Benefices, and others, have added to their own Arms as a token of power or jurisdiction ; to these we owe the occurrence in Heraldry of castles, gates, wheels, ploughs, and similar objects. Arms of Succession are Arms which are taken upon the inheritance of certain estates, or manors, either * by will, donation, or entail. These have frequently been adopted from absolute necessity, in order to fulfil certain conditions connected with the tenure of the land, and not from ostentation, as some people fancy. Arms of Alliance are those which are derived from marriage with heirs female, the issue of these mar- riages being permitted to join them with their own, when they are known as quarterings ; by this means the memory of many an ancient family, long extinct in the male line, is still preserved. Arms of Adoption are very similar to those of suc- cession, but they do not necessarily signify the acquisition of land or other property. The last of a family, in order to preserve the memory of his name and arms, may bequeath them to a stranger in blood, Heraldic Terms. 13 who, if lie be of superior rank to the deceased, will be permitted to add them to his own name and arms ; if of inferior rank, according to the strict letter of Heraldic law, he should discontinue the use of his own name and arms, unless he chooses to bear them after those of his benefactor. Changes of name and arms are effected through the Heralds College, after direct petition to the Crown. There is a modern method of effecting a change of name, however, which has nothing whatever to do with Heraldry, and which, therefore, it is unnecessary to explain here. Arms of Descent or Paternal Arms are those which belong to one particular family, and distinguish it from others, and which it is unlawful for any other family to assume. The inheritance of such in the third generation constitutes a Gentleman in right of blood, in the fourth a Gentleman of an- cestry a position which the mere possession of money or title is powerless to procure. They are then, as Heralds explain, the Arms of a perfect and complete nobility, " begun in the sire, growing in the son, and complete in the grandson," they qualify the owner to be received at the Court of his own and other Sovereign Princes, and to mingle upon equal terms with the best society of all civilized countries ; it is not, therefore, surprising to find that most people are proud to own them, and are anxious to establish their claim, to them when times of adversity are exchanged for worldly prosperity, nor is it wonderful, 14 Practical Heraldry. in view of the distinction they convey, that those who have gained riches without them should still so frequently become the founders of new gentle families through the medium of a grant of Arms. Arms of Concession are either augmentations granted by the Sovereign of part of his own ensigns to certain persons for good and sufficient reasons, and to this class belong the Arms of Manners, Seymour, and others. Or, they are augmentations conceded to military or naval officers, or other eminent persons, in memory of signal service. The Arms of the Duke of Wellington and those of Lord Nelson may be adduced as examples. Before any person attempts to blazon a Coat of Arms, it is necessary that he should have some acquaintance with the terms employed by Heralds, and the rules which regulate their science ; and I shall, therefore, commence by offering a few observa- tions as to the escutcheon or shield, upon which the various " charges " or symbols used in Heraldry are arranged. There are several forms of these, ranging from tl|p narrow kite-shaped shield of the Normans, which is the earliest, down to the hideous square shield which was in such common use a few years since, and of which an illustration is given here that it may be recognised and avoided. (Fig. 1.) The most convenient and simple form, for single or impaled coats, is the shield known as " Heater- shaped" (Fig. 2), which is an improvement upon the Heraldic Terms. 15 Norman, and was introduced at the commencement of the fourteenth century. When there are " quar- terings," however, its base will be found too narrow to display them with advantage, especially if they exceed four in number, and then it will be better to employ a modification, as in Fig. 3, where the lower part is widened. The Arms of unmarried ladies and widows are always placed upon Fig. 4. a lozenge, as in 16 Practical Heraldry. There are several other forms of Shields, specimens of which may be seen in the windows of the various Heraldic stationers ; the adoption of them, however, for armorial purposes cannot be recommended. THE POINTS OF THE SHIELD. The Shield is a representation of the buckler which was originally used in war, and on which the Arms of the knight were depicted. That side of it which is towards the left of the spectator is known in Heraldry as the dexter or right-hand side, that Heraldic Terms. 17 towards the right as the sinister or left-hand side of the escutcheon. The Shield is supposed to represent the human body, and the points in which the figures or charges upon it are placed are named with this idea : thus A signifies Dexter Chief, B Middle Chief, C Sinister Chief, D the Honour Point (so called because knights of the several orders wear their collars or badges of honour about their necks), E the Fess, or Centre Point, F the Nombril, or Navel Point, G the Dexter Base, H Middle Base, I Sinister Base. The Chief is expressed by the three first letters, the base by the three last. D and E are seldom referred to in English Heraldry. (Fig. 5.) A B D E These points or locations must be well understood, because when blazoning (that is, describing) a Coat of Arms it is necessary to be so exact, that the coat 18 Practical Heraldry, may be correctly tricked (or drawn) from the blazon ; and, or ; a fess between two roses in chief and a lion in base gu, would be a perfectly different coat to or 5 a fess between a lion in chief and two roses in base gu. And it woiild be insufficient to describe the coat as or; a fess between two roses and a lion gu, as in such a case the charges could not be drawn with any degree of certainty as to correctness of position. The surface of the Shield is frequently divided by certain lines, which take their names from the " ordinaries," and is of more than one colour (or tincture). It is then per pale or per fess, as the case may be ; the word party in modern heraldry is usually understood but not expressed. The following are the most usual divisions : Per Pale: The Shield is divided into two equal parts by a perpendicular line through the centre from chief to base. Per Fess: by an horizontal line drawn through the fess point. Per Bend : dexter or sinister, by a diagonal line drawn from dexter chief to sinister base, or vice versa. (Dexter is always understood unless otherwise expressed.) Per Chevron : by two diagonal lines meeting in the fess point. Heraldic Terms. 19 Quarterly : by two lines crossing each other, that is by a combination of per pale and per fess. Per Saltire : by a combination of per bend dexter and sinister. When a Shield is divided into equal parts by a perpendicular, horizontal, and two diagonal lines, it is said to be Gyronny. When it is divided by a number of horizontal lines it is said to be Barry. Or if by a number of perpendicular lines, then it is paly, or by a number of diagonal lines, bendy. And if the diagonal lines drawn from dexter chief are crossed by others from sinister, then it is lozengy. And there are other combinations which careful study of the above will enable the student readily to understand and distinguish. Such as Paly Barry, which is expressed by the word Cheque ; Paly Bendy, and Barry Bendy. Paly, Bendy, and Barry, must be composed of an uneven number of dividing lines, which will separate the Shield into an even number of pales, bends, or bars (the number must always be expressed). Six dividing lines would charge the Shield with three pales, bends, or bars, in which case the lines would not be lines of partition, but ordinaries. Partition lines are not always straight, they frequently assume other forms, as in next page. (Fig. 6.) Nowy, Escartele, Angled, and Bevilled lines are 20 Practical Heraldry. Engraikd. Inverted Wavy. Nebule. A/V^VVVVVV Indented. never used in English armory, but examples of them are given by many authors. There are three kinds of Tinctures employed in Heraldry, Metals, Colours, and Furs. The " metals are gold and silver, expressed by the French words or and argent. I would remark here that in English Heraldry the pronunciation of French words is usually Angli- cized. The colours most commonly used are four in number, viz., Bed, or Gules ; Blue, or Azure ; ^Black, or Sable ; and Green, or Yert. To these may be added Purpure, or Purple, which is used occasionally, Tenne or Tawney (Chestnut), and San- guine, a Brownish-red. The last two are very seldom em- ployed, but sanguine is useful for livery purposes, and the Badge of Ulster, borne by Baronets, is, or should be, at- tached to a sanguine ribbon. In writing a blazon of arms Fin. 6. Argent is usually abbreviated " Arg."; Azure, Az."; Sable, " Sa."; Gules, Gu."; EmbatCltd. Potent Ragule. Rayonne. Heraldic Terms. 21 Purpure, "Purp." Or and Vert should be written in full. On seals and in engravings of arms the metals and colours are expressed thus : Or The Shield is covered with small dots. Arg. It is left plain. Gules It is covered with perpendicular lines drawn close together. Azure With similar lines drawn horizontally. Sable With perpendicular lines crossed by hori- zontal ones. Vert With diagonal lines from dexter to sinister. Purpure With diagonal lines from sinister to dexter. Tenne By diagonal lines from sinister to dexter, crossed by perpendicular lines. Sanguine By diagonal lines intersecting each other. The earliest examples of this mode of expressing tinctures occur in the reign of Charles I., and are found upon the seals of the Eegicides. In Trickings of arms the Tinctures are usually expressed by letters ; 0. for or, A. for arg., B. for azure, S. for sable, G. for gules, V. for vert, P. for purpure. (See Fig. 7.) Which would be blazoned, Or, a lion ramp., Az. on a chief of the last 3 Mullets of the field. The use of Furs in Heraldry may be traced to the ancient custom of covering shields with the skins of beasts; in blazoning, their names are usually written in full. 22 Practical Heraldry. The Furs most commonly used are Ermine, Ermines, Erminois, Erminites, and Pean, all varities of Ermine. Vair, and its variety Counter-vair. Potent, and its variety Counter-potent. Ermine is shown by a white or argent field, pow- dered with sable spots, as in Fig. 8. Fig. 8. Ermines, silver spots upon a sable ground, that is the reverse of Ermine. Erminois is a gold ground covered with sable spots. Erminites similar to Ermine, but with a red hair added on each side of the spots. Pean has gold spots upon a sable ground. Vair is formed by a number of small shields, similar to Figure 1, arranged in horizontal lines, so that the bases of those in the upper line are opposed to the bases of those below, which are of a different tincture. (See Fig. 9.) Counter-vair differs from Vair, in that the shields placed base to base are of the same tincture. (See Fig. 10.) Potent See the partition line in Figure 6 under Heraldic Terms. 23 this name is composed of figures of that form, arranged and tinctured similarly to Yair. (See Fig. 11.) Counter-potent is simply Potent tinctured simi- larly to Counter- vair. (See Fig. 12.) The last four furs are always tinctured arg. and azure unless otherwise expressed. Kg. 9. When a Shield has upon it figures or designs of any kind it is said, in heraldic parlance, to be " charged." Charges may be divided into two classes, viz., ORDINARIES and COMMON CHARGES. Fig.\\. ORDINARIES are such figures which by their ordi- nary and common use have become peculiar to the Science of Heraldry. 24 Practical Heraldry. They include The Chief, Pale, Bend, the Bend Sinister, Fess, Chevron, Cross, and Saltire. These ordinaries, as well as their diminutives, are not invariably formed of straight lines, but may be, and are, frequently represented by any of the ir- regular lines shown in Figure 6. Then they are blazoned as a fess embattled, a bend engrailed, a chief wavy, as the case may be. The CHIEF is an ordinary formed by an horizontal line drawn across the upper portion of the Shield, se- as to include one-third of it. Its diminutive, the Fillett, is one quarter its breadth, but is not employed in English armory. (Fig. 13.) The PALE consists of two perpendicular lines drawn from the top to the bottom of the Shield, and contains the third middle portion of it ; it represents one of the pallisades formerly used for enclosing camps, and every soldier was obliged to carry one for this purpose. Its diminutives are the Pallet, which is half its breadth, and the Endorse, which is half the width of the Pallet. Endorses are borne in couples, and when used are placed one on either side of the Pale, which is then said to be Endorsed. (Fig 14.) The BEND is formed by two diagonal lines drawn from the dexter chief to the sinister base ; if charged, it contains the third part of the Shield ; if uncharged, it is drawn narrower and only includes one-fifth ; it is supposed to represent a shoulder-belt or scarf. (Fig. 15.) The diminutives of the bend are the Bendlet, which is one-half its width. The Cotise or Ordinaries. 25 Cotice, which is half the width of the bendlet, and the Riband, half of the cotice. The Riband never extends to the edges of the Shield, but its ends are Fig. 13. cut off, or " couped." A Cotise is never borne alone, but usually in couples, with a fess, bend, or other ordinary between them, which is then said to be " cotised." The BEND SINISTER is precisely the same as the Bend, save that it is drawn from the Fig 15. Fig. 16. sinister chief to the dexter base. It is an honour- able ordinary, and is not, as is very commonly ima- gined, a mark of illegitimacy. Its diminutives are the Scarf, which is one-half its width, and the Baton, which, like the Riband, is couped at the extremities. The latter is sometimes employed to rebate the Arms of natural issue, and, according to some autho- 26 Practical Heraldry* rities, it should be borne by the descendants of a natural son until the third generation. (See Fig. 20.) Examples of " debruising " with the Baton may be seen in the Arms of the Dukes of Grafton and St. Albans, the Earl of Munster, and others < THE FESS, which is supposed to represent a belt of honour, formerly given for warlike services, is formed of two horizontal lines in the centre of the Shield. It is of the same width as the Pale. (Fig. 16.) Its diminutives are the Bar, one-fifth of the field, the closet one-half of the Bar, and the Barrulet, one- half the width of the closet. Barrulets are frequently borne in couples, when they are called Bars-gimelle. A single Bar is never borne alone. Some people, who have but a very superficial knowledge of Heraldry, are apt to talk about a " Bar-sinister." It will be seen that from its formation a Bar- sinister or Dexter is an absolute impossibility. THE CHEVKON, of the same form as the stripes worn on the arm by the modern non-commissioned officers in the army, is supposed to- represent the rafters of a house. It is formed by two lines drawn from the fess point to the dexter and sinister bases of the shield, and by two other lines parallel to the first, at suificient distance to include one-fifth the width of the shield. (Fig. 17.) Its diminutives are the Chevronel, which is one-half its width, and the Couple Close, which is one-half the width of the Chevronel. The latter answers to the Cotise, and when Cotises, Barrulets, and Couple Closes appear Ordinaries. 27 on either side of their respective ordinaries, those ordinaries are alike usually blazoned as " Cotised." THE CROSS is formed by union of the Pale and Fess ; if charged, it occupies a third of the field ; if uncharged, only a fifth. The lines forming it are not drawn through, but the perpendicular lines make four right angles with the horizontal lines near the fess point, and thus divide the Shield into four equal quarters. (See Fig. 18.) This Cross is what is usu- ally known as S. George's Cross, and there are many varieties of it, and one of these is the ordinary known as the SALTIRE, which is formed by the union of the Bend with the Bend-sinister, which cross one another at acute angles. There is no diminutive of the Saltire, it is popularly known as S. Andrew's Cross. (See Fig. 19.) The Cross, as the emblem of Christianity, was so frequently and naturally adopted by Pilgrims and Crusaders, that it had to be constantly modified to prevent the confusion which would otherwise have arisen. Eobson, in his " History of Heraldry," enu- merates over two hundred crosses of different forms. 28 Practical Heraldry. It will be more convenient to describe here the usual forms of this device found in English Heraldry, but it must be borne in mind that the plain cross and the Saltire are the only forms which can be looked Fig. 19. Fig 20. upon as ordinaries, the rest of them must be con- sidered as common charges. When a Cross only is mentioned in a blazon, it must always be drawn as a Greek, or S. George's Cross, as shown above. (Fig. 18.) The CROSS LATIN has the horizontal lines set higher than their usual position, and couped to the length of the upper part of the perpendicular limb. ' The CROSS CALVARY is elevated upon three steps, and is supposed to represent the Cross upon which our Saviour suffered. (Fig. 22.) The PATRIARCHAL CROSS is a combination of the Greek, or S. George's Cross, and the Cross Latin. It has two horizontal limbs. (Fig. 23.) The TAIT CROSS is formed like the Greek T- It is commonly known as the Cross of S. Anthony. (Fig. 24.) The CROSS HTTMETT^ is a S. George's Cross, which Ordinaries. 29 does not reach the edges of the Shield, but has its C3 24- 27 36 38 4-0 4-2 limbs couped, or cut off at equal distances from them. (Fig. 25.) 30 Practical Heraldry. The CROSS POTENT has its limbs terminated by cross bars, similar to the head of a crutch. (Fig. 26.) The CROSS NOWY is a S. George's Cross with the angles formed by its limbs rounded outwards. (Fig. 27.) The CROSS QUADRATE is similar to the last, save that the centre is square instead of round. (Fig. 28.) The CROSS URDE is a S. George's Cross couped, but has the extremities pointed. (Fig. 29.) When the base only of a cross is pointed, it is termed a Cross Fitche. (Fig. 30.) This is usually applied to Crosslets. A CROSS RAYONNANT has rays of light behind it issuant from the centre. (Fig. 31.) A CROSS QUARTERLY is a S. George's Cross, bi- sected by a perpendicular and horizontal line. (Fig. 32.) A CROSS QUARTERLY PIERCED is a Cross with a square hole in its centre. (Fig. 33.) When the aperture is smaller it is called " Quarter pierced." A SALTIRE, QUARTERLY QUARTERED, has the centre divided by a perpendicular and horizontal line, and the branches are each bisected by diagonal lines. (Fig. 84.) Sometimes one Cross is set upon another of dif- erent tincture (Fig. 35), and at others it has a narrow border, which forms a portion of it ; in the latter case it is known as a CROSS FIMBRIATED. A CROSS CROSSLET is a very frequent charge ; the ends are couped, and crossed, all of them, similarly Crosses. 31 to a Cross Patriarchal. (Fig. 36.) If a S. George's Cross is crossed in this manner it is termed a " Cross Crossed." A CEOSS PATE is very small in the centre where its ends conjoin, and goes on widening to the ends, which are very broad, the whole nearly forming a square. (Fig. 37.) The MALTESE CROSS, so called from having been the cognizance of the Knights of Malta, is somewhat similar to the Cross Pate, but is of eight points, the extremities of the limbs being indented to effect this form. (Fig. 38.) The CROSS FLETJRY has limbs which terminate in the upper half of a fleur-de-lis. (Fig. 39.) When the limbs of this Cross are couped, and demi- fleur-de-lis appear to issue from them, it is called a Cross Fleurette. (Fig. 40.) A CROSS PATONCE is a combination of a Cross Pate and a Cross Fleury, but the lines are curved inwards, and do not meet close together in the centre. (Fig. 41.) The CROSS BOTONNE differs from a Cross Fleury in having Trefoils at the ends instead of Fleur-de-lis. (Fig. 42.) When there are single Buds or Balls at the end it is termed a Cross Pomelle. The CROSS MOLINE has its extremities pointed and turned inwards, somewhat like the flukes of an anchor. (Fig. 43.) The CROSS EECERCELE is another form of the above, but the flukes or points are rounded. (Fig. 44.) 32 Practical Heraldry. In concluding these remarks upon crosses, I would add that, apart from the ordinaries, those most fre- quently used as charges are the Crosslet and Crosslet Fitche; the crosses Pate, Fleury, Botonne, Moline, and Patonce. When the Field is powdered with small crosses it is blazoned as Crusilly of Crosses Pate, Fleury, &c., &c., as the case may be. Besides the ordinaries, there are certain charges which are usually known as SUB-ORDINARIES. These include the Quarter, and its diminutive the Canton, the Gyron, the Bordure, the Inescutcheon. The several forms of the lozenge, the Billet, the Fret, Flanches, and a variety of the last known as Flasques or Voiders. The QUARTER consists of a horizontal line drawn from the dexter side of the Shield to the fess point, where it forms a right angle with a line proceeding from the centre of the chief. It thus, as its name implies, occupies one quarter of the Shield. (Fig. 45.) It is of infrequent occurrence, but its diminutive, the CANTON (Fig. 46), which occupies but a third of the chief, is constantly employed. Sub- Ordinaries. 33 The GYRON consists of an horizontal line drawn from the dexter side of the Shield to the fess point, where it forms an acute angle with a line drawn bend wise, and is therefore a quarter bisected. (Fig. 47.) Gyrons are usually repeated so as to cover the whole surface of the Shield, as previously noticed under the term Gyronny* (Fig* 48.) Fig. 4-7. Fig. 4*8. The BORDURE. (Fig. 49.) Borders, or Bordures, were anciently used to distinguish one family from another descended from the same parents ; a Border wavy is sometimes used now by Heralds to distin- guish natural descent, at other times a Border Corn- pony, i.e., of squares composed of metal and colour alternately, is employed for the same purpose. (See the Arms of S. Aubyn, Eichmond, and Beaufort.) If there are two " tracks," or rows of Squares, it is said to be " Counter Compony," if more than two, then it is " Cheque." The Bordure is a band one- fifth the width of the Shield, which it surrounds en- tirely. It surmounts all other Ordinaries save the Chief, the Quarter and the Canton, which are placed 34 Practical Heraldry, above it. In an Impaled Coat, however, it only en- circles the upper and outward half of the Shield, and must not be continued round- In a Quartered Coat the whole of it is shown, unless any portion chance to be hidden by the imposition of an inescutcheon. A modern Border is almost always charged, but when Ordinaries are employed the ends of them only appear on the border, and their 'inside portion seems concealed by another Shield placed over them. It is not usual, however, to use ordinaries in charging a border , Roundles and other small objects are most generally employed, in which case they appear in their entirety- The diminutives of the Border are the Orle, which is half its width, and does not extend to the extremities of the Shield, and the Tressure r which is half the width of the Orle, and is usually borne double, and "fleury counter-fieury/' that is with eight fleur-de-lis issuant from each tressure. See the Arms of Scotland, the second quarter of the Royal Arms. The INESCUT^HEON or SHIELD OF PRETENCE (Fig. 50) is a small Shield placed upon the fess point, and used by the husband to display his wife's Arms, when she happens to be an heir or co-heir.. This he cannot do, however, during the lifetime of her father, because the assumption is, that during his lifetime he may have a son. I may state here that absence of money does not prevent a woman from being an heir in an heraldic sense. If her father is entitled to Coat Armour, and she has no brother, Sub -Ordinaries. 35 she will inherit her family Arms, if she has sisters they will all have an equal right with her to these Arms, as co-heirs, and if they have a brother or brothers who all die without issue, then, upon the death of the last brother, they will be ultimately co-heirs, and their issue will have a right to quarter their maternal with their paternal Arms after the demise of their mothers. But if the wife is not an heir, that is to say if she has brothers who have issue, then her husband is only entitled to impale her Arms with his own, and after his death she may, as a widow, bear the same arms on a lozenge (Fig. 4), but her children will have no right whatever to use anything beyond the Paternal Coat, and the quarter- ings inherited with it. If a person, not entitled to Heraldic bearings, should marry an heir, or co-heir, he can make no use whatever of his ivifes Coat, nor can his issue benefit by them, as they have no Shield with which to quarter them ; in such a case their only course will be to petition the Earl Marshal for a grant of Arms should they be in a position to do so. If the above Sub-Ordinary is borne on any other 36 Practical Heraldry. part of the Shield save the fess point or centre, or if there is more than one of them, it is called an Escutcheon. The LOZENGE is a Square set on one of its Corners. (Fig. 51.) Several together are very frequently used as a charge, when they should be blazoned in fess, or in pale, according to the manner in which they may be arranged. The FUSIL (Fig. 52) is an elongated lozenge, some- Fig.51 what like the head of a pick-axe, which some sup- pose it to represent (See the Arms of Dinham of Wortham), others have considered it to represent a spindle, and it is frequently found of an oval form and pointed at the top and bottom, as in the arms of Lord Clinton (Trefusis), where it is blazoned as a Wharrow Spindle. The RUSTBE is a Lozenge, perforated with a Cir- cular Hole, through which the field appears. (Fig. 53.) The MASCLE is of similar form, but " voided " with a lozenge-shaped opening. (Fig. 54.) The FEET is formed by two narrow bands placed Saltier-wise interlaced with a Mascle. It is some- Sub-Ordinaries. 37 times called "Harrington's Knot " (See the Arms of Harrington); it is also used by Button Lord Sherborne, and others. (Fig. 55.) When a field is covered with narrow bands drawn from dexter to sinister, interlaced with others from the opposite side, it is said to be Fretty. . 53. The BILLET is a small oblong figure, by some sup- posed to represent a Brick, by others a Letter or Billet. Frequently a field is strewed all over with them, when it is termed Billete. (Fig. 56.) Fig. 56 FLANCHES (Fig. 57) are always borne in pairs, and are formed by drawing inward circular lines from the upper angles of the Shield to the base points. They Practical Heraldry. are not very frequently used, but occur in the Arms of Hobart of Norfolk, Frere, and others. FLASQUES are of nearly the same form as the last, but the circular lines do not approach so near each other on either side, and they consequently occupy less of the surface of the Shield. Flasques are said Fig. $7. to have been given as rewards for virtue and learning. VOIDERS are still smaller than Flasques, they very rarely occur, and are said by some to have been marks of distinction conferred upon ladies for services rendered to Royalty. All the Ordinaries may be charged, but not their diminutives, except the Pallet, the Canton, and the Orle, which may have figures placed upon them. Charges on an Orle, or in Orle, always consist of eight unless otherwise expressed. See the Arms of Gladstone. The Fusil, Mascle, Rustre, and Fret may not be charged. To the Sub-Ordinaries may perhaps be added the Pall, which is intended to represent the Ensign of Archiepiscopal jurisdiction of that name, and is shown in the Arms of the Sees of Canterbury and Roundles. 39 Armagh. It resembles the letter Y in shape, and is composed of the upper half of a Saltire, and half a Pale, the latter issuing from the base point. A somewhat similar figure is that known as u A Shake Fork" (see the Arms of Conyngham), the latter, liowever, does not reach the extremities of the Shield, .and the ends are pointed, Are thus termed when their colour is unknown or unexpressed. Those used in English Heraldry are seven in number; they are small round figures, similar to a coin, but when of colour are shaded to assume a spherical appearance. They change their name according to their Tincture. 1st. Or is termed a Bezant, the current coin of old Byzantium. 2nd. Arg. is termed a Plate, and represents a small round piece of silver. 3rd, Gules is known as a Torteau, and is red. 4th. Azure is called a Hurt, and is blue. 5th. Sable is known as a Pellet or Ogress. 6tK Vert is called a Pomme, i.e. an apple. 7th. Barry Wavy Arg. and Az. is known as a Fountain, in alternate wavy stripes, Wldte, or Silver, and Blue. Golpes Tinctured Purpure, Oranges Tenne, Guzes, Sanguine, also occur in Foreign Heraldry. Roundles are very frequently charged. GUTT.E or GOUTTES are simply small drops shaped 40 Practical Heraldry. somewhat like a shoulder of mutton, and are also distinguished by their Tinctures. Gouttes d'or are Gold. d'eau Argent. de sang Gules. de larmes Azure. de Poix Sable. d'olive Vert. A field is frequently strewn with these drops, when it would be blazoned, Sa. gutte d'or, Arg. gutte de Sang, or Gules gutte d'eau, as the case might be. It must be borne in mind that, save in very rare in- stances, and then it is considered to be very bad heraldry, metal never appears upon metal, or colour upon colour. MARKS OP CADENCY. Since the fourteenth century certain emblems have been used by Heralds to distinguish the various male members of the same family. The eldest son bears a Label or File of three Points. (Fig. 58.) The second son bears a Crescent. The third differences with a Mullet. The fourth with a Martlet, a small bird represented without feet. The fifth with an Amulet, or plain ring. The sixth has a Fleur-de-lis. The seventh has a rose. The eighth a Cross Moline. The ninth a Double Quatrefoil. No further pro- vision is made. Daughters have no such distinctions. All the members of the Eoyal Family, with the excep- Marks of Cadency. 41 tion of the Sovereign, bear the label of Silver charged with some distinguishing mark specially granted. The eldest son of the second house of an Ordinary Fig. 58. family would bear the Crescent charged with a label, and this system would be applied to the rest of the family. Thus the second son of the third house would bear his Father's Mullet, charged with a Crescent. The Middle Chief Point is the most ap- propriate position for a Mark of Cadency. The Mullet is a figure like a spur rowel, and has five points. See p. 58, Practical Heraldry, CHAPTEB IIL COMMON CHARGES. Common Charges Human Figure Lions and Leopards " Jessant- de-lis" Stags, Greyhounds, Foxes, Boars, Rabbits, Horses, and other Beasts Monstrous and Fabulous Animals Birds, Fish, Reptiles, Insects, Trees, Flowers, Celestial Bodies The Letters of the Alphabet. ARE all kinds of figures or bearings other than the Ordinaries already described, which are borne either upon the said Ordinaries themselves, or even upon the said common charges, which are sometimes sur- mounted by others. Common charges are composed not only of things animate and inanimate, but also of imaginary and artificial objects. The human figure and parts of it ; animals or portions of them ; monsters or fabulous animals ; birds, fish, reptiles, and insects ; trees, flowers, implements and habili- ments of war and peace, all come under this designa- tion. They are all frequently represented of diverse tinctures, but when they appear in their own natural colour they are invariably blazoned or described as " proper/' " The human form divine " is sometimes used as a charge, as in the Arms of Wood, Az. 3 naked Savages, ambulant (or walking), in fess pp. ; and the Dexter Supporter of the Cranstoun family is " A Lady richly attired." There are numerous other instances. Common Cliarges. 43 Amongst imaginary objects which take the human form may be mentioned Angels, represented with wings. A Cherub, represented by a child's head between two wings. The Cherubim, which has the face of a man, the wings of an eagle, the back and mane of a lion, and the feet of a calf. The Merman, or Triton, which has a human body as far as the waist, and terminates with the tail of a fish, and is represented holding a trident. The Mermaid similarly drawn but with long hair and holding a looking-glass. The Centaur, which has the head and bust of a man, with the body of a horse, and is repre- sented with a bent bow. The Satyr or Man -Tiger, which has the face like a man, with horns on the head, and body like a lion. The Satyral, the face of a man, the body of a lion, and the horns of an ante- lope. The Harpy, the face and breast of a beautiful girl, with the body and legs of a vulture ; and the Sphinx, which has head, face, and breast like a woman, body and legs like a lion, and wings like a bird. Parts of the body, such as the head, the heart, the arm, the hand, and the leg are of frequent occurrence. The heads of Savages are usually wreathed about the temples, those of Negroes (or " Blackamoors "), Moors, and Saracens have 'fillets of twisted silk ; in blazoning, the tinctures of these must be expressed. An arm encased in armour is said to be " vam- braced," if the hand is " gauntlet ed" it should be so expressed. A clothed figure is described as vested and 44 Practical Heraldry., habited. A. head must always be mentioned as either Affronte or in Profile, in the latter case it looks towards the dexter unless otherwise stated. A hand should be minutely described as to its position in the Shield, as indeed should all other charges, and it should also be stated whether it is a dexter or sinister hand, couped or erased, i.e< torn out, clenched or open (appaume). It may be stated, once and for all, that common charges are always to be represented as moving towards the dexter side of the Shield, and, if they are upon ordinaries, as following the form of the Ordinaries, unless otherwise specified. Thus Arg. on a fess gu. 3 Mullets of the field, would mean that the 3 Mullets should be drawn in line; but if the blazon was to be given Arg. on a fess gu. 3 Mullets in pale of the field, it would mean that the Mullets should be drawn in the centre of the Ordinary, and one over the other. Amongst beasts the Lion is most frequently used as a charge. It is represented sometimes in its natural colour, or proper, but more commonly of one of the Metals, Tinctures, or Furs, and in a variety of positions, which are all distinguished by specific terms. When walking across the Shield with the near fore foot elevated, he is said to be passant (Fig. 59), or with the head looking backwards passant-reguardant. (Fig. 60.) But with the head Affronte he is passant- guardant. (Fig. 62.) When all four legs are on the ground he is said to be statant. (Fig. 61.) When Common Charges. 45 lying down, his head between the fore paws, he is dormant or couchant. ( Fig. 63.) And when sitting up, resting on his fore paws, he is sejant. (Fig. 64.) When erect upon the near, or sinister hind leg, with Ficj 61. the fore legs elevated one above the other, and the head in Profile, he is rampant. (Fig. 65.) And if the head is Affronte he is rampant-guardant. (Fig. 66.) And if turned over the shoulder to the sinister (as in Fig. 60), he is rampant-reguardant. If both the hind legs are on the ground, and the fore legs are elevated equally, as if in the act of springing upon his prey, he is salient. (Fig. 67.) Lions or other beasts facing towards the sinister side of the Shield are said to be contourne. Two Lions Rampant, facing each other upon a Shield, would be blazoned as " two lions ramp, combatant." Practical Heraldry. If in Saltire (i.e. crossing each other), they wouM be counter-salient. If back to back they would be addorsed, if side by side, accosted. Fig. 6,5. If one is shown behind or above the other, and they are walking different ways, they would be counter-passant. Parts of a lion, such as the head, the leg, and the full half of the animal, are constantly used for charges. The parts are represented as couped, or cleanly cut off, or erased, or torn out, with jagged edges. The leg of the Lion is a Gambe, but if it only ex- tends to the first joint then it is a Paw. The Tail of the Lion is known as the Queue. When an Ordinary surmounts a Lion or other animal it is said to be debruised by that Ordinary. A Lion with tail between its legs is said to be Coward. The word over, as used in Heraldry, does not signify above, but upon. Three Lions, one over the other, would be blazoned as three Lions w Pale. (See the Common Charges. 47 Arms of England Gules ; 3 Lions passant-guardant in pale or.) If a charge consists of one or more demi- lions ramp,, the position of their tails above the lower half would appear in a drawing as detached from the body. See the Arms, of Bennet, Lord Tankerville. Sometimes charges such as demi-lions are repre- sented as issuant. Then they would be drawn as> rising from the lower line of a Chief; the word naissant implies that they are rising from the centre of an Ordinary, usually a fess. The Teeth, Claws, and Tongue of a Lion are always tinctured Gules, and they are therefore described as " armed and langued gu.'% unless the field or the animal is of this Tincture, when B. or azure is sub- stituted. Thus : A. a lion ramp. G, armed and langued B. 0. a lion ramp. B. G. G. a lion ramp. O. B. B. a lion ramp. A. G. The mask or. face of a lion is sometimes borne Affronte, when it would be blazoned as a lions or leopard's face. Frequently it is shown as having a fleur-de-lis behind it, with the ends coming through the mouth ; then it is a lion or leopard's face jesant- de-lis. (Fig. 68.) The early Heralds were accus- tomed to describe a Lion as a Leopard, unless it was rampant; hence the three lions of England being passant-guardant have been frequently termed leo- 48 Practical Heraldry. pards, but, as Boutell remarks, " the animal bearing that name bore it simply as an heraldic title, to dis- tinguish a lion in a particular attitude." Fig. 68. Sometimes a Lion is drawn as having the limbs apart from the body, but sufficiently near to it to pre- serve the form, he is then said to be dismembered,. And sometimes he has two tails, in which case he is double queued. A Lion rampant, holding in his mouth a Staff or Baton, is styled " a Lion Ramp. Baillonne." Stags, Horses, Tigers, Bears, Boars, Bulls, Grays or Badgers, Talbots or Hounds, Alants or Mastiffs, Foxes, Squirrels, Wolves, and other animals too numerous to mention, are all used as charges. But Stags are blazoned by certain terms peculiar to themselves. Thus, if standing full faced, they are at gaze ; if walking they are not passant but tripping. If running they are not like a horse or greyhound courant, but at speed. If leaping, they are not salient, but springing. If lying down, they are not couchant or dormant, but lodged. They are attired of their Tynes, not armed of their horns ; and they do Common CJiarges. 49 not wear tails but Singles. The Brush of a Fox, the / th of a Boar, the $e?*n of a Wolf, the Scut of a Coney or Babbit, are other distinctions peculiar to such animals. A Bear is represented as muzzled, a Boar as tusked, a Stag, usually, as collared round the neck, an Ape would have the collar round the loins. An animal with a Coronet round the neck is said to be gorged. When deer and oxen are grazing they are said to be pascuant. A Horse in trappings is " caparisoned." A Goat on one leg is not said to be rampant, but clymant. A Lion would not be pas- cuant, but vorant. If he is wounded he is then vulned. Horses, Oxen, and Deer are unguled as to their hoofs. Horses and the human figure are said to be crined as to their hair ; if they are bleeding from a wound, they are distilling. Two animals face to face and not combattant are respectant. When the head of an animal is torn off it is said to be " erased." when cut off, " couped." A Bull's or Stag's face full front is " cabossed." Of Composite or Monstrous and Fabulous Animals, a very large number are recorded by some of the earlier Heraldic writers. The chief of them, however, are the Heraldic Tiger, the Antelope, the Pegasus, the Unicorn, the Sea Horse and Lion, the Winged Bull, Lion and Deer, and the Holy Lamb ; together with the Dragon, the Gryphon, the Wyvern, the Hydra, the Chimera, the Bagwyn, the Enfield, and the Opinicus. Parts of many of these, such as the Dragon, Wyvern, and Griffin or Gryphon, are fre- oO Practical Heraldry. quently, like other animals (Figs. 69, 70, 71), borne as Charges. Some of them are of infrequent occur- ence, such as the " Opinicus," which is the Crest of 69. Fig 70. Fi9 71 Griffin's headcouptd Lie** htadtrasr4 Stag's head c the Barber Surgeons. The Enfield, the Crest of Kelly ; and the Bagwyn, which is a creature like an Heraldic Antelope, and forms the dexter supporter to the Arms of Lord Hunsdon, in Westminster Abbey ; it has the horns of a goat and the tail of a horse. The HERALDIC TIGER is represented with a Dragon's head, but the tongue is not forked ; it has tufts of hair on the neck and on the breast, else it is similar to an ordinary tiger. The HERALDIC ANTELOPE may be known by its two straight horns and short tusk on the nose ; it has the body of a stag and the tail of a lion. Two of these were used as supporters by Sir Thomas Stawel, died 1438. (MS. Harl. No. 1445, fo. 22.) The PEGASUS, which is charged on the Shield of the Inner Temple, is a horse with wings. The UNICORN is compounded of a horse and a goat, with a tail like a lion ; it may be always recognised by the long twisted horn on its forehead, and forms the sinister supporter to the Eoyal Arms. Common Charges. 51 The SEA HORSE and Sea Lion have their upper parts as their names imply, and terminate with the tail of a fish. The WINGED BULL, LION, or DEER are similar to those animals, with the addition of wings. The Holy, or as it is sometimes called, the Paschal Lamb, is represented passant, that is with one foot elevated and holding a staff and banner, the latter charged with a St. George's Cross. It has also a halo or glory round the head. It is charged on the Shield of Eowe. The DRAGON, very frequently used both for charges and supporters, is a winged monster covered with scales, and having four legs, the tail and tongue, are both, barbed or forked. (Fig. 72.) 72 The GRYPHON, or GRIFFIN, also of frequent occur- ence, has the head, shoulders, wings, and forefeet of an eagle, body, hind legs, and tail of a lion. It is said to be segreant instead of rampant when in its most usual position. A MALE GRYPHON is similar to the above, save that it has no wings, but two straight horns instead, which rise from the forehead, and rays of gold should issue from parts of the body. 52 Practical Heraldry. The WYVERN has the upper part of a dragon, and the lower like that of an adder or snake with forked tail. It is called by old Heralds a " waver dragon," and was borne by the great Sir Francis Drake in right of ancestry. The HYDRA, the Crest of Barret, is a dragon with seven heads. The CHIMERA, which should breathe flames, has the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a- dragon. It is of very infrequent occurrence. The BAGWYN and OPINJCUS have been already described. The ENPIELD has the head of a fox, the chest of an elephant, the mane of a horse, the forelegs of an eagle, the body and hind legs of a greyhound, and the tail of a lion, and is, as may we 11 be imagined, a very composite animal indeed. There are other monsters which are either compo- sitions of birds or else imaginary birds. Such as the COCKATRICE, which has the head, body, wings, and feet of a cock, but with scales instead of feathers, and the tail of a dragon. The PHCENIX, a half, or demi-eagle, always issuant from flames of fire. The MARTLET, a very well-known charge, a Swallow with- out feet ; and the Allerion, which is an eagle without either beak or feet, but perfect as to its body, wings, and tail. The Double-headed Eagle should be added to the list of imaginary birds, although it is not usually included with them. It is commonly, but in- correctly, called an Imperial Eagle; it was first Common Charges* 53 adopted by Charlemagne, as an addition to the Roman Eagle, in order to commemorate his conquest of the Germanic Empire in the year 802, and to thereby denote that two empires were centred in him. It is borne by several English and Welsh families. Notably by the Worths of Worth, in Washfield, Co. Devon, and the various branches of that house, who, by an early marriage with a member of the Redvers family, are descended from the Dukes of Normandy, who claimed descent from Charle- magne himself. The EAGLE is the most distinguished charge amongst birds, as it occupies the same position amongst its kind that the lion does amongst beasts. It is usually in that attitude which is termed dis- played by HeraJds. That is with the wings and legs expanded, tail downwards, and head turned over the shoulder towards the dexter, or right. The term " displayed " is peculiar to birds of prey, other birds in a similar position are said to be disclosed. There is a great difference between the terms " an Eagle displayed," and "an Eagle with wings dis- played," in the latter case the bird is resting on its feet and is supposed to be perched. Birds of Prey are " armed " of their beaks and claws, other birds are " beaked and membered." The terms used in falconry are used by Heralds in describing Hawks, they are blazoned as belled, jessed, vervelled (i.e. fastened to the perch), hooded? &c., &c., as the case may be. 54 Practical Heraldry. Parts of birds are frequently used as charges. A pair of wings inverted and conjoined in lure are the Arms of Seymour. Wings fastened together in this form were used by falconers as " lures " to train their hawks. A Single wing is sometimes used, and very frequently Feathers, as in the case of the badge of the Prince of Wales. This is a plume. There may be double or single plumes, but when more than three rows occur they are termed panaches. An Ostrich is generally represented with a horse- shoe in its mouth, in reference to its supposed diges- tive powers. A Peacock, with tail expanded, is said to be in its pride. A Pelican is usually represented in a nest, feeding her young, or else alone, tearing her breast. She is said to be " in her piety," or " vulning herself," as the case may be. A Cornish Chough is a black Crow, with red legs and beak invariably. A Swan's neck encircled with a Coronet is said to be gorged. A Game Cock is said to be "Crested and Jow- lopped." Amongst Fish the DOLPHIN is most frequently used in Heraldry. The usual position is embowed, that is, swimming towards the dexter, when moving in the contrary direction it is " counter embowed." The Lucie or Pike, the Roach, the Salmon, and Herring, are all found as charges, somewhat less fre- Common Charges. 55 quently the Eel and Trout. When in fess, or swim- ing towards tke dexter, a fish is " naiant," when " in pale," head upwards, it is " hauriant," and when in a similar position, but head downwards, it is " urinant." Shell Fish are very occasionally used indeed, and the only instances that occur to me form examples of " punning " heraldry, viz., Crabb and Prawn. . Shells, such as the Escallop and Whelk, are em- ployed by Heralds. The latter is exemplified by the Arms of Sir John, and Sir Percy Shelley, Barts., " Sa. a fesse engd. between 3 Whelk Shells or." The Escallop shell, which is similar in form to that commonly found on the sea beach, is a very old and honourable charge, since it was originally assumed by tto Crusaders on their return from the Holy Land. It is borne by many ancient fami- lies, notably by the Cruse family, of Cruse Morchard, in Devonshire, concerning whom the local rhyme has it " Crocker, Cruse, and Coplestone, When the Conqueror came, were at home" The Serpent, as might be expected, has its place in Heraldry, but is not especially common. It is usually borne twisted, when it is termed " no wed." It is "erect" when placed in pale, it can also be " erect wavy " or " involved," the latter means curved in a circular form. It is most commonly blazoned as " A Viper " in any of the above positions. Lastly, of animate forms, Butterflies, as in the ,56 Practical Heraldry. Anns of Muschamp, and Bees, are occasionally employed as charges. The Arms of one branch of the Rowe family are " A Beehive surrounded with flying bees," which are termed " volant." TREES are frequently used in Heraldry. If they are full grown they are said to be " Accrued." They are " Barbed " if leaved, " Blasted " if destitute of foliage, "Blossomed" as to their flowers, Fructed as to their fruit, Couped if cut off, Eradicated if torn up by the roots. The Fleur-de-lis, long quartered by England, in pretended right of France, and abandoned by George III. after the union with Ireland, may be de- scribed as an Heraldic Lily, although some incline to the opinion that it was intended to represent a Spear-head. It is unlike the lily as borne by Eton College, which consists of five leaves, three of which are usually shown, and which has also a stalk, which is said to be " slipped " that is, broken off from the main stem. When flowers or fruit are represented drooping or hanging, they are said to be " Pendent" and " Seeded " if the seeds are shown with the flowers. The Rose is a frequent charge, and is sometimes shown with the stem and leaves, but when a Rose only is mentioned in a blazon, it is always under- stood to mean the Heraldic Rose, which generally consists of a small circle, surrounded with a double cinq-foil, together with five small points, which represent the leaves, of which it is said to be barbed. Common Charges. 57 A red rose was the Badge of the House of Lancaster, a \vhite rose that of York. When a Rose is sur- rounded with the rays of the Sun, it is said to be a " rose en soleil." This form was first adopted by Edward IV., in 1461. The Blue Bottle, or Corn Flower, Arms of Chorley, the Gilly Flower, Columbine, and Thistle, are all Heraldic charges. The Trefoil, Quatrefoil, and Cinque-foil are leaves with the number of cusps suggested by their names. Ordinary leaves, as of the Oak, are frequently em- ployed, and are always supposed to be erect (or in pale), unless otherwise blazoned. The seed of the Ash Tree, known as " Ash Crops, or Ashen Keys," is sometimes met with, as in the Arms of Ayshford, " Arg. betw. 2 chevronels Sa. 3 Ash Crops vert." Fruit is not a very frequent charge. The Fir Cone, usually blazoned as " Pine Apple," the Acorn, and the Pear, are the most usual instances of this kind. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, the Half Moon, and occasionally, but rarely, the signs of the Zodiac, are all used as charges. A Single ray of the Sun may constitute a charge. The Sun is always supposed to be proper (that is, "In its Splendour"), unless other- wise specified ; if so, it is tinctured or. If eclipsed, it is Sa. The Moon is Arg. as a rule. She is in her Comple- ment when full faced, in her Detriment when eclipsed, and is then tinctured Sa. 53 Practical Heraldry. A Half Moon with the horns upwards is a Crescent. If the horns are towards the Dexter, it is an In- crescent ; if towards the Sinister, a Decrescent. The Star, or *Estoile, has six wavy points. The Mullet is a kind of Star, ordinarily with five plain points, and usually pierced with a round hole in the centre ; it is supposed to represent a Spur Eowel. Occasionally even, letters of the Alphabet are used as Charges, as in the Arms of Rashleigh, of Menabilly, Co. Cornwall, who bear as one of the charges " a text & arg." The Lang Family have, with other charges in Chief and Base, the letters A.B.C.D.E.F. Miscellaneous Oljecte. 59 CHAPTER IY. MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS. Technical Terms Miscellaneous Charges and General Information arranged Alphabetically for convenience of Keference. IN this Chapter the most usual Miscellaneous Charges will be found to be described, and the Tech- nical terms used in the Science of Heraldry are also explained here ; and as all the information is alpha- 'betically arranged, the Student, by the aid of this Glossary, and by following the rules set down ir the pages which precede and follow it, will be able at once to comprehend and blazon any ordinary Shield of Arms which may come under his notice, and a careful study of it will make him sufficiently ac- quainted with his subject for practical purposes. A. ABATEMENT See Chap. VII. Accosted Side by side. Addorsed Turned back to back. Adumbrated The shadow thrown by a figure. Affronte Full faced. Alant A Mastiff dog with short ears (Supporter of Lord Dacre). Allerion See Common Charges, p. 52. 60 Practical Heraldry. Angles The Arms of Wastley are two Angles inter- laced saltire wise, at each, end an annulet. Annulet A ring. Antelope See Common Charges. Apaume The hand open. Apre A Monster drawn like a Bull, with short tail, and " Mutilated." Armed See Common Charges, p. 47. Arming Buckle A Buckle in shape of a lozenge. Attired See Common Charges, p. 48. Augmentations See Chap. VII. Ay lets Sea Swallows (Sa. beaked and legged gu.) B. BADGER A Common Charge. Ballonne Signifies a Lion Eamp. holding a Staff in its mouth. Balista or Sweep An instrument anciently used for throwing stones against fortifications. See Arms of Magnall. Ball (Fire) A Torteaux with Flames issuing from it. Banded Tied round with a band. Banner A Square Flag. Barb The Petals or prickly Leaves of a Flower, or the Point of an Arrow or Spear. Bar-Gremel See Ordinaries, p. 26. Baron and Fenime Husband and Wife. Barnacle A Water Fowl resembling a goose. Barnacles Instruments to curb unruly horses (Arms of Barnacle). Miscellaneous Objects. 61 Barrulet See Ordinaries. Barry Base See The Shield, Chap. II. Basilisk A monster similar to a Cockatrice, but with a dragon's head at the end of its tail. Basnet An ancient name for a helmet. Battering Earn An ancient instrument of warfare. Battle Axe An axe with a blade one way and a spike the other. Baton A Staff or Truncheon. A Baton is a badge of Illegitimacy. Beacon An iron pot containing flames. Beaver That part of the helmet which opens in front of the face of the wearer. Bebally An ancient term for per pale. Belled Having bells affixed to some part. Bend See Ordinaries, p. 25. Bezant A Gold Coin. They were the current coin of Constantinople, their value being 375. Billets Oblongs, in form of a brick or letter. Billitte Strewed with Billets. Bird Bolt A small Arrow with three heads, dis- charged from a Cross Bow. It sometimes had a blunt head. Bladed The Stalk or Blade of any kind of Corn, if tinctured differently from the Ear or Fruit. Blue Bottle The Flower of the Cyamis, p 57. Bolt and Tun Is a bird bolt in pale, piercing through a tun. 62 Practical Heraldry. Border See p. 35. Botteroll The Tag of the Sword Scabbard. Bottom An instrument used in the Woollen Trade, sometimes called a quill, and surrounded with thread or yarn. Bouget (Water Bouget) A sort of Bucket, anciently used by soldiers to fetch water when in camp. (Fig. 73.) Fig. ?3. Bourchier Knot A Knot of silk tied in peculiar form (Crest of Wake). See Knots. Bowen Knot (Arms of Bowen). See Knots. Braced Charges interlacing each other. Brassarts Armour for the elbow. Brassets arm. Breast Plate A Cuirass. Bretesse Embattled on both sides. Brimsey A name for the Gad Fly. Broad Arrow Similar to " Pheon," which see, but with plain barbs. Broche An instrument used by Embroiderers. Brogue A Shoe. Bugle or Hunting Horn A frequent Charge in Heraldry. Burling Iron An instrument used by weavers. Miscellaneous Objects. 63 Bust Consists of the head, neck, and part of the shoulders. Whether couped, or erased, must be expressed. C. CABOSHED OR CABOSSED The full faced head of a beast with no portion of neck visible. Cadency A distinction of houses. See p. 40. Caltrap See Galtrap. Carneleon A species of Lizard. Canton See p. 32. Cannets Ducks without beak or feet. Caparisoned A horse prepared for the field. Casque A term for Helmet. Catherine Wheel A Wheel with iron teeth, so called from S. Catherine, the virgin who was martyred upon one. Centaur A Monster, half man and half beast. Chain Shot Two shots connected with a chain. Chamber A term for a short cannon without a carriage. Chapeau A Cap of Maintenance or Dignity. Chaplet A head-band, or garland of leaves. Cheeky Divided like a Chess-board by squares of colour and metal. Cherub's Head A Child's head between two wings. Cherubim See Chap. III. Chess Rook A piece used in the game of Chess, in form of an Heraldic Castle. Chevron An Ordinary. See p. 27. 64 Practical Heraldr-y. Chief An Ordinary. See p. 24. Chimsera A Monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and tail of a lion. Cinquefoil A Flower with five leaves. Civic Crown A wreath of oak leaves and acorns. Clarion or Best Some consider that it was a rest for a horseman's lance, others that it was a musical instrument; it is something of the form of Pandsean Pipes. Collared An animal with collar round the neck. Combatant Rampant, face to face. Compone Squares of metal and colour. Counter Compone Two rows of squares of metal and colour. Conjoined Charges joined together. Contourne The head turned backwards. Copper An instrument used by wire drawers. Cornish Chough A Black Crow, with red beak and legs. Cotised See p. 27. Counterchanged When the field is divided into metal and colour, with charges of same colour and metal. Counter Embattled Embattled on both sides. Counter Flory The Scotch Tressure (see Royal Arms) is an example. Counter Vair Vair ranged base to base. Couped Cut off" smooth. Courant Rum ling. Coward Animals with tail between the legs. Miscellaneous Objects. 65 Cramponee A cross with the ends formed like cramping irons. Crenelle Embattled. Crescent See Chap. III. Criiied The Hair, or Mane. Oonel The head of a tilting Spear. Crosier A Pastoral Staff used by Archbishops, Bishops, and Abbots. Cross See Chap. II. Crowd An old name for a Violin. Crown or Coronet See Chap. VII. Crusily The Field covered with small crosses. Cuisses Armour for the Thighs. D. DACRES Knot A Knot of Silk, Badge of Dacres Family. Dancette See Chap. IT. Debruised See Chap. III. Decrescent Defamed A creature which has lost its tail. Degraded A Cross with steps at the end of the four limbs. Demy The half of any Charge. Detriment See Chap. III. Diaper An ancient method of ornamenting the field, by dividing it with fine lines fret- wise, and filling each fret with a variety of figures accord- ing to the fancy of the painter. The proper tincture of the field shows through this fret- work. 66 Practical Heraldry. Difference Marks of filiation, that is Cadency Marks. The Coat would be blazoned a Mullet, or an annulet for difference, as the case might be. See Chap. II., p. 40. Dismembered Cut in pieces. Distillatorj^ A vessel used for distillation, repre- sented with two " worms " and bolt-receivers, and surrounded with fire. A Charge in the Arms of the Company of Distillers. Dimidiated Divided in two. Dormant Sleeping. Double Queue Two Tails. Double Tressure One Tressure within another. See Arms of Scotland in Royal Arms. Doubled or Doublings The linings of Mantles. Dove Tailed See Chap. II. Dragon A Monster. See Chap. III. E. EAGLET Eagles are so called when there several in one Shield. Eaglets should not have tongues. Embattled See Chap. II. Em bowed Bent like a bow. Enfield A Monster. See Chap. II. Enfiled Pierced with a Sword. Engoulee A term for Crosses or Saltires when their Extremitie^ enter the Mouths of Animals. Engrailed See Chap. II. Enhanced Ordinaries placed above their usual situa- tion in a Shield. Miscellaneous Objects. 67 Ensigned Decorated or ornamented. Entoyer A Bordure charged with inanimate objects. Entrailed Is a term for a Cross, as in the Arms of Carver, it is Tinctured black, and is no bigger than if touched with a brush or pricked with a pin. Enurney A Bordure charged with beasts. Eradicated Torn up by the roots. Erased A hand or limb violently torn out. Ermine See Chap. II. Ermines ' Erminois Escallop SheU The Pilgrim's Badge. Escarbuncle The Heralds drew it as a Cross sur- mounted by a Saltire, thus forming eight rays, each ray having three crosslets, and the eight points terminated with fleur-de-lis ; in the centre a circle, thereon a Saltire entrailed. It is de- scribed by an old writer as a precious stone, resembling a burning coal in lustre and colour. It was the third in the first row of precious stones on Aaron's breast-plate. It may be seen as I have described it upon the Shield borne by the effigy of Geoffrey de Mangnaville in the Temple Church. Escutcheon of Pretence See Chaps. II. and VI. Estoile A Star of six waved rays. R FALCHION A curved broad sword. 68 Practical Heraldry. Fer de Moliiie Sometimes called a Millrind. The iron affixed to the centre of a mill stone. Fess See Chap. II. Fillet- Fimbriated Ordinaries with a hem or border of a different tincture. Fire Ball See Ball, A Grenade or bomb with flames issuant. Flaunches See Chap. II, Flexed Bent. Fleur-de-lis See the Arms of France. In old Koyal Coats. Fountain A Roundle., Barry wavy of 6 arg. and az. Fret The Saltire interlaced with a Mascle. See the Arms of Lord Sherborne. (Button.) Fusil Resembles the lozenge, but is longer and more acute. Fusily Composed of Fusils. G. GADS Are Plates of Steel, as borne by the Iron*- mongers' Company. Gamb The Paw of a beast, usually applied to that of a lion. Garb A sheaf of Wheat is so blazoned. Gardant A Beast full faced, applied to animals looking towards spectator. Garland A wreath of flowers and leaves, Garnished Ornamented. Crauntlet The Glove in Armour. Miscellaneous Objects. 69 Gaze Stags standing full faced. Blazoned " at gaze." Gilly Flower A July flower of a blood red colour. Gobone The same as Compone. Golpes Roundles tinctured purpure. Gorged Collared. Grices Young Wild Boars. See Arms of Grice, Gryphon or Griffin See Chap. III. Gurges A representation of a Whirlpool, tinctured az. and arg. See Arms of Gorges. Gyron. See Chap* III. Gyronny H. HA BECK An instrument used by the Clothiers, and may be seen in the Arms of that Company. Hatchment See Chap. VI. Haurient Fish in Pale, head upwards. Hay Fork or Shake Fork The upper half of a Sal- tire and the lower half of a pale, meeting in the centre and pointed at the ends, which do not touch extremities of the Shield. See Arms of Conyngham. (Fig. 74.) Shake Fork. 70 Practical Heraldry. Helmet See Chap. VII. Hemp Brake An instrument having saw teeth, used for bruising hemp. Hooded Applied to Hawks. Humette Applied to an Ordinary cut short at the extremities. Hurt A Roundle, tinctured blue. Hurte Covered with Hurts. I. IBEX An imaginary beast something like an heraldic Antelope, only it has two straight serrated horns projecting from the forehead. Icicles Are like Goutes or Guttes reversed, some term them clubs. Imbrued A term for anything covered with blood. Impaled See Chap. VI. Incensed Fire issuing from the mouth. Increscent See Chap. II. Indented Invected Inverted Bearings turned the reversed way. Irradiated Having Eays. Issuant Issuing from. . J. JAVELIN A short spear with a sharp point. Jersey Comb Used by Wool Combers. See Arms of Bromley. Miscellaneous Objects. 71 Jessant Signifies a lion or other beast, or a fleur- de-lis issuing from the middle of an Ordinary, usually a fess. (Fig. 75.) See Naissant. Fig IS. Jessant-de-lis Is a fleur-de-lis coming out of a leopard's face. Jessed, or Jesses Leathern thongs to tie the bells on the legs of the hawk or falcon. K, KEYS Are frequently used in Heraldry, especially in Episcopal Arms; when placed back to back they are said to be indorsed. Knots A Cord of Silk intertwined, used by several Families as a Badge. (See Figs. 7680.) The Harrington Knot is similar to a Fret. (Fig. 55.) 78 The lieneaffe Knot, 72 Practical Heraldry. L. LABEL See Chap. II. Langued Tongued. Lioncel A young lion. Lions are sometimes so called when several are borne in the Shield. 80 - Th< Stafford K* Lodged For beasts of the chase > answers for Cou- chant 'as applied to beasts of prey. Lozenge See Chap. II. Lucy An old term for the fish called the pike. Lure Two wings conjoined with their tips down- wards. Lymphiad An old fashioned Ship with high stern and prow, one mast, and propelled with oars^ a frequent charge in Scotch Arms. M. MANACLES, or Fetter Locks Handcuffs or leg locks. Manche An ancient Sleeve. Manchet A round cake of Bread. Maned To express the manes of animals. Martlet A Mark of Cadency for the 4th house, it is a kind of swallow without feet ; it is a frequent charge. Miscellaneous Objects. 73 Mascle A lozenge perforated and resembling the mesh of a net. Masoned, or Masonry Plain strokes representing the cement lines in stone buildings. Match Used in -Military operations. Match-lock The instrument of warfare of that name. Membered Applied to the legs and beaks of birds. Merrillion An instrument used by the Hat-band Makers and borne as part of their Arms. Mermaid See Chap. II. Merman Has the head and body of a man and the tail of a fish. He also holds a trident, and re- presents Neptune, the God of the Sea, in Hea- then Mythology. Morion An ancient steel cap. Mullet A Star of five points and a Mark of Cadency, if of more than five points the number should be expressed. Mitre The old head-dress of a Bishop, See Chap, VIII. Mural Crown See Chap. VIII. Muzzled When straps or bands confine the jaws of animals. N. NAIANT When a fish is borne in fess. it is said to be naiant, or swimming. Naisant The same as Issuant or Jessant. Naval Grown See Chap. VIIL Nebule See Chap. II. Nowed Knotted as Serpents are usually eharg 74 Practical Heraldry. 0. OBSIDIOSTAL CROWN Composed of grass, or twigs of trees, in form of a garland, given by the Eomans to him who successfully defended a Siege of a Town. Ogress or Pellet A Bounded See Chap. II. Opinicus A Monster. See Chap. IIL Ordinary See Chap. IL Ostrich Feathers See Chap. IIL PALE An Ordinary. See Chap. II. Pallet Paly ., Party per pale The term is now disused, per pale being considered sufficient. Passant Beasts when walking* Phoenix See Chap. IIL Pile See Chap. IL Plates ,, ,, Pommes See Chap. IIL Powdered A Shield strewed or powdered with small charges. Proper The natural colour of any charge. Q. QUATREFOIL Pour leaved. Quartered See Chap. VI. Quarterings Miscellaneous Objects. 75 Queue The Tails of animals. Quintain An ancient Tilting block. K. RADIANT or Rayonnant Having rays or beams. Ragule Ragged or uneven. Rampant The upright position of the lion. Ray A stream of light. Recercelee A cross with circles at the extremities like rams' horns. Regardant Looking backward. Respecting Animals borne face to face, Rustre A lozenge pierced with a round hole in the centre. S. SALIENT The position of a beast of prey springing or leaping forward. Saltire wise Charges disposed in the form of a Saltire.. Sanguine Murrey colour, seldom used in English Coat Armour. Segreaiit A term applicable to the Griffin when in a rampant position with wings elevated. Sejant An Animal when sitting. Semee A field sprinkled all over with fleur-de-lis. Springing A term used instead of Salient for beasts of chase. Statant The Standing position of animals. Surmounted One charge borne upon another. 76 Practical Heraldry. T. TABARD The short, loose gown, emblazoned with the Royal Arms, and still worn by the Heralds. It used to be worn by Knights over their armour j and their personal Arms were then embroidered upon it. Talbot A Hound with long round ears, and a large snout. Torse Twisted, Hence the term is used for the wreath on which the Crest rests. Torteaux See Chap. II. (Roundles). Towered Having Turrets, applied to Castles. " Ar'g, a Castle tripple-towered Sa." Trefoil Three-leaved. Tressure See Chap. II. Trippant A term applied to deer and other beasts of chase instead of passant, Trunked Trees are so termed when couped or cut off smoothly. Tusks The long fangs of boars. Tusked Would be applied to Elephants* U. tlNGULED Hoofed. Urinans Fish in Pale", Head downwards, V. VAIR A Fur. See Chap. II. Yambraced Arms habited in Armour. Yerdoy A Bordure charged with eight leaves, flowers, or fruit. Miscellaneous Objects, 77 Vested Habited or clothed. Voided The outer shape of a Charge only shown by a narrow rim, the inside being of the same tincture as the Shield, Volant Flying. Vorant Swallowing up or devouring, Vulned Wounded, as with an Arrow, Spear, &c, W, WATTLED or Jolloped Having wattles, as a Cock, Wavy See Chap. II. Wharrow Spindle An instrument used by women to spin whilst moving about, by sticking the distaff in their girdle and whirling the spindle round. Borne by Trefusis, Winnowing Basket Used for winnowing corn ; it is something in the form of an escallop shell, with the upper portion turned over and inwards. Wreath See Torse. Wreaths Are formed of various leaves, flowers, &c., &c. When round the head of human figures they are said to be wreathed, Wyvern See Chap. Ill, 78 Practical Heraldry, CHAPTER Y. THE RULES OP BLAZON. Derivation of Blazon Tautology to be avoided How to Blazon Debruised v. Surmounted Metal and Colour Ordinaries plain or irregular Position of Charges Field of more than one Tincture Examples of Blazon Ravenous and Non- Ravenous Beasts Horns of Deer Birds of Prey River Fowl, &c. Fins of Fish Trees, Plants, &c. Parts of Living Objects Issuant or Kaissant. BLAZON is derived from, the German word " Blasen," which, signifies the blowing of a horn. It was the custom of the German Heralds to proclaim publicly the Armorial Bearings of the Knights who attended the jousts and tournaments, and this custom subse- quently prevailed in England. Therefore, if a person desires to explain or describe a Coat of Arms, he is technically said to " Blazon " it. The first and most general rule to be observed in Blazoning Armorial Bearings is to express Heraldic distinctions in proper terms, to avoid tautology, as stedfastly as a Win- chester boy would avoid a false quantity, but at the same time to omit nothing that ought to be specified, and to be sufficiently clear and precise to enable the coat to be " tricked," or drawn, with unerring accu- racy by a person who has never seen it. It is the invariable rule to commence with the " Tincture," or colour, of the field, and then proceed with the Ordinaries or principal charges which oc- cupy the most important places on the Shield, always The Rules of Blazon. 79 naming that first which lies immediately upon the field. Thus, if the field is arg., and has upon it a double 1 leaded Eagle Sa., with a fess gu. placed over the Eagle, the Blazon would be, "Arg. an eagle displayed with two necks Sa. over all a fess gu." (Fig. 81.) Fig 8L If a lion or other animal occupies the place of the Eagle, the word " debruised " must be substituted for " over all." The words " surmounted by," or " over all," are always used when one Ordinary is placed over another ; and it is not absolutely incorrect to describe an Eagle as " debruised," but, save in the case of an animal, it is preferable to use the words as above, x But supposing that the Coat has three Mullets Arg. upon the fess. Then it will be blazoned Arg. an Eagle displayed with two necks Sa. over all, on a fess gu. 3 Mullets of the field. (Fig. 82.) By saying " of the field " the repetition of " Argent " is avoided. Metal should never be placed upon metal, or colour upon colour. If the field be of metal those charges which touch it should be of colour, and vice versa. 80 Practical Heraldry. But "Arg. a bend gu. surmounted by a fess az." would be perfectly correct heraldry, although a con- siderable portion of the blue must necessarily lie Fig. 82. upon the scarlet, because both the bend and the fess touch the shield, which is of metal. In blazoning ordinaries, if they are plain, it will be quite sufficient to name them, as a bend, a fess, or a chevron; but if they are formed of irregular lines, these lines must be specified. Thus, Arg. a fess wavy az. Gu. a chevron em- battled, or. Erin, a bend engrailed sa., and so on. When a charge is named without expressing its position it is always understood to occupy the centre of the Shield. If it does not, then its exact situation must be specified. Thus, "Arg. a fess and lion ramp, gu." might mean anything as regards the lion. But "Arg. a fess gu. In Chief a Lion ramp, of the last," signifies that the Lion is upon the middle Chief point of the Shield. Frequently the field is of two tinctures, and divided by one of the partition lines already explained. TJie Rules of Blazon. 81 Then it will be blazoned per pale, or per fess, as the case may be. Thus, " per pale arg. and az. a chevron between 3 mullets all count erchanged," means that the charges are of the same tinctures as the field, but that the half of the chevron, which rests upon the metal half of the shield is of colour, and the other half of metal, whilst the Mullets in Chief are similarly treated, and that in base is half silver, half blue. (Fig. 83.) Fig. 83. When an ordinary, such as a fess or chevron, is placed between 3 charges, it is understood that two of these are in Chief and one in base. The greater number is always supposed to be in Chief and the lesser number in base, unless differently expressed. In blazoning charges of any kind, animate or in- animate, if they are of their natural colour, and that colour happens to be an heraldic tincture, yet they must be described as " proper," and not^ or. or gu., as the case may be. A few examples of Heraldic Blazons will enable the 2 Practical Heraldry. student more readily to comprehend the foregoing remarks. " Arg. a Lion Ramp. Sa. on a Chief Gu. 2 mullets or." " Per Saltire Gu. and Or. two garbs in pale, betw. 2 Roses in fess, all counterchanged." In this instance the garbs, or wheatsheaves, will come upon the red portion of the field, and will, therefore, be gold or yellow. Similarly the roses will be red. " Sa. on a cross within a bordure, both engrailed or. five pellets." " Arg. a chevron betw. Three Lions passant guar- dant, Gu." In this instance the chevron and lions are under- stood to be of the same tincture, if not the coat would be blazoned, ".Arg. a chevron Gu. betw. 3 lions ramp. Sa." or otherwise " Or. a fess wavy az. over all a Lion Ramp., Sa." (Fig. 84.) fig. 8*. If the words " on a fess " were used instead of "over all" they would imply that the lion is The Rules of Blazon. 83 charged on the ordinary (Fig 85), instead of being as it really is, partly on the fess and partly on the field. Arg. a chevron Sa. between 3 lions heads erased Gu. Fig. 86. "Gu. a lion ramp. Gd. double-queued (2 tails) or., holding within his paws a rose of the field, stalked and leaved pp." Here the tincture of the rose is expressed because it might have been a white rose. But the stalks and leaves being of their natural colour, they are not blazoned vert but proper. " Arg. on a Canton gu. a tilting spear in bend sinister of the field." Had the spear been upright instead of slanting, it would have been blazoned as in pale ; had it been leaning towards the right, it would have been merely said to be in bend. 66 Sa. 2 lions gambs., issuant from dexter and sinister base points, and erected chevron- wise or." (See Fig. 86.) This explains that the talons meet about the centre of the field, and shows exactly how they 84 Practical Heraldry, should be drawn. They might have been Saltier, wise, or fess-wise, or in pale, and it will be seen at once that the mere description, Sa. 2 lions Gambs. or., would be insufficient to convey a correct idea of the coat. 86, But such examples might be prolonged to any extent, those I have cited will be sufficient to illus- trate the general rules as given above. All ravenous beasts, including many of the monr strous and fabulous animals, are said to be " armed of their teeth and claws, or talons," because they are weapons of defence and offence ; they are langued as to their tongues. When these are of a different tinc^ ture from the body the tincture must be expressed, except in the case of lions, who are always armed and langued gu., unless the field or charge be gules, then azure is substituted. Beasts which are not ravenous, such as the bull, the goat, and the ram, are said to be armed as to their horns, but unguled as to their hoofs, and the tinctures of these must be expressed. The horns of deer are called " attires ;" being by The Rules of Blazon. 85 tiature timorous, these appendages are looked upon as of ornanent rather than of use. With regard to birds : Birds of prey, such as Eagles, and the several varieties of hawk, and also the owl, should be, I think, properly described as " armed '* of their beaks and talons, but this rule is not invariably followed. They are some- times described as " beaked and legged. 5 ' (See Sir Bernard Burke (Ulster), " General Armory," sub~ voce " Worthe.") Birds which have no talons, such as river fowl, are always " beaked and membered." In blazoning a game cock, as already remarked, he must always be said to be " armed, crested, and jow- lopped." His arms being the beak and spur, his crest the comb, and his jowl ops the wattles; the tinctures of these must be expressed. Birds must also be described minutely as to their attitude ; thus, wings " addorsed " means that they are elevated and partly open, and inclined backwards. " Close," that the wings are closed. " Erect," when the larger wing feathers are almost upright. "Rising," when about to take wing. " Volant," when flying. " Trussing " is applicable to a bird of prey devouring a rabbit, &c. " Pouncing " is a term applicable to a hawk when he is striking his prey. The fins of fish, if of a different tincture from the body, must also be noticed in blazon. Similarly trees, plants, fruit, and flowers, must be all accurately described. Sometimes in the base of the Shield there may be a representation of the 86 Practical Heraldry. Soil, with a Tree growing in it, in which case it would be necessary to blazon it, according to its Tinctures, perhaps thus : Arg. out of a mount vert, an Oak Tree pp. fructed or., which would signify that the tree was growing upon, or issuant from, the mount or ground. Whether blazoning a man or an animal, it is necessary to particularly explain whether the charge is borne in whole or in part, whether naked or vested, whether in armour or in robes. Thus, " Arg. A Man's head couped pp.," which \vould signify that the head is in profile towards the dexter. Whilst the term " Affrontee " would mean that it is turned towards the spectator, and exhibits the full face. When a head is covered, the par- ticular kind of covering must be described; when encircled with laurel, oak, ivy, &c., &c., it is said to be " wreathed." Sometimes charges, instead of being simply laid upon ordinaries, have the appearance of rising from out of such ordinaries, in which case they are described as " issuant " from the bottom of the fess, or chief, as the case may be. But if they are rising out of the centre of such ordinaries they are not issuant, but iiaissant (p. 71 ante). The number of the points of mul- lets or stars must be expressed when more than five, and if pierced this must also be especially mentioned. When a pile, a ray of the sun, or other single figure, if not in the centre of the Shield, the point it issues from must be named. The Rules of Blazon. 87 If charges are borne in threes, and there is a fess between them, or other ordinary, it is always under- stood that there are two in Chief and one in base ; but if similar charges are borne without the or- dinary their exact position must invariably be care- fully mentioned. Thus, " Arg. 3 Fleur-de-lis in pale or.," that is, the 3 Fleur-de-lis are one above the other down the centre of the Shield. 3 Fleur-de-lis in chief would signify that they are in a line at the top of the Shield. 3 Fleur-de-lis in fess, that they are in a similar line, across the centre of the Shield, and so on ; whilst 3 Fleur-de-lis, 2 and 1, would show that they occupy the same position as if there were a fess or a chevron between them. When three charges are dissimilar, the blazon might run as follows : " Arg. a fess betw. two demi-lions ramp, in chief, and a galley, her oars erect, in saltire in base Sa." From this we see, too, that where charges of the same tincture follow each other, it is only necessary to mention that tincture once, as it will be noticed that the fess, the lions, and the galley in the example I have given are alike black as to their tincture. If the preceding pages have been carefully studied, I think that the beginner will have already attained some amount of theoretical knowledge of the sub- jects on which they treat. Now let him notice, in his walks abroad, all examples of Coat Armour he may happen upon in Churches, in public buildings, 88 Practical Heraldry. or elsewhere ; let him remark the particulars of such very carefully, and thus endeavour to acquire practical knowledge as well. It will be especially helpful to him in the first instance to examine known coats. Then, by turning to the names of their owners in " Burke's General Armory " (a second- hand copy of which may be procured for a few shil- lings, if not otherwise attainable, and but few free public libraries even are probably without it), he will be able to read the true blazon of the coat he has examined. The fourth Chapter of this volume will then explain to him the charges which he has in- spected, and will initiate him into the mysteries and uses of " Arming Buckles, Galtraps, Shackbolts, Gauntlets, and Water Bougets," and will thus enable him to recognise such objects at once on subsequent occasions. He will soon find himself able to decipher and blazon ordinary Single or Impaled Coats, and to understand them at a glance. More intricate ones will of course require a further amount of persever- ance in the study, but that perseverance will be richly rewarded by the acquisition ultimately of a thoroughly practical knowledge of the laws of Arms. TJie Marshalling of Arms. 89 CHAPTEE VL THE MARSHALLING OF ARMS* Marshalling by Dimidiation Impalements Quartered Coats whet* introduced Arms of Man and Wife Arms in right of Wife Escutcheon of Pretence Smith impaled with Jones Smith "pretends" to Jones Smith Quarters Jones Brown Quarters Tompkins, Smith, and Jones Impalement of Official Arms Quar* terings How the Arms of Heirs and Co-Heirs are Marshalled. THE art of disposing the Arms of more than one family upon a single Shield, according to Heraldic law, is known as the " Marshalling of Arms." As Mr. Boutell remarks, " The association of Arms with Names, Dignities, and Estates, would necessarily re- quire, at an early period of the History of Heraldry, the establishment of some regular and recognised system for the combination and aggroupment of various distinct coats and insignia, whenever a single individual became the representative of more than one family, or even the hereditary possessor of several dignities and properties." The most ancient method of Marshalling was effected by DIMIDIATION, that is, by dividing the Shield per pale, and joining the dexter half of the one to the sinister half of the other. Instances of this method occur in the Seal of the Mayor of Winchilsea, one of the Cinque Porte, in which case the halves of 3 lions of England are joined to the hulls of 3 ships. Again, the Borough of Great Yarmouth has a nearly similar 90 Practical Heraldry. Seal, save that the tail halves of 3 herrings are substituted for the ships. In addition to the pecu- liar appearance of such a method of Marshalling, the general features of both coats were often entirely lost, but it may be remarked that several forms of monsters possibly owe their origin to dimidiation. Towards the end of the Fourteenth century, it began to be superseded by " Impalement " as now prac- tised, and about the same period, also, what are known as QUARTERED COATS began to be generally adopted. The Arms of a Husband and Wife are marshalled by dividing the Shield " per pale," and by placing the Coat of the Husband on the dexter side, and that of the Wife on the sinister. Thus, if John Smith is married to Mary Jones, and they are both entitled to Coat Armour, as in the following example, it will be thus blazoned : Arg* a chevron between 3 Stags' heads cabossed Sa. (Smith), Impaling gu., a fess arg. within a bordure or. (Jones). (Fig. 87.) I hope Fig. S7. , that if I am fortunate enough to number a Smith or Jones amongst my readers that they will not adopt The Marshalling of Arms. 91 these coats, which are merely the creation of iny own fancy, and have no place in the records of the Herald's College. The Smith Arms, when painted upon a carriage or engraved upon plate, would ap- pear in their entirety, but in the case of Jones, the sinister half of the bordure only would be shown, as in the accompanying illustration. But supposing Miss Jones has no brothers. She would then, heraldically speaking, be an heir, or if . she has sisters, a co-heir, and both she and her sisters would transmit their paternal arms to their posterity. All sisters have an equal right to arms after the Father's death if there is no brother, or after the brother's death if he leaves no issue. But until they have actually succeeded to these their husbands can only impale them, as already shown. When they have duly succeeded to them, then their husbands have a right to place them in the centre of their own Shields upon what is known as an Escutcheon of Pretence. (Fig. 88.) Fig. 88. After their death their Sons will " quarter" their Mother's arms with those derived from their Father, 90 Practical Heraldry. Seal, save that the tail halves of 3 herrings are substituted for the ships. In addition to the pecu- liar appearance of such a method of Marshalling, the general features of both coats were often entirely lost, but it may be remarked that several forms of monsters possibly owe their origin to dimidiation. Towards the end of the Fourteenth century, it began to be superseded by " Impalement " as now prac- tised, and about the same period, also, what are known as QUARTERED COATS began to be generally adopted. The Arms of a Husband and Wife are marshalled by dividing the Shield " per pale," and by placing the Coat of the Husband on the dexter side, and that of the Wife on the sinister. Thus, if John Smith is married to Mary Jones, and they are both entitled to Coat Armour, as in the following example, it will be thus blazoned : Arg, a chevron between 3 Stags' heads cabossed Sa. (Smith), Impaling gu., a fess arg. within a bordure or. (Jones). (Fig. 87.) I hope fig. 87. , that if I am fortunate enough to number a Smith or Jones amongst my readers that they will not adopt The Marshalling of Arms. 9] these coats, which are merely the creation of iny own fancy, and have no place in the records of the Herald's College. The Smith Arms, when painted upon a carriage or engraved upon plate, would ap- pear in their entirety, but in the case of Jones, the sinister half of the bordure only would be shown, as in the accompanying illustration. But supposing Miss Jones has no brothers. She would then, heraldically speaking, be an heir, or if . she has sisters, a co-heir, and both she and her sisters would transmit their paternal arms to their posterity. All sisters have an equal right to arms after the Father's death if there is no brother, or after the brother's death if he leaves no issue. But until they have actually succeeded to these their husbands can only impale them, as already shown. When they have duly succeeded to them, then their husbands have a right to place them in the centre of their own Shields upon what is known as an Escutcheon of Pretence. (Fig. 88.) Fig. 88. After their death their Sons will " quarter" their Mother's arms with those derived from their Father, n Practical Heraldry} and they will then be blazoned Quarterly 1st and 4th Smith, 2nd and 3rd Jones, (Fig. 89.) It will be noticed that the bordure is never dimi- diated save in impalements; in quartering, the whole of it is shown , But supposing that Mrs. Smith has no sons, but only a daughter married to John Brown, who is himself the owner of a Quartered Coat (1st and 4th or. 5 lozenges in fess Erm, (Brown), 2nd and 3rd Gu, a bend or. betw. six bezants (Tomkins). Then his Grand-parents would be commemorated by their 1 son as in Fig. 90, 1st Brown, 2nd Tomkins, 3rd , 4th Jones. fig. 89. % 9ft These examples will be sufficient to show the general rule as to inheritance of arms. It must be borne in mind that a daughter has no right whatever to transmit her paternal arms to her posterity if she has any brothers, unless these die without issue. If the brothers only leave daughters behind them, still they will be the co-heirs and not their aunts. An impaled Coat is of no use whatever to children, and ceases with the death of the parents; indeed, The Marshalling of Arms. 93 unless a woman is an heir or co-heir, a husband may be said merely to have a life interest in her arms. I am the more anxious to impress this upon my readers because this work is intended chiefly for beginners, and for that reason I have omitted the elaborate examples of contemporary Authors as tending to confusion, but there is a very vague idea prevalent as to Maternal Arms. Many fancy, and an instance of this came recently before me, that if they cannot find any arms attributed to their own name, they can bear those of their mother, or even of some distant relative of hers, (( as the nearest to which they are entitled." Even if a woman is an hejr or co-heir, if she is married to a man who has no Armorial bearings of his own, he can make no use whatever of hers. Her issue cannot use her arms, for if they inherit none from their father, they will have none to quarter with them. This is only an exemplification of the old maxim : " A man raises his wife to his own level, but the wife sinks to the husband's level." But all Sons are entitled to transmit their Armorial Bearings, therefore, if a younger son of any house leaves issue, a daughter or daughters, such are entitled to transmit the family arms, as co-heirs, but they should have the mark of cadency, or diiference, according to the laws of Arms. Bishops, Deans, Kings of Arms, &c., are entitled to impale their Official Arms with their hereditary Coats, but the Arms of Office must be on the 94 Practical Heraldry. dexter, and the paternal coat on the sinister, because the man is supposed to be wedded to the Office. It is incorrect for a widower to impale the arms of his first wife after he has married a second, unless his first wife was an heir or co-heir. It is sometimes done, however, in defiance of heraldic law. When it is done, the Shield is usually divided in tierce, that is in three equal divisions per pale. In the first part are the man's arms, then those of his first wife, and lastly those of his second. No man can impale his wife's arms with his own on an Ensign or banner, or with Official arms, nor can he surround a Shield containing her Arms with the motto of the Garter, Bath, or any other dis- tinction peculiar to himself. Ladies bearing Arms in their own right, and widows bear their Arms on a lozenge (Fig. 4). A widow may continue to impale her husband's arms with her own, until she marries again. In quartering Arms, the Paternal Shield is always borne in the first quarter. The Shield is divided per pale and per fess, into as many equal divisions as there are Coats; when one of such divisions is similarly sub-divided, it is called a grand quarter. The use of grand quarters, however, is not to be commended, it is preferable to marshal the different coats in proper, succession, beginning with the oldest. That is to say if an Ancestor has married a co-heir of Beauchamp in the fourteenth century, and The Marshalling of Arms. 95 this is the earliest record in his family of such an alliance ; then in quartering, the Arms of Beauchamp would come next after his own. The following table will better explain my meaning : George Digby, An. 1499. = Florence, dau. and Co-h. of Wm. I Beauchamp, by Anne, dau. and h. of Humphry Bevill. George Digby Elizabeth, dau. of Wm. Carson. George Digby Anne d. and heir of Wm, Mus- | champ. Andrew Digby Mary dau. and heir of Walter | Talbot. Thomas Digby _ Joan, dau. of James Bawtrey. ' I George Digby, Alive 1563. Mary, dau. and heir of Wfl- lesden, by Anne, dau. and h. of John Copp* This descent entitles the representative of George Digby to the following quarterings, in addition to any that may have been acquired since 1563. 1st Digby ; 2nd Beauchamp ; 3rd Bevill (brought in by Beauchamp) ; 4th Muschamp ; 5th Talbot ; 6th Willesden, 7th Copp. Then, as there must be an equal number of quarterings. Digby may be repeated in the 8th quarter ; or one of the secondary quarterings, brought in by heirs or co-heirs, may be omitted, such as Bevill or Copp. It is preferable, however, to omit nothing, but to repeat the paternal coat, if the number of divisions is uneven. )6 Practical Heraldry. It will be noticed that Curson and Bawtrey hav( disappeared ; not being heirs or co-heirs, they coi not transmit their arms. But all the Arms heirs or co-heirs are entitled would come in one after the other. For exampl< supposing Florence Beauchamp had the following descent : Hugo Beauchamp _ Joan, d. and heir of Gilbert de [ Courcy. I Henry Beauchamp __ Marion, d. and h. of John Holmes, by Mary, dau. and h. of Staplehill, by Joan, dau. and h. of West. Wm. Beauchamp - Anne, dau. and heir of Humphry | Bevill. George Digby, An. 1499. = Florence, dau. and h. Then the Shield would have a greater number of divisions, and the quarterings would follow thus : 1st Digby ; 2nd Beauchamp ; 3rd De Courcy ; 4th Holmes ; 5th Staplehill (brought in by Holmes) ; 6th West (brought in by Staplehill) ; 7th Bevill (2-3-4-5-6-7 are thus derived from the marriage with Beauchamp) ; 8th Muschamp. As with Beauchamp, any quarterings to which Muschamp may have been entitled would follow in similar order, before Talbot. Thus it will be seen that there may be any number of quarterings in a single Shield, and when combined in this manner, they show at a glance the descent and connections of the family to which they belong, and such Coats as these are amongst the most The Marshalling of Arms. 97 cherished belongings of many a family in this country, who, whatever may be their present cir- cumstances, know that it is universally admitted that they confer an amount of social distinction upon them which the mere possession of worldly goods can never purchase or procure. Such as these may possibly lack "ivory, or a golden ceiling," but they are secure in their position, as long as they cherish the memory of their Fore- fathers, and bear " Without abuse The grand old name of GENTLEMAN, Defamed by every charlatan, And soiled with all ignoble use." Practical Heraldry. CHAPTER VII. CRESTS, HELMETS, MANTLINGS, AND OTHER EXTERIOR ORNAMENTS OF THE SHIELD. Origin of Crests Fan Crests Crest of Edjvard III. Montacute, Earl of Salisbury Ladies not to bear Crests, and cannot transmit them The Torce, Torse, or Wreath Crest Coronets Chapeau Helmets Mantlings Supporters Scroll and Motto Carew Arms Augmentations Abatements so-called Badges Hatch- ments. THE CREST is the highest part of he ornaments of a Shield of Arms. Its origin is probably more ancient than that of other heraldic bearings, since even the heroes of the " Iliad" are described to us as wearing " crested helms." The right to wear them was esteemed a very great distinction in the early days of Heraldry, because they could only be acquired by those who had, as Knights, seen actual service in the field. They were, therefore, looked upon some- what in the light of modern decorations, save that they were honourable distinctions conferred upon the Officers only, and not upon the men. In the earliest examples the Crest seems to have been somewhat similar to a fan ; it was probably composed of leather, and was worn on the top of the helmet. The examples of these fan crests vary somewhat both as to shape and design, and they are all undistinguished by charges, but beneath the fan crest attached to Crests, Helmets, Mantlings, &c. 99 the helmet of Eichard L, which appears upon his second great seal, there is a representation of a lion of England, embossed upon the head-piece itself, which was doubtless intended to distinguish " Coeur de Lion" from his followers when clad, as he usually seems to have been, in Armour. About the time that Coat Armour became heredi- tary, that is to say during the reign of Henry III., Crests began to be generally worn by Knights, and they may be looked upon, therefore, as of purely military origin. Amongst the earliest examples of a Crest, in its present form, is that of Thomas, second Earl of Lancaster, as shown upon his seal ; it repre- sents a Wyvern, and is placed on the top of the helmet, and the tail of the monster is extended instead of being no wed or knotted ; the date of this seal is about the year 1320. King Edward III. is believed to have been the first monarch of England who placed the Royal Lion upon his head-piece, and the earliest recorded concession of a Crest was by him in favour of William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury A.D. 1335. The modern Crest, like its predecessor the fan, was usually composed of leather moulded into the form of the object it was intended to represent, and coloured of the proper heraldic tincture. Ladies could neither bear, inherit, nor transmit them, and this rule is, and has always been, in force. Still, people in defiance of this law, frequently adorn their notepaper and envelopes with two Crests, and even Practical Heraldry. place them on their carriages, and solemnly declare that one is their own and the other their wife's Crest, The only possible right that a man can have to more than one Crest is, where more than one has been granted to his paternal Ancestor, as in the case of the Wise family, who, previously to the year 1400, a,re known to have adopted and used a " mermaid," but in that year Thomas Wise, Lord of Sydenham, Greston, and Thrushelton, all in Devonshire, had a grant of another Crest, viz. : " A demi lion ramp, gu. guttee d'or., holding in his paws a regal mace of the last." Of course if a person, for any good and sufficient reason, obtains the necessary licence to bear the Arms and Crest, either of his wife's family or of some maternal relative, or even of some one with whom he is entirely unconnected, that is another matter. He will then obtain the Crest; as any other person can obtain a perfectly new and original Coat through the Kings of Arms acting under the requisite authority, but if his Shield contains an endless number of quarterings, he has no right whatever to any of the Crests pertaining to those quarterings, in virtue of his inheritance of them through fortunate marriages. Crests should properly be differenced with the acknowledged cadency marks, which at once show to what branch of a family they belong. The Crest is placed upon a wreath, or as it is sometimes called, a torse. This ornament represents Crests, Helmets, Mantling s, &c. 101 two strands of twisted silk, of which it was originally composed, and on which the Crest appeared to be supported. (Fig. 91.) Torses are always tinctured Fig.li. of the principal metal, and the principal colour in the coat, alternately, the metal towards the dexter side of the Shield. In the case of a quartered Shield the torse derives its tincture from the coat to which it actually belongs, and not from the pre- dominant metals and colours of the whole Shield. Furs are never used in the composition of Torses ; if the field is Erm., Arg. will be substituted, but if the charge upon the field happens to be Or., then Sa. will take the place of Arg., being derived from the black spots forming the fur. Sometimes a Crest issues from a Coronet, which is usually blazoned as " a ducal Coronet," but has no cap, and only exhibits three leaves instead of five. (Fig. 92.) Sometimes they are placed upon Caps, known as " Chapeau," or caps of maintenance. (Fig. 93.) These were formerly worn by Kings and Nobles, and have usually an Ermine border. It is Fy. 92. Practical Heraldry. considered incorrect to place crest-coronets or Cha- peau upon torses, or torces, as they are sometimes spelt. Still the custom prevailed in former times, as shown by the records of the College of Arms, and ex- amples may be found in the Visitations. In 1673, Sir Edward Walker granted a " mural crown on a torce to Fox " Coll. Ar. Grants 3, 3 and for an instance of a Chapeau on a Torse, see the same records (c. 6, 47 b). The Cheshire Visitation of 1613, under Merebury, by Sir Richard St. George, Norroy. As the Coronet, or Chapeau, was placed upon the top of the head-piece, it is hard to understand* of what service a torse could have been in such a case ; but this brings me to helmets. Every Shield of Arms is ensigned with a helmet, from the formation or position of which the rank of the owner is at once shown. Those pertaining to Nobles are placed over the proper coronet of their degree, whilst those of Knights, Esquires, and Gentlemen rest upon the upper portion of the Shield. The Eoyal Helmet (Fig. 94) is of gold; it is Fig. 9*. placed full faced, or affronte, " and has a Grille of six." The full faced helmet of steel has five bars of Crests, Helmets, Mantlings, &c. 103 gold, and the breast part of the same tincture. This is sometimes attributed to Dukes and Marquesses, but I doubt whether other than Princes of the Blood should be accorded a full faced helmet with bars, and believe that Dukes and Marquesses, with Earls, Viscounts, and Barons, should have a helmet set hi profile, or side faced, with five bars ; this is usually of silver garnished with gold. (Fig. 95.) Baronets and Knights have Steel helmets, with silver ornaments set " affroiite." They have, however, 110 bars, but a visor instead, which is shown open, and exhibits the crimson lining. (Fig. 96.) Esquires and Gentlemen have a steel helmet set in profile, with the visor closed. (Fig. 97.) Fig. 96. Fig 97. 106 Practical Heraldry. the Shield in an erect position, and are represented as standing on the Motto Scroll, which, in many cases, gives them a very inconsistent and ungraceful appearance. The Motto is usually inscribed upon a scroll un- derneath the Shield ; occasionally, if it refers to the Crest, as in the case of Hamilton, it is placed over. It originated in the war-cry of the Knight's re- tainers, but is not necessarily hereditary; and although few would care to abandon a family motto, still there is nothing to prevent the assumption of a new one, and different families can, and frequently do, employ the same motto. Sometimes a motto forms a play upon the name of its owner, as in the case of Seton, " Set-on." More frequently, however, it embodies a religious, moral, or patriotic senti- ment, as " Cassis tutissima virtus" (Virtue is the safest helmet) Cholmondely. " Christi Crux est mea lux" Northcote, Lord Iddesleigh. " Pro rege et patria pugnans" (Fighting for King and Country) Pasley. Sometimes, as in the case of Northcote and Cholmondely, they allude to the charges in the Shield, at others to the supporters, as " Gardez bien" Montgomery. A Coat of Arms with Helm, Crest, Mantling, Sup- porters, and Motto complete would be thus blazoned. I have selected that of Carew for an example. Arms. Or., 3 lioncels passant in pale Sa. Crest. Upon a helmet (according to degree) and wreath of the Colours, a mainmast the round top set Crests, Helmets, Mantlings, &c. 107 off with palisadoes Or. ; a demi-lion issuing thereout Sa. mantled of the last, doubled of the first. Supporters. -Two Antelopes Gu. Motto." Nil conscire Sibi." Sir Henry Carew would, of course, use a Baronet's helmet, but the other members of his family would substitute that of an Esquire to display the Crest upon, unless titled, then they would each use the helmet pertaining to their degree. Some particular addition of honour is occasionally made to a Coat of Arms by Royal Licence, to com- memorate some remarkable service on the part of the Grantee, or for other reasons which will naturally occur to the reader. This is called an Augmentation. Some Augmentations are borne on a small inescut- cheon, as in the cases of English Baronets who are permitted to augment their Coats with the Badge of Ulster. " Arg. a Sinister hand couped at the wrist, gu." King Henry VIII., upon his marriage with Jane Seymour, augmented the Coat of her family, 108 Practical lteratdty t and they have since borne in the first and fourth quarters of their Shield, " Or., on a pile gu. betw. 6 fleur-de-lis az. 3 lions of England." Augmenta- tions have been frequently granted in modern times to distinguished Naval and Military Officers, as in the case of the 1st Duke of Wellington, who was per- mitted to bear upon an escutcheon in chief the Union FJag of the United Kingdom, otherwise " The Union Jack." When Augmentations are borne on a chief, fess> or canton, the paternal Coat is blazoned first, as in the Arms of Manners, which were an- ciently Or., 2 bars az., a chief gu., but an augmen- tation was granted by Henry VIII. to Thomas Manners, created Earl of Rutland in 1825, which divided the Chief into 4 quarters, Az* and gu. In the 1st and 4th quarters 2 fleur-de-lis Or., in the 2nd and 3rd a lion of England. Abatements may be explained as " diminutions of dishonour." Some Heraldic writers ridicule the idea as to their actual existence at any period of English Heraldry, and there is no example extant, as far as I am aware, of a Shield thus dishonoured, and it appears inconceivable that any man could have continued to use a Coat of Arms after it had been publicly disgraced. We must, however, remember that in olden times the bearing of arms was not optional as it is now. Every one of gentle blood could only maintain his social position by means of his Coat Armour. A man without arms was " Igno- bilis," and, therefore, he was bound to bear them, if Crests, Helmets, Mantlings, &c. 10!) he was entitled to them, even if he had unfortunately committed an action at some period of his career which had brought him into trouble. The cause of the punishment might in time be forgotten or forgiven. He might retrieve his character by noble deeds, but, even if that punishment had stained his Shield, he must still bear the charges upon that Shield as the Heralds had left them, unless he was prepared to altogether abandon his claims to gentle birth. It is said that Abatements were shown upon the escutcheon by voiding certain parts of it, some have also considered that the muzzles usually shown upon bears are signs of Abatements ; if the latter idea is true, most of the families who use bears, or bears' heads, and many families employ them either as supporters or charges, must have been singularly unfortunate, for bears in heraldry are almost uni* versally muzzled. According to the writers of the 16th Century Abatements were only enforced for desertion, cowardice, lying, drunkenness, licentious conduct and similar crimes. A man convicted of either of these would, of course, have been utterly ruined, and, whatever his position in Society, would have lost it irretrievably, just as he would at the present day for similar behaviour. It could have been small matter to such an one what the Heralds did to his Arms, and it is not, therefore, wonderful that nothing in the nature of an Abatement is to be found in English Heraldry. 110 Practical Heraldry. BADGES were anciently intended to be placed on banners, ensigns, caparisons, and upon the clothes of domestic servants and ordinary retainers. Many English families preserve the tradition of old family Badges, but they have fallen into disuse since the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Many of the Sovereigns used them, in fact the plume of the Prince of Wales is not a Crest, as many people fancy, but a badge. Knots, Flowers, Acorns, Cinquefoils, Animals, and Birds, with many other objects, were used as badges. A badge, if the family has one, should be placed on the buttons of livery servants instead of Crests. Servants should not wear their masters' Crests, it is contrary to the spirit of Heraldry for them to do so. If the family has no badge, then the initial letter of the surname, in Old English Text, may be con- veniently substituted. ATCHIEVEMENTS, OR HATCHMENTS. In times that are gone by the funerals of the Nobility and Gentry were conducted with a considerable amount of heraldic pomp. Heralds and Pursuivants journeyed all over the kingdom, despite the difficulties of loco- motion which then existed, in order to attend the obsequies of distinguished persons, and to marshal the processions and arrange the details. Full ac- counts of the interments, the names of those who assisted at the ceremony, and other details, were sub- sequently drawn up by them, and now are amongst the most interesting and valuable of the documents preserved at the College of Arms. Now the Officers Crests, Helmets, Mantlings, &c. Ill of Arms seldom or never officiate, save at Royal or Public Funerals, and heraldic insignia are seldom used excepting on such occasions. Even the Hatchment is not set up so frequently as it was twenty or thirty years ago, and when it is set up, it is often depicted improperly through the ignorance of undertakers and the pseudo " Herald painters " in their employ. A Hatchment is usually placed either outside the house formerly occupied by the deceased, or else, and this is often done in the country, it is placed in the Parish Church of the village in which he lived. They are all of the same form, viz., square, and are suspended by one of the corners, which gives them the shape of a lozenge. They are constructed of canvas framed with a narrow black border. In the centre are the Arms of the deceased. The Hatchment of an unmarried man is painted black. His family arms are shown upon the Shield, with Helmet, Crest, Mantling, &c., &c. ; but some words expressive of faith and hope, such as "Ke- surgam," or " Spes mea in Deo," are usually substi- tuted for the customary Motto. A Spinster has her Arms in a lozenge instead of a Shield. A knot of ribbon takes the place of the Crest. The surface of the Hatchment, outside the lozenge, is painted black, and is ornamented at the angles with Cherubims' heads. A married man impales his wife's Arms as he did when alive, but his side of the Hatchment, outside 112 Practical Heraldry. the Shield, is painted black, whilst the lady's side is left white. A married woman's is similar to the last, save that her half of the Hatchment is black and her hus- band's white. The Crest, too, is omitted, and the Shield is suspended by a ribbon. A Widower has his Arms impaled with his wife's, but the whole ground of the Hatchment is black. A Widow has her Arms impaled with her hus- band's upon a lozenge, the Crest is omitted, and ribbon is substituted for it. The whole ground out- side the lozenge is black. Bishops, and others, impaling official Coats, have the sinister half of the Hatchment painted black, because the Office dies not, although the man is dead. Above the Shield of a Bishop is a Mitre instead of a Crest, with two Pastoral Staves crossed behind it. Wives of persons impaling Arms of Office must have their Arms, with those of their husbands, placed upon a separate Shield, to the sinister of the Husband's Shield, and arranged so that the Coat of the Husband on the Official Shield partly overlaps the same Coat on the Wife's Shield. If the wife dies in her husband's lifetime, her portion of the hatchment is blackened. If her husband dies, there will be a broad black band through the hatchment, covering the space behind both Shields on which his Arms are shown. If they are both dead, then the whole of the surface of the hatchment will be painted Crests, Helmets, Mantlings, &c. 113 black, save that portion which is above and behind the Official Arms. Thus the Arms of a Bachelor may be readily dis- tinguished from those of a Widower, and it will be seen at a glance whether a lady was Maid, Wife, or Widow, by simple attention to the black ground- ings, and by noticing whether the Arms are impaled or single. 1 1 4 Practical Heraldry. CHAPTER VIII. DEGREES OP THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY. The Sovereign Coronation Regalia Prince of Wales His Coronet The Peerage The Lords Spiritual Dukes Marquesses Earls Viscounts Barons Their Robes and Coronets Heraldic Coronets Baronets Their Badges Knights-Banneret Knights of The Most Noble Opder of the Garter The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle The Most Illustrious Order of S. Patrick The Most Honourable Order of the Bath The Most Distinguished Order of S. Michael and S. George The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India The Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order The Order of the Indian Empire Orders for Ladies The Order of Victoria and Albert The Imperial Order of the Crown of India Knights Batchelor Esquires Gentlemen. THE Office of King or Sovereign of this realm, according to an old and well known writer, is to " Fight the batt'es of his people, and to see right and justice done to them;" or, according to the Coronation oath, to preserve the rights and privileges of the Church, the Boyal prerogatives belonging to the Crown, the laws and customs of the Realm 3 to do justice, show mercy, and keep peace and unity. Our monarchs perform their great and weighty Office by certain extraordinary powers and privileges which they hold by the law of nations, by the common law of England, and by Statutes. Since the time of Henry VIIL, they have been styled Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 115 " Defenders of the Faith," and, by Act of Parlia- ment, they are also declared to be Supreme head of the English Church. The Coronation ceremonial is very solemn and im- pressive. The Crown is set upon their heads with due religious ceremony, by the Archbishop and Bishops, they are anointed with oil, according to ancient custom, and they are invested with the Ensigns of regality, a Ring, to signify faithfulness ; a Sceptre, for Justice ; an Orb, for dominion ; and a Sword for vengeance. Their Robes are purple, as signifying imperial power from the earliest period of history, and the Crown is the ensign of their dignity. The Imperial Crown is a circle of gold, enriched with pearls and precious stones, and is heightened with four crosses pate and four fleur-de-lis alter- nately, and from these rise two arches set with pearls, which meet beneath a mound or ball, which is surmounted by a cross pate. The Cap is of purple velvet. (J%. 99.) 99 The Coronet of the Prince of Wales differs from 116 Practical Heraldry. the Imperial Crown, by having only one arch, whilst the Cap, or lining, is of crimson. ( Fig. 100.) fig. 100. The younger Sons of the Sovereign have coronets similar to the last, but without arches ; Royal Dukes, other than the Sons and Grandsons of the reigning Sovereign, have strawberry leaves substituted for the Fleur-de-lis. The Regalia, or Crown Jewels, may be seen and inspected at the Tower of London, upon payment of a small fee. The Peerage of England consists of Lords Spiritual and Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are the Archbishops and Bishops. Of these, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and twenty-four English Bishops, have seats in the House of Lords. In consequence of the erection of new Sees in late years, the junior Bishops have to wait for a vacancy after their Consecra- tion, with the exception of the Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, who take their seats at once. The Bishop of Sodor and Man is not entitled Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 117 to a Seat, nor are any of the Suffragan (i.e. Assis- tant) or Colonial Bishops. Archbishops and Bishops wear their ordinary robes in the House of Lords upon State occasions. The use of the Mitre has been discarded, but these are still placed over their Coats of Arms. The Mitre of an Archbishop, since 1715, rises out of a ducal coronet. The Archbishop of Canterbury, as Primate of England, takes rank first after the Blood Royal and has precedence of Dukes. He styles himself " By Divine Providence," whilst other Archbishops and Bishops employ the form, "By Divine Per- mission." He officiates at all religious ceremonies connected with the Royal family, and his principal officers are Bishops. An Archbishop is addressed as " Most Reverend," and has the ducal distinction of " Grace." A Bishop is Right Reverend," and merely " My Lord." All Prelates would be described in Official Documents as Most Revd. or Right Revd. "Fathers in God," neither Archbishops nor Bishops confer any pre- cedence, or title, upon their wives. Previously to the Reformation, the marriage of Clergymen, although occasionally tacitly admitted, was not con- sidered either legal or binding, and although efforts were subsequently made to obtain Social distinction for the wives of Ecclesiastical dignitaries after clerical marriages had been permitted, yet the effort was unsuccessful, and Queen Elizabeth is said to have 118 Practical Heraldry. remarked when applied to on the subject : " Ladies ye never were, Ladies ye are not, and Ladies ye never shall be." The Duke derives his name from the Latin word " dux," a leader. The Norman Sovereigns being Dukes themselves, did not permit the title to their subjects, as it was too nearly approaching their own rank to do so. Edward Plantagenet was the first English Duke, and was created Duke of Cornwall in 1335. The title was for some years subsequently confined to members of the Royal Family, and, at the accession of Queen Elizabeth, there was but one Duke in England, viz., the Duke of Norfolk. Outside Royalty, there are at present twenty- one Dukes in the English Peerage, seven in that of Scotland, and two in Ireland. The eldest son of a Duke bears by courtesy his Father's second title, properly that of Marquess. He always has the pre- cedence and Coronet of Marquess, even when there is no Marquessate attached to his Father's Dukedom, as in the case of the Duke of Manchester, whose eldest son is Viscount Mandeville. All the Sons of Dukes are " Lords" and their daughters are " Ladies." A Ducal Coronet is composed of a circle of richly chased gold, and is " guarded" with ermine, that is to say there is a band of ermine (as in all other coronets and crowns intended to be worn on the head, and not used merely for ornament), where it touches the forehead, it has on the rim eight strawberry Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 1 1 1) leaves of equal height, five of which appear in illus- trations. It is lined with a cap of crimson velvet, on the crown of which there is an upright gold tassel. The Ducal robes are made of scarlet cloth lined with white satin, having four rows of minever, or ermine, on the right side. A duke is entitled to appoint six Chaplains. His style is "most noble," and he is addressed as " Your Grace." A MARQUESS is the next degree of the Nobility. The order was instituted by Eichard II., who created Eobert De Vere, Earl of Oxford, Marquess of Dublin, in 1388. The eldest sons of Marquesses take, by courtesy, their Father's second title. The rest of his children are, also by courtesy, Lords and Ladies. The Coronet of a Marquess is similar to the above, save that it has four strawberry leaves and four "pearls," or balls of silver, two of the pearls and three of the leaves are to be seen in drawings. The Parliamentary robes of a Marquess are similar to those of a Duke, but he has three and a half rows only of ermine on the right side to denote his dignity. His style is " Most Honourable," and he is addressed as my Lord ; or, in letters, as my Lord Marquess. He appoints five Chaplains. The title of EARL dates from the period of the Saxon Kings, and is the most ancient of the peerage. To the ancient title " Comes" (i.e., Count or Eari) they first added the name of the Shire, about the time of Richard I. The eldest Son of an Earl takes his Father's second title. The daughters are all 120 Practical Heraldry. " Ladies," but the younger Sons have simply, but do not themselves assume, the prefix of "Honourable." An Earl's Coronet has eight " pearls*' of silver, set on rays or spikes, so as to be nearly level with the top of the cap, and between these there are as many strawberry leaves ; four of the leaves, and five of the spikes, appear in drawings. His robes are similar to those already described, save that his rank is denoted by three rows of Ermine. Like a Marquess, he is entitled to appoint five domestic Chaplains. The first Creation of an Earl by patent was in 1247, 1st Henry III. The wife of an Earl is a Countess. The style is : " Eight Honourable, the Earl of," he is addressed as " My Lord." Viscount, or " Vice-Comes," is the next title of nobility. Its origin is very ancient, and the here- ditary Sheriffs of Counties immediately after the Con- quest thus styled themselves. Baldwin de Brioniis was appointed hereditary Sheriff of Devon by William the Conqueror, and afterthe death of his son and successor, Richard, his daughter, Adeliza, described herself as " Vice-Comitissa Devon." The title of Viscount, however, did not constitute an order of the peerage until the year 1439, when John, Baron Beaumont, had it conferred upon him by Patent of Henry VI. His children have no title but are by courtesy " Honourable." The Coronet of a Viscount is similar to the others, save that it has no leaves or spikes, but is simply ornamented with fourteen " pearls" or silver balls, placed close together on the rim. His Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 121 scarlet robes have but two and^a half rows of ermine. His style is the " Eight Honourable Lord Viscount," and he is addressed as " My Lord." He is entitled to four domestic Chaplains. One of the first acts of William the Conqueror, after he had obtained possession of this country, was to divide it into 700 baronies, or great fiefs, which were subdivided into 60,000 Knights' Fees. These Baronies were conferred upon his Norman followers and tenants in chief from the Crown, who held lands of the annual value of 400, and were styled Barons. So that it is to them and not to the BARONS of the present day that the title really belongs. All Barons were at first privileged to attend the meetings of Parliament. Henry the Third limited this attendance to such as he summoned by " Writ," the reception of which constituted the receiver and his heirs general, Peers of the realm, provided he actually attended to the duties to which he was called. Hence the number of Baronies which are now said to be in " Abeyance," for if a Baron by writ died leaving no son, then all his daughters succeeded equally to their Father's Barony, therefore the " Abeyance" cannot terminate so long as any of the Co-heirs, or their descendants save one, are alive. In the reign of Bichard II., 1388, Barons were created by Patent, by which the succession was limited to the Heirs Male of the Grantee, and it is in this manner that Commoners are now usually elevated to the Peerage. T 1C 122 Practical Heraldry. The Children of a Baron have all the prefix " Honourable." His style is " Eight Honourable Lord," and he is addressed as " My Lord." A Baron's Coronet is similar to that of a Marquess, but it has but eight " pearls" or balls, and they are of larger size. Previously to the reign of Charles II., Barons had no Coronets, only a plain crimson cap, guarded with white fur. A Baron's Robes are dis- tinguished by two rows of fur on the right side. He appoints, if he chooses, three domestic Chaplains. Besides the Coronets described above, there are several others, which are used only in Heraldry, most frequently as augmentations of honour for dis- tinguished Service. These are the Mural Crown, which is of gold, ornamented with lines to denote "Masonry." The top is also " Embattled." (Fig. 101.) The Naval Crown (Fig. 102) bears on the rim Fig. 101 fig. 102. the Sterns of Ships, and masts with square sails, alternately three of the former and two of the latter are usually shown. The Eastern Crown is a Circle, from which a number of rays spring. The Celestial Crown is somewhat similar to the Last, but a small " Estoile," or Star, is placed on the top of each of the rays. Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 123 The Crown Vallery (Fig. 103) is represented by a number of Stakes, such as were used in fortifications, sharpened at the points, and rising from the rim of Fig. 10a the Circle ; when they appear as though they were nailed to it, it is called a Crown Pallisado. Ducal or Crest Coronets, and Caps of Maintenance or Chapeau, have been already described. The Order of BARONETS is the first order amongst the Gentry, and is the only Knighthood which is hereditary. This dignity originated with James the First, who, in 1611, directed that the hereditary title of Baronet should be conferred on 200 gentle- men possessed of an estate of the value of 1,000 per annum, who would undertake to maintain in the province of Ulster thirty soldiers for three years at the rate of eightpence a day for each man, the first year to be paid into the Treasury in advance. Every Baronet so created was to have the privilege of bearing, as an Augmentation to his paternal Coat, the Arms of Ulster, Arg. a Sinister hand couped gu. charged upon an inescutcheon or Canton. They were to have precedence of all Knights save Knights of the Garter, Knights Members of the Privy 124 Practical Heraldry. Council, or Knights Banneret, that is Knights made under the King's Banner or Standard. These were the first Baronets of England. In 1619 the King instituted a second order, similar to the former, but those of the new creation were to be Baronets of Ireland, and their fees were to be paid into the Irish Treasury. Charles the First, in 1625, Created the Scottish Baronets, and employed their fees for the improve- ment of the new province of Nova Scotia. Hence they are called Baronets of Nova Scotia. Their badge being a Jewel, to be suspended from their necks by an orange ribbon, and charged with the Arms of the Province, Arg. a Saltire az., on an ines- cutcheon the Arms of Scotland, above the Shield an imperial Crown supported by the Unicorn on the dexter, and a Savage on the sinister. Crest, a Laurel branch and a Thistle issuing between a naked and a mailed hand conjoined. The Baronets, at first 100 in number, were entitled to take up a certain quantity of land in the new province, which had been divided into Baronies, at the rate of sixpence an acre. After the Union, no Baronets of Scotland or Ire- land were created. Since then all fresh Baronets have been of the " United Kingdom," and are dis- tinguished by the badge of Ulster. Baronetcies are always conferred by Patent, and the succession is usually limited to the heirs male ; but when, as in the case of some of the Nova Scotia Baronetcies, the patent is to heirs " successive," then it implies heirs Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 125 male or female. No service, and no money is actually required of Baronets of the present day, save the fees to the Herald's College on Creation. A receipt is, however, still issued by the Treasury for the amount of twelve months' pay for thirty soldiers. A Eoyal warrant of 1783 made it necessary for all Baronets, either upon creation or succession, to enter their pedigree at the College of Arms. This warrant was unfortunately rescinded two years later. Consequently there are several Baronets, acknow- ledged as such in Society, whose claims to the title are very questionable, and hinge entirely upon the correctness of their genealogies, and the extinction, in some cases doubtful, of the whole line of the original patentee, save that to which these pseudo Baronets actually belong. A Baronet has the title of Sir, and his wife is Lady; but she must not use her Christian name after the Lady. She may be Jane, Lady Smith, but not Lady Jane Smith, unless she happen to be the daughter of a Duke, Marquess, or Earl. Then she would still be Lady Jane, as her dignity is greater than her husband's, and she does not forfeit it by her marriage. In Official documents a Baronet's wife is frequently styled Dame. The KNIGHTHOOD may now be divided into Knights of the various orders and Knights Batchelor. The origin of Knighthood is so universally known as scarcely to require notice here. In early times the possession of landed property of the yearly value of 12(i Practical Heraldry. 20, by the tenure of military service, was a qualifi- cation for Knighthood ; whilst Military exploits of a distinguished character were frequently rewarded by the warrior "being created a Knight-Banneret upon the field and under the banner royal. Of the different orders of Knights, the half mili- tary, half religious order, such as the Knights Templars and the Knights Hospitallers, have long passed away. The principal order of Knighthood which remains to us is that of the Garter, which was instituted by Edward the Third about the year 1348 or 1350. " The Most Noble Order of the Garter " consists of the Sovereign and Twenty Five Knights Companions, of whom the Prince of Wales is always one. Recent Statutes have provided for the admission of Foreign Sovereigns and certain " extra Knights." The Officers of the Order are the Prelate (the Bishop of Winchester) ; the Chancellor (Bishop of Oxford) ; the Registrar (Dean of Windsor) ; Garter King of Arms, and the Usher of the Black Rod. Knights of the Garter place K.G. after their names, and these letters take precedence of all other titles save those of Royalty. The Stalls of the Knights are in the Choir of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and over them their Armorials and Banners are duly displayed under the Supervision of Garter King of Arms. The Insignia of the Garter are the Surcoat, Mantle, Hood, Hat, Collar, George and Star. Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 127 The Garter is of dark blue velvet, edged and buckled gold, and bears the well known motto : " Honi soit qui mal y pense." Knights wear it below the left knee, Her Majesty the Queen upon the left arm. The Surcoat is worn next the body, and is fastened round the waist with a girdle. The Arms of the Knight are not emblazoned upon it now, as they used to be formerly. It is of crimson velvet lined with white. The Mantle, worn over the Surcoat, is of the darkest blue velvet, and is lined with white taffeta, it reaches to the feet, but the Mantles of Princes have trains. It is fastened with a white cord and tassels, and is decorated on the shoulders with knots of white ribbon. On the left side is attached the Badge, which is a Cross of St. George enclosed within a Garter. The Hood is crimson and falls over the right shoulder. The Collar is of gold, thirty ounces in weight, and is formed of twenty-six pieces, representing knots of cord in the form of "true lovers' knots," which alter- nate with the roses of York and Lancaster, sur- rounded with the Garter and Motto. From the Collar hangs the George, which is a representation of the Patron Saint of England on Horseback, and engaged in combat with the Dragon. The Star is composed, by surrounding the badge with rays of silver, in form of an eight-pointed star, 128 Practical Heraldry. it is worn on the left breast, when the mantles are not worn. Sometimes a George within an inscribed Garter is worn suspended from a broad dark blue ribbon, which is worn over the left shoulder. The Rat of black velvet is decorated with a plume of white ostrich and black heron feathers. "Collars" are never worn by Knights of the various Orders, save on certain State occasions known as "Collar days." The Jewels are usually suspended from a ribbon. When Collars are worn, Knights are fully robed. The Officers of the Order, except Black Kod, have all special badges. After the death of a Knight of the Garter, his nearest representative returns the Insignia to the Sovereign. The Order of the Thistle of Scotland consists of the Sovereign and Sixteen Knights. Its Officers are the Dean, Lord Lyon King of Arms ; and the Gentleman Usher of the Green Bod. Knights place the letters K.T. after their names. The Order was instituted by the Scottish Kings, and is now governed by Statutes, dating from the reign of James the Second. The Insignia of the Order are the Badge of Gold, enamelled, which is a figure of St. Andrew, holding his Saltire, in silver, and surrounded by rays, the whole within an oval border, bearing the motto : " Nemo me impune lacessit." The Collar, to which Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 129 it is attached, is formed of sixteen thistles, alter- nating with as many bunches of sprigs of rue. If the collar is not worn, a dark green ribbon crossing the left shoulder is substituted. The Star is of silver or diamonds in the form of a Saltire, having its four limbs alternating with the four points of a lozenge, in the centre is a thistle, surrounded by the motto. The ORDER OP S. PATRICK, of Ireland, was in- stituted by George III. in 1783, and consists of the Sovereign, the Grand Master, and twenty-two Knights. The Officers are the Prelate (the Archbishop of Armagh) ; the Chancellor (the Archbishop of Dublin) ; the Registrar, the Dean of St. Patrick's) ; Ulster King of Arms, with Heralds and Pursuivants, the Genealogist, and the Usher of the Black Eod. The Knights place K.P. after their names. Their Insignia consist of the oval Badge of gold, enamelled ; it has a shamrock, on each leaf of which is a Royal Crown, placed upon the red Saltire of S. Patrick, and surrounded with the motto of the Order, " Quis Separabit," and the date of the institution MDCCLXXXIIL, on a blue ground, which in its turn is encircled with a wreath of shamrocks on gold. The Collar is composed of roses, harps, and knotted cords, a Crown beneath which is a harp from which the badge is suspended, being in the centre. A sky blue ribbon supersedes the collar upon ordinary occasions, and is worn over the right 130 Practical Heraldry. shoulder. The Star resembles the badge, except that its centre is circular instead of oval, and that it has eight rays of silver or diamonds in place of the wreath of Shamrocks. The ORDER OP THE BATH was founded in the year 1399. It was so called because the Knights had formerly to bathe themselves before creation, it fell into disuse, and was reorganised by George the First in 1725. Prior to the year 1815 there existed no difference of rank amongst the Companions, it was then divided into three Grades viz., Knights Grand Cross (G.C.B), Knights Commanders (K.C.B.), and Knights Companions (C.B.) The latter have not the prefix " Sir" in virtue of their Companionship. This division was made to commemorate the con- clusion of the French War. The First Class consists of Knights Grand Cross. The number for the Military Service not to exceed 50 (exclusive of the Sovereign, Princes of the Blood Royal, and distinguished foreigners), and 25 for the Civil Service. Second Class. Knights Commanders, number for the Military Service not to exceed 123, and for the Civil Service 80, exclusive of foreigners. There is provision to increase the number if considered necessary. The Third Class. Companions of the Order to consist for the Military Service of 690, and for the Civil Service of 250. These numbers may also Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 131 be increased for sufficient reason. The C.B. wears the badge assigned to the third-class pendent, from a narrow red ribbon on the left breast. An officer to receive the distinction must have been mentioned in despatches for gallantry, and it has never been accorded to any under the rank of Major in the Army, or Commander in the Royal Navy. The Badge for the Military classes is a Gold Maltese Cross of Eight Points, enamelled white, in the four angles a lion of England, in the centre the rose, shamrock, and thistle, issuant from a sceptre between three imperial crowns, within a red circle thereon, the motto of the Order, "Tria juncta in uno," surrounded by two branches of laurel, issuing from an escrol in base, inscribed " Ich Dien." The G.C.B. wears it pendent from a red ribbon across the right shoulder, the K.C.B. from a similar ribbon round the neck, and the C.B. from the button-hole. The Collar is of gold (weight thirty ounces), and is composed of nine imperial crowns, and eight roses, thistles and shamrocks grouped and issuing from a sceptre, all in their proper colours, linked together with seventeen gold knots, enamelled white. The Star of the Military Grand Crosses is formed of flames of silver, thereon a gold Maltese Cross, and in the centre within the motto branches of laurel as in the badge. The Civil Knights Grand Crosses retain the old Badge and Star of the Order. The Star is of silver, formed of eight points or rays, thereupon three imperial crowns upon a glory of 132 Practical Heraldry, silver rays, surrounded with a red circle inscribed with the motto of the Order, Their Badge is of gold, oval in form, composed of a rose, shamrock, and thistle, issuing from a sceptre between, three imperial crowns, encircled by the motto. The Civil Knight Commander wears the same badge of a smaller size round the neck pendent from the red ribbon, and the Civil Companions the same, but of a still smaller size from the buttonhole, hanging from a red ribbon. The Star of the Knight Commander is in the form of a cross pate of silver, with the same centre as the Grand Crosses, but without a Maltese Cross thereon. The Star of the Civil Knight Commander is of the same form and size, but the laurel wreath and the Escrol, with the words " Ich Dien," are omitted. The Officers of the Order are the Dean (Dean of Westminster), Bath King of Arms (who is uncon- nected with the Heralds' College), the Registrar and Secretary, and the Usher of the Scarlet Eod. The Stalls of the Knights Grand Cross are in Henry VII, Chapel in Westminster Abbey, where their banners and Plates of arms prior to 1815 were placed, and still remain similarly to the Garter Plates and Banners at Windsor; no installation, however, has taken place since that year. THE ORDER OF S. MICHAEL AND S. GEORGE was instituted, in 1818, by George IV., whilst Prince Regent, as a special decoration for the natives of Malta and the Ionian Islands, it was enlarged and Pegrees of ih& Mobility and Gentry. 138 extended in 1868 and in 1837, and now includes the names of many Englishmen, who hold or have held high and confidential offices in the Colonies* It consists of the Sovereign, the Grand Master, of not more than 50 Knights Grand Cross, exclusive of Extra and Honorary members, 150 Knights Com- manders, and 260 Companions. The Grand Crosses are distinguished by the letters G.C.M.G. The Knights Commanders are K.C.M.G. and the Companions C.M.G. The Officers of the Order are the Prelate (a Colonial Bishop), the Chancellor, the Secretary, the King of Arms, and the Registrar. The Habit of the Order consists of a Mantle of Saxon blue satin lined with scarlet silk, tied with cordons of blue, and scarlet, and gold, and has on the left side the Star of a Knight Grand Cross of the Order. The Hat is of blue satin lined with scarlet, and has a plume of black and white ostrich feathers. The Star of a G.C.M.G. is composed of seven rays of silver, having a small ray of gold between each of them, over all the red cross of S. George, and in the Centre the Archangel Michael in his combat with Satan, within a blue circle inscribed with the Motto " Auspicium Melioris .ZEvi." The Collar is formed alternately of Lions of England, Maltese Crosses, and the ciphers S.M. and S.G., having in the centre an Imperial Crown over two winged Lions passant-guar- dant, each holding a book upon a sheaf of seven 134 Practical Heraldry. arrows. It is of gold, the crowns enamelled white, and is linked together with small gold fetter chains. The Badge is a gold cross of fourteen points, of white enamel edged with gold, having on one side the combat of S. Michael and Satan, and on the other S. George on horseback encountering the dragon, within a blue circle, on which is the Motto of the Order. The Cross is surmounted by the Im- perial Crown, and is worn by the G.C.M.G. attached to the Collar, or to a wide blue ribbon over the right shoulder. The K.C.M.G. wears the badge suspended by a narrower ribbon from the neck, and has, on his left side, a Star composed of four rays, with a small cross of eight points in silver, surmounted by the Red Cross of S. George, having the same centre as the Star of the Grand Crosses. The C.M.G. wear the small cross of the Order, from a still smaller ribbon, suspended to the button- hole of his coat. The ORDER OP THE STAR OP INDIA was instituted by her Majesty the Queen, February 23rd, 1861, and enlarged March 28th, 1866, and again in 1876. It consists of the Sovereign, a Grand Master, and 205 Ordinary Members, exclusive of Extra and Honorary Members. The 205 Ordinary Members are divided into three classes. The first 30 members Knights Grand Commanders, G.C.S.I.; 72 members are Knights Commanders, K.C.S.L; and the re- mainder are styled Companions, C.S.I. Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry. 135 The members of this Order take precedence of the members of the Order of S. Michael and S. George. The distinction is confined to those who have been or are connected with the India Empire. The Star is composed of rays of gold issuing from a centre, having therein another Star in diamonds resting upon a light blue enamelled circular scroll, inscribed with the niotto, "Heaven's Light our Guide," also in diamonds. The Collar is formed of the Lotus flower of India, Palm branches, in Saltire, and of the united Red and White Eose. In the centre is an Imperial Crown, all enamelled in their proper colours. The Badge is an Onyx Cameo of her Majesty's head, set in a perforated oval contain- ing the Motto of the Order, surmounted by a Star, all in diamonds. The Ribbon of the Order is sky- blue, with a narrow white stripe towards the edges, and is worn over the right shoulder. The Knight Commander wears round his neck a ribbon of the same colour, but two inches in width ; the Badge is of smaller size, with a Silver Star instead of diamonds. The Star on the left breast is composed of rays of Silver issuing from a Gold centre, having thereon a silver Star resting upon a blue enamelled Scroll inscribed with the Motto of the Order. The Companions wear upon the left breast a badge of the same form, but of smaller size, as that ap- pointed for the Knights Commanders, pendent to a smaller ribbon of similar colour. 136 Practical Heraldry. Officers of the Order The Secretary, The Eegistrar. The ORDER OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE was instituted 1st January, 1878, to commemorate her Majesty's Proclamation as Empress of India. The Grand Master is the Viceroy of India for the time being. The Companions rank next to the Companions of S. Michael and S. George. This Order does not carry Knighthood. The Badge consists of a Eose enamelled red, having in the centre an effigy of her Majesty within a purple circle inscribed " Victoria Imperatrix," with the word " India " on the leaves of the Eose in Capital letters, surmounted by an Imperial Crown, all gold, pendent from a gold clasp by an Imperial purple ribbon. The Councillors of Her Majesty for India are ex-officio and for life, Companions of this Order. Officers Eegistrar, Secretary. Besides the above Orders, there is the EOYAL HANOVERIAN GUELPHIC ORDER ; the Eibbon of which is light blue watered silk. The Motto " Nee Aspera Terrent." The Badge a cross pate, in the centre the White Horse of Hanover within the Motto, sur- mounted by two Swords in Saltire, thereon an Im- perial Crown. The Collar is composed of Lions of England and the Eoyal Cipher, linked together with a small fetter chain, in the centre an Imperial Crown. The Star is formed of rays, thereon two Swords in Saltire, upon which rests a Circle, in- Degree^ of the Nobility and Gentry. 13 1 scribed with the Motto, surrounded by a wreath of laurel. In the Centre the White Horse of Hanover* This decoration has not been conferred since the death of William IV., and the consequent separation of the Crowns of England and Hanover. There are still several survivors. The Knights Grand Cross are G.C.H. The Knights Commanders K.C.H. and the Knights K.H. The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, and the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, both instituted by her present Majesty, may be incidentally men- tioned here, but they are entirely for Ladies. KNIGHTS BACHELOR are persons to whom the Sovereign may be pleased to accord the Honour of Knighthood, but who do not belong to either of the above-mentioned Orders. Esquires. The title of Esquire is one that is, and has been, very much abused. It is now indis- criminately applied to almost every one who pre- serves a decent and respectable appearance, and is very frequently adopted by individuals who have no claim to it and who carefully abstain from according it to those who have. I have no inclination, however, to go deeply and uselessly into the abuse of this degree, which, like other distinctions I have referred to, had its origin in the days of Chivalry. I must content myself with stating who are and who are not Esquires, either by birthright or by courtesy, and leave it to the good taste of my readers to use the title or abandon its 138 Practical Heraldry* use afterwards, according to their discretion. Sir John Feme, writing 300 years ago, remarked : "This Title has been very much abused and pro- faned, whereunto I wish that the Lord Earle Marshall, with the advice and consultation of a learned heralde, would add some sharpe correction and punishment." The Heralds of the present day, however, have no real power in such matters, they may give their opinions, but cannot enforce them, and hence it has come to pass that nearly every one who happens to live in a decent house, whatever may be his origin or occupation, expects to have his letters directed to him as " Esquire," and frequently the less he is entitled to it the more .anxious he is to secure this method of address- Wealth alone cannot give the slightest claim to this distinction. Strictly speaking, the title is con- fined to the eldest Sons of the younger Sons of Peers, and their eldest Sons in perpetual succession, the eldest Sons of the Sons of Viscounts or Barons, the Sons of Baronets, and the eldest Sons of Knights. " Captains in the Wars," by which is understood Commissioned Officers, who hold or may have held the Queen's Commission in the Army or Navy, provided they have left the Service with honour. Kings of Arms and Heralds who are Esquires by Creation, Sheriffs of Counties, Justices of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenants, Mayors of Towns during their year of Office, besides such members of the Royal Household as may be Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry* 139 ** Esquires " in virtue of their position, or who may be so styled by the Sovereign. " Esquires" in attend- ance upon the Knights of the Bath on an In- stallation. Besides these legal " Esquires," it is customary to accord the title to Barristers-at-law, Graduates of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, and to Secretaries of Legation. These cannot claim it legally because their Offices are purely Civil, and Esquires are of Military origin, but they are as much entitled to it by Courtesy as are the children of Peers to the title of Lord, Lady, or Honourable.* Moreover, it is now the rule of Society to thus distinguish, also as of customary right, Medical men, Solicitors, Artists, if members of the Royal Academy, Landed Proprietors who are not Magis- trates, the Sons of Clergymen, Officers in the Army or Navy, and Barristers, if their position is known, and the Sons of all to whom the title is accorded by courtesy. Further than this the line, which it will be seen is a very elastic one, should not be stretched. It is difficult to explain the dis- tinction between a profession and a trade, but it is well understood. A Tradesman, whatever may be his private position, is simply "Mr." when at his place of business, apart from that business and in his * It must be understood that any person claiming to be an " Esquire," either by office or courtesy, must be entitled to bear a Coat of Arms. If he does not inherit this, he can, in virtue of his social position, petition the Heralds' College for a " Grant of Arms," which will be duly accorded on payment of the usual fees. 140 Practical Heraldry. private home lie may occupy a position which may entitle him, without any impropriety, to be addressed as Esquire there ; but the modern custom of giving that title indiscriminately to every one> from the Grandson of a Peer down to an Auctioneer's clerk, cannot be sufficiently condemned. It can lead to no good result, in many instances it does positive harm, for it gives youths a taste for imitating the manners and customs of a class above them, and thus inter- feres with the attention they would otherwise pay to their occupations, and so diminishes their chance of becoming useful and honourable citizens, and of doing their duty in that state of life to which they have been called. " Vanity of Vanities," said the Preacher. "All is Vanity!" Lastly, I have only to add that a Gentleman in Latin " Generosus" is any one not included in the above-mentioned degrees who may be lawfully entitled, either by inheritance from his Ancestors, or by Grant from the Heralds' College, to bear Coat- Armour. New grants of Arms are not made unless the Officers of Arms are satisfied that the position of the applicant, either inherited or acquired, entitles him to that distinction, but when once they are conceded, then the grantee becomes an English gentleman, and is so styled in his grant, and has his proper place in the Roll of Precedence, as will be shown in the next Chapter. The Rules of Precedence, 141 CHAPTER IX. THE RULES OF PRECEDENCE, Upper, Middle, and Lower Classes of Society Precedence, how esta- blished Regulation of State Processions The Order of Prece- dence amongst Men The Nobility Baronets Knights Esquires Gentlemen The Order of Precedence amongst Women Ordinary Social Precedence The first Gentleman in England The Premier Duke Marquess Earl Yiscount Baron and Baronet. IN the preceding Chapter, I have treated of the Upper Classes of Society, who occupy the same rela- tive position as do the Officers of a Regiment to the ordinary Rank and File, Just as a Battalion of Infantry is divided into Commissioned Officers of various ranks, Non-Commissioned Officers of various ranks and Private Soldiers, so is the population divided into Upper, Middle and Lower Classes, save that the Middle Classes will naturally take prece- dence of the Lower Classes, just as the Sergeants of the Army precede the Privates. But in Civil life the two Lower Classes have no special right to take precedence of each other, and such a matter, as far as these are concerned, can only be settled by custom, or by mutual arrangement. But with the Upper Classes the matter is far different. They are all entitled to be received at the Court of the Sovereign and to take part in State and other Public Ceremo- nials, and therefore it was found necessary, as long -142 Practical Heraldry. ago as the time of Henry VIII., to frame and esta- blish a definite system of Precedence amongst the various degrees, orders, and ranks of the Nobility and Gentry. A Statute on this point was enacted in 1539, and others were subsequently added ; from time to time Royal Letters Patent on the same sub- ject have been promulgated, and thus the Table of Precedence now in use has been established, and in accordance with this Table the Kings of Arms and Heralds are accustomed to regulate State Proces- sions and all Royal Ceremonials. There are anoma- lies in this Table without doubt 5 for instance, the Premier has no special place in it in virtue of his Office as Premier, but as the representative of the old Office of " Lord High Treasurer" he has a place. But by Statute of 31st Henry VIII. he cannot occupy this place unless of, or above, the degree of Baron. If below this degree he will come in with the other members of the Privy Council, after Knights of the Garter ; and the Heads of the Army and Navy are similarly ignored. The Precedence of Ladies is de- termined before marriage by the Rank of their Father, but not by his Office. By Marriage, Women share the rank and Dignities of their Husbands, but not their Official Dignities ; but although a wife may sink to her husband's level in other ways, as far as Society is concerned, still her marriage with a man of inferior position to herself will not deprive her of the place due to her rank by birth, under any con- ditions. The Rules of Precedence, 143 THE ORDER OF PRECEDENCE AMONGST MEN* The Sovereign* The Prince of Wales, The Sovereign's Younger Sons; The Sovereign's Grand-children, The Sovereign's Cousins. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of England (Spiritual Adviser to the Crown) and Metro- politan, The Lord Chancellor (Legal adviser to the Crown). The Archbishop of York, The Lord High Treasurer (now First Lord of the Treasury). The Lord President of the Privy Council. The Lord Privy Seal. The Lord Great Chamberlain. The following Great Officers of State lead all Peers of their own degree ; if Dukes, above Dukes ; if Earls, above Earls : The Lord High Constable. (Office does not exist now.) The Earl Marshal. The Lord High Admiral. (Office now executed by Commission.) The Lord Steward ) (Of the Sovereign's House- The Lord Chamberlain ) hold.) Dukes, according to their Patent,of Creation. Eldest Sons of Dukes of the Blood Royal. Marquesses according to their Patent of Creation. 144 Practical Heraldry, Dukes' Eldest Sons. Earls' Eldest Sons according to their Patent of Cre- ation. Younger Sons of Dukes of the Blood Royal. Marquesses' Eldest Sons. Dukes' Younger Sons. Viscounts according to Patent of Creation. Earls' Eldest Sons. Marquesses' Youngest Sons, The Bishop of London. The Bishop of Durham. The Bishop of Winchester. Other* English Bishops according to Seniority of Consecration. Secretaries of State if of the Degree of Baron. Barons according to their Patents. Speaker of the House of Commons. Commissioners of the Great Seal. Treasurer of the Household. Comptroller of the Household. Master of the Horse. Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. Secretaries of State under the degree of Barons. Viscounts' Eldest Sons. Earls' Younger Sons. Barons' Eldest Sons. Knights of the Garter. * The Irish Archbishops and Bishops have place; Armagh and Dublin after York, and Bishops after English Bishops, but none con- secrated subsequently to 1869 are recognised. The Rules of Precedence* . 145 Privy Councillors. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench. Master of the Rolls. Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. The Lord Justice of Court of Appeal in Chancery according fco Seniority. Vice-Chancellors. Justices and Barons of the Courts of Law according to Seniority.* Commissioners of the Court of Bankruptcy. Viscounts' Younger Sous. Barons' Younger Sons. Baronets of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Knights Grand Cross of the Bath. Knights Grand Commanders of the Star of India. Knights Grand Cross of S. Michael and S. George. Knights Grand Cross of the Guelphic Order. Knights Commanders of the Bath. Knights Commanders of the Star of India. Knights Commanders of S. Michael and S. George. Knights Commanders of the Guelphic Order. Knights Bachelors. Companions of the several Orders as above. Companions of the Indian Empire. Companions of the Guelphic Order. Eldest Sons of the Younger Sons of Peers. * Knights Bannerets anciently followed here. 146 Practical Heraldry* Baronets' Eldest Sons. Eldest Sons of Knights of the Garter. Eldest Sons of Knights of the Bath. Eldest Sons of Knights Bachelors. Younger Sons of Younger Sons of Peers. Younger Sons of Baronets. Esquires of the King's Body. Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber. Esquires by Creation. Esquires by Office. Younger Sons of Knights. Private Gentlemen entitled to bear Arms. Gentlemen in right of Profession Headed by the Clergy. PRECEDENCE AMONGST WOMEN. The Queen. The Princess of Wales. Princesses, Daughters of the Sovereign. Princesses and Duchesses, Wives of the Sovereign's Sons. Grand-daughters of the Sovereign. Wives of the Sovereign's Grandsons. The Sovereign's Sisters. Wives of the Sovereign's Brothers. The Sovereign's Aunts. Wives of the Sovereign's Uncles. The Sovereign's Nieces. Duchesses of the United Kingdom, &c. Wives of Eldest Sons of Eoyal Dukes. Marchionesses of the United Kingdom^ &c. The Rules of Precedence. 147 Wives of the Eldest Sons of Dukes. Daughters of Dukes. Countesses of the United Kingdom, &c. Wives of Younger Sons of Royal Dukes. Wives of Eldest Sons of Marquesses. Daughters of Marquesses. Wives of the Younger Sons of Dukes. Viscountesses of the United Kingdom, &c. Wives of Eldest Sons of Earls. Daughters of Earls. Wives of Younger Sons of Marquesses. Baronesses of the United Kingdom, &c. Wives of Eldest Sons of Yiscoi.nts. Daughters of Yiscounts. Wives of the Younger Sons of Earls. Wives of the Eldest Sons of Barons. Daughters of Barons. The Maids of Honour to the Queen (ex-officio). Wives of Knights of the Garter (ex-officio). Wives of the Younger Sons of Viscounts. Wives of the Younger Sons of Barons. Wives of Baronets. Wives of Knights of the several Orders. Wives of Knights Bachelors. Wives of Companions of the several Orders (by courtesy). Wives of Eldest Sons of younger Sons of Peers. Daughters of the Younger Sons of Peers. Wives of Eldest Sons of Baronets. Daughters of Baronets, 148 Practical Heraldry, Wives of Eldest Sons of Knights of the Garter. Daughters of Knights of Garter. Wives of Eldest Sons of the other Orders. Daughters of Knights of other Orders. Wives of Eldest Sons of Knights Bachelors. Daughters of Knights Bachelors. Wives of younger Sons of Baronets, Daughters of Knights. Wives of Esquires according to their Husbands' precedence. Wives of Younger Sons of Knights, Wives of Gentlemen by Birth. Wives of Gentlemen in right of Profession. It will be seen from the foregoing table that many Ladies do not require to adopt the place fixed for them in virtue of their Father's rank, thus Knights of the Garter are now always Peers, and therefore their daughters would be entitled to a place above that set down for them in this scale of precedence, whilst other Ladies, such as the Daughters and Wives of G.C.B.'s, &c., would, in many instances, have a lower place, save for their husbands' dignity. Wives of Companions of the Orders have no real precedence, as they are not mentioned in the Statutes, but the position as set down for them is ordinarily accorded to them in regard to their Husbands' dis- tinction. For a somewhat similar reason amongst Gentlemen fhe Rules of Precedence. 149 by birth, or profession, or both, precedence is usually given to the wives of clergymen, according to their husbands' position in the Church, out of respect for their sacred office, although, as I have already re- marked, Clergymen's wives, as such, have no real claim to any social distinction whatever* But, as a matter of courtesy, a Curate's wife will take prece- dence of the wife of a Major- General, unless the Major-General has an undoubted qualification beyond his profession, such, for example, as being the Son of a Baronet, then his wife will at once take prece- dence of the Curate's wife, because, as the wife of a Baronet's ibn, she has a position in the ordinary scale of precedence higher than that accorded to the Curate's wife, even though the latter's husband is a gentleman by birth as well as by profession. If a man's birth entitles him to a higher position than he can claim through his profession, he will of course take advantage of this, and his wife will share his dignity, but if the latter be of better birth than her husband, then she is entitled to claim that pre- cedence to which her birth entitles her, but he has no share in it. These remarks may possibly appear trivial to some of my readers, but there are many who will be much more anxious to learn something about the laws which regulate ordinary society than to ascertain the place of the " Lord Great Chamberlain" in a State procession, and who will prefer to know the exact amount of consideration they can claim in the circle 150 Practical Heraldry. in which they ordinarily move, rather than par- ticulars as to a Court Presentation, or to Ceremonials in which they but seldom, if ever, participate. The First Gentleman in England is the Prince of Wales. The First Duke in England (apart from Royal Dukes) is the Duke of Norfolk Creation 1483. The First Marquess in England is the Marquess of Winchester Creation 1551. The First Earl in England (apart from the Duke of Norfolk, who is also premier Earl Creation 1433) is the Earl of Shrewsbury Creation 1442. The First Viscount in England is Viscount Here- ford Creation 1550. The First Baron of England is Lord de Eos Creation 1283. The First Baronet of England is Sir H. B. Bacon, of Thonock Hall, County Lincoln Creation 1611. Precedence in the four Professions, which are alone officially dealt with viz., the Army, Navy, Bar, and Church is, of course, sub- ject to professional position. Thus, a Rector would precede a Vicar, and each would take his place according to the date of his Institution ; an Archdeacon would precede both. The Unbeneficed Clergy take precedence according to the dates on their Letters of Orders. In Church processions, however, the Junior Clergy walk in front, the Archbishop last. The Navy have, of late years, claimed precedence of the Army, but nothing but assertion has been brought forward on behalf of the Navy. The Army, which existed for centuries before the regular Navy, was from the earliest times led by our Sovereigns and their Eldest Sons, and must be considered as the Senior Service until it is placed in a subordinate position by command of the Sovereign. A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 151 CHAPTER X. A FEW HINTS TO PEDIGREE HUNTERS, HOW TO TRACE A PEDIGREE. Pedigree Hunting Heralds' Visitations College of Arms accepts nothing on Tradition Arms in Parish Churches Court of Probate How to compile a Family Chart, or Pedigree Notes in Family Bible, &c. Wills to be seen without Cost District Pro- bate Courts American Families " Peculiar " Courts Con- fusion consequent on Great Rebellion Specimen of Chart Pedigree Parish Registers Episcopal Registers Public Record Office British Museum Lambeth Palace Close Rolls Fine Rolls Inq. Post-Mortem Record Agents Court Hand Knowledge of Latin. IT is probable that "pedigree hunting," now adopted by many as a pursuit, and by many more as a relaxation from the serious business of life, was never more popular than it is at present. Various circumstances have produced a number of persons whose documentary evidence on the point of ancestors is somewhat feeble and unsatisfactory, but whose desire to inform themselves and to enlighten others on matters genealogical is peculiarly strong. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the following remarks intended to show how to set about a pedigree search, and how to follow up the slightest clue in order to bring such search to a satisfactory conclusion, will not prove unacceptable to my readers, even to those 152 Practical Heraldry. who are already possessed of an ascertained lineage, and of unimpeachable quarterings. There are, of course, many instances in this country where families have been settled on their estates for some ages, and upon which the heads of such families are still resident. In such cases as these there can be but little difficulty in tracing the main line back to the seventeenth century ; then the Visitations of the Heralds, if the family has held county rank, will furnish the pedigree from the first authentic ancestor. But how many families are there at the present day whose ancestors never troubled the Heralds at all, although they may have been landed proprietors, but were content to describe themselves as yeomen, or at the most " generosi," instead of aspiring to the more redoubtable distinction of" " armigeri," or esquires ? Many, too, know or believe themselves to be cadets, or younger branches, of some old family with a re- corded pedigree, and may be anxious to attach them- selves to that pedigree. It is one thing, however, to believe in the reality of such a descent, and quite another thing to prove it. The College of Arms accepts nothing on tradition, and will not credit a mere assertion as to a grandfather. There must be confirmatory evidence of some kind. Simple tradi- tion is of no use at all by itself, but it affords an object to be attained, and a possible, and in many instances probable, satisfactory result. Heraldic, by which I mean armorial evidence, can only be admitted A Few Hints to Pedigree llunters. 153 with extreme caution, for many reasons. Identity of name proves nothing whatever. A person may bear an historical, but very gene name; he may have leisure and money a command, as well as a taste for antiquities. H vague family traditions constantly occurring to as to his connection with some particular family, whose arms are incised upon a seal which has descended to him from his grandfather, or possibly from some more remote ancestor. He dives into Burke's General Armoury, or he consults some heraldic engraver, whose predecessor may perhaps have supplied his relative with the seal on which he relies, and at length he confidently asserts his con- nection with the house he has adopted. He is happy in this belief until he meets some friend who has made such matters a study, and who at once crushes him with the remark, " My dear fellow, that family terminated in co-heirs about a century ago ; Lord Blank and Sir Thomas Blanker now quarter those Arms in right of their respective grandmothers. You may be descended from a younger branch some generations back, but you will have to prove it." There the difficulty begins. Secretly he has never been himself satisfied as to the matter, and he would long since have made a thorough investigation into his descent had he known how to set about it. He has always understood that the study of Heraldry is beset with so many and great difficulties as to be almost insuperable to the 154 Practical Heraldry. uninitiated, and that without a great outlay, or vast expenditure of time, it is almost impossible to compile a satisfactory genealogical history. It is to such, and I am convinced that they form a large and constantly increasing class of readers of works of this character, that I am endeavouring to show, firstly, that a general knowledge of Heraldry, suffi- cient for ordinary purposes, may be very readily and inexpensively acquired ; and, secondly, that it is by no means so difficult or costly to substantiate a pedigree as many persons imagine. It is of course perfectly easy for any one who possesses ordinary ability, together with the requisite information, to draw up a pedigree in tabular form without any knowledge whatever of Heraldry. This is merely a matter the accomplishment of which can be learned in a few hours. It is the knowledge of the means by which the necessary materials are to be procured that is wanted, and the power of dis- crimination necessary for the utilisation of these materials after they have been acquired; and here an acquaintance with Heraldry will be found to be of the very greatest assistance. A Shield of Arms upon a window in some old parish church, or upon a corbel or monument, will frequently prove the con- nection of a particular family with that parish, and will lead to an investigation of registers, documents, or wills, from which valuable information may be procured, the existence of which in that particular district has never been suspected. A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 155 For instance, a short time since I was visiting a certain parish church, and found that it consisted of a chancel, nave, and south aisle. I was at once satisfied that the aisle was an addition to the original structure, and I wanted to establish the precise date of its erection. At length, on the capital of one of the pillars supporting the arcading, I found, almost obliterated with whitewash, the Arms of a family who were, long generations ago, the owners of the soil and patrons of the living, and side by side with it I found another Shield with the cogni- sance of a well-known West-country house, which at once pointed to the conclusion that the builder of the aisle must have married a member of the house in question. Then a search through the pedigree of the family, duly recorded in the Heralds' Visitations, speedily confirmed my supposition as to the marriage, and enabled me to identify the builder, who lived more than two hundred years subsequently to the first existing mention of the church itself, which had been originally founded by one of his ancestors. Again, the late Lord Eldon has stated, that upon one occasion, whilst on the northern circuit, he was engaged in a cause the success of which depended on his being able to show who was the founder of a certain ancient chapel, and he therefore went to inspect it. He discovered nothing at first which afforded any indication of its date or history, but he at length noticed that the tables of the command- ments were inscribed upon some old plaster, which 156 Practical Heraldry^ from the situation lie considered might possibly con- ceal an original opening. He persuaded the official who was attending him to permit him to chip away a small portion of this plaster, and was rewarded by finding the keystone of an arch upon which were engraved the arms of his client's ancestor. By this means he established his case, and afterwards re- called with satisfaction his having upon that occasion broken the ten commandments. But such instances might be easily multiplied : families have more than once acquired estates by means of properly authen- ticated heraldic evidence, although, as previously remarked, such testimony usually requires genea- logical confirmation. Still, Mr. Bigland, in his " Observations on Parochial Registers," writes : " I know three families who have acquired estates by virtue of preserving the arms and escutcheons of their ancestors." Many persons may possess articles of antique plate, engraved with the arms they have been always taught to consider as theirs by right of ancestry, but amalgamated with other bearings, which a knowledge of heraldry will enable them at once to comprehend, and by means of these impale- ments or quarterings, as the case may be, numerous long-forgotten marriages may be ascertained, and the family alliances may be discovered with unerring certainty. The facilities afforded at the present day for re- searches of all kinds are many and varied, and the vast collection of records at the Record Office in A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 157 Fetter-lane, the manuscripts at the British Museum, and the wills at Somerset House, are all available to the general public, under certain conditions, whilst the District Probate Courts, the episcopal and mu- nicipal archives, and the parochial registers through- out the country, afford almost inexhaustible mines for the elucidation of family history ; therefore the question before us is, how best to utilise the nume- rous materials which are, so to speak, ready to our hands, and upon this question a practical experience of many years enables me to speak somewhat authori- tatively. I will suppose that a person starts with the know- ledge that he belongs to some particular county, and the belief that his ancestors have resided in that county from some very remote period. He will do well at first to collect everything that has been printed about the family in the various historical works connected with the county in question. This will be neither so difficult nor so expensive as it at first appears. He can, either personally or by an agent, obtain access to all such works in the library of the British Museum. Should he elect to make the in- quiry himself, he will receive ready and courteous assistance from all the officials there, and every information necessary to enable him to consult the elaborate index to the printed books. Most of the county histories and similar works of reference are on the shelves of the reading-room, and after their whereabouts has been once ascertained, they can be 158 Practical Heraldry. obtained at once without the intervention of an attendant. Several authors have from time to time published valuable lists or guides to pedigrees which have been printed in any form, either separately or in historical works ; these will also be found there, and should be carefully consulted. Copies, and in some cases originals, of the pedi- grees recorded by the Heralds at their various Visita- tions of the English counties are included amongst the manuscripts, to which there are separate cata- logues. Many of these have been printed of late years, and their number is being constantly added to. When the amateur has collected sufficient material to commence a " pedigree," I should advise him to adopt as a basis or groundwork the fullest and most complete he can find in the Heralds' Visitations, and having copied this out fairly, to proceed with the necessary corrections or additions. He should above all things, however, remember to keep his lines clear; that is, he must be particular that all the members of the same generation are in the same horizontal line. Inattention to this rule will result in endless confusion. All additions and corrections should be accompanied by a reference to the autho- rity from which they are derived. The earliest Visitations commenced in 1530. The latest is dated May 13, 1686, but under it some pedigrees are registered down to the commencement of the eighteenth century. In any case, before pro- A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 159 ceeding further, it will be better to inquire at the College of Arms if any particulars of the family sought after have been preserved there of a later date than those mentioned in the above records. In very many instances, persons have subsequently entered up their pedigrees for the purpose of esta- blishing their right to their armorial bearings, or for other reasons. This information can easily be obtained from either of the Officers of Arms, or upon application to those in daily waiting, upon payment of a small fee. So far so good. The amateur will have now suc- ceeded in providing himself with a pedigree of his supposed family with very little trouble or expense. The real labour will commence with his efforts to establish his descent from some individual therein mentioned, or his claim to be considered the lineal representative of the house of which it treats. This may be effected by what is known as "A Record Hunt." Should the* "Hunt" be successful, the descent will probably be ascertained for several gene- rations prior to 1530, and to carry it beyond that will necessitate the careful examination of a perfectly distinct class of documents, to which free access is now readily afforded, and which will, in the majority of instances, well repay a patient perusal. It must be remembered, however, that because a person happens to bear the name of a certain house, it does not follow that he is either allied to it or descended from it. Thousands of people in this 160 Practical Heraldry. country and in America possess the same patronymic without the slightest pretension to kindred, and thousands of others claim kindred with some " gentle" house, simply because they happen to have inherited a Seal of Arms similar to those borne by them, or because some heraldic engraver has decorated their note-paper and envelopes with the said Arms, as pertaining to their name and county. A correspondent once sent me a Seal, which, he said, had descended to him through three generations, and that he, therefore, supposed that the Arms on it belonged to his mother's family. I at once recognised the Charges as those of a noble house long extinct in the male line, and it was soon discovered that, instead of being related to this house, his maternal relative had lived in it as a domestic servant, and had actually attended the last member of the family just previously to his death, some ninety years before, and hence the possession of the Seal, the Arms on which, when my friend wrote to me, he proposed to quarter with his paternal coat, as those to which he was justly entitled, in right of his mother's co-heirship. Tradition goes for something occasionally, however. In a certain family it had been invariably handed down from one to the other of its members that they were nearly related to a very great man whose name has endured for more than two hundred and fifty years. It was possible to ascertain the descent to a certain " John," whose father was known to be called " William. " It was uncertain, however, A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 161 whether this was the same " William" whose name occurred in the Herald's Visitation, until it transpired . that the father of William, of the Visitation, had an elder brother (issue not mentioned there) who left an only daughter, as proved by his will, and this daughter's son had actually married a daughter of the great man referred to. This, with other confirmatory evidence, formed the missing link necessary to carry back the pedigree to the thirteenth century. In order to ascertain immediate ancestors, it will be necessary to trace backwards, The "hunter" should begin by placing upon a sheet of paper the names of his whole family, with the dates of their births, marriages, and deaths. Above them those of his father and uncles, with names of, and particulars as to, their respective wives and children; he will include the issue of females according to the extent to which he wishes to prolong the pedigree. In all cases, I would again impress upon him the necessity of placing all members of the same generation upon the same line, that is to say, father, uncles, aunts, according to seniority, in one line. Below them his own name and those of his brothers and sisters, and those of his first cousins, all on a similar line. Under- neath these his own children and his nephews and nieces, arranged in like manner. It would be in- convenient, as well as unnecessary, to explain here the various marks used by genealogists to iL.acate marriage and issue ; these will be much better more quickly understood by asking the librarian of 162 Practical Heraldry. almost any public institution to produce a good specimen of a chart pedigree, and by carefully studying it, or by investing in the purchase of an odd number of some genealogical publication. Re- member, too, that conciseness is very essential, although all necessary information should be given. Thus: John Brown, b.(orn) Oct. 5, 1840; Mat. Ex. Coll. Oxon, Feb. 1858; B.A. 1861; Eector of 1865; ob. 1879 (Jan. 3); Will pd. Salisbury, Feb. 21, id. The date and place of marriage should also be given, if possible, and also the maiden name of the wife, e.g. : John Smith = Ann, dau. and co-h. of Wm. (as above) Mohun, of Dunster, co. Somerset. B. 1846; md. 1866 (Jan. 3) at Dunster. All the members of a family are, of course, con- nected by lines with their parents, and with one another. It is very important to give the names of the parishes and the exact dates of births, marriages, and burials, whenever possible, also the name of the place in which wills have been proved. The most ordinary means of ascertaining descent is by reference to wills and parochial registers. Very great assistance may also be derived from notes in family Bibles, from marriage settlements^ old leases, or similar documents. It is frequently a good plan to write, at this stage of the inquiry, to relatives, and thus to collect as much information as possible, which it will be easy to arrange subsequently. A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 163 When I was very young, long before I had developed any taste for genealogy, I used to beguile the time, frequently, I fear, during the progress of my father's sermons, by making various family memoranda in my prayer-books, thus : " Papa's great-aunt Maria died last Monday at half-past three. Aug. 6, 1848." A few years ago I collected and copied all such entries, and they have since been of much service to me. But few families are utterly destitute of somewhat similar records. Many have a very valuable series of them in the possession of one or other of their members. My friend of the Seal already mentioned had no notion when he first wrote to me that his great- grandmother had been a domestic servant ; but a very little inquiry amongst relations sufficed to elicit the fact. The most important of the Will offices is at Somerset House ; here transcripts of the wills of all persons who have resided in and around London are to be seen and consulted. The Wills, too, of many persons who died in the country, if they left money in the Funds, or property, in more than one County within its province, were most generally proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, the wills of which Court are also preserved there. In ordinary cases the applicant must first procure a shilling stamp and pre- sent it to an official, and declare the name of the per- son whose will he wishes to search for ; this entitles him to consult the calendars or indexes of wills, during office hours, upon the day on which he pays the fee, and also to see one will. He will not, however, be 104 Practical Heraldry. permitted to make any extracts save the dale of I ho will and date of probate, the names of the testator and executors, ;inSo ; the original series of wills is perfect from December, 1600, to the present time. These and similar documents are frequently the only records 1>\ which families of the muldle-cla>s can ascertain their descents prior to the dissolution of monasteries, 1 the consequent introduction of parochial regis- A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 165 tries in 27 Henry VIII., 1536; but in some dioceses, such as Exeter, these did not commence until two years later than the latter date. The " Inquisitiones Post-mortem," as they were called, were only taken on the tenants in chief or on those believed to be such. The genealogical importance of wills cannot be over-estimated, since those of men of property fre- quently make mention of several descents, and where estates are entailed there is necessary reference to collaterals who would otherwise remain unknown. Then, again, the constant allusions to estates and the description of them, besides the directions of testators as to the wardships of children often afford very valuable indications to other sources of infor- mation. In the Will office at York, the date of the earliest will is 1590, whilst the transcripts commence in 1389. The wills in the district Court at Chester, which extends over the whole counties of Chester and Lancaster, with parts of York, Westmoreland, Cum- berland, and Flint, contain a very large mass of genealogical information. The earliest index there commences in 1553. The diocese not having been formed until the reign of Henry III., documents of an earlier date than this must be looked for at York or Lichfield. Lincoln extends over seven counties, viz., Lincoln, Leicester, Bedford, Huntingdon, Buckingham, and Practical Heraldry. parts of Hereford and Derbyshire. The earliest will in this office is 1515 ; and from 1560 to the present time the series is, I believe, well-nigh complete. Lichfield and Coventry extends over the counties of Stafford and Derbyshire, and parts of Shropshire and Warwickshire. Exeter, over Devon and Cornwall, although, as is well known, the latter county has of late years been separated from Exeter by the creation of the See of Truro. Cornish wills are to be found at Exeter if proved in the Principal Registry, and many are in the Exeter Consistory Court, but the bulk of them are at Bodmin. The calendars at Exeter commence late in the sixteenth century, but there are some old books containing transcripts of a somewhat earlier date. In one of the Courts there, the Archdeaconry of Totnes, all the wills before the year 1600 have been lost, but the calendars commence earlier. There are also district Courts similar to those I have noticed attached to all the other dioceses ; they are usually in the cathedral towns ; those, however, belonging to the diocese of Bath and Wells are to be found at Taunton, and all the ancient wills belonging to Salisbury have now been removed to Somerset House, London. The judge will, subject to the existence of the necessary accommodation, and to the regulations in force, grant permits to literary inquirers to examine wills in the district Courts, and to inspect the calendars free of expense ; the per- mission, however, only extends to the registered A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 167 copies of wills, and a fee of one shilling per bundle is required for producing an original document. In many cases, as at Exeter, most of the wills are con- tained in bundles, and this makes a search in the district offices more costly than it is in London, as the reduced fee cannot be remitted without an order from the Lords of the Treasury, which is only granted in very special instances ; and rightly, as the staff of the provincial Courts, as a rule, would be insufficient to cope with a large rush of genealogical inquirers without detriment to the public business. In nearly all cases where but ordinary properties were concerned, people of the middle, and even of the higher ranks of society, had their wills proved in their own diocese, and usually in their own arch- deaconry. For example : if a family is known to have resided in Tiverton, the majority of their testa- mentary documents will most probably be found at Exeter, and in the Court of the Archdeacon of Exeter. Besides the Archdeaconry and Episcopal Courts in the several dioceses (in the latter the wills of clergy- men were usually proved) there are many " Peculiar" Courts, as they are termed. The will of many a man has been found concealed in one of these after the search had been nearly given up as fruitless. The amateur may at first experience some difficulty in reading these ancient documents, but he must not be discouraged, for a little application will soon sur- mount this obstacle. He will ultimately discover that 168 Practical Heraldry /, in many instances the writing, after he has become accustomed to it, is really easier to decipher than many modern letters ; and as a rule, the earlier it is the plainer it is to read. Until the reign of Elizabeth, each reign had a very uniform character. The subsequent partial abandonment of this set mode of writing has assisted to make the handwriting of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries appear somewhat formidable to the uninitiated pedigree- hunter, but with a little assistance from custodians, invariably readily afforded, he will soon perceive that one document is wonderfully like another, and that it is really only patience that is requisite to enable him to master the contents. But it is very possible that the " record hunter" may find himself " checked" at an early period of his inquiry in consequence of his inability to dis- cover some particular will from which he hopes and expects to derive important information. As I have already remarked many wills contain sufficient details to establish connection with rela- tives long lost sight of and forgotten. As an exam- ple, I will show how such a will may at once exhibit the English descent of an American family. Dorothy " Tucker," of Exeter, widow, made her will May 13, 1693. It was proved in the Arch-r deaconry Court of Exeter, June 30, the same year. She left a small legacy to " seven poor widows of the city of Exeter," and her interest in an estate and term of years in certain houses to her brother, John A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 169 Sanford of Virginia, and her cousin, Ann Chilcott. She leaves mourning rings to " all her brothers and sisters," and bequeaths " the silver bason my deceased father gave me, to my brother William Sanford," and, she adds, " my will is that after his decease the said bason shall be a legacie succes- sively unto such as shall bear the name of William Sanford." Eesidue to her son James, who is sole executor. Another will, that of Jane Tucker, dated April 30, 1717, and proved October 21, 1718, in the same Court as the last, adds to the information already acquired. Jane must have been a daughter of the last testatrix, for she mentions her " brother James" (his mother's sole executor). She also furnishes the names of her sisters, since she gives her sister Sarah all her " lands and estates in the city of Exeter and elsewhere;" and leaves her sister Margaret a gold ring. From this document, too, we learn something as to the social position of the Sanford family, since there is mention of Richard Sanford, of Exeter, t( dyer," who is to have a gold ring, and also of Joseph Sanford, who is to be one of the bearers at her funeral, and is to have 1 Is. to buy a mourning ring, and also a hat-band and gloves. The woollen trade was then the staple commodity of Exeter, and every branch of it was an honourable occupation, and those engaged in it always held a good position in the city. Many cadets of the county families became identified with it. 170 Practical Heraldry. I find by reference to the late John Camden Hot- ten's "Original Lists" of the American emigrants, compiled with much labour from documents at the Record Office, that John Sanford originally went to Barbadoes, and that he left that island for Virginia in the ship "Barbados," James Cock, commander, October 1, 1679. The Parish Registers of St. An- drews', Barbadoes, of this date show that -c Lieut. John Sandiford" had 75 acres of land there, 1 man- servant, and 33 negroes. I have given the real names of testatrix and her relatives. The abstract of this will shows, therefore, how a member of an Exeter family left his old home late in the seventeenth cen- tury and settled in the New World, and will be doubtless interesting to more than one American reader. As I have previously remarked, there are, or rather were, several sorts of " Peculiar Courts" such as Royal Peculiars, which were under the immediate jurisdiction of the Crown, and Peculiars which for- merly belonged to monasteries and afterwards passed into lay hands. In some lordships or seignories, the lord, by prescription, had the power of proving the wills of his tenants, and in some manors the steward of the manor had a similar prescriptive right. In certain boroughs, such as Exeter, the mayors had, by custom, the probate of the wills of burgesses, and there are many bundles of old wills still preserved in the muniment-room of Exeter Guildhall. In all the dioceses there are certain Ecclesiastical Peculiars; A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 171 to the greater Courts I have already sufficiently referred ; but there are many minor ones, the exist- ence of which may cause sore perplexity to the impatient hunter. Patience is indeed a virtue when searching for some particular will. It is always well, if there is any difficulty in finding the required document, to ascertain at once something as to the history of the parish in which the testator lived. It may have been a " Peculiar" of the Dean, or of the Dean and Chap- ter of the diocese. Then the will may very possibly be discovered by searching the calendars of the Peculiar Courts of one or other of these function- aries ; or the patronage of the Church, together with the rectorial tithes, may be in the hands of the Sub- Dean, or of the " Chanter" of the Cathedral Church ; and in some dioceses, such as Salisbury, these dig- nitaries had " Peculiar Courts," in which the wills of the parishioners were wont to be proved. It is very much to be regretted that these insignificant Courts ever existed ; parties whose wills were proved in them are frequently considered to have died intes- tate. Most of the wills belonging to Ecclesiastical Peculiars, however, are now lodged in the various District Probate Courts, and may be there seen and consulted. A list of the various Courts of " Pecu- liars" in the province of Canterbury was printed in the " Yalor Ecclesiasticus," or survey of ecclesiastical property, at the Reformation, anno 1535. A copy of this " Valor 15 may be seen at the British Museum, 172 Practical Heraldry ; and copies of it were also supplied to many o the large public or proprietary libraries throughout the country. It was published by order of the Record Commissioners. A list of Courts and Pecu- liars throughout all England may also be seen and consulted in " Gwynne's Law relating to the Duties on Probates" (London: 1836, 8vo^ p. 201). All the Courts to which I have referred above were abolished by Act of Parliament in 1857, chiefly through the energy and determination of the first Lord Westbury. An unsuccessful attempt to carry out this reform had been previously made by several Administrations, and it was ultimately effected in the face of great opposition from the interests involved. The Court of Probate, as it now is> was then esta- blished, and it includes all the ancient Prerogative, Diocesan, and Peculiar Courts, and it may safely be said that the majority of English wills, though un- fortunately not all, may be found either in the Prin- cipal Registry at Somerset House, or in the thirty- nine District Registries in connection with it now distributed over England and Wales. Scattered wills are to be found in such places as the Record Office, Lambeth Palace, and similar depositaries. Many wills were enrolled in London at the Court of Hustings from the reign of Henry III. to that of James I., and these are, I believe, pre- served at Guildhall. They are all carefully indexed. During the Commonwealth, there are usually breaks in the calendars of the various Courts be- A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 173 ween 1652 and 1660. This was due to the anarchy and confusion of those unhappy times ; by an ordi- nance of the Parliament in 1653, judges were appointed for the probate of wills and grant of administrations in every county and city of England and Wales for six months, and these duties were continued by similar subsequent ordinances until the Restoration. No Registration is to be found of many of the wills proved by these functionaries, but the probates are frequently discovered amongst family deeds and archives. The following memorandum from the first page of an old calendar of wills will be interesting to many of my readers. The writer was Philip Atherton, registrar for the Archdeaconry of Totnes, in Devon- shire. He says : " This booke goes home to 1647 beinge in the tyme of the greatt rebellion agst. King Charles the l sfc , which began in 1642. In which war I was a Capt n of foote for the King, my eldest brother, Edward Atherton, Captaine of Horse, slaine at Marston Moore fight, and my youngest brother ensigne, who came with the Duke of Alby Munke from Scotland to London. " PHI. ATHEETON Reg tr -" In searching the Calendars of Wills, various letters will be found after the names of testators ; these indicate the kind of document preserved, " W or T" for will, "A" for administration, "I" for inventory, " A/c" for account. The inventories are often exces- sively valuable, as they frequently describe every 1 74 Practic il Heraldry. article of furniture and plate in the residence of the deceased, and even his horses, and other stock both alive and dead. Debts too are frequently mentioned as t due from members of the family not referred to in the will, and they should always be examined closely. An administration, or admon., an it is usually styled, is a very formidable-looking document at first sight, and the amateur hunter should at once save time by procuring an official explanation of it. He will find that the preamble is the same in all instances, and that by glancing at one particular place in the document he will at once readily discover the name of the deceased and of the person to whom adminis- tration was granted, together with the degree of relationship of the latter to the former. The names of the sureties to the bond should also be noticed, as these too are frequently relatives. An adminis- tration bond, previously to 1733, was invariably in Latin. The probates attached to wills were also in the same language ; but, as they are all identical in form, their contents will be readily arrived at by any intelligent person with sufficient classical knowledge to interpret the words expressive of affinity. When extracting wills for pedigree purposes, it will be found useful to tabulate the information derived from each document, at the foot of the abstract. It will then be seen at a glance how far it is likely to assist the " hunter." It will explain my meaning better if I give an A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 175 example of a "genealogical" abstract, which will serve as a model. An abstract should be as concise as an heraldic blazon, and should contain all necessary information in the fewest possible words : William Brown, of Staverton in the County of Devon, yeoman will dated 20th June, 1693 men- tions his father William Brown dec d , his mother, Anne, and his Uncle Thomas Smith, " my mother's brother;" mentions his freehold Estate at Ipplepen. He gives to his three sons, John, William, & James, 50 each, to his daughter Anne, wife of William Jones, 25, and to his grandchildren, Mary & Kate Jones, " a Sheep apeece." To his daughter-in-law Ann, wife of his son William, his Silver Tankard, & to her son, his grandson, Thomas, 10. He leaves the Ipplepen Estate to his eldest son John for life, with remainder to his said grandson Thomas, failing Male Heirs of his said son John. Residue to said John, who is sole Exor. Signed " WM. BROWN." /"" >V Seal, if any, should Witnesses, THOMAS LONG. ( J be uoticed aud TV/T ITT V / described. MAKY WILSON. Proved at Exeter, " Pec. O Dean & Chapter," 27th July, 1697. Under 300 * * Staverton was a Peculiar of the D. & C. of Exeter. 176 Practical Heraldry. WILLIAM BEOWN ANNE, dau. dead 1693. of SMITH. WILLIAM BEOWN= of Staverton, W. Pd 27th July, 16U7. II II JOHN WILLIAM BEOWN-=ANN, dau. JAMES WM. JONES=ANK BKOWN, I of BEOWN. s. &h. I L_ I I I THOMAS BEOWN. MARY. KATE. It will be seen that this short abstract alone furnishes some particulars as to four generations, Now it will be easy to consult other wills of the Brown family, and, by adopting the plan I recom- mend, to ultimately piece together the various frag^ ments of pedigree like a child's puzzle. Previously to the introduction of railroads, people, of the yeoman and ordinary country- gentleman class, seldom went far out of their own immediate district for a wife, and the name of testator's wife, and of his daughter-in-law " Ann," will have to be looked for in the registers of Staverton or of some adjacent parish. Parish Eegist,ers were procured through the in- stigation of Cromwell Lord Essex in 1.536, In many dioceses they were not commenced until 1537-8. They are, of course, most valuable for Genealogical purposes, and it ig to be regretted that many of the earlier ones, especially in country parishes, have perished from damp or neglect. A clergyman, if he A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 177 is goodnatured, will generally permit a search, to an accredited person, but he is entitled to a legal fee of one shilling the first year, and sixpence for every year afterwards. He can also charge two shillings and sixpence for a Certificate, and one penny for tho Stamp. Most Clergymen are unwilling, even if they permit a free search, to allow their Registers to bo consulted without the presence of an Official, and this cannot be wondered at since they are responsible for their safe custody. This Official, usually tho parish clerk, must be reimbursed for his expenditure of time consequently, in general instances, the in- spection of Parochial Registers, although very necessary, is rather costly. There are in some cases Transcripts of Registers to be found in the Office of the Bishop's Registrar, but these are not always reliable, and are sometimes in great confusion, besides which they are not verified as a rule. Transcripts of Modern Registers, duly certified, are now sent quarterly to Somerset House. The Registers of the Bishops of the various Dioceses should also be searched for Marriage Licences, these frequently afford very valuable clues, and permission to see the books containing the notes of them may usually be obtained. In addition to the notes of the Licences, the same volumes frequently contain Notes of Institutions, Citations, Caveats, and Licences for practising medicine and teaching schools, and afford a mass of local genealogical information which it is impossible to 178 Practical Heraldry. over-estimate. Many of these Registers have of late years been published, and such as have been printed may be seen and examined at the British Museum, and frequently in the Libraries of the Cathedral towns with which they are connected. The Public Eecord Office in Fetter Lane, Meet Street, is now open to the public. A person has only to enter his name and address in a book pro- vided for the purpose, and to take his seat in the " round room," or " long room," of that extensive in- stitution, and he will receive the greatest courtesy and attention from the Staff of Officials, whose duty it is to provide him with the manuscript he may wish to see, and from which he will be permitted to take notes. If, however, a visit to London is incon- venient, it will be better to delegate this part of the work to a " Eecord Agent." There are many people in London and elsewhere well acquainted with the Public Records, and with the other great depositaries of original deeds, who make it their business to search for any requisite information. Their fees vary according to their aptitude and experience, but a client can always make np his mind as to the amount he intends to expend, and make his arrange- ments with them accordingly. A Eecord Agent has no official status whatever, but he is usually well acquainted with the class of deeds in which the information is likely to be found, and can generally see at a glance the nature of a document, and being familiar with its form he will speedily arrive at its .1 Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 170 contents, and thus discover in an hour that which it might take an amateur days to find out for himself. The most useful class of Eecords to the Genea- logist are, perhaps, the Fine and Close Eolls and the " Inquisitiones Post-mortem," but there are many others which it is impossible to particularise here, from which the most valuable information may be derived by one who has the time and energy requisite to unearth them. A great deal, too, may be extracted from the Calendars, but those at the Eecord Office are by no means perfect at present, nor are they arranged upon the simple and easily to be understood plan of those at the British Museum. For a detailed description of the many valuable deeds preserved both at the Eecord Office and British Museum, I would refer my readers to Sim's " Manual for the Genealogist, Topographer, and Antiquary," a most admirable volume, but it must be borne in mind that all or nearly all the old Eecords, which used to be stored in various parts of London, such as West- minster Abbey, Carleton Eide, &c., &c., are now collected at Fetter Lane. A very valuable collection of records, relating chiefly to Clergymen, are pre- served in the Library of Lambeth Palace. " The Inquisitiones Post-mortem," as implied by their name, are the minutes of enquiries taken upon oath as to the property of persons deceased. They give particulars as to the date of death, as to estates and next heir, and the age of the said heir at the time of his succession to the property referred to. 180 Practical Heraldry. Calendars of these Inquisitions have been printed. In the British Museum (MS. Harl. 624) ,there is a copy of some rolls, belonging to a period thirty-three years prior to the earliest Inquisitio Post-mortem. These refer to twelve counties, and afford similar information, they are of the date of 1185, and were compiled for the purpose of ascertaining the ward- ships, reliefs, and other profits due to the Crown, from widows and orphans of its tenants in capite, minutely describing their ages, heirship, and the value of the lands. This document was published by the late Mr. S. Grimaldi. Deeds apparently of gift, but really of sale, old leases and similar documents relating to family pro- perty, usually contain many particulars valuable to one engaged in searching out his pedigree, Court Rolls of Manors, deeds relating to E^)ffee lands in Country Parishes, Old Bate Books, and even Churchwardens' Accounts, Monuments, Grave Stones, and Brasses, should always be carefully inspected whenever oppor- tunity offers. I should recommend any one unac- quainted with old handwriting, if he seriously intends to undertake an investigation for himself, to provide himself, as a preliminary measure, with a copy of "Wright's Court Hand Restored," the Student's Assistant in reading old deeds, charters, and records. Examples of all the varieties of handwriting, from William the Conqueror down to the reign of Eliza- beth, are there given, and the variations and contractions are carefully explained. After a little A Few Hints to Pedigree Hunters. 181 intelligent study of this valuable handbook, that which at first sight appears difficult and unintel- ligible, will soon become plain and easy. It must be remembered, however, that legal docu- ments, or Episcopal, or Parochial Records, were scarcely ever written in English until the 6th year of the reign of George II. 1732. The Amateur, therefore, if he wishes to successfully search these, should have, at all events, a superficial knowledge of the Latin tongue. SPECIMENS OF ANCIENT HANDWRITING. An example of the handwriting of the first part of the 17th Century. (Chap*- House Exon. MS. 3532). u Adam Coplestone, of Coplestone, married the daughter of - , and by her had yssue John Cople- ston, his eldest sonne." " Hec est finalis concordia facta in Curiad omin regis apud Notingham." Law hand, Richard I. 182 Practical Heraldry. " Three and tliirteth yere of tlie reigne of our Soueraigne Ladie Elizabeth," The Heralds' College. 183 CHAPTER XI. THE HERALDS' COLLEGE. Heralds of England Incorporation of the College of Arms Kings of Arms Heralds Pursuivants Their Dress Heralds' College Library Fees Scotch Heralds Irish Heralds. THE Heralds of England received their first Charter of Incorporation from Richard III., by letters patent, dated March 2nd, 1483. Previously to this they had been attached to the Royal Household, or to that of some nobleman of High Rank ; their fees had been settled some years previously by Henry IV., Sept. 3rd, 1408. They were then allowed at a coronation of a King of England 100, and their robes of Scarlet, at a Queen's, 100 marcs, with their liveries ; at dis- playing the Royal banner in camp or field, 100 marcs ; at knighting a prince, 40 marcs ; for displaying the banners of the nobility, fees according to the degree of the noble, from 20 for a Duke to 5 for a Baron. At the great festivals of the Church they had also fees. " Garter" claimed the " uppermost robe" of Nobles and Knights at Creation or installation, which the owners had to redeem. All their other fees were in proportion. The dress of a King-at-Arms then consisted of a long gown trimmed with fur, with a tunic or cassock, and over all the "Tabard" em- blazoned with the Royal Arms. This Tabard is still Practical Heraldry. retained, and is worn at the opening of Parliament, and at other State ceremonials. The modern uniform worn beneath the Tabard, or without it, on ordinary occasions, consists of a Scarlet " Swallow Tail" Coat braided with gold, Blue Trousers with broad gold stripes, a " Chapeau bras," and a Court Sword. The Kings have Crowns, and carry sceptres, and wear round their necks golden Chains, or Collars, with Medals. They also have Arms or Seals of Office, which they impale with their own, as I have said already. The Heralds have Silver Collars of S.S. The Tabards of the Pursuivants are less costly than those of the Heralds, and these, with the other insignia of their respective offices, apart from the uniform, are still supplied from the " great ward- robe," that is at the expense of the State. When the Heralds were incorporated they received as their official residence a house called " Pulteney's Inn," in the parish of All Saints. This house is also called " Cold-Harbour." A Chaplain was also ap- pointed them, with an annual income of 20. The Charter granted them by Richard III. was ulti- mately confirmed by his successors. The Duke of Norfolk was then, as his successor is now, the Earl Marshal ; at his request the grant of " Cold-Harbour" had been made, and when he lost his life, together with his master, at Bosworth Fight, the Heralds experienced a double loss. Garter seems to have claimed " Cold-Harbour" as his private resi- dence, and how long he retained possession of it is 27*e Heralds' College. 185 uncertain, but Henry VIII., after he possession of Durham House, the town resic the Bishop Palatine, gave Cold-Harbour to B$*jl&p c Tunstal to reside in. The Heralds then migrated ts^l an old monastic building known as the Cell of our Lady of Ronceval, near Charing Cross, where they were allowed to remain on sufferance until Edward VI. granted the building to Sir Thomas Cawarden. This monarch, however, gave them a charter, dated June 4th, 1549, and designed to have established them in "Derby House," then belonging to Lord Derby, and which had been obtained from that noble- man in exchange for lands at Knowsley, adjoining his Lordship's Park there. The death of the King, however, prevented the due execution of the con- veyance, and it was left for Queen Mary to carry out her Royal brother's intentions. Upon July 18th, 1554, she gave them this house, situate in the parish of S. Bennet and S. Peter, and opposite S. Bennet's Church, in which several of the Heralds have been since interred. Her Majesty made the grant to enable the Heralds "to assemble to- gether and consult and agree amongst themselves for the good of the faculty, and that the Eecords and Rolls of Arms might be more safely and conveniently deposited." . There they have continued to assemble together until now. The building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, but all the records and documents had been removed to Whitehall, and, 186 Practical Heraldry. therefore, fortunately escaped. The house was re- built chiefly at the cost of the Heralds, who gave up their fees for the purpose, from the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, and it is still the official residence of the Officers of Arms and the depository of their valuable collections of genealogical documents. There they still hold, on the first Thursday of each month, their " Chapter" meetings, where all matters Heraldic are determined by a majority of voices. There are occasionally special Chapters for the des- patch of urgent business. A Herald and a Pursuivant attend daily in the Public Office outside the Library to receive applications as to Searches or Grants of Arms, and these are said to be " In waiting." Any one anxious for Heraldic information, how- ever, can consult any or either of the Officers of Arms in their private rooms or Offices which are also included in the College. A fresh grant of Arms is obtained by Petition to the Earl Marshal, who is the Supreme head under the Sovereign of the English Heralds, and the Office is held as of Hereditary right by His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, who will, if there be no reason to the contrary, direct his warrant to the Kings of Arms to make the required concession. The grant must be expedited through one of the Heralds or Pursuivants. The Three Kings of Arms are Garter. Clarencieux. Norroy. The Heralds 9 College. 187 There are six Heralds Somerset. Chester. Windsor. Richmond. Lancaster. York. And four Pursuivants (pronounced Pur- si vants) Kouge Croix. Rouge Dragon. Blue Mantle. Portcullis. Garter, who presides over the College, was ap- pointed by Henry V., and was placed by that monarch over the rest of the Heralds. He has two distinct capacities ; one relative to the Order of the Garter, the other as Head of the College of Arms. He has power to appoint an herald as his deputy, and must be a native of England and a gentleman bearing Arms. It was anciently held that he was neither to be a Knight nor a Clergyman, but in these days G-arter usually receives the honour of Knighthood. The present respected head of the College is Sir Albert Wm. Woods, and his style is " Garter Prin- cipal King of Arms." The Office of Clarencieux was probably created by Henry V. (although some think by Edward III.) He was originally, it is thought, attached to the household of the Duke of Clarence, and hence his 188 Practical Heraldry. name. He has charge of all matters Heraldic South of the Trent. Norroy, whose Office is also of very ancient Cre- ation and is traced by Edmondson as far back as the reign of Edward II., has the same privilege North of the Trent that Clarencieux has in the South. The Office of Chester Herald was in existence as far back as the reign of Eichard II., when Cheshire was erected into a Principality. York Herald was probably created either by Eichard III. or Edward IV., and his badge is the White Eose. The Office of Windsor is known to have been founded by Edward III. That of Somerset was created 9th of Eichard III., Richmond by Henry VII., and Lancaster by Henry IV., and re- vived by Henry VII. The Badge of Lancaster Herald is a Eed Eose. Rouge Groix,, Pursuivant of Arms, whose name is borrowed from the colour of S. George's Cross, was first created by Henry V. Blue Mantle is so called from the colour of the Garter worn by the Knights Companions of that most Noble Order ; his office is very ancient, but nothing is known of his prede- cessors, if any, before the reign of Eichard III. Henry VII., upon the night of his coronation, created the office of Rouge Dragon, in memory of the banner with this device upon it which he had dis- played at Bosworth. Henry VII. created the Pursuivant known as " Portcullis" which was a Eoyal badge derived from the Somersets. '/lie Heralds' College. 189 Besides tlie Heralds and Pursuivants in " or- dinary," as they are termed, there have been many Heralds Extraordinary, such as Falcon and Leicester Heralds, Rouge, Rose, and Blanche Sanglier Pursui- vants, &c., &c. An Herald Extraordinary is still occasionally appointed by the Duke of Norfolk, with whom rests the patronage of the appointments, and the present Surrey Herald " Extraordinary " is an instance of this. Heralds Extraordinary are, how- ever, outside the Chapter of the College, and are not permitted to expedite a grant of arms, conduct a search, or transact other business. With the excep- tion of Garter, the official incomes of the Heralds and Pursuivants is almost nominal, the actual in- come, however, is augmented by participation in fees upon the creation of fresh Peers, advance- ments to Orders of Knighthood, &c. In such division the Heralds receive twice as much as the Pursuivants, and the Kings of Arms twice as much as the Heralds. Their other emoluments depend upon the amount of their " private business," as it is termed, which arises from the application of indi- viduals on all occasions upon which they may require their services, to prove or examine pedigrees, to procure grants or exemplifications of Arms, changes of name by Royal Licence, Patents for Supporters, to furnish copies of Pedigrees from the Records of the College, to collect, record, or trace genea- logies, or to prove right to titles or succession to property by the latter means. Every individual Practical Heraldry. Member of the College, from Garter to the junior Pursuivant, has an equal right to accept private commissions of this nature. The application is made either to the Herald and Pursuivant in waiting, or else to some particular officer who may be known to the applicant either personally or by introduction, who in this case has, of course, the profit attending the business required to be transacted, after he has paid the necessary public fees. Thus each Officer of the College has his own private clients, with whom any interference by a brother officer would be con- trary to the rules of the College. Besides Visitation Books, Pedigrees of Peers and Gentry, Funeral Cer- tificates, Docquets or Copies of all Grants of Arms, and similar Official Documents, there is a vast col- lection in the Library of MS. volumes, containing an endless number of Pedigrees and Arms, Abstracts of Wills and Eecords, Copies of Parish Registers, &c., &c., which comprehend the accumulated labours of GJover, Camden, Vincent, Dugdale, and other dis- tinguished Antiquarians, both in the College and outside it. I need scarcely repeat, therefore, what I have previously said, that application should cer- tainly be made here at an early period of any genea- logical enquiry if it is intended to prosecute it seriously. The Ordinary Fees for a Fresh Grant of Arms amount to 76 10s. An Ordinary Enquiry Fee or Search for a Coat of Arms only costs a few shillings. General searches, too, are equally moderate, as are The Heralds 9 College. 191 the charges for copying a Pedigree. The cost of a Licence for Change of Name, exclusive of the stamp, is a little over 44. There is an idea that an application to the Heralds' College really means a vast outlay. This is not necessarily so. The official fees are fixed, and are the same in all cases, and as to the private expense, if a thing has to be done it had better be done well, and I venture to say that it will be economical in the long run to place business of the nature of which I am treating into the hands of competent gentlemen, who have all the necessary materials to transact it properly, rather than trust to ignorant or designing people who, as long as they are able to supply some- thing for the money they receive, are not apt to be too particular what that something is. Therefore, should any of my readers wish to ascertain his real right to the armorials he has been accustomed to, I most strongly recommend him to keep his head towards the East and not to the West when he sets out to make the inquiry. He will not find the win- dows of the College decorated with all the pomp and panoply of fictitious Heraldry, but he will find inside them a library which contains something more than the volumes of Burke and Pap worth, and he will certainly obtain a courteous reception and authentic information. The Heralds' or Lyon OfB.ee of Scotland consists of One King of Arms, who is styled "Lord Lyon," Six Heralds Snowdon, Albany, Eoss, Eothesay, 192 Practical Heraldry. Marchmont, and Islay, and Five Pursuivants, viz., Unicorn, Carrick, Kintyre, Ormond, and Bute. The official who transacts the duties of Registrar is called Lyon Clerk Depute." Ireland has one King of Arms, " Ulster" an office which has been long filled by Sir Bernard Burke, the well-known compiler of the Peerage, Baronetage, Landed Gentry, &c., &c. He is styled " Ulster King of Arms." There are two Heralds, Dublin and Cork, and two Pursuivants, Athlone, and S. Patrick ; the Office is at -Dublin Castle. Badges, Rebuses, and Merchants' Marks. 193 CHAPTER XII. BADGES, REBUSES, AND MERCHANTS* MARKS. Badges, Antiquity of William de Redvers The Courtenays The original intention of Badges Accompanied with Mottoes Royal BadgesEdward the Black Prince Plume of Prince of Wales- Personal Badges Courtenay Badge Rebuses Bishop Oldham and others Merchants' Marks. Their origin. What they should not be Like. BADGES are intimately associated with Heraldry, and appear to have been frequently employed to dis- tinguish particular families long before the use of Armorial bearings had become general. It is pro- bable that many of the earlier Coats of Arms with which we are conversant were imitated from the badges which had been in use by the ancestors of their owners previously to the close of the 12th century, when, as I have already remarked in my introductory chapter, Heraldry, as a science, seems to have been first introduced into this country. Before this we frequently find examples of Seals attached to deeds or other instruments which bear such devices as Lions, Buckles, Cornish Choughs, Mullets, Swans, Garbs (Sheaves of Wheat), and simi- lar objects both animate and inanimate, all of which, as shown in previous pages, have since had their place amongst common charges, and when we read of arms attributed to such or such a person during 194 Practical Heraldry. the first hundred years after the conquest, we may safely conclude that the individual in question never heard of them himself, but that they were invented for him by the heralds, or assumed by some descendant of his, who utilised the badge or cognizance on his seal, when adopting true hereditary armorial bear- ings, long after his sword had rusted in its scabbard, and his soul had betaken itself to the company of the saints. As an instance of this, I may adduce a deed of William de Eedvers, commonly called William de Vernon, 6th Earl of Devon, 1166. The device on his Seal to an undated deed, in which he conveys land to Eobert Worthe, of Worthe, near Tiverton (whose descendants in the elder line still reside there), con- sists of three Roundles, and over them a label of three points. The death of this William de Vernon occurred llth Sept., 1207 (although it is usually believed that he died in 1216, in which year his Grandson Baldwin, having attained his majority, succeeded to the Earldom). Therefore, we have in this Seal not only a very early instance of the use of the label, but also the origin of the Arms which are still used by the Courtenays "Or, 3 Torteaux." Eobert de Courtenay married his daughter Mary, and through this marriage, whether rightly or wrongly, as I have remarked elsewhere, the Courte- nays ultimately acquired the Earldom of Devon. Some may think that this Seal is a true Armorial Seal; I myself incline to the idea that it is merely a Badges, Rebuses, and Merchants 9 Marks. 195 badge, but whether, upon this occasion, William de Vernon used his own Seal, or borrowed that of his Son-in-law, Eobert de Courtenay, remains open to question. When speaking of Baldwin de Eedvers, who succeeded to this Earldom in 1216, Camden says, "This nobleman also changed the griffin clenching a little beast which his ancestors used in their Seal into a Scutcheon Or, lion rampant Az. ;" and in the Harleian MSS., No. 1441, a coloured sketch is given of a Coat (" Gules, a Griffin segreant Or") which it is stated was borne by the first seven Earls of the name. This Griffin was evidently the Badge used by the Earls of Devon in the Elder line. William de Vernon, to whom I have referred, was not of the Elder line, being a younger brother of Eichard the 3rd Earl, nor need the badge have been neces- sarily hereditary, but that the Heralds employed the device on an ancient Seal for the purpose of charging the coat referred to in the MS., is sufficiently clear from the fact that the Seal of Baldwin de Eedvers, 2nd Earl, appendant to his foundation died, dated 1146, of the Priory of St. James at Exeter, bears the representation of a small animal, apparently a dog, and, standing thereon, a griffin, both looking towards the Sinister, and surrounded with a Scroll inscribed, " Sigillum Baldowini Com. Xonie." This Seal is figured in Dugdale, " Monasticon Anglicanum," and elsewhere. That the Earls of Devon of the Eedvers family at one time used the Coat already blazoned and founded upon this seal appears certain, but how 196 Practical Heraldry. long it was employed by them as an Armorial Bear- ing is not so certain. Baldwin the Eighth, and last Earl of his name, who died about 1260, seems to have finally adopted another Coat Or, a Lion Rampant Az., still borne by Courtenay, Earl of Devon, whose arms may be thus blazoned : Quarterly 1st and 4th Or, three Torteaux, Courtenay ; Second and 3rd Or, a Lion Ramp*- Az. Redvers. The present Earls of Devon, not being of the Elder line, the use of the lately long a distinctive feature in their arms, has been discontinued. Badges were originally intended to be placed on banners, ensigns, caparisons, and upon the breasts or shoulders of Retainers, Tenantry, Servants, and other attendants ; and in days before the establish- ment of a regular Army they thus served to distin- guish the followers of any particular Knight. And it will be seen at once that in the days of intestine commotions which were at one time so prevalent in this country, they must have been singularly useful, for being thoroughly well known and understood, they served at once to identify the partisans of either side, and, just as the Knight, when his features and form were hidden by his Armour, was known by his Shield, Surcoat, and Crest, so were his followers known by their badges, and without some such marks it would have been impossible to have discri- minated friend from foe. Badges differ from Armorial Bearings, in that they can not only be assumed at will, but that they are Badges, Rebuses, and Merchants 9 Marks. 197 also complete in themselves and have not the usual accessories of the latter. They are simple figures embroidered or stamped upon some portion of the clothing or equipment, just as at the present day the Crown, and in particular cases some special distinc- tion, such as an Eagle, a Castle, the Holy Lamb, or the Harp, is worn by English Eegiments. Occasion- ally they are accompanied with a Motto, and have in past times usually been adopted to commemorate some remarkable circumstance or exploit. The Kings of England were in the habit of using Badges from a very early period down to the reign of Queen Anne. William Eufus is said to have used a cinq-foil, and a double quatre-foil, which has been attributed to Henry I., appears as the fastening of the robe on the figure, which is supposed to represent him, on the north side of the principal entrance to Eochester Cathedral. The " Sagittarius" (half man and half horse) was, probably, the Badge of King Stephen, who reigned betw^n the years 1135 and 1154, although I should remark that "Gules, 3 Sagittarii Or," have been ascribed to him as Arms, and are probably as authentic as the Heraldic achievements of our first parents, Adam and Eve, which I have previously noticed. With the Plantagenets, we get a really established instance of a Badge in the "Planta genista," or broom plant, from which they derive their name, and which was adopted by Henry II., it 198 Practical Heraldry. is said, because his father, Geoffrey of Anjou, usually wore a sprig of it in his cap. (Fig. 104.J The robe of 10* Planta Genitta. Badge of Henry U. this Monarch, on the monument of him at Fonte- vraud, is profusely ornamented with a double quatre- foil, similar to that already noticed in connection with his Grandfather at Rochester. Eichard I., John, and Henry III., all employed the Badge of a Star and Crescent. (Fig. 105.) The first of these monarchs used several other devices, such as a Star of thirteen rays and a Crescent, and a mailed arm grasping a broken lance with the Motto, " Christo Duce." 105 Badge oj Richard L, John, % Henry 1H. With Edward I. we get the first instance of the Heraldic Rose as a Badge, which has in some form or other been preserved to the present day. His Badges, Rebuses, and Merchants 9 Marks. 1!)9 Son, Edward II., used a Castle, probably in allusion to his Mother, Eleanor of Castile. Edward III. is said to have added Supporters to the Eoyal Arms, but the fact is doubtful. He it was, however, who first introduced the Arms of France into the English Shield, in 1340, having laid claim to the Sovereignty of that country in 1337. He used several badges, such as rays descending from a cloud, the stump of a tree, a falcon, a Gryphon, a fleur-de- lis, and a single ostrich feather. His Son, the Black Prince, placed the three Ostrich feathers, now 106 Ostrich Feathers In a Windoiv in Exeter Cathedral familiar to all of us, as a badge upon a Shield which he was in the habit of using at Tournaments, instead of his battle shield which was duly emblazoned with the Royal Arms. The tradition as to his having taken these feathers in fight from the blind King of Bohemia, is entirely unsupported by any contemporary authority, the 200 Practical Heraldry. probability is that lie assumed them out of deference to his Mother, Queen Philippa of Hainault. The Cornte of Ostrevant belonged to the eldest Sons of this house, and in an inventory of plate which be- longed to Queen Philippa is one piece which is described as " an alms' dish, enamelled at the bottom with a black Escutcheon with Ostrich feathers." This is referred to by Sir N. H. Nicholas (Archseo- logia, Vol. xxxi., pp. 350, 384). It is noteworthy that the King himself, as well as his Son, used the Ostrich feathers as a badge, which seems to support the idea as to the Queen's connec- tion with them. The Prince himself particularly calls them a badge in his will, by which he directs twelve shields of brass, " dusze escuchons de latone," each a foot long, to be placed round his tomb ; upon six of these were to be his arms, and on the other six, some Ostrich plumes, " des plumes d'ostruce." Fur- ther on in the will he directs that his body shall be met at the West Gate of Canterbury by two chargers, fully caparisoned and mounted by two riders in complete armour, each bearing a Shield : " L'un pur la guerre de nos arniez entiere quartellez, et 1'autre pur la paix de noz bages des plumes d'os- truce" which ancient French may be thus trans- lated : " One for war, with our Arms quarterly ; that is, France and England the other for peace, with our badges of Ostrich plumes." The ostrich feathers were used as a badge by John of Ghent and Thomas of Woodstock, Sons of Badges, Rebuses, and Merchants 9 Marks. 201 Edward III., by Eichard II., and also by the Princes of York and Lancaster, as well as by the Tudor and Stuart Sovereigns. Since the time of James I., they have, however, been regarded as the Special Badge of the Prince of Wales. . Brasses, Ancient, 240. Braye, Lords, 207. Broad Arrow, 62. British Museum, 157. Burke, Sir Bernard, 3, 7, 192. Bute Pursuivant of Arms, 192. Butterflies, 55. Buttons, Livery, 215. 246 Index. c. Cabossed, 63. Cadency, Marks of, 41. Cunnets, 63. Canton, 32. Carew, Sir H., Arms of, 107. Carrick Pursuivant of Arms, 192. Carver, Arms of, 67- Catherine Wheel, b3. Cavalry Standards, 224. Centaur, 43. Chamber, 63. Cuange of Name, Fees for, 191. Chapeau, 63, 101. Charges, 23. Cheque, 19, 33. Cherub, 43. Cherubim, 43. Chess Rook, 63. Chester Herald, 188. Chevron, 26. Chevronel, 26. Chief, 24. Chimsera, 49, 52, 64. Cholmondeley, 106. Chorley, Arms of, 57. Churchwardens' Accounts, 229. Clarencieux King of Arms, 186. Clarion or Rest, 64. Close Rolls, 179. Closet, 26. Cockades, 215. Cockatrice, 52. Coheir, 34, 35. Colours, 20. Colours, how expressed in En- gravings, 21. Colours of Liveries, 214, 221. Colours, Regimental, 224. Collared, 64. Common Charges, 23, 42. Compony, 33, 64. Conjoined, 64. Contourne, 64. Conyngham, 39, 69. Copper, 64. Cork Herald, 192.^ Cornish Chough, 54. Cotise, Cotised, 24, 25. Counterchange 1, 64. Counter-Compony, 33. CountenEmbattled, 64. Counter Flory, 64. Counter Potent, 22. Counter Vair, 22, 64. Co aped, 64. Couple Close, 26. Courant, 64. Courtenay Arms, 196. Courtenay, Earl of Devon, 194. Courtenay, Bad-.e of, 207, 208. Courtenay, R.-bert UE AS STAMPED BELOW 9E 8 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY FORM NO. DD6, 60m, 1/83 BERKELEY, CA 94720 $ YB 21856 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIB]