Chapter XIX Inanimate Objects
In dealing with those charges which may be classed under the above description one can safely say that there is scarcely an object under the sun which has not at some time or other been introduced into a coat of arms or crest. One cannot usefully make a book on armory assume the character of a general encyclopædia of useful knowledge, and reference will only be made in this chapter to a limited number, including those which from frequent usage have obtained a recognised heraldic character. Mention may, at the outset, be made of certain letters of the alphabet. Instances of these are scarcely common, but the family of Kekitmore may be adduced as bearing “Gules, three S’s or,” while Bridlington Priory had for arms: “Per pale, sable and argent, three B’s counterchanged.” The arms of Rashleigh are: “Sable, a cross or, between in the first quarter a Cornish chough argent, beaked and legged gules; in the second a text T; in the third and fourth a crescent all argent.” Corporate arms (in England) afford an instance of alphabetical letters in the case of the B’s on the shield of Bermondsey.
The Anchor (Fig. 498).—This charge figures very largely in English armory, as may, perhaps, be looked for when it is remembered that maritime devices occur more frequently in sea-board lands than in continents. The arms of the town of Musselburgh are: “Azure, three anchors in pale, one in the chief and two in the flanks or, accompanied with as many mussels, one in the dexter and one in the sinister chief points, and the third in base proper.” The Comtes de St. Cricq, with “Argent, two anchors in saltire sable, on a chief three mullets or,” will be an instance in point as to France.
Anvils.—These are occasionally met with, as in the case of the arms of a family of the name of Walker, who bear: “Argent, on a chevron gules, between two anvils in chief and an anchor in base sable, a bee between two crescents or. Mantling gules and argent. Crest: upon a wreath of the colours, on a mount within a wreathed serpent a dove all statant proper.”
Arches, castles, towers, and turrets may be exemplified, amongst others, by the following.
Instances of Castles and Towers will be found in the arms of Carlyon and Kelly, and of the former fractured castles will be found in the shield of Willoughby quartered by Bertie; while an example of a quadrangular castle may be seen in the arms of Rawson. The difference between a Castle (Fig. 499) and a Tower (Fig. 500) should be carefully noticed, and though it is a distinction but little observed in ancient days it is now always adhered to. When either castle or tower is surmounted by smaller towers (as Fig. 501) it is termed “triple-towered.”
An instance of a Fortification as a charge occurs in the shield of Sconce: “Azure, a fortification (sconce) argent, masoned sable, in the dexter chief point a mullet of six points of the second.”
Gabions were hampers filled with earth, and were used in the construction of fortifications and earthworks. They are of occasional occurrence in English armory at any rate, and may be seen in the shields of Christie and of Goodfellow.
The arms of Banks supply an instance of Arches. Mention may here perhaps be made of William Arches, who bore at the siege of Rouen: “Gules, three double arches argent.” The family of Lethbridge bear a bridge, and this charge figures in a number of other coats.
An Abbey occurs in the arms of Maitland of Dundrennan [“Argent, the ruins of an old abbey on a piece of ground all proper”], and a monastery in that of McLarty [“Azure, the front of an ancient monastery argent”]. A somewhat isolated instance of a Temple occurs in the shield of Templer.
A curious canting grant of arms may be seen in that to the town of Eccles, in which the charge is an Ecclesiastical Building, and similar though somewhat unusual charges figure also in the quartering for Chappel [“Per chevron or and azure, in chief a mullet of six points between two crosses patée of the last, and in base the front elevation of a chapel argent”], borne by Brown-Westhead.
Arrows are very frequently found, and the arms of Hales supply one of the many examples of this charge, while a bow—without the arrows—may be instanced in the shield of Bowes: “Ermine, three bows bent and stringed palewise in fess proper.”
Arrow-Heads and Pheons are of common usage, and occur in the arms of Foster and many other families. Pheons, it may be noticed in passing, are arrow-heads with an inner engrailed edge (Fig. 502), while when depicted without this peculiarity they are termed “broad arrows” (Fig. 503). This is not a distinction very stringently adhered to.
Charges associated with warfare and military defences are frequently to be found both in English and foreign heraldry.
Battle-Axes (Fig. 504), for example, may be seen in the shield of Firth and in that of Renty in Artois, which has: “Argent, three doloires, or broad-axes, gules, those in chief addorsed.” In blazoning a battle-axe care should be taken to specify the fact if the head is of a different colour, as is frequently the case.
The somewhat infrequent device of a Battering-Ram is seen in the arms of Bertie, who bore: “Argent, three battering-rams fesswise in pale proper, armed and garnished azure.”
An instrument of military defence consisting of an iron frame of four points, and called a Caltrap (Fig. 505) or Galtrap (and sometimes a Cheval trap, from its use of impeding the approach of cavalry), is found in the arms of Trappe [“Argent, three caltraps sable”], Gilstrap and other families; while French armory supplies us with another example in the case of the family of Guetteville de Guénonville, who bore for arms: “D’argent, semée de chausse-trapes de sable.” Caltraps are also strewn upon the compartment upon which the supporters to the arms of the Earl of Perth are placed.
As the well-known badge of the Royal House of Tudor, the Portcullis (Fig. 506) is familiar to any one conversant with Henry VII.’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey, but it also appears as a charge in the arms of the family of Wingate [“Gules, a portcullis and a chief embattled or”], where it forms an obvious pun on the earliest form of the name, viz. Windygate, whilst it figures also as the crest of the Dukes of Beaufort [“A portcullis or, nailed azure, chained of the first”]. The disposition of the chains is a matter always left to the discretion of the artist.
Examples of Beacons (Fig. 507) are furnished by the achievements of the family of Compton and of the town of Wolverhampton. A fire chest occurs in the arms of Critchett (vide p. 261).
Chains are singularly scarce in armory, and indeed nearly wholly absent as charges, usually occurring where they do as part of the crest. The English shield of Anderton, it is true, bears: “Sable, three chains argent;” while another one (Duppa de Uphaugh) has: “Quarterly, 1 and 4, a lion’s paw couped in fess between two chains or, a chief nebuly of the last, thereon two roses of the first, barbed and seeded proper (for Duppa); 2 and 3, party fess azure and sable, a trident fesswise or, between three turbots argent (for Turbutt).” In Continental heraldry, however, chains are more frequently met with. Principal amongst these cases maybe cited the arms of Navarre (“Gules, a cross saltire and double orle of chains, linked together or”), while many other instances are found in the armories of Southern France and of Spain.
Bombs or Grenades (Fig. 508), for Heraldry does not distinguish, figure in the shields of Vavasseur, Jervoise, Boycott, and many other families.
Among the more recent grants Cannon have figured, as in the case of the Pilter arms and in those of the burgh of Portobello; while an earlier counterpart, in the form of a culverin, forms the charge of the Leigh family: “Argent, a culverin in fess sable.”
The Column appears as a crest in the achievement of Coles. Between two cross crosslets it occurs in the arms of Adam of Maryburgh [“Vert, a Corinthian column with capital and base in pale proper, between two cross crosslets fitchée in fess or”], while the arms of the See of Sodor and Man are blazoned: “Argent, upon a pedestal the Virgin Mary with her arms extended between two pillars, in the dexter hand a church proper, in base the arms of Man in an escutcheon.” Major, of Suffolk, bears: “Azure, three Corinthian columns, each surmounted by a ball, two and one argent.” It is necessary to specify the kind of column in the blazon.
Scaling-Ladders (Fig. 509) (viz. ordinary-shaped ladders with grapnels affixed to the tops) are to be seen in the English coats of D’Urban and Lloyd, while the Veronese Princes della Scala bore the ordinary ladder: “Gules, a ladder of four steps in pale argent.” A further instance of this form of the charge occurs in the Swiss shield of Laiterberg: “Argent, two ladders in saltire gules.”
Spears and Spear-Heads are to be found in the arms of many families both in England, Wales, and abroad; for example, in the arms of Amherst and Edwards. Distinction must be drawn between the lance or javelin (Fig. 510) and the heraldic tilting-spear (Fig. 511), particularly as the latter is always depicted with the sharp point for warfare instead of the blunted point which was actually used in the tournament. The Shakespeare arms (Fig. 512) are: “Or, on a bend sable a tilting-spear of the field,” while “Azure, a lance or enfiled at its point by an annulet argent” represents the French family of Danby.
Spurs (Fig. 513) occur in coat armour as such in the arms of Knight and Harben, and also occasionally “winged” (Fig. 514), as in the crest of Johnston.
Spur-Rowels, or Spur-Revels, are to be met with under that name, but they are, and are more often termed, “mullets of five points pierced.”
Examples of Stirrups are but infrequent, and the best-known one (as regards English armory) is that of Scudamore, while the Polish Counts Brzostowski bore: “Gules, a stirrup argent, within a bordure or.”
Stones are even more rare, though a solitary example may be quoted in the arms of Staniland: Per pale or and vert, a pale counterchanged, three eagles displayed two and one, and as many flint-stones one and two all proper. The “vigilance” of the crane has been already alluded to on page 247. The mention of stones brings one to the kindred subject of Catapults. These engines of war, needless to say on a very much larger scale than the object which is nowadays associated with the term, were also known by the name balistæ, and also by that of swepe. Their occurrence is very infrequent, but for that very reason one may, perhaps, draw attention to the arms of the (English) family of Magnall: “Argent, a swepe azure, charged with a stone or.”
Swords, differing in number, position, and kind are, perhaps, of this class of charge the most numerous. A single sword as a charge may be seen in the shield of Dick of Wicklow, and Macfie, and a sword entwined by a serpent in that of Mackesy. A flaming sword occurs in the arms of Maddocks and Lewis. Swords frequently figure, too, in the hands or paws of supporters, accordingly as the latter are human figures or animals, whilst they figure as the “supporters” themselves in the unique case of the French family of Bastard, whose shield is cottised by “two swords, point in base.” The heraldic sword is represented as Fig. 515, the blade of the dagger being shorter and more pointed. The scymitar follows the form depicted in Fig. 516.
A Seax is the term employed to denote a curved scimitar, or falchion, having a notch at the back of the blade (Fig. 517). In heraldry the use of this last is fairly frequent, though generally, it must be added, in shields of arms of doubtful authority. As such they are to be seen, amongst others, in the reputed arms of Middlesex, and owing to this origin they were included in the grant of arms to the town of Ealing. The sabre and the cutlass when so blazoned follow their utilitarian patterns.
Torches or Firebrands are depicted in the arms and crest of Gillman and Tyson.
Barnacles (or Breys)—horse curbs—occur in some of the earlier coats, as in the arms of Wyatt [“Gules, a barnacle argent”], while another family of the same name (or, possibly, Wyot) bore: “Per fess gules and azure (one or) three barnacles argent”.
Bells are well instanced in the shield of Porter, and the poet Wordsworth bore: “Argent, three bells azure.” It may be noted in passing that in Continental armory the clapper is frequently of a different tincture to that of the bell, as, for instance, “D’Azure, à la cloche d’argent, butaillé [viz. with the clapper] de sable”—the arms of the Comtes de Bellegarse. A bell is assumed to be a church-bell (Fig. 518) unless blazoned as a hawk’s bell (Fig. 519).
Bridle-Bits are of very infrequent use, though they may be seen in the achievement of the family of Milner.
The Torse (or wreath surmounting the helm) occasionally figures as a charge, for example, in the arms of Jocelyn and Joslin.
The Buckle is a charge which is of much more general use than some of the foregoing. It appears very frequently both in English and foreign heraldry—sometimes oval-shaped (Fig. 520), circular (Fig. 521), or square (Fig. 522), but more generally lozenge-shaped (Fig. 523), especially in the case of Continental arms. A somewhat curious variation occurs in the arms of the Prussian Counts Wallenrodt, which are: “Gules, a lozenge-shaped buckle argent, the tongue broken in the middle.” It is, of course, purely an artistic detail in all these buckles whether the tongue is attached to a crossbar, as in Figs. 520 and 521, or not, as in Figs. 522 and 523. As a badge the buckle is used by the Pelhams, Earls of Chichester and Earls of Yarborough, and a lozenge-shaped arming buckle is the badge of Jerningham.
Cups (covered) appear in the Butler arms, and derived therefrom in the arms of the town of Warrington. Laurie, of Maxwelltown, bear: “Sable, a cup argent, issuing therefrom a garland between two laurel-branches all proper,” and similar arms are registered in Ireland for Lowry. The Veronese family of Bicchieri bear: “Argent, a fess gules between three drinking-glasses half-filled with red wine proper.” An uncovered cup occurs in the arms of Fox, derived by them from the crest of Croker, and another instance occurs in the arms of a family of Smith. In this connection we may note in passing the rare use of the device of a Vase, which forms a charge in the coat of the town of Burslem, whilst it is also to be met with in the crest of the family of Doulton: “On a wreath of the colours, a demi-lion sable, holding in the dexter paw a cross crosslet or, and resting the sinister upon an escutcheon charged with a vase proper.” The motto is perhaps well worth recording; “Le beau est la splendeur de vrai.”
The arms of both the city of Dundee and the University of Aberdeen afford instances of a Pot of Lilies, and Bowls occur in the arms of Bolding.