Attitude (heraldry)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In heraldry, an attitude is the position in which an animal, fictional beast, mythical creature, human or human-like being is emblazoned as a charge, supporter or crest. Many attitudes apply only to predatory beasts and are exemplified by the beast most frequently found in heraldry — the lion. Some other terms apply only to docile animals, such as the doe. Other attitudes describe the positions of birds, mostly exemplified by the bird most frequently found in heraldry — the eagle. The term naiant (swimming), however, is usually reserved for fish but may also apply to swans, ducks or geese. Birds are often further described by the exact position of their wings. One attitude, segreant, is apparently reserved for mythical creatures, as this term is the approximation of rampant as it applies to winged quadrupeds such as griffins and dragons. Additionally, there are positions applying to direction, to indicate variations from the presumed position of any charge. Animals and animal-like creatures are presumed to be shown in profile, facing dexter (the viewer's left), and humans and human-like beings are presumed to be shown affronté (facing the viewer), unless otherwise specified in the blazon.
Contents |
[edit] Positions indicating direction
Animals and animal-like creatures are presumed to be shown in profile, facing toward dexter, unless otherwise stated in the blazon. Humans and human-like beings are presumed to be shown affronté.
- To dexter or the viewer's left is the direction animals are presumed to face, so it is never specified, but may (rarely) be indicated of a human or human-like being.
- To sinister or contourné is said of an animal or being that is turned to face the viewer's right.
- Affronté is said of an animal or being that is turned to face toward the viewer. This is the presumed position of a human or human-like being, but may (rarely) be used among beasts.
- Guardant indicates an animal with its head turned to face the viewer.
- Regardant indicates an animal with its head turned backward, as if looking over its shoulder.
[edit] Attitudes of beasts
Many attitudes commonly met with in heraldic rolls apply specifically to predatory beasts, while others may be better suited to the docile animals. These will each be discussed in detail below. Also worth note is that a lion or other beast may additionally be described in terms of the position of its head, differently coloured parts (such as teeth, claws, tongue, etc.), or by the shape or position of its tail. A beast may be "armed" (horns, teeth and claws) or "langued" (tongue) of a tincture, while a stag may be "attired" (antlers) or "unguled" (hooves) of a tincture. A lion (or other beast) coward carries the tail between its hind legs.[1] The tail also may be forked (queue fourchée) or doubled (double-queued).
[edit] Rampant
A beast rampant (Old French: "rearing up") is depicted in profile standing erect with forepaws raised.[2] The position of the hind legs varies according to local custom: the lion may stand on both hind legs, braced wide apart, or on only one, with the other also raised to strike; the word rampant is sometimes omitted, especially in early blazon, as this is the most usual position of a carnivorous quadruped. Note: the term segreant denotes the same position, but is only used in reference to griffins and dragons.[3] Rampant is the most frequent attitude of quadrupeds, and as supporters they are rarely seen in any other attitude.
 Lion Rampant |
 Lion Rampant Guardant |
 Lion Rampant Reguardant |
[edit] Passant
A beast passant (Old French: "striding") walks toward the viewer's left, with the right forepaw raised and all others on the ground.[4] A "Lion of England" denotes a lion passant guardant Or, used as an augmentation.[4] For stags and other deerlike beasts of chase, the term trippant is used instead of passant. Interestingly, French heralds have long held that any lion in a walking position must necessarily be a "leopard", though this practice is controversial.[5]
 Lion Passant |
Lion Passant Guardant |
 Lion Passant Reguardant |
[edit] Sejant
A beast sejant or sejeant (Middle French: seant, "sitting") sits on his haunches, with both forepaws on the ground.[6]
A beast sejant erect is seated on its haunches, but with its body erect and both forepaws raised in the "rampant" position (this is sometimes termed "sejant-rampant").[6]
 Lion Sejant |
 Lion Sejant Erect |
[edit] Cadent
A beast cadent (Latin: cadēns, "falling") is upside down, especially while supporting an escutcheon. Whales, dolphins, and other fish are often in this position. If the first beast on the left faces right, it is called cadent dexter; if the beast faces left, it is called cadent sinister.
[edit] Couchant
A beast couchant (Old French: "lying down") is lying down, but with the head raised.[7] Lodged is the term for this position when applied to the docile animals.
[edit] Courant
A beast courant (also at speed or in full chase) is running, depicted at full stride with all four legs in the air.
 Lion Cadent (dexter) |
 Lion Couchant |
 Lion Courant |
[edit] Dormant
A beast dormant (Old French: "sleeping") is lying down with its eyes closed and head lowered, resting upon the forepaws, as if asleep.[7] Dormant erect is a synonym of couchant.
[edit] Salient
A beast salient (Latin: saliēns, "leaping") (also springing) is leaping, with both hind legs together on the ground and both forelegs together in the air.[8] This is a very rare position for a lion,[8] but is also used of other heraldic beasts. The stag and other docile animals in this position are often termed springing.
 Lion Dormant |
 Lion Salient |
[edit] Statant
A beast statant (Old French: "standing") is "standing" (in profile toward dexter), all four feet on the ground, usually with the forepaws together.[9] This posture is more frequent in crests than in charges on shields.[8] In certain animals, such as bears, this refers to an upright, bipedal position (this position can also be referred to as statant erect). While statant is used in reference to predatory beasts, the more docile animals in the statant position may be called at bay, while such creatures statant guardant are said to be at gaze.
 Statant |
 Statant Guardant |
[edit] Attitudes of birds
Some attitudes describe the positioning of birds. The eagle is so often found displayed in early heraldry that this position came to be presumed of the eagle unless some other attitude is specified in the blazon. One peculiar attitude among birds, reserved only to the pelican, is the pelican in her piety (i.e. wings raised, piercing her own breast to feed her chicks in the nest). This symbol carries a particular religious meaning, and became so popular in heraldry that pelicans rarely exist in heraldry in any other position.[10] A distinction is sometimes observed, however, between a pelican "vulning herself" (alone, piercing her breast) and "in her piety" (surrounded by and feeding her chicks).[11]
Several terms refer to the particular position of the wings, rather than the attitude of the bird itself. A bird in nearly any attitude, except trussed, may have wings displayed, addorsed, elevated or inverted.
- Wings displayed are spread to the sides to fill the area of the field. Here, the bird's right wing is extended forward and its left wing extended rearward, turned so that the undersides of both wings are fully shown.
- Wings addorsed are raised as if about to take flight, so that only the top of the bird's right wing shows behind the the fully displayed left wing.
- Wings elevated are raised with the wing tips pointing upward.
- Wings inverted are raised with the wing tips pointing downward.
 |
 |
| Wings displayed and elevated | Wings displayed and inverted |
[edit] Displayed
A bird displayed is shown affronté with its head turned to dexter and wings spread to the sides to fill the area of the field. This position is presumed of the eagle, and the symbolic use of eagles in this position was well established even before the development of heraldry, going back to Charlemagne.[12]
[edit] Rising
A bird rising or rousant faces dexter with its head upturned and wings raised, as if about to take flight. A bird rising may have its wings described as either displayed or addorsed, and the wings may be further described as elevated or inverted.
[edit] Volant
A bird volant faces dexter with its wings spread in flight.
[edit] Trussed
A bird trussed, close, or perched is at rest with its wings folded.
[edit] Vigilant
A stork or the like standing on one leg is called vigilant.
 Eagle displayed, wings elevated |
 Phoenix rising, wings displayed and elevated |
 Dove volant (wings addorsed and elevated) |
 Stork vigilant |
[edit] Other attitudes
Few attitudes are reserved to the rarer classes of creatures, but these include segreant, a term which can only apply to winged quadrupeds; naiant and hauriant, terms applying principally to fish; glissant and nowed, terms applying to serpents. Serpents also sometimes appear in a circular form, biting their own tail, but this symbol, called an Ouroboros, was imported ready-made into heraldry, and so it has no term of attitude to describe it.
[edit] Segreant
A creature segreant has both forelegs raised in the air, as a beast rampant, with wings elevated and addorsed. This term is reserved to winged quadrupeds (i.e. griffins and dragons).
[edit] Combatant
Creatures combatant are shown in profile facing each other in the rampant or segreant position, always paired and never appearing singly. Nearly any creature can be rendered combatant, although this term is usually applied to predatory beasts and mythical creatures.
[edit] Addorsed
Creatures or objects addorsed or endorsed are shown facing away from each other. As with combatant, charges addorsed can only appear in pairs. This term frequently appears in the treatment of fish, but may be said of any pair of creatures facing away from each other. One also frequently finds keys addorsed (placed in parallel, wards facing outward).
[edit] Naiant
An animal or creature naiant is swimming. This term is typically applied to fish (when shown in a horizontal position), but may also apply to other sea creatures and, occasionally, water fowl (i.e. swans, ducks or geese).
[edit] Hauriant
A fish, dolphin, or other sea creature hauriant is in a perpendicular position with its head up.
[edit] Glissant
A serpent glissant is gliding.
[edit] Nowed
Serpents, and often the tail of a lion, dragon, or other beast, is often nowed, or knotted, usually into a figure 8 pattern.
 Griffin segreant |
 Lions combatant |
 Barbels addorsed |
.svg) Dolphin naiant |
 Lion tail "nowed" |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Fox-Davies (1909), p. 180.
- ^ Fox-Davies (1909), p. 176.
- ^ "Segreant". Dictionary of Heraldry. 2008-08-31. http://www.dictionaryofheraldry.com/Segreant.htm. Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
- ^ a b Fox-Davies (1909), p. 181.
- ^ Fox-Davies (1909), pp.172-3.
- ^ a b Fox-Davies (1909), p. 184.
- ^ a b Fox-Davies (1909), p. 185.
- ^ a b c Fox-Davies (1909), p. 183.
- ^ Fox-Davies (1909), p. 182.
- ^ Fox-Davies (1909), p. 242.
- ^ Cussans (2003), p. 93.
- ^ Fox-Davies (1909), p. 233.
[edit] Further reading
- Cussans, John E. (2003). Handbook of Heraldry. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0766173380.
- Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. New York: Dodge Pub. Co. LCCN 09-023803
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Heraldic figures |
|
|||||||||||
