The coat of arms of Benin, featuring two natural leopards rampant. |
Our subject today is a big one: heraldry, and specifically
the use and symbolism of cats (mostly wild cats) in heraldry. The subject of heraldry
can get complicated fast, but we’re sticking to some basics to keep it simple.
First, we'll look at what heraldry is and where it came from, and then we'll explore what cats symbolize and some of the different positions they appear in. Finally, we'll start to explore domestic cats in heraldry.
An extremely brief introduction to heraldry
Heraldry has been around since the late 12th century, according
to the website of English Heritage. Just think of knights in those metal
helmets with visors that protected their faces. How could anyone tell which
knight was which when their faces were all covered up? To solve this problem, knights
started painting designs on their shields. Each design was unique to that knight,
so people would be able to recognize him. They used different colors for the
background, with shapes like crosses and chevrons (the shapes were called “ordinaries”)
and emblems that could be shapes (stars, diamonds, crescents, etc.) or animals
(birds, hares, deer, lions, etc.). The emblems were called “charges.”
The meanings of different cats in heraldry
The coat of arms of Jersey, with three lions passant guardant, a position in which they are known as leopards or ounces. |
Not surprisingly, everything in heraldry means something. The cats most commonly used as charges seem to be the “big guys,” like lions and tigers, but
smaller wildcats and even domestic cats have been used
as heraldic symbols. Below are the meanings of different kinds of cats:
Cat, including wildcat and lynx: Liberty, vigilance, forecast, courage
Leopard or ounce: Valiant and hardy warrior who enterprises hazardous things by force and courage
Lion: Dauntless courage and majesty
Tiger: Fierceness and valor; resentment; dangerous if aroused
The term “leopard” can be kind of confusing because often
the so-called leopards you see in heraldry don’t have spots, and everyone knows
a leopard can’t change its spots, right? Well, in traditional heraldry, a leopard
was basically a lion in a certain position called “passant guardant.” That just
means that the animal is walking (“passant”; the right forepaw is raised to
indicate walking) and looking at the viewer, or “on guard” (“guardant”). In
more modern heraldry, leopards are depicted with spots just as they appear in
real life. A heraldic leopard is also sometimes called an “ounce” (tune in
tomorrow to learn more about this word as it relates to cats!).
And while we’re on the subject of words that mean something
different than you might think, a beast called a “tyger” has also been used in
heraldry. This looks sort of like a lion but not quite. It has no stripes, and
it’s sometimes called a “heraldic tiger.”
A tyger, or "heraldic tiger." |
More terms used to describe attitudes of animals in heraldry
We introduced the terms “passant” and “guardant” above, but
there are several more words you will commonly see and hear when it comes to the positions or "attitudes" of cats and
other animals:
Rampant: reared up on the hind legs
Statant: standing, all four feet on the ground
Sejant: sitting on the haunches; the forepaws are on the ground
Couchant: lying down with the head raised
Regardant: looking over the shoulder
Domestic cats in heraldry
It’s easy to find lots of examples of lions and leopards used as heraldic symbols. Many countries feature these cats or other big cats in their coats
of arms, as you’ve seen from the examples we’ve shown. But what about domestic
cats? Well, we did find several examples. Here are some of our favorites:
The coat of arms of Sakvice, Czech Republic, has a kitty cat
statant facing a lion rampant:
The arms of the family of Muyser Lantwyck (Belgium), with a cat that has caught a red mouse:
And the coat of arms of the municipality of Vaugondry (Switzerland) features a gray cat with its tongue out:
Now that you've seen some examples of cats in heraldry, maybe you'd like to create your own coat of arms featuring a cat or cats. This would be a terrific subject for Caturday Art! Just sayin'.
Sources
American College of Heraldry: http://www.americancollegeofheraldry.org/achsymbols.html
"Lion (Heraldry)," Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_(heraldry)Image credits
All images via Wikimedia Commons. Coat of arms of Sakvice by Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic
[Public domain]. Arms of Muyser Lantwyck by Keghel [CC BY-SA 3.0]. Coat of arms of Vaugondry by Delta-9 [CC BY 3.0]. Coat of arms of Benin by Tinynanorobots, Fenn-O-maniC [CC BY-SA 3.0]. Coat of arms of Jersey by Man vyi [Public
domain]. Tyger, or “heraldic tiger”: Image taken from A Complete Guide to Heraldry, 1909. [Public
domain].
sum one round heer knot menshunin any namez dai$y thinkz herz a direct dee send it oh BAST
ReplyDeletebut frank lee...me tuna...doez knot think thiz countz ;) ♥♥☺☺
Thank you for this very informative article share, I actually was not too sure was heraldry was. Thanks for the history lesson, keep up the posts. Always love checking out your blog.
ReplyDeleteWorld of Animals
Isn't Switzerland a cool country ? Purrs
ReplyDeleteGreat and interesting post, thank you ! Purrs
DeleteOh my. how interesting. I'm glad I wasn't around then. I'd have been scared of my kin. mol
ReplyDeleteShoko
Way cool! I didn't know any of this!
ReplyDeleteHow cool!
ReplyDeleteThis is super interesting! I didn't know hardly anything about heraldry but if cats are involved, count me in!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I like that coat of arms from The Netherlands.
ReplyDeleteI am on the mailing list for the British Heraldry web site. It is fascinating, and the fact they still makes coats of arms today amazed me but they do!
ReplyDelete