This officer, as principal Herald or King of Arms in England, (as Lion is in Scotland, and Ulster in Ireland), marshals the solemn funerals of the higher nobility of England, as Princes, Dukes, Marquis ses, Earls, Viscounts, and Barons, as also does many other services to the King and State ; and therefore, as the other Kings have, has a salary out of the Exchequer, and double their fees at the instalments of the Knights of the Garter, and a com position fbr the uppermost garment of each knight at his installation.
It may not be improper to notice the peculiar bearings or attributes of the greatest antiquity, before we proceed to treat of more modern facts. The Hea then divinities had each their distinctive mark ; Jupiter wielded the lightning in his right hand ; Neptune bore the three pronged trident ; Mars the spear ; Sa turn the scythe ; and Bacchus the spear, encircled by ivy ; the Phrygians, the sow; the Goths, a bear ; the Thracians, Mars ; the ancient French, the lion, which was afterwards changed to the toad, and that again for the fleur de lis, sent them from Heaven by an angel, whose commission was directed to Clovis, their first Chris tian monarch ; the Saxons, a horse ; the Flemings, a bull ; the King of Antioch, an eagle grasping a dragon ; the Romans, the eagle ; Pompey, a lion holding a sword ; yet the Roman people, who were saved by the cackling of geese, despised that bird in too great a degree to admit it into their ensigns : exclusive of the above, there were many nations and individuals, who distinguished themselves by exhi biting every description of weapons on their banners. It should also be observ ed, that the most ferocious beasts and birds were selected as emblematic of ho nour and courage ; for this reason, shields, with their figures only, are considered as most honourable and ancient ; but those with trees, flowers, plants, the sun, moon, planets, varieties of colours, or charged With any of the honourable ordinaries, or artificial objects, are deemed of less im• portance.
The science of heraldry consists prin cipally of blazoning and marshalling ; the former is the art of diplaying a coat of arms in its proper colours, the latter is the combining various arms in one shield. In blazoning it is usual to begin with the field, and then proceed with the charge, and in naming the objects charged in the field, to mention the most predominant, and next the field, first ; and then the most remote. Gwillim observes, that tinc
ture is a variable hue of arms, and as ap plicable to differences as to the arms, and is distributed into colours and furs. The same author considers colours an exter nal dye, or ,the gloss of any illuminated object, and the colour alluded is consider ed general and special. The general implies the natural colour of bodies, whe ther artificial or otherwise; those borne in their natural colours must be blazoned proper, without mentioning the colours.
There are forms in heraldry which have names only applied to them, and no colour specified in the blazoning, the term sufficiently explaining the colour of each ; they resemble a globe or ball, and are called besants, the colour or plates ar gent; hurts, azure; torteauxes, gules ; pellets or ogresses, sable ; pomeis, vert ; golpes, purpure ; orange, tenne ; and grosses, sanguine. In these nine varieties are included all the colours generally used in blazonry.
The blazoning of the arms of gentle men, esquires, knights, and baronets, is derived from metals and colours ; those of barons, viscounts, earls, marquisses, and dukes, from precious stones ; and those of princes, kings, and emperors, from the planets. See COLOURS.
Or, gold, is expressed by dots (see Plate I. of Heraldry, fig. 1) and is intend ed as an intimation that, as gold surpasses all other metals in value and purity, he that bears it should endeavour to excel in the same proportion same insinu ation is implied in the topaz and the sun. Argent, or white, is represented by a perfect blank (see fig. 2,) this colour ranks next to Or, and without gold and silver Heraldry would be imperfect ; ar gent signifies innocence, temperance and hope ; the pearl was supposed by the an cients to possess a restorative property, and Luna is acknowledged to be the mis tress of honour, the seas and tides.
Gules, red, is expressed by perpendi cular lines, or lines paleways from the chief to the base (see fig. 3,) this coking; has ever been considered as symbolical of majesty and dignity ; the ruby cannot be wasted by fire or water, and Mars, the planet, alludes to the heathen God of bat tle, the patron of courage and military ad dress.