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Page 49
[Illustration: Wivern]
Ex. Argent, a wivern, wings raised.
[Illustration: Wreath]
WREATH. A chaplet of two different-coloured silks wound round each
other, and placed on the top of the helmet for the crest to rest upon.
In Heraldry it is usually drawn straight, as in the lower example.
* * * * *
CHAP. VIII.
HERALDRY IN CONNECTION WITH HISTORY, ARCHITECTURE, INTERIOR
DECORATION, COSTUME, AMUSEMENT, RELIGIOUS SOLEMNITIES, FUNERAL RITES,
ETC.
In the preface to this Manual, we stated that Heraldry might be
considered as the symbolic history of the nobility of Britain, from
the Conquest to the reign of Elizabeth. It would require a volume of
far greater pretensions than this to enter fully upon the heraldic
history of the peerage; but the assertion may be borne out by merely
glancing at the supporters of the shields containing the arms of the
British monarchs during that period.
Supporters were not introduced in English heraldry previous to the
reign of Richard II. The shield of this luxurious monarch is supported
on each side by an angel habited, and beneath the shield by a white
hart couchant, gorged and chained or, beneath a tree. The shield of
Henry IV., the founder of the Lancastrian dynasty, was supported on
the dexter side by a swan, on the sinister side by an antelope, both
gorged and lined or. The shield of the gallant Henry V. was supported
on the dexter side by a lion rampant guardant, crowned or; on the
sinister side by an antelope, gorged and chained. Henry VI. had two
antelopes as supporters to his achievement. The shield of the gallant
Yorkist Edward IV. is supported on the dexter side by a lion rampant
argent, the tail passed between his legs, and turned over his back;
on the sinister by a white hart, and in some instances by a bull.
The supporters of the shield of Richard III. were two boars rampant
argent, tusked and bristled or. Henry VII., as a descendant of the
Welch prince Cadwallader, assumed the red dragon as the supporter
of the dexter side of his shield; the sinister was supported by a
greyhound argent, collared gules. The shield of Henry VIII. was
supported on the dexter side by a lion guardant, crowned or; on the
sinister by a dragon gules. Edward VI. had the same supporters. Mary
on her marriage with Philip of Spain, empaled the arms of Spain
and England as baron and femme; the dexter side of the shield was
supported by the imperial eagle, the sinister by a lion rampant,
crowned or. Queen Elizabeth rescued England from this degradation; the
crowned lion rampant of England resumed his place as the supporter of
the dexter side of the shield, and the red dragon on the sinister. On
the union of England with Scotland, the supporters of the royal arms
were, on the dexter side a lion guardant, crowned or, on the sinister
maned and unguled or, white unicorn, gorged and chained of the same.
The supporters of the royal arms have continued the same to the
present time; and, as an emblem of union and strength, long may they
continue.
The reader may easily read the vicissitudes and changes of dynasty in
the great change of these emblems of support and dignity during the
period of time that elapsed from the reign of Richard II. to James
I.; and even the brief notice here given would enable the reader to
determine the date of any building if the royal arms and supporters
were placed within it.
Heraldry had taken too firm a hold of the minds of the higher classes
of society to escape the notice of the architects who were engaged by
the sovereigns of England and by the wealthy barons, to erect those
splendid ecclesiastical edifices that still exist as the architectural
gems of Britain. Westminster Abbey teems with heraldic ornament, not
only in the gorgeous chapel of Henry VII., but in those parts of the
structure erected at a much earlier period. During the time when
those styles of Gothic architecture prevailed that are now called the
decorated and the perpendicular, the roof, the columns, the stained
glass windows, the seats, altar, tombs, and even the flooring, were
filled with emblazonment. A branch of art which our forefathers found
so useful as an ornament to architecture cannot be beneath the notice
of those who are desirous of treading in their footsteps.
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