A Complete Guide to HeraldryFox-Davies, Arthur Charles
History
A Complete Guide to Heraldry
Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles
Heraldry -- Great Britain
"The Bavarian family of REIDER include in their shield the mounted effigy
of the good knight ST. MARTIN dividing his cloak with a beggar (date of
diploma 1760). The figure of the great Apostle of the Gentiles appears in
the arms of VON PAULI JOERG, and JORGER, of Austria, similarly make use of
St. George.
"Continental Heraldry affords not a few examples of the use of the
personages of Holy Writ. The ADAMOLI of Lombardy bear: 'Azure, {163} the
Tree of Life entwined with the Serpent, and accosted with our first
parents, all proper' (_i.e._ in a state of nature). The addition of a chief
of the Empire to this coat makes it somewhat incongruous.
"The family of ADAM in Bavaria improve on Sacred History by eliminating
EVE, and by representing ADAM as holding the apple in one hand, and the
serpent wriggling in the other. On the other hand, the Spanish family of
EVA apparently consider there is a sufficiently transparent allusion to
their own name, and to the mother of mankind, in the simple bearings: 'Or,
on a mount in base an apple-tree vert, fructed of the field, and encircled
by a serpent of the second.'
"The family of ABEL in Bavaria make the patriarch in the attitude of prayer
to serve as their crest; while the coat itself is: 'Sable, on a square
altar argent, a lamb lying surrounded by fire and smoke proper.'
"SAMSON slaying the lion is the subject of the arms of the VESENTINA family
of Verona. The field is gules, and on a terrace in base vert the strong man
naked bestrides a golden lion and forces its jaws apart. The Polish family
of SAMSON naturally use the same device, but the field is azure and the
patriarch is decently habited. The STARCKENS of the Island of OESEL also
use the like as _armes parlantes_; the field in this case is or. After
these we are hardly surprised to find that Daniel in the lions' den is the
subject of the arms of the Rhenish family of DANIELS, granted late in the
eighteenth century; the field is azure. The Bolognese DANIELS are content
to make a less evident allusion to the prophet; their arms are: "per fess
azure and vert, in chief 'the lion of the tribe of Judah' naissant or,
holding an open book with the words 'LIBRI APERTI SUNT' (DANIEL vii. 10).
"The Archangel ST. MICHAEL in full armour, as conventionally represented,
treading beneath his feet the great adversary, sable, is the charge on an
azure field of the VAN SCHOREL of Antwerp."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account