Keys occur fairly often, being borne either singly or in threes. The
Bells very properly bear bells, and these latter we also find in the
Dobell coat of arms, which affords an excellent example of canting
heraldry (Fig. 53). One, Stratford, bears three trestles meant to
imply their bearer's love of hospitality.
[Illustration: FIG. 53.]
Amongst other inanimate charges are flesh-pots, bellows, lamps. The
Lamplaws bear three lamps; cups are borne by Bowles, Warcupp, and
Butler; dishes are borne by the Standish family (a boar's head in
a golden dish was a rather favourite charge), as were also clocks,
watches, dials, etc.
Next we find ships and all things pertaining to them.
The Earl of Caithness bears a ship; the Cavells bear three sails; the
Chappels have an anchor. Three anchors are a fairly common charge.
Objects connected with hunting, hawking, and fishing come next. The
Hatheways bear a hunter's horn; the Langhornes three bugles; the
Plankes, three hawk-bells, whilst a lure with a line and ring, "all
a falconer's decoy," are borne by one, Lie, "a suitable name, seeing
that a falconer is ever used to deceive." Three mascles, representing
the meshes of a net, are borne by the Belgraves, whilst a net
enclosing three sturgeons is introduced into the Sturgeons' coat
of arms, and is blazoned as a "fret." The Medvilles bear three
fishing-hooks.
Now we come to objects associated with games--chessmen, dice, balls,
etc. One of Charles V.'s generals bore as his arms a ball with two
balloons, with the motto, "The harder I am struck, the higher I
mount."
Then we have military weapons and implements, cannon, battering-rams,
swords, lances, as well as banners, drums, trumpets, clarions, etc.
Guillim blazons the Earl of Cumberland's arms as "three murthering
shots." One Bowman bears three bows, whilst arrows[1] and swords are
of constant occurrence, the latter borne either singly or crossed
salter-wise.
[Footnote 1: An arrow has its peculiar terms of blazon. It
is _armed_ of its head, _flighted_ of its feathers, whilst a
bundle of arrows is a _sheaf_. An arrow with a blunt head is
known in heraldry as a "bird-bolt."]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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