6 HERALDIC TREATISES. believed; and ordinary mortals still seem to think otherwise, thus exhibiting a wholesome dread of that “creature of civilisation" commonly called "Cant," which appears to take great delight in pretending to despise all kinds of honours. Probably the worst of the many phases of pride is that which "apes humility," affecting a contempt for the rank to which it has not been born, and which is certainly quite as indefensible as the folly that worships rank for its own sake. Such a pitiable weakness formed an element in the character of the lamented Sir Robert Peel, as well as (somewhat less remarkably) in that of the shrewd and practical Stephenson, by the former of whom it is well known that titles of honour were ostentatiously rejected. The increasing interest in the study of Heraldry may be fairly inferred from the large number of able treatises, devoted to its elucidation, which have lately appeared,' and by-and-bye, most assuredly, the ignorance of a Frank Osbaldistone will merit, more than ever, the rebuke of 1 Of recent treatises we may mention the following, which have all been published since the year 1840: -Montagu's Guide to the Study of Heraldry-Moule's Heraldry of Fish -Barrington's Lectures on Heraldry -Evans' Grammar of British Heraldry-Newton's Display of Heraldry -Lower's Curiosities of HeraldryThe Oxford Glossary of HeraldryPlanché's Pursuivant of Arms-and Millington's Heraldry in History, Poetry, and Romance. Nor ought we to pass over in silence Clark's useful Introduction to Heraldry (originally published in 1775), of which the 16th edition appeared about The only works on the subject of Scottish Heraldry are those of Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh (the founder of the Advocates' Library), and Alexander Nisbet, of the family of Nisbet of that Ilk : I. By Mackenzie. (1.) The Science of Heraldry, treated as a part of the ADVANTAGES OF HERALDRY. 7 his sprightly kinswoman :-"Not know the figures of heraldry, of what could your father be thinking?"" Without pausing to inquire into the causes which contribute to the permanency of Armorial Bearings and to the general estimation in which they have always been held, it is sufficient to describe them as the "Shorthand of History," the pictorial chronicle of days gone by, the evidence of gentle blood, the record of important alliances, the symbolical title to patrimonial rights, and, not unfrequently, the unerring guide in cases of disputed succession. The utility of the Science of Heraldry to the historian and the architect has been repeatedly acknowledged, and it is hardly necessary to mention the various ways in which Armorial Ensigns have proved of material Civil Law, and Law of Nations - 9$ pp. folio-usually bound with (2.) Observations upon the Laws and Customs of Nations as to Precedency -92 pp. folio-both published at Edinburgh in 1680. These two treatises are embraced in the second volume of Sir George Mackenzie's Miscellaneous Works, 2 vols. folio, Edinburgh, 1722. II. By Nisbet. (1.) An Essay on Additional Figures and Marks of Cadency-276 pp. 12mo, Edinburgh, 1702. (2.) An Essay on the Ancient and Modern Use of Armories-224 pp. 4to, Edinburgh, 1718. (3.) A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical-151 pp. folio, Edinburgh, 1722. The author died three years afterwards. A second volume was printed at Edinburgh, by Robert Fleming, in 1742. Both volumes were reprinted in 1804, and published in London, with new titles only, in 1817. A new and improved edition of this useful work would prove of great service. The best Foreign Works on the subject of Heraldry are: 1. (French.) Claude Menestrier's "Véritable Art du Blazon," published at Lyons in 1671. 2. (German.) Philip Jacob Spener's "Insignium Theoria seu Operis Heraldici." 3. (Spanish.) Gerhardus Frankenan's " Bibliotheca-Hispanica Historico Genealogico-Heraldica." Several Italian, Dutch, and Swedish writers on Heraldry are also worthy of consultation. In the words of Chevalier de Courcelles, "Il n'y a peut-être pas de science en apparence plus frivole, et sur laquelle on ait tant et si gravement écrit, que celle du Blazon.” 1 Rob Roy, vol. i. chap. x. 8 GENEALOGICAL UTILITY service to the lawyer in matters of Genealogy. Not only the Seals of Charters, Testaments, and other documents, but even the blazonings which occur on Churches, Castles, Monuments, Banners, Pictures, and Plate, have often thrown important light upon doubtful questions of Marriage and descent. "Welsh families,” says Grimaldi, "are more known by their arms than by their names ; and even in English families, many persons of the same name can only now be classed with their proper families, by an inspection of the Arms on their seals, shields, and the like." The same author adduces the following proofs of the genealogical utility of Armorial Bearings :"I know three families," says Bigland, "who have acquired estates by virtue of preserving the arms and escutcheons of their ancestors.' "The Antiquity of a Church window for the proof of a match and issue hath been delivered to a jury at an assize, and been accepted.". In the Harleian MSS. (1386) is "the argument of the Officers of Arms against Sir Michael Blount, who endeavoured to prove himself heyre-male of the bodye of Sir Walter, first Lord Mountjoy, from a glasse windowe," set up at Ives, in Buckinghamshire, in the reign of Henry VII. Amongst the evidence of the Earl of Huntingdon, received by the Attorney-General in 1818, in support of his claim to the Peerage of Huntingdon, there was pro 1 Origines Genealogicæ, p. 82. 2 Observations on Parochial Regis ters, 1767. 3 Burton's History of Leicestershire. OF ARMORIAL BEARINGS. 9 duced a very old armorial shield, emblazoned with the bearings of Hastings Earl of Huntingdon, quartered with those of Stanley, as evidence of the marriage of Henry, 5th Earl of Huntingdon, to the daughter of Ferdinando, Earl of Derby.1 In Scotland, as in Wales, where surnames are comparatively few in number, Armorial Bearings afford no inconsiderable assistance in authenticating Genealogies and in distinguishing the various branches of a widely extended Clan. Unaided by the characteristic symbols of the Herald, and in the absence of an estate to serve as a designation, who, for example, could ever comprehend the endless ramifications of the families of Douglas, Campbell, or Scott? In his recent work on the early history of Scotland, after referring to the great importance of some knowledge of Heraldry to the student of historical antiquities, Professor Innes observes, that "for the pursuit of family history-of topographical and territorial learning-of ecclesiology of architecture-it is altogether indispensable; and its total and contemptuous neglect in this country is one of the causes why a Scotchman can rarely speak or write on any of these subjects, without being Huntingdon Peerage, p. 359. Most of these cases, as well as others of more recent date, are referred to in Hubback's Evidence of Succession, pp. 694-6. See also Montagu's Guide to the Study of Heraldry, P. 35. A melancholy instance of the use of Armorial Bearings for the purpose of identification is mentioned in M'Clintock's interesting narrative of his voyage to the Arctic Seas. Several silver spoons and forks exhibiting the Crests of some of the officers of the lamented Franklin's Expedition were among the articles found by the crew of the "Fox," and afterwards transmitted, as precious relics, to the surviving relatives in England. 10 SYMBOLISM OF HERALDRY. exposed to the charge of using a language he does not understand." A still higher and more philosophical branch of heraldic inquiry is adverted to by Lord Lindsay in one of his Letters on the sculpture of the Lombards. In noticing the emblematical character of Griffins, Lions, and other monsters, as they appear in the porches of Churches and on the roofs of Cathedrals, he alludes to their ultimate adoption by the Italian States as Crests, and also to their retention, to the present day, as the Supporters of royal and noble escutcheons, all over Europe. Heraldry," he continues," is in fact the last remnant of the ancient symbolism, and a legitimate branch of Christian art; the Griffins and Unicorns, fesses and chevrons, the very tinctures or colours, are all symbolical-each has its mystic meaning, singly and in combination; and thus every genuine old Coat-of-arms preaches a lesson of chivalric honour and Christian principle to those that inherit it,-truths little suspected now-a-days in our Heralds' offices." Like the monsters of early legends, the Unicorn, Dragon, Phoenix, Allerion, and other chimerical figures of Heraldry, originally had a symbolical meaning. Thus, the Unicorn was regarded as the emblem of purity and virtue, and frequently occurs, in a symbolical sense, in the paintings of the Catacombs. The Dragon symbolized "that old serpent" the Devil, represented by Raphael as quelled by the mere touch of the Cross in the hands of St. Margaret, and transfixed by the irresistible spear of that "blyssed and holy martyr 1 Scotland in the Middle Ages, p. 303. 2 Sketches of Christian Art, ii. 49. |