Attitude (heraldry) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

, an attitude is the position in which an animal, fictional beast, mythical creature, human or human-like being is emblazoned as a charge

Charge (heraldry)

In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...

, supporter or crest

Crest (heraldry)

A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....

. Many attitudes apply only to predatory beasts and are exemplified by the beast most frequently found in heraldry — the lion

Lion (heraldry)

The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises bravery, valour, strength, and royalty, since traditionally, it is regarded as the king of beasts.-Attitudes:...

. Some other terms apply only to docile animals, such as the doe. Other attitudes describe the positions of birds, mostly exemplified by the bird most frequently found in heraldry — the eagle

Eagle (heraldry)

The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Parts of the eagle's body such as its head, wings or leg are also used as a charge or crest....

. The term naiant (swimming), however, is usually reserved for fish but may also apply to swans, ducks or geese. Birds are often further described by the exact position of their wings. One attitude, segreant, is apparently reserved for mythical creatures, as this term is the approximation of rampant as it applies to winged quadrupeds such as griffin

Griffin

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...

s and dragon

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

s. Additionally, there are positions applying to direction, to indicate variations from the presumed position of any charge. Animals and animal-like creatures are presumed to be shown in profile, facing dexter (the viewer's left), and humans and human-like beings are presumed to be shown affronté (facing the viewer), unless otherwise specified in the blazon

Blazon

In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...

.

There are perhaps slightly fewer than a hundred terms in the Anglophone heraldries for attitudes of creatures (real and imaginary) that can be found in blazons in the official records, in common and fairly reliable reference books, and on fairly reliable internet sites - and are the usages of the last three and a half centuries. Probably the most common, and reliably attested are :

affrontant, affronty, alighting, ascending, close, clymant, combattant, couchant, courant, courant collected, descending, devouring, displayed, dormant, drinking, elevated, embowed, erect, expanded, feeding, feeding its young [of a pelican in its nest], flotant, forcené, full face, gliding/glissant, gradient, guardant, hatching, hauriant/haurient, howling, inverted, leaping, lodged, naiant, naiant counter naiant, nowed, pascuant, passant, passant guardant, passant reguardant, perched/perching, praying, preying, rampant, rampant guardant, rampant reguardant, recursant, reguardant, rising, rizant, rousant, salient, sejant, sejant erect, sejant rampant, sitting in a nest, soaring, standing, standing on its two hind paws, statant, statant erect, stooping, tergiant, torqued, tricorporate, trippant, tripping, urinant, volant, volant affronty, volant en arrière, vulning herself, wings addorsed,

in the act of blessing, at cry, in full course, in full flight, at gaze, in profile, at full speed,

in her piety [of a pelican], in its/his pride, in its vigilance [of a crane].

Some are pretty rare (but reliably attested), some are synonyms of each other, but all are there, almost all of them to be found in 'working' heraldry (real coats of arms etc.) rather than the speculations of the theorists. What follows below is a small selection by way of introduction.

Positions indicating direction

Animals and animal-like creatures are presumed to be shown in profile, facing toward dexter, unless otherwise stated in the blazon. Humans and human-like beings are presumed to be shown affronté.

To dexter or the viewer's left is the direction animals are presumed to face, so it is never specified, but may (rarely) be indicated of a human or human-like being.
To sinister or contourné is said of an animal or being that is turned to face the viewer's right.
Affronté is said of an animal or being that is turned to face toward the viewer. This is the presumed position of a human or human-like being, but may (rarely) be used among beasts.
Guardant indicates an animal with its head turned to face the viewer.
Regardant indicates an animal with its head turned backward, as if looking over its shoulder.

Note that the heraldic terms dexter ('right') and sinister ('left') are defined with respect to the bearer of a shield, standing behind it, rather than to the viewer.

Attitudes of beasts

Many attitudes commonly met with in heraldic rolls apply specifically to predatory beasts, while others may be better suited to the docile animals. These will each be discussed in detail below. Also worth note is that a lion or other beast may additionally be described in terms of the position of its head, differently coloured parts (such as teeth, claws, tongue, etc.), or by the shape or position of its tail. A beast may be "armed" (horns, teeth and claws) or "langued" (tongue) of a tincture, while a stag may be "attired" (antlers) or "unguled" (hooves) of a tincture. A lion (or other beast) coward carries the tail between its hind legs. The tail also may be forked (queue fourchée) or doubled (double-queued).

Rampant

A beast rampant (Old French

Old French

Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...

: "rearing up") is depicted in profile standing erect with forepaws raised. The position of the hind legs varies according to local custom: the lion may stand on both hind legs, braced wide apart, or on only one, with the other also raised to strike; the word rampant is sometimes omitted, especially in early blazon, as this is the most usual position of a carnivorous quadruped.
Note: the term segreant denotes the same position, but is only used in reference to griffin

Griffin

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...

s and dragons

European dragon

European dragons are legendary creatures in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe.In European folklore, a dragon is a serpentine legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek δράκων,...

. Rampant is the most frequent attitude of quadrupeds, and as supporters they are rarely seen in any other attitude.

See also: Combatant

Passant

A beast passant (Old French

Old French

: "striding") walks toward the viewer's left, with the right forepaw raised and all others on the ground. A "Lion of England" denotes a lion passant guardant Or, used as an augmentation

Augmentation of Honour

In heraldry, an augmentation is a modification or addition to a coat of arms, typically given by a monarch as either a mere mark of favour, or a reward or recognition for some meritorious act...

. For stags and other deerlike beasts of chase, the term trippant is used instead of passant. Interestingly, French heralds have long held that any lion in a walking position must necessarily be a "leopard", though this practice is controversial.

Sejant

A beast sejant or sejeant (Middle French

Middle French

Middle French is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from 1340 to 1611. It is a period of transition during which:...

: seant, "sitting") sits on his haunches, with both forepaws on the ground.

A beast sejant erect is seated on its haunches, but with its body erect and both forepaws raised in the "rampant" position (this is sometimes termed "sejant-rampant").

Couchant

A beast couchant (Old French

Old French

: "lying down") is lying down, but with the head raised. Lodged is the term for this position when applied to the 'docile' (i.e. herbivorous

Herbivore

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...

) animals.

Courant

A beast courant (also at speed or in full chase) is running, depicted at full stride with all four legs in the air.

Dormant

A beast dormant (French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

: "sleeping") is lying down with its eyes closed and head lowered, resting upon the forepaws, as if asleep.

Salient

A beast salient (Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

: saliēns, "leaping") (also springing) is leaping, with both hind legs together on the ground and both forelegs together in the air. This is a very rare position for a lion, but is also used of other heraldic beasts. The stag and other docile animals in this position are often termed springing. Certain smaller animals are sometimes blazoned as saltant rather than salient.

Statant

A beast statant (Old French

Old French

: "standing") is "standing" (in profile toward dexter), all four feet on the ground, usually with the forepaws together. This posture is more frequent in crest

Crest (heraldry)

A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....

s than in charges on shields. In certain animals, such as bears, this may refer to an upright, bipedal position (though this position may also be referred to as statant erect), though bears blazoned as 'statant' also can also be found with all four feet firmly on the ground (e.g. in the arms of the former borough council of Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed (borough)

Berwick-upon-Tweed was a local government district and borough in Northumberland in the north-east of England, on the border with Scotland. The district had a resident population of 25,949 according to the 2001 census, which also notes that it is the most ethnically homogeneous in the country, with...

). While statant is used in reference to predatory beasts, the more docile animals when in this position may be called at bay, while such creatures statant guardant are said to be at gaze.

Attitudes of birds

Some attitudes describe the positioning of birds. The eagle is so often found displayed in early heraldry that this position came to be presumed of the eagle unless some other attitude is specified in the blazon. One peculiar attitude among birds, reserved only to the pelican, is the pelican in her piety (i.e. wings raised, piercing her own breast to feed her chicks in the nest). This symbol carries a particular religious meaning, and became so popular in heraldry that pelicans rarely exist in heraldry in any other position. A distinction is sometimes observed, however, between a pelican "vulning herself" (alone, piercing her breast) and "in her piety" (surrounded by and feeding her chicks).

Several terms refer to the particular position of the wings, rather than the attitude of the bird itself. A bird in nearly any attitude, except trussed, may have wings displayed, addorsed, elevated or inverted.

Wings displayed are spread to the sides to fill the area of the field. Here, the bird's right wing is extended forward and its left wing extended rearward, turned so that the undersides of both wings are fully shown.
Wings addorsed are raised as if about to take flight, so that only the top of the bird's right wing shows behind the fully displayed left wing.
Wings elevated are raised with the wing tips pointing upward.
Wings inverted are raised with the wing tips pointing downward.

Wings displayed and elevated Wings displayed and inverted


Wings displayed and elevated	Wings displayed and inverted

Displayed

A bird displayed is shown affronté with its head turned to dexter and wings spread to the sides to fill the area of the field. This position is presumed of the eagle, and the symbolic use of eagles in this position was well established even before the development of heraldry, going back to Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

Rising

A bird rising or rousant faces dexter with its head upturned and wings raised, as if about to take flight. A bird rising may have its wings described as either displayed or addorsed, and the wings may be further described as elevated or inverted.

Vigilant

A stork

Stork

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....

, crane

Crane (bird)

Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...

or the like standing on one leg may be called vigilant or in its vigilance (e.g. Waverley Borough Council's 'Crane in its vigilance').

Other attitudes

Few attitudes are reserved to the rarer classes of creatures, but these include segreant, a term which can only apply to winged quadrupeds; naiant and hauriant, terms applying principally to fish; glissant and nowed, terms applying to serpents. Serpents also sometimes appear in a circular form, biting their own tail, but this symbol, called an Ouroboros

Ouroboros

The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The name originates from within Greek language; οὐρά meaning "tail" and βόρος meaning "eating", thus "he who eats the tail"....

, was imported ready-made into heraldry, and so it needs no term of attitude to describe it.

Segreant

A creature segreant has both forelegs raised in the air, as a beast rampant, with wings elevated and addorsed. This term is reserved to winged quadrupeds (i.e. griffins and dragons).

Combatant or Respectant

Creatures combatant are shown in profile facing each other in the rampant or segreant position, always paired and never appearing singly. Nearly any creature can be rendered combatant, although this term is usually applied to predatory beasts and mythical creatures; herbivorous animals in such a position are typically blazoned as respectant.

Addorsed

Creatures or objects addorsed or endorsed are shown facing away from each other. As with combatant, charges addorsed can only appear in pairs. One also frequently finds keys addorsed (placed in parallel, wards facing outward).

Naiant

An animal or creature naiant is swimming. This term is typically applied to fish (when shown in a horizontal position), but may also apply to other sea creatures and, occasionally, water fowl (i.e. swans, ducks or geese). A dolphin blazoned as naiant is always shown as embowed, unlike any other sea creature or monster, even though the blazon may not specify this.

Hauriant

A fish, dolphin, or other sea creature hauriant is in a vertical position with its head up.

Nowed

Serpents, and the tails of other beasts and monsters, may be nowed or knotted — often in a figure 8 knot.

Positions indicating direction

Attitudes of beasts

Rampant

Passant

Sejant

Couchant

Courant

Dormant

Salient

Statant

Attitudes of birds

Displayed

Rising

Vigilant

Other attitudes

Segreant

Combatant or Respectant

Addorsed

Naiant

Hauriant

Nowed

Further reading