Positions indicating direction
Animals and animal-like creatures are presumed to be shown in profile facing ''dexter''. This attitude is standard unless otherwise stated in the blazon. As a warrior will usually carry a shield in the left hand, the animal shown on the shield will then face toward the knight's body. Humans and human-like beings are presumed to be shown ''affronté''. Note that the heraldic terms ''dexter'' ('right') and ''sinister'' ('left') represent the shield bearer's perspective, not the viewer's. * To dexter or the viewer's left is the direction animals are presumed to face. This position is thus not specified unless necessary for clarity, as when a human or human-like being is depicted (the default position for these is "affronté") or when an animal's head and body are not turned in the same direction. * To sinister or contourné is said of a creature facing the viewer's right. * Affronté ) (also affrontee, affronted, or affrontant) is said of a creature (or other heraldic component such as a helm or the face of a man) that faces the viewer (e.g., of a lion, "affronté-sejant") * En Arrière is said of a creature positioned with its back to the viewer. It is most common used of birds and insects, where the understanding is of an overhead view of the animal with its wings spread (most commonly, "volant en arrière", said of bees). However, also see "recursant" below. * Guardant or In Full Aspect indicates an animal with a body positioned sideways but with its head turned to face the viewer. * Regardant indicates an animal with its head turned backward, as if looking over its shoulder. Unless other instructions are given, the body will face "to dexter", making the head's direction "to sinister". (e.g., "passant reg rdant", "rampant reg rdant", where the first term describes the animal's body position and the second describes the position of its head). * In Trian Aspect (a rare, later 16th and 17th century heraldry term) is an animal's head at a 3/4 view and gives the appearance of depth, with the head viewed at an angle somewhere between profile and straight-on.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. The tail may be forked (''queue fourchée'') or doubled (''double-queued''). In addition to the below, there may be rare or arguably, not entirely standard attitudes, such as ''a snorting bison''.Rampant
A beast rampant (Passant
A beast passant (Sejant
A beast sejant or sejeant (Couchant
A beast couchant (Courant
A beast courant (French: "running"; also at speed or in full chase) is running, depicted at full stride with all four legs in the air.Coward
A lion coward (Old French ''coart, cuard'', "turning tail") carries the tail between its hind legs and is otherwise shown rampant to dexter; "coward" takes no other modifiers such as "reguardant" or "sejant".Dormant
A beast dormant ( French: "sleeping") is lying down with his head lowered, resting upon the forepaws, as if asleep. (However, perhaps counterintuitively, some sources would have the lion dormant with the eyes open.)Salient
A beast salient (Statant
A beast statant (Morne
Also spelled morné or mortine, a lion depicted with neither claws, teeth, nor tongue, in the rampant position. The term is from the Old French verb ''morner'', from ''morne'', a ring placed over the point of a lance, from Latin ''mora'', "sword guard."Baillone
A lion ''baillone'' is show in the rampant position holding a baton in its teeth.Defamed
Also called diffame, infamed, and defame, a lion shown in the rampant position without its tail.Disjointed
A lion shown with its paws and head (but not its tail) detached from its body is called "disjointed" (i.e., "torn away at the joints"), and it is always shown in the rampant position.Tricorporated
A lion ''tricorporated'' is shown having three bodies combined with one head, with the main/ central lion facing "rampant guardant" (i.e., with its face towards the viewer and with body upright facing to dexter).Pascuant
Herbivores can be shown as ''pascuant''; that is, "grazing", or paissant ("peaceful") with head lowered to the same level as their four legs, as the head of a cow would be when eating grass.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. The terms ''Expanded'' and ''Elevated'' or ''Abaissé'' and ''Inverted'' are similar terms often used interchangeably in heraldry but have specific meanings. There is also sometimes confusion between a ''Rising'' bird with ''Displayed'' wings and a ''Displayed'' bird. The difference is that ''Rising'' birds face either to the ''dexter'' or ''in trian aspect'' and have their feet on the ground. ''Displayed'' birds face the viewer, have their legs splayed out, and the tail is completely visible. 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 ''overt'', may have its wings ''displayed'' or ''addorsed''. * Wings displayed means 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. ** displayed and Expanded or ''Espanie'' / ''Épandre'' ("expanded") are spread with the wing tips pointing upward. ** displayed and Lowered or ''Abaissé'' ("lowered") are spread with the wing tips pointing downward. * Wings addorsed means the wings are raised and spread behind it back-to-back as if about to take flight, so that only the top of the bird's right wing shows behind the fully displayed left wing. ** addorsed and elevated are raised with the wing tips pointing upward. ** addorsed and inverted are raised with the wing tips pointing downward.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 toOvert
A bird Overt ("open") or disclosed has wings open and pointing downward.Close
Close ("closed"), the bird's equivalent of ''Statant'', is shown in profile and at rest with its feet flat on the ground and its wings folded at its sides. Trussed is the term used for domestic or game birds, implying the bird is tied up or caught in a net respectively, and is not applied to predator birds like the Eagle and Hawk. Perched is ''Overt'' while sitting atop a Charge. If a bird's attitude is not blazoned, it is assumed to be ''Close''; the exception is the eagle, whose default attitude is ''Displayed''.Issuant
Used to describe aRising
A bird rising, rizant or ''rousant'' faces dexter with its head upturned, wings raised, and standing on the tips of its feet 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''.Volant
A bird volant faces the ''dexter'' with its wings spread in flight (usually shown ''addorsed'' and ''elevated'') and its legs tucked under its body. ''Volant En Arrière'' is when the bird is shown from a top-down perspective with the head facing straight ahead, its back to the viewer, and the wings spread in flight (usually shown ''displayed'' and ''inverted''). A bird ''volant'' is considered ''in bend'' ("diagonal") as it is flying from the lower ''sinister'' to the upper ''dexter'' of the field.Recursant
An eagle or hawk shown ''recursant'' has its back towards the viewer, e.g., "An eagle volant recursant descendant in pale" is an eagle flying downward in the vertical center of the shield with its back towards the viewer.Vigilant
A crane standing on one leg (usually with a stone held in the other foot) may be called vigilant or ''in its vigilance'' (''e.g.'' Waverley Borough Council's ''Crane in its vigilance''). A stone is usually shown held in the claw of the raised leg. This is as per the bestiary myth that Cranes stayed awake by doing so. If it dozed, the Crane would supposedly drop the rock, waking itself up.Vulning / In Her Piety
One peculiar attitude reserved only to the pelican, is the pelican in her piety. The heraldic pelican, one of the few female beasts in heraldry, is shown with a sharp stork-like beak, which it uses to ''vuln'' ("pierce or wound") her own breast. This is per the bestiary myth that a female pelican wounded herself thus to feed her chicks. This symbol of sacrifice carries a particular religious meaning (usually a reference toOther 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 anSegreant
A creature segreant has both forelegs raised in the air, as a beast ''rampant'', with wings ''addorsed'' and ''elevated''. This term is reserved to winged quadrupeds (such as griffins and dragons). It is of uncertain etymology; it is first recorded as ''sergreant'' in the 16th century. Payne Fisher's 1682 ''Synopsis of Heraldry'' uses the term ''segriant'', as seen in some blazons.Combatant or respectant
Creatures combatant (French, "fighting") 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 (Latin ''respectāns'', "watching").Addorsed
Creatures or objects addorsed or endorsed (Latin ''ad''-, "to" and ''dorsum'', "back"; Middle English ''endosse'', Old French ''endosser'', influenced by Medieval Latin ''indorsare'') 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 shown without legs). 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 (Latin ''hauriēns'', "drawing up") is in a vertical position with its head up.Urinant
A fish, dolphin, or other sea creature urinant () (Latin ''ūrīnāns'', "diving") is in a vertical position with its head down.Glissant
A serpent glissant is gliding horizontally in an undulant posture.Nowed
Serpents, and the tails of other beasts and monsters, may be nowed ( (French ''noué'', "knotted")—often in aSee also
*Notes
Further reading
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