heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

, a

supporter In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's free choice and were assu ...

, or as a crest. The attitude of a heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of the figure and its parts. Some attitudes apply only to predatory beasts, exemplified by the beast most usual to heraldry – the heraldic lion; other terms apply to docile animals, such as the doe, usually emblazoned as a "hind". Other heraldic attitudes, such as ''volant'' (flying), describe the positions of birds, exemplified by the bird most usual to heraldry – the heraldic eagle; moreover, birds also are described by the positions of their wings. The term ''naiant'' (swimming) applies to fish, swans, ducks, and geese. The term ''segreant'' is applied to the

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

, as an approximation of ''rampant'', and is applied to the

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

. Animal figures are positioned in profile, facing

dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

(the viewer's left), and persons are shown ''affronté'' (facing the viewer), but the

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

might specify other attitudes.

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''. 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 (contourny) is said of a creature facing the viewer's right. * Affronté () (also affronty, 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 three-quarters 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. A blazon may also specify the position of a beast's head, differently coloured parts (such as teeth, claws, tongue, etc.), or 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 (

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th

s and

dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

. Rampant is the most frequent attitude of quadrupeds, and as supporter (heraldry)">supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's fr ...

they are rarely seen in any other attitude. Forcené is the term for this position when applied to horses or

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

s. File:Lion Rampant.svg, Lion rampant File:Lion Rampant Guardant.svg, Lion rampant guardant File:Lion Rampant Regaurdant.svg, Lion rampant regardant

Passant

A beast passant (

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Early heralds held that any lion in a walking position must necessarily be a "leopard", and this distinction persists in French heraldry; however, this use of the term ''leopard'' has long since been abandoned by English heralds. A "Lion of England" denotes a ''lion passant guardant Or'', used as an augmentation. Flag of Wales">The Welsh flag features a dragon passant. For stags and other deer-like beasts of chase, the term trippant is used instead of passant. File:Lion Passant.svg, Lion passant File:Lion Passant Guardant.svg, Lion passant guardant File:Lion Passant Reguardant.svg, Lion passant regardant

Sejant

A beast sejant or sejeant (Middle French: ''seant'', ''siégeant'', "sitting") sits on its 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"). File:Lion Sejant.svg, Lion sejant File:Lion Sejant Erect.svg, Lion sejant erect

Couchant

A beast couchant (

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th

Lodged is the term for this position when applied to the "docile" (i.e. herbivore">herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

) animals. File:Lion Couchant.svg, Lion 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. File:Lion Courant.svg, Lion courant

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 "regardant" or "sejant". File:Lion Coward.svg, Lion coward

Dormant

A beast dormant (French language, 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.) File:Lion Dormant.svg, Lion dormant

Salient

A beast salient (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''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. Goats are said to be clymant in the rampant position. File:Lion Salient.svg, Lion salient

Statant

A beast statant (

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th crests 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' 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 (borough)">Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

). 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. This is particularly true of stags (harts). File:Lion Statant.svg, Lion statant File:Lion Statant Guardant.svg, Lion statant guardant

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". File:Lion morne.svg, Lion morne

Baillone

A lion ''baillone'' is show in the rampant position holding a baton in its teeth. File:Baillone.svg, Lion baillone

Defamed

Also called diffame, infamed, and defame, a lion shown in the rampant position without its tail. File:defamed.svg, Lion defamed

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. File:Lion Disjointed.svg, Lion disjointed

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). File:Lion Tricorporated.svg, Lion tricorporated File:Complete Guide to Heraldry Fig292.png, Lion tricorporated, as illustrated in Arthur Charles Fox-Davies' ''Complete Guide to Heraldry''

Attitudes of herbivores

Herbivores, herbivorous are generally "docile" animals like deer, horses, sheep, etc. They use many of the same terms listed under "beasts" above but have several terms that are reserved for non-predatory animals.

At Bay

Herbivores are described as at bay when they are standing still while looking in the direction their body is positions (i.e., dexter or sinister). It is the same as ''statant''.

At Gaze

When herbivores are standing still while looking toward the viewer, it is called at gaze. It is the herbivore version of ''statant guardant''.

Forcené

When a

, horse or other horse-like animal "rears up" in what the beasts describe as ''rampant'', it is called forcené (forcene). This term is not used for non-horse-like herbivores.

Leaping, Springing

Leaping or springing describe docile animals leaping, usually with both hind legs on the ground. These terms can be used interchangeably to describe the beasts' salient attitude for herbivores.

Lodged

A docile/

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

animal, such as a stag or sheep, lying down with head erect is called lodged ("lying down"). This term is used in place of couchant.

Pascuant

Herbivores can be shown as pascuant ("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. File:Blason ville fr Ladevèze (Gers).svg, Arms of Ladevèze-Rivière: gules a sheep pascuant File:Hranice,znak.jpg, Arms of Hranice, Cheb District, Czech Republic, featuring a horse pascuant argent File:Blason ville fr Betpouey (65).svg, Arms of Betpouey, France: vert a sheep pascuant, on a chief azure three fleurs de lys Or File:Blason_Saint_Andre_d_Embrun.svg, Arms of Saint-André-d'Embrun, France, with a sheep pascuant to sinister

Trippant

Trippant ("striding") is used to describe stags and other deer-like animals of the chase (prey) in place of passant.

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. Escudo de Bakaiku

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 ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

Overt

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 ''close'' 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 a phoenix, though potentially other flying creatures as well, when depicted arising from, for example, a line of flames, a coronet, an amphora, etc.

Rising

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''.

Striking

An attitude similar to rising is the striking position. When striking, the wings are spread in flight with head lowered to look at prey below, legs outstretched, and talons / claws opened to grasp the prey as the bird passed the target. While this may be more common in a

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

, it can be used with other birds such as a

corvid Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Curre ...

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 to

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

's sacrifice), 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) versus "her piety" (surrounded by and feeding her chicks).

Attitudes of fish

Hauriant

A fish, dolphin, or other sea creature hauriant (Latin ''hauriēns'', "drawing up") is in a vertical position with its head up.

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.

Urinant

A fish, dolphin, or other sea creature urinant () (Latin ''ūrīnāns'', "diving") is in a vertical position with its head down.

Attitudes of serpents

Terms like ''glissant'' and ''nowed'' apply to serpents. Serpents also sometimes appear in a circular form, biting their own tail, but this symbol, called an

Ouroboros The ouroboros or uroboros (; ) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent symbolism, snake or European dragon, dragon Autocannibalism, eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via Egyptian mythology, ancient Egyptian iconogra ...

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

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 a

figure-eight knot The figure-eight knot or figure-of-eight knot is a type of stopper knot. It is very important in sailing, rock climbing and caving as a method of stopping ropes from running out of retaining devices. Like the overhand knot, which will jam under ...

Tergiant

Tergiant (and, less often, tergant) is another way to describe ''recursant'' where the animal has its back to the viewer. It is the default attitude for amphibians, insects, and some reptiles with a ''low profile'', such as a lizard or ladybugs. Tergiant can also be used for birds in place of recursant, though less frequently than the other figures mentioned. It is basically the opposite of affronty.

Attitudes for mythical winged quadrupeds

Few attitudes are reserved to the rarer classes of creatures, but these include segreant, a term which can only apply to winged quadrupeds.

Segreant

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.

Other attitudes

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). File:Heraldic figures - Griffin.svg, Griffin segreant or armed and langued gules File:Royal Arms of England (1189-1198).svg, Lions combatant or armed and langued azure File:Meuble héraldique Bars adossés.svg, Barbels addorsed or File:USS Tornado PC-14 COA.png, Arms of USS ''Tornado'', with a dragon urinant File:037-Armored-Regiment-COA.png, Arms of the 37th Armor Regiment, featuring a

wyvern The wyvern ( ), sometimes spelled wivern ( ), is a type of mythical dragon with bipedalism, two legs, two wings, and often a pointed tail. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools an ...

glissant File:Dolphin naiant (heraldry).svg, Dolphin naiant or File:Complete Guide to Heraldry Fig480.png, Dolphin haurient argent File:Lion Rampant tail nowed.svg, Lion or armed argent, langued gules, tail nowed

Notes

Sources

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