HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The
wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...
has been widely used in many forms in
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 ...
during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. Though commonly reviled as a livestock predator and man-eater, the wolf was also considered a noble and courageous animal, and frequently appeared on the
arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...
and crests of numerous noble families. It typically symbolised the rewards of perseverance in long sieges or hard industry.


History


British Isles and other Anglophone heraldries

Wolves appear frequently in
English heraldry English heraldry is the form of coats of arms and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in England. It lies within the so-called Gallo-British tradition. Coats of arms in England are regulated and granted to individuals by the English kings ...
, and is found as both a charge and 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 ...
. Wolves' heads, without the rest of the body being depicted, are particularly common in Scottish heraldry. Arthur Fox-Davies, ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'', T.C. and E.C. Jack, London, 1909, 196-197, https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh00foxduoft. Early depictions of wolves in heraldry tend to be somewhat ambiguous in appearance, and can be confused with other heraldic creatures such as
lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...
es and foxes.
Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
(1442–83) used a white wolf for one of his badges, along with a white
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
, denoting his descent from the House of Mortimer. The wolf or his head is often used for canting on names such as Videlou, de Lou (both recorded in the anonymous ''Great Roll'' of 1308–14), Lupus (in the reign of
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
), Wolferston (in the ''Henry VI Roll'', circa 1422–61), Wolseley, Lovett, Low, Lovell, Lupton and of course Wolfe. Wolves are to be found * rampant in th
coat
of Louth Town Council (England) * demi in the crest o
Peter John Crabtree
(Canada) * demi and winged in the crest o
Walter William Roy Bradford
(Canada) * heads only in the coat o
James Thomas Flood
(Canada) * as supporters in th
bearings
of the Corporation of the Municipality of
Greenstone, Ontario Greenstone is a single-tier municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario with a population of 4,636 according to the 2016 Canadian census. It stretches along Highway 11 from Lake Nipigon to Longlac and covers . The town was formed in 2001, ...
* in the Salish style in th
coat
of the Village of Belcarra, British Columbia The " Enfield beast", an imaginary creature with the combined head of a fox, front talons of an eagle and legs and tail of a wolf, appears as the crest of the Irish family of Kelly and is also used in the coat and as a supporter for the forme
Enfield Borough Council
and its successor the London Borough of Enfield

(England).


Continental Europe

The wolf is also featured in the heraldry of continental European nations. Wolves feature very commonly in
Spanish heraldry The tradition and art of heraldry first appeared in Spain at about the beginning of the eleventh century AD and its origin was similar to other European countries: the need for knights and nobles to distinguish themselves from one another on th ...
, where they are often represented wolves carrying the bodies of lambs in their mouths or across their backs. When in such a pose, wolves are referred to as being ''ravissant''. Wolves are also common in German heraldry. The town of
Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...
(Bavaria) bears a red wolf rampant on a white shield. In
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, a black wolf rampant on a yellow shield features on the crest of von Wolfersdorf family. A green wolf grasping a dead swan in its jaws on a yellow shield is depicted on the crest and Arms of the Counts von Brandenstein-Zeppelin. In Italian heraldry, the
attributed arms Attributed arms are Western European coats of arms given retrospectively to persons real or fictitious who died before the start of the age of heraldry in the latter half of the 12th century. Once coats of arms were the established fashion of t ...
of
Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and (, ) are twins in mythology, twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the Founding of Rome, founding of the History of Rome, city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his frat ...
were said to depict the
Capitoline Wolf The Capitoline Wolf (Italian language, Italian: ''Lupa Capitolina'') is a bronze sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture shows a She-wolf (Roman mythology), she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders ...
. An undated Milanese badge allegedly in the Biblioteca Trivulziana, Milan, shows a lamb lying on its back with a wolf standing over it. In French heraldry, the Wolfcatcher Royal had as his official insignia two wolf heads facing frontally. A horned, wolf-like creature called the Calopus or Chatloup was at one time connected with the Foljambe and Cathome family. Modernly, the coat of arms of the secular separatists in Chechnya bore the wolf, because the wolf ( borz) is the Chechen (or Ichkerian) nation's national embodiment. The Islamists later removed it, and the Russian-sponsored ruling regime removed it entirely, but the secular government in exile still uses. In addition, many other insignia of the Chechen nation (of all three governments) use the wolf as a heraldic symbol. Not only is it the national animal, but the Chechen people are symbolically said to be variously related to wolves (not in a serious way, but in an either symbolic or joking manner), and there are legends of their ancestors being raised by a "wolf mother". Characteristics of the wolf are also frequently compared to the Chechen people in a poetic sense, including the most famous line that members of the Chechen nation are "free and equal like wolves".


Examples of wolves in heraldry

File:Escudo del valle de Salazar.svg, A common
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
depiction of a heraldic wolf ( Salazar,
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
). File:Sipoo.vaakuna.svg, A coat of arms of the Sipoo municipality (
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
) File:Valtimo.vaakuna.svg, A coat of arms of the Valtimo municipality (
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
) File:Busturiako_armarria.png, A coat of arms of the town of Busturia ( Basque Country,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
) File:CoatOfArmsOfTheBalsics.png, Sigil of the noble house Balšić. File:Coat of Arms of the 1st NBC-Defense Regiment Valencia.svg, Emblem of the 1st CBRN Regiment 'Valencia' (Spanish Army). File:Coat of arms of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.svg, Chechen ( Ichkerian) seal bearing a wolf, the nation's symbolic embodiment. File:Proposed national emblem of Turkey 1925.svg, Namık İsmail's proposed
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
of
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, bearing the wolf Asena


References


''The Use of the Wolf as an Emblem of Heraldry'', WolfSongAlaska.org


Further reading

* Boutell, Charles (1890).
Heraldry, Ancient and Modern: Including Boutell's Heraldry
'. London: Frederick Warne. *Brooke-Little, J P, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, ''An heraldic alphabet'' (new and revisded edition), Robson Books, London, 1985 (first edition 1975); very few illustrations * Civic Heraldry of England and Wales, fully searchable with illustrations, http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk * Clark, Hugh (1892).
An Introduction to Heraldry, 18th ed.
' (Revised by J. R. Planché). London: George Bell & Sons. First published 1775. . * Canadian Heraldic Authority, Public Register, with many useful official versions of modern coats of arms, searchable online http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/main.asp?lang=e * Cussans, John E. (2003).
Handbook of Heraldry
'.
Kessinger Publishing Kessinger Publishing, LLC is an American print-on-demand publishing company located in Whitefish, Montana, that specializes in rare, out-of-print books. In 2009, the company produced 190,175 titles and was reported to be the third-largest prod ...
. . * Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909).
A Complete Guide to Heraldry
'. New York: Dodge Pub. Co. . *Friar, Stephen (ed) ''A New Dictionary of Heraldry'' Alphabooks, Sherborne, 1987; with very few illustration of attitudes* Greaves, Kevin, ''A Canadian Heraldic Primer'', Heraldry Society of Canada, Ottawa, 2000, lots but not enough illustrations * Heraldry Society (England), members' arms, with illustrations of bearings, searchable online http://www.theheraldrysociety.com/ * Heraldry Society of Scotland, members' arms, fully searchable with illustrations of bearings, http://heraldry-scotland.com/copgal/thumbnails.php?album=7 * Innes of Learney, Sir Thomas, Lord Lyon King of Arms ''Scots Heraldry'' (second edition)Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1956 * Moncreiffe of Easter Moncreiffe, Iain, Kintyre Pursuivant of Arms, and Pottinger, Don, Herald Painter Extraordinary to the Court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms ''Simple Heraldry'', Thomas Nelson and Sons, London andf Edinburgh, 1953; splendidly illustrated * Neubecker, Ottfried (1976). ''Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning''. Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill. . * Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, ''Members' Roll of Arms'', with illustrations of bearings, searchable online http://www.heraldry.ca/ * South African Bureau of Heraldry, data on registered heraldic representations (part of National Archives of South Africa); searchable online (but no illustration), http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za/sm300cv/smws/sm300dl * Volborth, Carl-Alexander von (1981). ''Heraldry: Customs, Rules and Styles''. Poole, England: Blandford Press. . * Woodcock, Thomas and John Martin Robinson (1988). ''The Oxford Guide to Heraldry''. Oxford: University Press. . * Woodward, John and George Burnett (1969).
Woodward's a treatise on heraldry, British and foreign
'. Originally published 1892, Edinburgh: W. & A. B. Johnson. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolves In Heraldry Heraldic beasts Medieval culture
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 ...
Wolves in art Mythological canines