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Inheraldry, the termattitude describes theposition in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as acharge, asupporter, or as acrest. The attitude of a heraldic figure always precedes any reference to thetincture of the figure and its parts. Some attitudes apply only to predatory beasts, exemplified by the beast most usual to heraldry – theheraldic lion; other terms apply to docile animals, such as the doe, usually emblazoned as a "hind".
Other heraldic attitudes, such asvolant (flying), describe the positions of birds, exemplified by the bird most usual to heraldry – theheraldic eagle; moreover, birds also are described by the positions of their wings.[1] The termnaiant (swimming) applies to fish, swans, ducks, and geese. The termsegreant is applied to thegriffin, as an approximation oframpant, and is applied to thedragon. Animal figures are positioned in profile, facingdexter (the viewer's left), and persons are shownaffronté (facing the viewer), but theblazon might specify other attitudes.
Animals and animal-like creatures are presumed to be shown in profile facingdexter. 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 shownaffronté. The heraldic termsdexter ('right') andsinister ('left') represent the shield bearer's perspective, not the viewer's.
Many attitudes commonly met with in heraldic rolls apply specifically topredatory 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 asa snorting bison.[4]
A beastrampant (Old French: "rearing up") is depicted in profile standing erect with forepaws raised.[5] 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 wordrampant is sometimes omitted, especially in early blazon, as this is the most usual position of a carnivorous quadruped.Note: the termsegreant denotes the same position, but implies a particular wing position and is only used in reference to winged quadrupeds such asgriffins anddragons.[6]Rampant is the most frequent attitude of quadrupeds, and assupporters they are rarely seen in any other attitude.Forcené is the term for this position when applied to horses orunicorns.
A beastpassant (Old French: "striding") walks toward dexter (the viewer's left) with the right forepaw raised and all others on the ground.[7] 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 termleopard has long since been abandoned by English heralds.[8] A "Lion of England" denotes alion passant guardant Or, used as anaugmentation.[7]The Welsh flag features a dragon passant. For stags and other deer-like beasts of chase, the termtrippant is used instead of passant.
A beastsejant orsejeant (Middle French:seant,siégeant, "sitting") sits on its haunches, with both forepaws on the ground.[9]
A beastsejant 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").[9]
A beastcouchant (Old French: "lying down") is lying down, but with the head raised.[10]Lodged is the term for this position when applied to the "docile" (i.e.herbivorous) animals.
A beastcourant (French: "running"; alsoat speed orin full chase) is running, depicted at full stride with all four legs in the air.
A lioncoward (Old Frenchcoart, 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".[11]
A beastdormant (French: "sleeping") is lying down with his head lowered, resting upon the forepaws, as if asleep.[10] (However, perhaps counterintuitively, some sources[which?] would have the lion dormant with the eyes open.)
A beastsalient (Latin:saliēns, "leaping") (alsospringing) is leaping, with both hind legs together on the ground and both forelegs together in the air.[12] This is a very rare position for a lion,[12] but is also used of other heraldic beasts. The stag and other docile animals in this position are often termedspringing. Certain smaller animals are sometimes blazoned assaltant rather thansalient.[13] Goats are said to beclymant in the rampant position.[14]
A beaststatant (Old French: "standing") is "standing" (in profile toward dexter), all four feet on the ground, usually with the forepaws together.[15] This posture is more frequent incrests than in charges on shields.[12] In certain animals, such as bears, this may refer to an upright, bipedal position (though this position may also be referred to asstatant 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 ofBerwick-upon-Tweed).[16] Whilestatant is used in reference to predatory beasts, the more docile animals when in this position may be calledat bay, while such creaturesstatant guardant are said to beat gaze. This is particularly true of stags (harts).[17]
Also spelledmorné ormortine, a lion depicted with no claws, no teeth and no tongue, in the rampant position. The term is from the Old French verbmorner, frommorne, a ring placed over the point of a lance, from Latinmora, "sword guard".[18][19]
A lionbailloné (lit. 'gagged') is shown in the rampant position holding abaton orstaff in its teeth.[20]
Also calleddiffame,infamed, anddefame, a lion shown in the rampant position without its tail.
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.
A liontricorporated 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).
Herbivores 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.
Herbivores are described asat bay when they are standing still while looking in the direction their body is positioned (i.e., dexter or sinister). It is the same asstatant.
When herbivores are standing still while looking toward the viewer, it is calledat gaze. It is the herbivore version ofstatant guardant.[21]
When aunicorn, horse or other horse-like animal "rears up" in what the beasts describe asrampant, it is calledforcené (forcene,lit. 'rabid').[22] This term is not used for non-horse-like herbivores.
Leaping orspringing describe docile animals leaping, usually with both hind legs on the ground.[23] These terms can be used interchangeably to describe the beasts' salient attitude for herbivores.
A docile/herbivorous animal, such as a stag or sheep, lying down with head erect is calledlodged ("lying down").[23] This term is used in place of couchant.
Herbivores can be shown aspascuant ("grazing") orpaissant ("peaceful"), with head lowered to the same level as their four legs, as the head of a cow would be when eating grass.[24][25]
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Trippant ("striding") is used to describe stags and other deer-like animals of the chase (prey) in place of passant.[23]
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Some attitudes describe the positioning of birds andbats. The eagle is so often founddisplayed in early heraldry that this position came to be presumed of the eagle unless some other attitude is specified in the blazon. The same applies to bats.
The termsexpanded andelevated orabaissé andinverted are similar terms often used interchangeably in heraldry but have specific meanings. There is also sometimes confusion between arising bird withdisplayed wings and adisplayed bird. The difference is thatrising birds face either to thedexter orin 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, exceptovert, may have its wingsdisplayed oraddorsed.
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| Wings displayed and expanded | Wings displayed and lowered |
A birddisplayed is shownaffronté 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 toCharlemagne.[26]
A birdovert ("open") ordisclosed has wings open and pointing downward.
Close ("closed"), the bird's equivalent ofstatant, 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 isclose while sitting atop a charge.
If a bird's attitude is not blazoned, it is assumed to beclose; the exception is the eagle, whose default attitude isdisplayed.
Used to describe aphoenix, though potentially other flying creatures as well, when depicted arising from, for example, a line of flames, a coronet, an amphora, etc.[27]
A birdrising,rizant[28][29] orrousant 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 eitherdisplayed oraddorsed, and the wings may be further described aselevated orinverted.
An attitude similar torising is thestriking 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.[citation needed] While this may be more common in abird of prey, it can be used with other birds such as acorvid.[citation needed]
A birdvolant faces thedexter with its wings spread in flight (usually shownaddorsed andelevated) 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 showndisplayed andinverted). A birdvolant is consideredin bend ("diagonal") as it is flying from the lowersinister to the upperdexter of the field.
An eagle or hawk shownrecursant 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.
Acrane standing on one leg (usually with a stone held in the other foot) may be calledvigilant orin its vigilance (e.g.Waverley Borough Council's "crane in its vigilance"[30]). 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.
One peculiar attitude, reserved only to the pelican, is thepelican 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 tovuln (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 toChrist's sacrifice), and became so popular in heraldry that pelicans rarely exist in heraldry in any other position.[31] A distinction is sometimes observed, however, between a pelican vulning herself (alone, piercing her breast) versus "her piety" (surrounded by and feeding her chicks).[32]
A fish, dolphin, or other sea creaturehauriant (Latinhauriēns, "drawing up") is in a vertical position with its head up.[33]
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An animal or creaturenaiant 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 asembowed, unlike any other sea creature or monster, even though the blazon may not specify this.[33]
A fish, dolphin, or other sea creatureurinant (/ˈjʊərɪnənt/) (Latinūrīnāns, "diving") is in a vertical position with its head down.
Terms likeglissant andnowed apply to serpents. Serpents also sometimes appear in a circular form, biting their own tail, but this symbol, called anOuroboros, was imported ready-made into heraldry, and so it needs no term of attitude to describe it.
A serpentglissant is gliding horizontally in an undulant posture.[34]
Serpents, and the tails of other beasts and monsters, may benowed (/naʊd/ (Frenchnoué, "knotted")—often in afigure-eight knot.[34]
Tergiant (and, less often, tergant) is another way to describerecursant where the animal has its back (Latintergum) to the viewer.[35] It is the default attitude for amphibians, insects, and some reptiles with a low profile, such as alizard. 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.
Few attitudes are reserved to the rarer classes of creatures, but these includesegreant, a term which can only apply to winged quadrupeds.
A creaturesegreant has both forelegs raised in the air, as a beastrampant, with wingsaddorsed andelevated. This term is reserved to winged quadrupeds (such as griffins and dragons). It is of uncertain etymology; it is first recorded assergreant in the 16th century.[36][37][38] Payne Fisher's 1682Synopsis of Heraldry uses the termsegriant, as seen in some blazons.[39]
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Creaturescombatant (French, "fighting") are shown in profile facing each other in therampant orsegreant position, always paired and never appearing singly.[40] Nearly any creature can be renderedcombatant, although this term is usually applied to predatory beasts and mythical creatures; herbivorous animals in such a position are typically blazoned asrespectant (Latinrespectāns, "watching").[41]
Creatures or objectsaddorsed orendorsed (Latinad-, "to" anddorsum, "back"; Middle Englishendosse, Old Frenchendosser, influenced by Medieval Latinindorsare) are shown facingaway from each other. As withcombatant, charges addorsed can only appear in pairs. One also frequently finds keys addorsed (placed in parallel,wards facing outward).[42]
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