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TheWhite Boar was thepersonal device or badge of the English KingRichard III of England (1452–1485, reigned from 1483), and is an early instance of the use ofboars in heraldry.
Livery badges were important symbols of political affiliation in theWars of the Roses, and Richard distributed very large numbers at his coronation and the installation of his sonEdward asPrince of Wales, for which an order of 13,000 badges infustian cloth is recorded.[1]
Edward appears to have shared use of the badge, either from Richard's accession to the throne, or his own appointment as Prince of Wales, both in 1483, to his death the next year. Richard's choice of the badge was no doubt personal, but according to a slightly later document the boar had been a badge of the royal possession the "Honour ofWindsor" (an "honour" was a large estate, not necessarily all located around the place from which it took its name). Another suggestion is that the boar was a pun on "Ebor", a contraction ofEboracum, the Latin name forYork; Richard was known as "Richard of York" before being createdDuke of Gloucester.[2]
The boar was originally a symbol of the royal, ancient roots of the family symbolizing the royal bloodline ofGaltung (Galthi) meaningboar in Norwegian. The Norse godYngve-Frey had a "radiant" boarGullinbursti whom he used as a horse, taking Freyr faster than any other riding animal could. The fact that the boar Gullinbursti was "radiant", is why the boar is always depicted as white rather than the natural brown colours of a boar. This made Gullinbursti symbol ofYnglinga, the house ofIngi/Yngve-Frey. The boar Gullinbursti was hence the old Norse family name of the bloodline since NorwegianRollo of Normandy (Hrolfr Ragnvaldsson) became the ancestor of thePlantagenet.
Richard wasvillainized after his death by theTudor dynasty that followed his brief reign, and most of his badges would no doubt have been hurriedly discarded after his death.[3] Only two examples survived ontomb monuments, one of which was destroyed in the 20th century. The sole remaining example is a pendant white boar on aYorkistlivery collar carved in thealabaster effigy of SirRalph Fitzherbert, who died in Richard's reign in 1483. A number of metal badges, for pinning to the chest or a hat, have survived in lead, silver, and gilded copper highrelief, the last found at Richard's home ofMiddleham Castle in Yorkshire, and very likely worn by one of his household when he was Duke of Gloucester.[4]
A new example insilver-gilt was found in 2009 on or near the battlefield of theBattle of Bosworth Field, where Richard was killed in 1485, which with other finds is leading to historians rethinking the precise location of the battle.[5] The archaeologist responsible for the site, DrGlenn Foard, said: "... several of the objects are amazing. The most important by far is the silver-gilt boar, which was Richard III’s own badge, given in large numbers to his supporters. But this one is special, because it is silver-gilt. It was almost certainly worn by a knight in King Richard’s ownretinue who rode with the King to his death in his last desperate cavalry charge. It was found right next to the site of a small medievalmarsh – and the King was killed when his horse became stuck in amire."[6] This badge was similar, but not identical, to the Chiddingly Boar found inChiddingly,East Sussex in 1999, and now in theBritish Museum. This is, or was, also in silver-gilt, though much of thegilding has worn off.[7] Badges in precious metals would have been given to the more important, or perhaps intimate, of Richard's supporters.[8] No doubt there were once badges in gold,enamel and gems for still more important supporters, like theLancastrianDunstable Swan Jewel.
TheRichard III Society, dedicated to defending Richard III's reputation, makes extensive use of white boars in its various forms ofheraldry.[9] It was originally called the Fellowship of the White Boar.