jducoeur: (Default)
jducoeur ([personal profile] jducoeur) wrote2006-08-01 08:56 am
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Symbolism in Heraldry?

A quick double-check, lest I stick my foot in my mouth.

We got a question on the SCA Questions List, from a fellow who is looking into his family crest, and is trying to understand the symbolism of the positions of the beasts. He says that it has, eg, a crouching dragon and two boars with their snouts raised, and wants to know what that *means*.

My gut reaction is that it doesn't necessarily mean anything -- that the notion of specific symbolism for specific positions is a modern notion that's been imputed to period heraldry. But I Am Not A Herald, and I know a couple of the people here, so I wanted to make sure that I'm correct...

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