Yes, and soldiers on crusades would have seen and heard of them - just about the time when heraldry was becoming institutionalised. Something I've noted before is that some heraldic lions look definitely scraggy without the rampant main of African lions: a feature of the Asian sub-species? (Or females or leo-pards?).
Similarly elephants and bears commonly appear on arms but why not wolves which would have been more familiar in northern Europe?
One option is simple error as:
"Where arms have not been falsified, they may be incorrect through honest human error. Quartered arms on monuments and in pedigrees often represent marriages that took place a century or more earlier. If an older version of the arms was available to copy, it may have been in poor condition, and the charges could be miscopied (a greyhound could turn into a lion, for example...) ...... "
The copyist might misinterpret a wolf as a dog as a horse .... (you don't get many horses in heraldry, nor bulls for that matter .....).
This could go on for ever .... I suppose when I get my peerage I shall have to have
beetles passant?
Some info at
Heraldic Dictionary - Beasts
Heraldic Dictionary - Birds
Heraldic Dictionary - Fish, Insects & Reptiles (including a bee
volant)
Heraldic Dictionary - Monsters - which is where I came in
The
camelopard looks much like a giraffe to me ......
Quote:
Originally Posted by black
|