No. 200.— In Westminster Abbey.

In becoming fellowship with the Lion, the Eagle appears in the earliest English Rolls and examples of Arms. The Royal bird, however, does not occur in English blazon so frequently as the Lion; and his appearance often denotes an alliance with German Princes. A Roll of Arms (printed in “Archæologia,” XXX.) of the year 1275 commences with the Shields of the “Emperor of Germany,” and of the “King of Germany,” which are severally blazoned as,—“Or, an Eagle displayed having two heads sa.,” and, “Or, an Eagle displayed sable.” In York Cathedral, in stained glass, there are Shields with both the double-headed and the single-headed Eagles, all of them German, which may be considered to have been executed before the year 1310. In the north choir-aisle at Westminster, the Shield (now mutilated) of the Emperor Frederick II. is boldly sculptured by an heraldic artist of the time of our Henry III., No. 200; here the Eagle had one head only. The German Emperors naturally adopted the Eagle for their heraldic Ensign, in support of their claim to be successors to the Roman Cæsars; and the Russian Czars, with the same motive, have also assumed the same ensign. The Eagle having two heads, which severally look to the dexter and the sinister, as in No. 201, typified a rule that claimed to extend over both the Eastern and the Western Empires; as the Eagle with a single head, No. 202, might be considered to have a less comprehensive signification. The Eagles of the Princes of Germany are frequently to be found, blazoned for them, in England.

No. 201.— Imperial Eagle. No. 202.— Royal Eagle.

Richard, the second son of King John, in the year 1256 was elected King of Germany (he is generally styled “King of the Romans”), when he bore the Eagle of the Empire: but the only Seals of this Prince that are known to exist in England display the Shield of his English Earldom of Cornwall, [No. 140]. His Son Edmund, who succeeded to his father’s Earldom, on his Seals has represented an Eagle bearing in its beak his Shield of Cornwall, as in No. 203: this is a peculiarly interesting example of an heraldic usage of striking significance, and it also illustrates the early existence of the sentiment which at a later period led to the adoption of “Supporters” to Shields of Arms. In the early Heraldry of Scotland, a single displayed Eagle is occasionally found supporting an armorial Shield; as in the Seals of Alexander Steward, Earl of Menteith, A.D. 1296, and William, Earl of Douglas and Mar, A.D. 1378 (Seton’s “Scottish Heraldry,” Plates VIII. and XII.): sometimes also, as Mr. Seton has observed, “the Eagle’s breast is charged with more than one Shield, as in the case of the Seals of Margaret Stewart, Countess of Angus (1366), and Euphemia Leslie, Countess of Ross (1381), on both of which three escutcheons make their appearance” (“Scottish Heraldry,” p. 268, and Plate XII., No. 5): in No. 204 I give a woodcut of this interesting composition; the Shields are, to the dexter, Leslie—Arg., on a bend az., three buckles or; in the centre, the Arms of the Earl of Ross—Gu., three Lions rampant arg., within a tressure; and, to the sinister, Cummin—Az., three garbs or. The Imperial Eagle is sometimes represented crowned; the heads also in some examples are encircled with a nimbus or glory, as in [No. 212]. I must add that in the Heraldry of the English Peerage the Imperial Eagle still supports the Shields of some few Peers of different ranks; as, for example, that of Baron Methuen.

No. 203.— Cornwall. No. 204.— Seal of Euphemia Leslie.

Piers Gaveston, who was created Earl of Cornwall by Edward II., bore—Vert, six Eaglets or, No. 205, (E. 2 and York stained glass): on his Seal, however, the number of the Eaglets is reduced to three. Another early example is the Shield of that gallant and persevering knight, Ralph de Monthermer—Or, an Eagle displayed vert, No. 206, who became Earl of Gloucester in right of his wife, Joan, daughter of Edward I., and widow of Gilbert de Clare, the “Red Earl”; this green Eagle of Monthermer long held a place of high distinction in the mediæval Heraldry of England, marshalled on the Shields of the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick; in which, as in the example, No. 206, the Eagle of Monthermer is quartered with the coat of Montacute, [No. 20] (page 17). The Eagle of early Heraldry was sometimes blazoned as an “Erne,”[4] and sometimes as an “Alerion,” William d’Ernford (H. 3) bears—Sa., an Erne displayed arg.: and, at the same period Wm. de Ernfield bears a pair of Erne’s or Eagle’s Wings, called a “Vol,” No. 207. From Shields of the fourteenth century which bear Eagles, and are blazoned in the Roll of Edward II., I select the following small group as good examples:—Sir Wm. de Mongomerie—Or, an Eagle displayed az.: Sir Nicholas de Etone—Gu., a Chevron between three Eaglets arg.: Sir John de Charlestone—Arg., on a Chevron vert three Eaglets or: Sir Philip de Verley—Or, a Bend gu., between six Eaglets sa.: Sir John de la Mere—Arg., on a Bend az. three Eaglets or, No. 209: a Shield bearing a Bend charged with three Eagles, but with different tinctures, [No. 88], I have shown to have been the Arms of the Grandisons.

No. 205.— Shield of Piers Gaveston. No. 206.— Montacute and Monthermer.

Eagles, under their name of “Alerions” (which early Heralds represented without feet and beaks), are blazoned in the same disposition as in No. 209, in the Arms of the Duchy of Lorraine,—Or, on a Bend gu. three alerions arg.: and this device the Dukes of Lorraine are said to have borne in commemoration of an exploit of their famous ancestor, Godfrey de Bologne, who is also said, when “shooting against David’s tower in Jerusalem,” to have “broched upon his arrow three footless birds called alerions.” “It is impossible,” remarks Mr. Planché upon this legend, “now to ascertain who broached this wonderful story; but it is perfectly evident that the narrator was the party who drew the long bow, and not the noble Godfrey.” Mr. Planché adds, that the Alerions of Lorraine may indicate an alliance with the Imperial House; and he directs attention to “a similarity in sound between ‘Alerion’ and ‘Lorraine,’” and also to a singular Anagram produced by the letters ALERION and LORAINE, which are the same (“Pursuivant of Arms,” p. 87). The Arms of Lorraine are still borne by the Emperor of Austria: and in England they were quartered by Queen Margaret of Anjou.

No. 207.— A Vol. No. 209.— De la Mere.

The Roll of Edward II. gives also for Sir Hugh de Bilbesworth these arms—Az., three Eagles displayed or. A similar Shield, the tinctures changed to—Arg., three Eagles displayed gu., armed or, was borne by Robert de Eglesfield, Confessor to Philippa of Hainault, Queen of Edward III., who in the year 1340 founded Queen’s College, Oxford: this Shield of the Founder is borne by the College. One of the Shields in the Chantry of Abbot Ramryge in St. Albans Abbey Church bears the same charges—three eagles displayed, No. 210: the drawing of the eagle in this Shield is remarkable, and the form of the Shield itself is singularly characteristic of the close of the fifteenth century. Another Shield in the same monument bears a single Eagle, drawn in the same manner, and sculptured with extraordinary spirit.