Seal of the Emperor Sigismund, as King of Hungary.
Seal of Charles IV. as Emperor.
Seal of Dauphiny, 1494.
Italian Medal by Pisano, 1441.
Italian Medal, attributed to Bartolo Talpas, XVth Century.
Of imaginary birds the phoenix is most interesting as a symbol of the perpetuation of life, and early writers never tired of describing in elaborate detail how the fabled bird, which they, however, accepted and believed in as a natural fact, effected his rejuvenescence through fire of his own kindling. Therefore the phoenix is represented in heraldry as resting upon its pyre. In recent times it has been customary to depict the bird as shaped like an eagle, but in earlier examples the head was crested like a peacock. Its proper colour was purely fanciful, some examples of great beauty being blue and gold, the preponderance of tincture varying with the fancy of the artist.