Fig. 159.—Seal of Anne Countess of Devon.
Fig. 160.—Seal of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland.
Supporters were in their origin badges which had acquired permanence by custom in the same way that the arms of the shield had acquired it at an earlier time. Thus, in addition to the regular armorials which so profusely adorned the Seals, certain badges were freely used which from association acquired in many cases a permanence by frequent recurrence equal to that of the arms with which they were associated. In this way lions appear in many of the Great Seals, notably in those of Edward III and in the beautiful seal of Henry IV. Such emblems were placed decoratively in any spaces that were suitable, and in the simpler seals the intervals between the circumscription and the more or less triangular shield within it invited their display, as in Fig. 158, the seal of John de Segrave (c. 1300), which has a garb on either side of the shield. In Fig. 159, the seal of Anne Countess of Devon, lions occupy similar spaces, but with their backs to the shields. The seal of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, Fig. 160, shows greyhounds, which, though of subordinate proportion, have assumed the regular pose of supporters; while in the splendid seal of Edmond Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, Fig. 161, the finely designed supporting figures have complete heraldic force. Another fine example is that of William Lord Hastings, Fig. 162. The connexion between ancient Badges and the Supporters in present use is easily traced, and, as one instance of many, it will suffice to mention the white lion Badge of Mowbray, which has become one of the supporters of the Duke of Norfolk. The actual recognized use of these accessories appears to have begun at the end of the fourteenth century; and to have become firmly established in the following one.
Fig. 161.—Seal of Edmond Beaufort, Duke of Somerset.
The idea that supporters originated in fantastically dressed pages at a tournament seems to have little or no foundation, and though there may have been some such representation of already established devices, later statements on the subject have probably been much over-valued.
Fig. 162.—Seal of William Lord Hastings. Fifteenth Century.
Viollet-le-duc quotes an instance of a celebrated tournament, which was held on May Day, 1346, at Chambery, when Amedee VI of Savoy had his shield hung on a tree and guarded by two lions. The interesting fact is mentioned that the shields, helms and crests of the knights who figured at this tournament remained in the Church of St. Francis at Chambery, until 1660 or thereabouts. Then the church was redecorated, and in the disregard for antiquity, which we find so difficult to understand, the relics of chivalry disappeared.