The family of Parr used a tuft of daisies; and the Percies a silver crescent:
“The minstrels of thy noble house,
All clad in robes of blue,
With silver crescents on their arms,
Attend in order due.”
Hermit of Warkworth.
In the ‘Rising of the North Countrie’ this badge and the dun bull of the Nevilles are mentioned. Of the latter we are told:
“Lord Westmoreland his ancyent raysde,
The dun bull he rays’d on hye,
And three dogs with golden collars,
Were there set out most royallye.”[185]
Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, used the punning device of lions and mulberry-trees; and Vere, Earl of Oxford, a long-necked silver bottle, with a blue cord, allusive to his hereditary post of lord high chamberlain.
Sometimes these insignia answered the double purpose of the crest and the badge. Some badges, however, as Mr. M. remarks, are not at all suitable for crests. This applies particularly to Knots, which were composed either of silk, or of gold and silver lace, and were antiently a favourite species of badge. The families of Harrington, Wake, Bouchier, Stafford, Heneage, and others, each bore a peculiar knot.
The regal heraldry of this country is peculiarly rich in badges. Mr. Montagu has, with great research, compiled a nearly perfect list of them from William Rufus to James I, to which the reader who desires further information on this subject is referred.[186] Meantime I shall notice a few of the most celebrated.
The broom-plant, or planta-genesta, was introduced by Henry II. From this badge the illustrious line of Plantagenet derived their surname. The story of its origin, be it true or false, is well known.
The first monarch who assumed the rose was Edward I, who bore the flower or, the stalk green. From this, in some way as yet unexplained, probably originated the white and red roses of his descendants, the rival houses of York and Lancaster. Richard II adopted the white hart and white falcon, both of which afterwards became the titles of pursuivants. The white swan of Henry IV is said to have been derived from the Bohuns, Earls of Hereford, the family of his first wife. The double S,[187] concerning which so much conjecture has been wasted, was another badge of this monarch.