Oxen occur fairly often in heraldry. The Oxendens bear three oxen; three bulls occur in the arms of Anne Boleyn's father, the Lord of Hoo, whilst the same arms were given by Queen Elizabeth to her clockmaker, Randal Bull of London. The Veitchs bear three cows' heads erased, a rather uncommon charge, as female beasts were generally deemed unworthy of the herald's notice. The Veales bear three calves passant (Fig. 41), anent which Guillim adds: "Should these calves live to have horns, which differ either in metal or colour from the rest of their body, there must be special mention made of such difference in blazoning them." Hereby, he reminds us of the important rule for blazoning animals with horns and hoofs. Goats and goats' heads are often used in heraldry. A single goat passant is borne by one, Baker; three goats salient—leaping—occur in the Thorold arms, whilst the Gotley family—originally Goatley—charge a magnificent goat's head on their shield.
Fig. 41.
Bulls, goats, and rams, when their horns differ in tincture from the rest of their body, are blazoned "armed of their horns," these latter in their case being regarded as weapons. When, however, special mention is made of a stag's antlers, he is said to be "attired of his antlers," his horns being regarded as ornaments. (The branches of his antlers are termed tynes.)
Stags, as you would expect, are highly esteemed by the old heralds, who employed various terms in blazoning them. Thus, a stag in repose was "lodged," looking out of the field, "at gaze"; in rapid motion, he was "at speed" or "courant"; whilst, when his head was represented full face and showing only the face, it was blazoned as "cabossed" from the Spanish word for head. (Many of these terms we shall find in blazoning other animal charges.) Early heralds make careful distinction between a hind or calf, brockets, stags and harts. (A hind, you know, is the female, calf is the infant deer, brocket the two-year-old deer, stag the five-year-old, and hart the six-year-old deer.)
The Harthills very properly bear a "hart lodged on a hill;" a single stag, his back pierced by an arrow, occurs in the Bowen arms, and the Hynds bear three hinds. Three bucks "in full course" are borne by the Swifts. Deer's heads are very common charges, generally occurring in threes. In the coat of arms of the Duke of Wurtemberg and Teck, we find three antlers charged horizontally across the shield.
A reindeer is drawn in heraldry with double antlers, one pair erect and one drooping.
The boar was deemed a specially suitable badge for a soldier, who should rather die valorously upon the field than secure himself by ignominious flight. Both the Tregarthens and Kellets bear a single boar, whilst a boar's head, either singly or in threes, occurs very constantly in coats of arms. A boar is blazoned "armed of his tusk" or "armed and langued," when his tongue is shown of a different tincture. Moreover, as Mr. Fox-Davies reminds us in his interesting "Guide to Heraldry," an English boar's head is described as "couped" or erased "at the neck," but the Scotch herald would blazon the same charge as "couped and erased" "close."
The Earl of Vere takes a boar for his crest, in allusion to his name, verre being the Latin for boar.