CH 5 (4/7) - Heraldic Dragons

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• published: 22 Feb 2008
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Fourth part of the fifth chapter of historian Frederick William Hackwood's study of dragonlore. FULL ILLUSTRATED TEXT http://www.justgenealogy.plus.com/fwhdd05.htm The use of the red dragon (y ddraig coch) as the armorial bearing or standard of the Britons is a subject of some heraldic interest. Whether the device was a relic of the widely spread worship of the serpent or had a more local origin is, and must always remain, a subject for speculation and much ingenious argument. The device of the red dragon has made some memorable appearances in English history. Harold displayed the dragon standard at Senlac. The early Plantagenet kings had the same - an inflated thing which caught the wind, rolled its eyes, and assumed the ferocity of a living monster. At the battle of Lewes, in 1264, the flag of Henry III and of his brother Richard, King of the Romans, was emblazoned with this device, probably in compliment to the Cornish Britons, as Richard was also Earl of Cornwall. The royal instructions for the making of this standard have been preserved. It was ordered "to be made with a dragon in the manner of a banner, of a certain red silk embroidered with gold ; its tongue like a flaming fire must always seem to be moving ; its eyes must be made of sapphire or of some other stone suitable for that purpose." The mandate for this (or a very similar) flag was issued twenty years previously by the king to Edward Fitz Odo, who was to place it in the church of St. Peter, at Westminster, June 17, 1244. It was a standard of this description which was captured in the battle of 1264, when the king and his brother were both taken prisoners by Simon de Montfort. At the battle of Crécy, in 1346, the King of France having displayed the holy standard of that nation, the "Oriflamme," it indicate his intention of refusing quarter to his enemies, our king, Edward III, unfolded his banner of "the Burning Dragon" to portend like intention. Consequently a vast number of men were slain and not prisoner was taken. Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, claiming descent from the ancient Kings of Wales, adopted the red dragon for the device of his standard at Bosworth Field. When he became king, as Henry VII, he altered the designation of one of the Pursuivants at Arms (which his rival, Richard III, had instituted after his own bearings as Blanch Sanglier, or White Boar) to Rouge Dragon ; and so called that officer remains to this day, as one of the four state messengers at grand court ceremonies. The red dragon that became one of the supporters of the royal arms ; and Shakespeare's frequent allusion to the monster, as hidden compliments to Queen Elizabeth, may have been noted. But on the accession of James I, and the union of England with Scotland, the unicorn, one of the supporters of the arms of Scotland, was substituted. So it came about that in the royal coat-of-arms of Great Britain no emblem representative of Wales was left. This heraldic omission is unfortunate, as the red dragon has been recognised by Welshmen as their national device since the times of the Arthurian cycle ; with its Welsh motto, "Y ddraig goch a ddry gychwyn" ("The red dragon marches on"), it is the territorial badge of the Welsh regiments. As to the exact way in which the dragon should be emblazoned there appears to be some doubt. It has commonly assumed the rampant attitude ; but the correct way to represent it is now declared to be "on a green mound a red dragon passant" - i.e. walking with one fore-leg raised. The dragon enters into the armorial bearings of a large number of ancient territorial families, not only in this country but in others - in France, Germany, Russia, Portugal, Scandanavia, and elsewhere. The Italian family of Dal Verme ("Worm") take their name from the legendary slaying by the founder of it of a monster which once terrorised the valley of the Adige and elsewhere. Their crest shows the reared head of the "worm" in chains. The Italian families of Dragonetti and Del Drago both bear dragons. Similarly in the British Peerage and Baronetage interesting examples may be found. The Drake family bear the same arms - wrongfully assumed by the famous Sir Francis - as the Italian noble family of Del Drago.