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71-541: [REDACTED] Look up volant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Volant may refer to: Volant (heraldry) , an attitude of heraldry, a position of a bird emblazoned as a charge, supporter or crest Flying and gliding animals Volant skis , a U.S. ski manufacturer Volant, Pennsylvania , a small town Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

142-467: A figure-eight knot . Griffin The griffin , griffon , or gryphon ( Ancient Greek : γρύψ , romanized :  grýps ; Classical Latin : grȳps or grȳpus ; Late and Medieval Latin : gryphes , grypho etc.; Old French : griffon ) is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion , and the head and wings of an eagle with its talons on the front legs. Because

213-557: A "leopard", and this distinction persists in French heraldry; however, this use of the term leopard has long since been abandoned by English heralds. A "Lion of England" denotes a lion passant guardant Or , used as an augmentation . The Welsh flag features a dragon passant. For stags and other deer-like beasts of chase, the term trippant is used instead of passant. A beast sejant or sejeant ( Middle French : seant , siégeant , "sitting") sits on its haunches, with both forepaws on

284-399: A circular form, biting their own tail, but this symbol, called an Ouroboros , was imported ready-made into heraldry, and so it needs no term of attitude to describe it. A creature segreant has both forelegs raised in the air, as a beast rampant , with wings addorsed and elevated . This term is reserved to winged quadrupeds (such as griffins and dragons). It is of uncertain etymology; it

355-485: A position are typically blazoned as respectant (Latin respectāns , "watching"). Creatures or objects addorsed or endorsed (Latin ad -, "to" and dorsum , "back"; Middle English endosse , Old French endosser , influenced by Medieval Latin indorsare ) are shown facing away from each other. As with combatant , charges addorsed can only appear in pairs. One also frequently finds keys addorsed (placed in parallel, wards facing outward). An animal or creature naiant

426-485: A red chest and white wings". Aelian was the last source on the griffin to add fresh information on the griffin, and late writers (into medieval times) merely rehashed existing material on griffins, with the exception of the lore about their "agate eggs" which emerged at some indistinct time later on (cf. infra). The griffin has been associated with various deities (Apollo, Dionysus, Nemesis), in Greek mythography but here,

497-413: A region of very rich soil but quite uninhabitable because griffins, a savage and tenacious breed of wild beasts, love.. the gold that is mined from deep within the earth there, and because they guard it with an amazing hostility to those who set foot there. The aforementioned Aelian ( Claudius Aelianus , d. 235 AD) added certain other embellishments, such as its reputation of "black plumage on its back with

568-407: A tincture, while a stag may be "attired" (antlers) or "unguled" (hooves) of a tincture. The tail may be forked ( queue fourchée ) or doubled ( double-queued ). In addition to the below, there may be rare or, arguably, not entirely standard attitudes, such as a snorting bison . A beast rampant ( Old French : "rearing up") is depicted in profile standing erect with forepaws raised. The position of

639-410: Is "standing" (in profile toward dexter), all four feet on the ground, usually with the forepaws together. This posture is more frequent in crests than in charges on shields. In certain animals, such as bears, this may refer to an upright, bipedal position (though this position may also be referred to as statant erect ), though bears blazoned as 'statant' can also be found with all four feet firmly on

710-411: Is also sometimes confusion between a rising bird with displayed wings and a displayed bird. The difference is that rising birds face either to the dexter or in trian aspect and have their feet on the ground. Displayed birds face the viewer, have their legs splayed out, and the tail is completely visible. Several terms refer to the particular position of the wings, rather than the attitude of

781-508: Is assumed to be close ; the exception is the eagle, whose default attitude is displayed . Used to describe a phoenix , though potentially other flying creatures as well, when depicted arising from, for example, a line of flames, a coronet, an amphora, etc. A bird rising , rizant or rousant faces dexter with its head upturned, wings raised, and standing on the tips of its feet as if about to take flight. A bird rising may have its wings described as either displayed or addorsed , and

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852-417: Is called "disjointed" (i.e., torn away at the joints), and it is always shown in the rampant position. A lion tricorporated is shown having three bodies combined with one head, with the main/ central lion facing "rampant guardant" (i.e., with its face towards the viewer and with body upright facing to dexter). Herbivores can be shown as pascuant ("grazing") or paissant ("peaceful"), with head lowered to

923-402: Is considered in bend ("diagonal") as it is flying from the lower sinister to the upper dexter of the field. An eagle or hawk shown recursant has its back towards the viewer, e.g., "an eagle volant recursant descendant in pale" is an eagle flying downward in the vertical center of the shield with its back towards the viewer. A crane standing on one leg (usually with a stone held in

994-534: Is described as having a " visor " (i.e., beaks) made by Urartian craftsmen, similar to what is found on Greek protomes. Representations of griffin-like hybrids with four legs and a beaked head appeared in Ancient Egyptian art dating back to before 3000 BC. The oldest known depiction of a griffin-like animal in Egypt appears as a relief carving on slate on the cosmetic palette from Hierakonpolis ,

1065-478: Is first recorded as sergreant in the 16th century. Payne Fisher's 1682 Synopsis of Heraldry uses the term segriant , as seen in some blazons. Creatures combatant (French, "fighting") are shown in profile facing each other in the rampant or segreant position, always paired and never appearing singly. Nearly any creature can be rendered combatant , although this term is usually applied to predatory beasts and mythical creatures; herbivorous animals in such

1136-401: Is in a vertical position with its head up. A fish, dolphin, or other sea creature urinant ( / ˈ jʊər ɪ n ə n t / ) (Latin ūrīnāns , "diving") is in a vertical position with its head down. A serpent glissant is gliding horizontally in an undulant posture. Serpents, and the tails of other beasts and monsters, may be nowed ( / n aʊ d / (French noué , "knotted")—often in

1207-459: Is not uniquely applied to the griffin beast, and tštš ( Teš-teš ) has also been used to denote the god Osiris elsewhere. Most statuary representations of griffins depict them with bird-like forelegs and talons , although in some older illustrations griffins have a lion's forelegs (see bronze figure, right); they generally have a lion's hindquarters. Its eagle's head is conventionally given prominent ears ; these are sometimes described as

1278-462: Is running, depicted at full stride with all four legs in the air. A lion coward (Old French coart, cuard , "turning tail") carries the tail between its hind legs and is otherwise shown rampant to dexter; "coward" takes no other modifiers such as "regardant" or "sejant". A beast dormant ( French : "sleeping") is lying down with his head lowered, resting upon the forepaws, as if asleep. (However, perhaps counterintuitively, some sources would have

1349-446: Is sometimes observed, however, between a pelican vulning herself (alone, piercing her breast) versus "her piety" (surrounded by and feeding her chicks). Few attitudes are reserved to the rarer classes of creatures, but these include segreant , a term which can only apply to winged quadrupeds; naiant and hauriant , terms applying principally to fish; glissant and nowed , terms applying to serpents. Serpents also sometimes appear in

1420-443: Is swimming. This term is typically applied to fish (when shown in a horizontal position), but may also apply to other sea creatures and, occasionally, water fowl (i.e. swans, ducks or geese shown without legs). A dolphin blazoned as naiant is always shown as embowed , unlike any other sea creature or monster, even though the blazon may not specify this. A fish, dolphin, or other sea creature hauriant (Latin hauriēns , "drawing up")

1491-618: Is that these derive from the bumps (furrows) on a lion's snout. Another view regards the wart as deriving from the bumpy cockscomb on a rooster or other such fowls. Griffin-like animals were depicted on cylinder seals in Mesopotamia c. 3000 BC, perhaps as early as the Uruk period (4000–3100BC) and subsequent Proto-Elamite ( Jemdet Nasr ) period. An example of a winged lion with beaks, unearthed in Susa (cf. fig. right ) dates to

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1562-409: Is the most frequent attitude of quadrupeds, and as supporters they are rarely seen in any other attitude. Forcené is the term for this position when applied to horses or unicorns . A beast passant ( Old French : "striding") walks toward dexter (the viewer's left) with the right forepaw raised and all others on the ground. Early heralds held that any lion in a walking position must necessarily be

1633-554: The Achaemenian Persian Empire . Russian jewelry historian Elena Neva maintained that the Achaemenids considered the griffin "a protector from evil, witchcraft, and secret slander", but no writings exist from Achaemenid Persia to support her claim. R.L. Fox (1973) remarks that a "lion-griffin" attacks a stag in a pebble mosaic at Pella , from the 4th century BC, perhaps serving as an emblem of

1704-511: The Lamassu , an Assyrian protective deity, often depicted with a bull or lion's body, eagle's wings, and human's head. Sumerian and Akkadian mythology feature the demon Anzu , half man and half bird, associated with the chief sky god Enlil . This was a divine storm-bird linked with the southern wind and the thunder clouds. Jewish mythology speaks of the Ziz , which resembles Anzu, as well as

1775-919: The Two Dog Palette dated to the Early Dynastic Period , c.  3300–3100  BC. Griffin-type creatures combining raptor heads and mammalian bodies were depicted in the Levant , Syria , and Anatolia during the Middle Bronze Age , dated at about 1950–1550 BC. Griffin-type animals appeared in the art of ancient Crete in the MM III Period (1650–1600 BC) in Minoan chronology , found on sealings from Zakro and miniature frescos dated to this period. One early example of griffin-types in Minoan art occurs in

1846-588: The "curled tresses" that are the signature of Uratrian workmanship. Even the ornate crests on Minoan griffins (such as the fresco of the Throne Room, figure top of page) may be a development of these curled tresses. One prominent characteristic of the cauldron griffins is the "top-knob between the brows" (seemingly situated at the top of the head ). The top-knob feature has clear oriental origins. Jack Leonard Benson says these appendages were "topknots" subsequently rendered as "knobs" in later development of

1917-592: The 15th century BC frescoes of the Throne Room of the Bronze Age Palace of Knossos , as restored by Sir Arthur Evans . The griffin-like hybrid became a fixture of Aegean culture since the Late Bronze Age , but the animal called the gryps, gryphon, or griffin in Greek writings did not appear in Greek art until about 700 BC, or rather, it was "rediscovered" as artistic motif in

1988-723: The 4th millennium B.C., and is a unique example of a griffin-like animal with a male lion's mane . However, this monster then ceased to continue to be expressed after the Elamite culture. What the Sumerians of the Early Dynastic period portrayed instead were winged lions, and the lion-headed eagle ( Imdugud ). In the Akkadian Empire that succeeded Sumer, early examples (from early 3rd millennium BC ) of lions with bird heads appeared on cylinder seals, shown pulling

2059-623: The 8th to 7th centuries BC, adapting the style of griffin current in Neo-Hittite art. It became quite popular in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, when the Greeks first began to record accounts of the "gryps" creature from travelers to Asia, such as Aristeas of Proconnesus. A number of bronze griffin protomes on cauldrons have been unearthed in Greece (on Samos , and at Olympia , etc., cf. fig. right). Early Greek and early Etruscan (e.g.

2130-535: The Barberini) examples of cauldron-griffins may have been of Syric-Urartian make, based on evidence (the "tendrils" or "tresses" motif was already touched upon, above), but "Vannic (Urartian) originals" have yet to be found (in the Orient). It has thus been controversially argued (by Ulf Jantzen  [ de ] ) that these attachments had always since the earliest times been crafted by Greek workshops, added to

2201-770: The Mesopotamian lion-griffin. There is also the Armenian term Paskuč ( Armenian : պասկուչ ) that had been used to translate Greek gryp 'griffin' in the Septuagint , which H. P. Schmidt characterized as the counterpart of the simurgh. However, the cognate term Baškuč (glossed as 'griffin') also occurs in Middle Persian, attested in the Zoroastrian cosmological text Bundahishn XXIV (supposedly distinguishable from Sēnmurw which also appears in

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2272-685: The ancient Greek Phoenix . The Bible mentions the Ziz in Psalms 50:11. This is also similar to a cherub . The cherub, or sphinx, was very popular in Phoenician iconography. In ancient Crete, griffins became very popular, and were portrayed in various media. A similar creature is the Minoan Genius . In the Hindu religion, Garuda is a large bird-like creature that serves as a mount ( vahana ) of

2343-463: The ant into his description of griffins. Later, Pliny the Elder became the first to explicitly state the griffins as having wings and long ears. In one of the two passages, Pliny also located the "griffons" in Æthiopia . According to Adrienne Mayor , Pliny also wrote, "griffins were said to lay eggs in burrows on the ground and these nests contained gold nuggets ". Apollonius of Tyana , who

2414-525: The bird itself. A bird in nearly any attitude, except overt , may have its wings displayed or addorsed . A bird displayed is shown affronté with its head turned to dexter and wings spread to the sides to fill the area of the field. This position is presumed of the eagle, and the symbolic use of eagles in this position was well established even before the development of heraldry, going back to Charlemagne . A bird overt ("open") or disclosed has wings open and pointing downward. Close ("closed"),

2485-405: The bird's equivalent of statant , is shown in profile and at rest with its feet flat on the ground and its wings folded at its sides. Trussed is the term used for domestic or game birds, implying the bird is tied up or caught in a net respectively, and is not applied to predator birds like the eagle and hawk. Perched is overt while sitting atop a charge. If a bird's attitude is not blazoned, it

2556-400: The cauldron Griffins. Benson's emphasis is that the Greeks attached a stylized "anorganic" topknot or an "inorganic" plug on the griffin's head (due to lack of information), while in contrast, a known oriental example (stone protomes from Nimrud ) is simple but more "plausible" (naturalistic), resembling a forelock. A cluster of "warts" between the eyes are also mentioned. One conjecture

2627-531: The chariots for its rider, the weather god. The "lion-griffin" on Akkadian seals are also shown as fire-belching, and shaggy (at the neck) in particular examples. The bronzeworks of Luristan , the North and North West region of Iran in the Iron Age , include examples of Achaemenid art depicting both the "bird-griffin" and "lion-griffin" designs, such as are found on horse-bits . Bernard Goldman maintains

2698-473: The deity Vishnu . It is also the name for the constellation Aquila . Local lore on the gryps or griffin was gathered by Aristeas of Proconnesus, a Greek who traveled to the Altai region between Mongolia and NW China in the 7th century BC. Although Aristeas's original poem was lost, the gryps lore preserved in secondhand accounts by the playwright Aeschylus (ca. 460 BC), and later his contemporary, Herodotus

2769-446: The few female beasts in heraldry, is shown with a sharp stork-like beak, which it uses to vuln (pierce or wound) her own breast. This is per the bestiary myth that a female pelican wounded herself thus to feed her chicks. This symbol of sacrifice carries a particular religious meaning (usually a reference to Christ 's sacrifice), and became so popular in heraldry that pelicans rarely exist in heraldry in any other position. A distinction

2840-520: The god Apollo due to "syncretism between the two gods". At the Temple of Hera at Samos , a griffin-themed bronze "wine-cup" or "cauldron" had been installed, according to Herodotus. The vessel was attached griffin heads around the rim (like the protomes , described above): it was an Argolic or Argive krater , according to the text, standing on a tripod shaped like colossal figures. The notion that griffins lay stones or agate instead of eggs

2911-536: The gold which the griffins collected from various areas in the periphery (presumably including the Armaspi's territorial stream, the stream of Pluto "rolling with gold"). The equestrian Arimaspi would ride off with the loot, and the griffins would give pursuit. Aeschylus likened the gryps to "silent hounds of Zeus" That they are called dogs or hounds here has led to the conjecture that Aeschylus considered them wingless or flightless. Whereas Ctesias , had located

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2982-454: The griffin's neck, carven on some of the Greek protomes. The tendril motif emerged at the beginning of the first millennium, BC., in various parts of the Orient. The "double spiral of hair running downwards from the base of the ear" is said to be a hallmark of Iranian (Uratrian) art. The Etruscan cauldron-griffins (e.g., from Barberini tomb  [ it ] , figure right ) also bear

3053-583: The griffins in India, and more explicitly classed them as beaked, four-legged birds. Herodotus also mentions elsewhere that there are gold-collecting ants in Kashmir , India, and this has been interpreted by modern scholars as "doublets or garbled versions" of the lore of gold-hoarding griffins. It appears that the accounts of griffins given by Pliny had been admixed with the lore of these gold-guarding ants of India, and later Aelian also inserted attributes of

3124-419: The ground (e.g. in the arms of the former borough council of Berwick-upon-Tweed ). While statant is used in reference to predatory beasts, the more docile animals when in this position may be called at bay , while such creatures statant guardant are said to be at gaze . This is particularly true of stags (harts). Also spelled morné or mortine , a lion depicted with neither claws, teeth, nor tongue, in

3195-452: The ground. A beast sejant erect is seated on its haunches, but with its body erect and both forepaws raised in the "rampant" position (this is sometimes termed "sejant-rampant"). A beast couchant ( Old French : "lying down") is lying down, but with the head raised. Lodged is the term for this position when applied to the "docile" (i.e. herbivorous ) animals. A beast courant (French: "running"; also at speed or in full chase )

3266-478: The hind legs varies according to local custom: the lion may stand on both hind legs, braced wide apart, or on only one, with the other also raised to strike; the word rampant is sometimes omitted, especially in early blazon, as this is the most usual position of a carnivorous quadruped. Note: the term segreant denotes the same position, but implies a particular wing position and is only used in reference to winged quadrupeds such as griffins and dragons . Rampant

3337-514: The historian. Herodotus explains (via Aristeas) that the gold-guarding griffin supposedly dwelled further north from the one-eyed Arimaspi people who robbed the gold from the fabulous creatures. Aristeas is said to have been informed through the Issedones people neighboring region to the Arimaspi, in the northern extremes (of Central Asia). Aeschylus also concurs that the Arimaspi robbed

3408-537: The identifiable attested "accounts" presented in scholarship are largely not literary, but artistic, or numismatic . The griffin was naturally linked to Apollo, given the existence of the cultus of Hyperborean Apollo , with a cult center at the Greek colony of Olbia on the Black Sea . And even the main Temple of Apollo at Delphi featured a statue of the god flanked by griffins, or so it can be presumed based on

3479-401: The image of a griffin attacking a horse. Other Scythian artifacts show griffins attacking horses, stags, and goats. Griffins are typically shown attacking horses, deer, and humans in Greek art. Nomads were said to steal griffin-guarded gold according to Scythian oral traditions reported by Greek and Roman travelers. Several ancient mythological creatures are similar to the griffin. These include

3550-525: The kingdom of Macedon or a personal emblem of Antipater , one of Alexander 's successors. A golden frontal half of a griffin-like animal from the Ziwiye hoard (near Saqqez city) in Kurdistan Province , Iran resembles the western protomes in style. They were of Urartian workmanship (neither Assyrian or Scythian), though the hoard itself may have represented a Scythian burial. The animal

3621-500: The later lore that griffins deposited agate stone among the eggs in their nest. Pliny placed the griffins in Æthiopia , and Ctesias (5th century BC) in greater India . Scholars have observed that legends about the gold-digging ants of India may have contaminated griffin lore. In the Christian era, Isidore of Seville (7th century AD) wrote that griffins were a great enemy of horses. This notion may have readily developed from

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3692-499: The lion dormant with the eyes open.) A beast salient ( Latin : saliēns , "leaping") (also springing ) is leaping, with both hind legs together on the ground and both forelegs together in the air. This is a very rare position for a lion, but is also used of other heraldic beasts. The stag and other docile animals in this position are often termed springing . Certain smaller animals are sometimes blazoned as saltant rather than salient . A beast statant ( Old French : "standing")

3763-597: The lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts, and the eagle the king of the birds, by the Middle Ages, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Since classical antiquity, griffins were known for guarding treasures and priceless possessions. In Greek and Roman texts, griffins and Arimaspians were associated with gold deposits of Central Asia. The earliest classical writings derive from Aristeas (7th cent. BC), preserved by Herodotus and Aeschylus (mid 5th century BC), but

3834-562: The lion's ears, but are often elongated (more like a horse 's), and are sometimes feathered. The griffin of Greece, as depicted in cast bronze cauldron protomes (cf. below), has a squat face with short beaks that are open agape as if screaming, with the tongue showing. There is also a "top-knob" on its head or between the brows. There may also be so-called "tendrils", or curled "spiral-locks" depicted, presumably representing either hair/mane or feather/crest locks dangling down. Single- or double-streaked tendrils hang down both sides and behind

3905-476: The modern Persian language , the griffin has come to be called šērdāl ( Persian : شیردال ), meaning 'lion-eagle'. However, the practice of referring to ancient Iranian griffin objects or monuments as sherdal , is not followed by other current archaeological scholarship (e.g., here ). Possible Old or Middle Iranian names for the creature have been discussed. Middle Persian Sēnmurw in Sasanian culture

3976-445: The other foot) may be called vigilant or in its vigilance (e.g. Waverley Borough Council 's "crane in its vigilance" ). A stone is usually shown held in the claw of the raised leg. This is as per the bestiary myth that cranes stayed awake by doing so. If it dozed, the crane would supposedly drop the rock, waking itself up. One peculiar attitude, reserved only to the pelican, is the pelican in her piety . The heraldic pelican, one of

4047-560: The physical descriptions are not very explicit. Thus even though they are sharp-beaked, their being likened to "unbarking hounds of Zeus" has led to the speculation they were seen as wingless. Pliny the Elder (1st century) was the first to explicitly state that griffins were winged and long eared. But Apollonius of Tyana wrote that griffins did not have true bird wings, but only membranous webbed feet that only gave them capability of short-distanced flight. Writers after Aelian (3rd century AD) did not add new material to griffin lore, except for

4118-728: The plain cauldrons imported from the Near East. Detractors (notably K. R. Maxwell-Hyslop ) believe that (early examples of ) the griffin-ornamented cauldron, in its entirely, were crafted in the East, though excavated finds from the Orient are scarce. In Central Asia , the griffin image was included in Scythian "animal style" artifacts of the 6th–4th centuries BC, but no writings explain their meaning. The Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla , interred in Scythian king's burial site, perhaps commissioned to Greek goldsmiths , who engraved

4189-445: The position that Luristan examples must be counted as developments of the "lion-griffin" type, even when it exhibits "stylization .. approaching the beak of a bird". The Luristan griffin-like creatures resemble and perhaps are descended from Assyrian creatures, possibly influenced by Mitannian animals, or perhaps there had been parallel development in both Assyrian and Elamite cultures. Bird-headed mammal images appeared in art of

4260-469: The positions of birds, exemplified by the bird most usual to heraldry – the heraldic eagle ; moreover, birds also are described by the positions of their wings. The term naiant (swimming) applies to fish, swans, ducks, and geese. The term segreant is applied to the griffin , as an approximation of rampant , and is applied to the dragon . Animal figures are positioned in profile, facing dexter (the viewer's left), and persons are shown affronté (facing

4331-485: The rampant position. The term is from the Old French verb morner , from morne , a ring placed over the point of a lance, from Latin mora , "sword guard". A lion baillone is show in the rampant position holding a baton in its teeth. Also called diffame , infamed , and defame , a lion shown in the rampant position without its tail. A lion shown with its paws and head (but not its tail) detached from its body

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4402-405: The representation struck on the tetradrachm coinage of Attica. Apollo rode a griffin to Hyperboria each winter, leaving Delphi, or so it was believed. Apollo riding griffin is known from multiple examples of red-figure pottery . And Apollo hitched griffins to his chariot according to Claudian . Dionysus was also depicted on a griffin-chariot or mounting griffin; the motif was borrowed from

4473-459: The same level as their four legs, as the head of a cow would be when eating grass. Some attitudes describe the positioning of birds. The eagle is so often found displayed in early heraldry that this position came to be presumed of the eagle unless some other attitude is specified in the blazon. The terms expanded and elevated or abaissé and inverted are similar terms often used interchangeably in heraldry but have specific meanings. There

4544-576: The same text). Middle Persian Paškuč is also attested in Manichaean magical texts (Manichaean Middle Persian: pškwc ), and this must have meant a "griffin or a monster like a griffin" according to W. B. Henning . The griffin was given names which were descriptive epithets, such as tštš or tesh-tesh meaning "Tearer[-in-pieces]" inscribed on a griffin image found in a tomb at Deir El Bersha ; and sfr / srf "fiery one", attested at Beni Hasan . The descriptive epithet "Tearer"

4615-485: The shield bearer's perspective, not the viewer's. Many attitudes commonly met with in heraldic rolls apply specifically to predatory beasts , while others may be better suited to the docile animals. These will each be discussed in detail below. A blazon may also specify the position of a beast's head, differently coloured parts (such as teeth, claws, tongue, etc.), or the shape or position of its tail. A beast may be "armed" (horns, teeth and claws) or "langued" (tongue) of

4686-510: The title Volant . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Volant&oldid=1005622597 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Volant (heraldry) Other heraldic attitudes, such as volant (flying), describe

4757-469: The tradition that horseback-riding Arimaspians raided the griffin gold. The derivation of this word remains uncertain. It could be related to the Greek word γρυπός (grypos), meaning 'curved', or 'hooked'. Greek γρύφ (gryph) from γρύφ 'hook-nosed' is suggested. It could also have been an Anatolian loan word derived from a Semitic language; compare the Hebrew word for cherub כרוב kərúv . In

4828-483: The viewer), but the blazon might specify other attitudes. Animals and animal-like creatures are presumed to be shown in profile facing dexter . This attitude is standard unless otherwise stated in the blazon. As a warrior will usually carry a shield in the left hand, the animal shown on the shield will then face toward the knight's body. Humans and human-like beings are presumed to be shown affronté . The heraldic terms dexter ('right') and sinister ('left') represent

4899-439: The wings may be further described as elevated or inverted . A bird volant faces the dexter with its wings spread in flight (usually shown addorsed and elevated ) and its legs tucked under its body. Volant en arrière is when the bird is shown from a top-down perspective with the head facing straight ahead, its back to the viewer, and the wings spread in flight (usually shown displayed and inverted ). A bird volant

4970-447: Was a fabulous composite creature, and Russian archaeologist Boris A. Litvinskij  [ ru ] argued for the possibility that the application of this term may extend to the griffin. The term Sēnmurw is recognized as the etymological ancestor of simurgh , which is generally regarded as a mythological bird (rather than a composite) in later medieval Persian literature, though some argue that this bird may have originated from

5041-604: Was nearly coeval with Pliny, gave a somewhat unique account of the griffin, claiming them to be lion-sized, and having no true wings, and instead had paws "webbed with red membranes", that gave them ability to makes leaps of flight of only a short distance. Pomponius Mela (fl. AD 43) wrote in his Book ii. 6: In Europe, constantly falling snow makes those places contiguous with the Riphaean Mountains .. so impassable that, in addition, they prevent those who deliberately travel here from seeing anything. After that comes

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