Bohun swan
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The Bohun swan, also known as the Bucks Swan, was a heraldic badge used originally in England by the mediaeval noble family of de Bohun, Earls of Hereford, and Earls of Essex.
Origin
The widespread use of the
Usage by de Bohun
Surviving examples of usage of the Bohun swan by the de Bohun family include:
- The Counter seal of Barons' Letter, 1301, shows the Bohun Swan above the escutcheonand supporting its guige strap.
- Two Bohun swans collared and chained with necks entwined at the feet of the effigy of Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (1303–1377), on her tomb chest in the south transept of Exeter Cathedral.[1]
Extinction of de Bohun senior line
Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (1341–1373) died without male issue, leaving as his co-heiresses two daughters:
- Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, the fourteenth and youngest child of King Edward III(1327–1377).
- Mary de Bohun (c. 1368–1394), who married King Henry IV.
Descent
Following the extinction of the Senior male line of the de Bohun family the Bohun swan badge was used by descendants of the two heiresses: by the royal House of Lancaster descended from Mary de Bohun and by the Stafford family descended from Eleanor de Bohun and by the Junior Branch by a female Heiress in late 14th Century.
Lancaster
After the marriage in 1380 of
After Henry Bolingbroke seized the throne in 1399, the use of the swan emblem was transferred to his son, the future King Henry V (1413–1422), who was made Prince of Wales at his father's coronation, and whose tomb in Westminster Abbey displays motifs of swans.
The
The Bohun swan was also used by Henry V's grandson Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, who died in the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. In 1459 Edward's mother Margaret of Anjou insisted that he should give swan livery badges to "all the gentlemen of Cheshire"; the type and number are unknown.[6]
Stafford
Courtenay
Another heir of the de Bohuns was the Courtenay family,
- Seal of supporter.
- Courtenay Mantlepiece, Bishop's Palace, Exeter, showing the arms of Peter Courtenay (d.1492), Bishop of Exeter and Bishop of Winchester: Or, 3 torteaux a label of 3 points azure each point charged with 3 plates in pale with supporters the Bohun swans, each collared with a crown and chained or.[7]
Luttrell of Dunster
The Luttrell family,
Buckinghamshire
The Flag of Buckinghamshire uses the Bohun swan on its flag as it dates back to the Anglo-Saxon Times, when Buckinghamshire was known for breeding swans for the king.
Further reading
- Wagner, Anthony, The Swan Badge and the Swan Knight, Archaeologia, vol.97, 1959, pp. 127–38
- Nichols, John Gough, On Collars of the Royal Livery, No.5, The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol.172, October 1872, pp. 353–60 [1]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-300-09596-8.
- ^ British Museum collection database The Dunstable Swan Jewel
- ^ Stratford; Cherry (2003), 204
- ^ British Museum database
- ^ a b Stratford
- ^ Cherry (2003), 205; he mistakenly calls Edward "Henry"
- ^ a b A Delineation of the Courtenay Mantelpiece in the Episcopal Palace at Exeter by Roscoe Gibbs with a Biographical Notice of The Right Reverend Peter Courtenay, DD,... To which is added A Description of the Courtenay Mantelpiece compiled by Maria Halliday, privately published at the Office of the Torquay Directory, 1884, p.10
- ^ Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.244, pedigree of Courtenay
- ^ Maxwell Lyte, Sir Henry, A History of Dunster and of the Families of Mohun and Luttrell, London, 1909, Part 2, p.551 Part 2
- ^ "Glasgow Museums Collections Online". collections.glasgowmuseums.com.
Sources
- Cherry, John. "The Dunstable Swan Jewel", Journal of the British Archaeological Association, XXXII, 1969
- Stratford, Jenny, The swan badge and the Dunstable Swan, and other pages as specified, in Richard II's Treasure; the riches of a medieval king, website by The Institute of Historical Research and Royal Holloway, University of London, 2007