Heraldic terminology and fossilised language

[tamaranth]

Last week ladymoonray and I went to the Royal Academy to see the 'Turks' exhibition. (Interesting, but full of people: I'd have enjoyed it more if I hadn't had to queue at every exhibit to see it explained.)

One item -- a mirror, I think, was decorated with 'two sphinxes, addorsed'. I hadn't come across the term before, but deduced that it meant 'back to back' (from dorse, as in 'dorsal'). Turns out to be a heraldic term -- and an introduction to a vast new subset of jargon, loosely based (it seems to me, a non-expert) on medieval French, Latin and English.

Some examples (from An Illustrated Dictionary of Heraldry:
ravissant - a beast in the act of springing on its prey
regardant - looking back over shoulder (of beasts)
reremouse - a bat
retorted - twined together (of snakes)

I've been poking around on the interweb for a site that deals with the origins of the terms: if you like, a discussion of when they fossilised out of common language to become specific to heraldry. Any ideas?

Comments

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, it happened between 1066 and the 14th century - I forget when Middle English turns into Modern English - the period when Anglo-Norman French was the official language of the courts.

I love heraldry, but my interest in it predates the Internet by a long way, so I don't know of any websites/discussion sites.

a vast new subset of jargon, loosely based (it seems to me, a non-expert) on medieval French, Latin and English.

Exactly right. The heraldic terms still in use today (okay, admittedly only by enthusiasts, but still, the correct technical terms used to blazon a coat of arms) are derived from the language used to describe a coat of arms among the Anglo-Norman nobility and their English-speaking servants - Middle English, Medieval Norman-French, and tags of Latin.

The traditions of heraldry are why some flags look odd to us and some flags look "right" - the system of only placing metals on colours and colours on metals is something that visual designers follow even now, though they mostly don't know they're doing that.