{{Short description|Heraldic figure}} [[File:Coa_Hungary_Town_Komádi.svg|thumb|A [[Turk head (heraldry)|Turk's head]] couped in the arms of the Hungarian town [[Komádi]].]] The heads of humans and other animals are frequently occurring [[charge (heraldry)|charges]] in [[heraldry]]. The [[blazon]], or heraldic description, usually states whether an animal's head is couped (as if cut off cleanly at the neck), [[erasure (heraldry)|erased]] (as if forcibly ripped from the body), or [[cabossed]] (turned [[attitude (heraldry)|affronté]] without any of the neck showing). Human heads are often described in much greater detail, though some of these are identified by name with little or no further description.
==Forms of display== Heads may appear: * '''cabossed''' (also '''caboshed''' or '''caboched'''): with the head cleanly separated from the neck so that only the face shows * '''couped''': with the neck cleanly separated from the body so that the whole head and neck are present *'''erased''': with the neck showing a ragged edge as if forcibly torn from the body.
Heads that are couped or erased face [[dexter and sinister|dexter]] unless otherwise specified for differencing. Heads of horned beasts are often shown cabossed to display the horns, but instances can be found in any of these circumstances.
===Cabossed=== [[File:Calder of Calder arms.svg|thumb|A stag's head ''cabossed sable attired gules'' in the arms of [[Clan Calder|Calder]]]] In [[heraldry]], '''cabossed''', or '''caboched''', is a term used where the head of a beast is cut off behind the ears, by a section parallel to the face; or by a perpendicular section: in contrast to [[Charge (heraldry)|couping]], which is done by a horizontal line, and farther from the ears than cabossing.<ref>Chambers, Ephraim, 1680 (ca.)-1740. [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&entity=HistSciTech000900240288&isize=M ''Cyclopædia, or, An universal dictionary of arts and sciences ...'']. History of Science and Technology, in University of Wisconsin Digital Collections</ref><ref>{{Cite Cyclopaedia 1728|title=Cabossed|volume=C – Capillary|page=138}}</ref>
Cabossed heads are shown facing forward (''affronté'').
===Couped=== Heads that are ''couped'' have a straight edge, as if cut with a sword.<ref>Thomas Woodcock, John Martin Robinson, ''The Oxford Guide to Heraldry'' (Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]], 1988, {{ISBN|0-19-211658-4}}), p. 200</ref> {{-}}
===Erased=== [[File:Meuble héraldique Tête (lion).svg|thumb|A [[lion]]'s head erased argent, langued azure]] '''Erasure''' in [[blazon]], the language of [[heraldry]], is the tearing off of part of a [[charge (heraldry)|charge]], leaving a jagged edge of it remaining. In blazons the term is most often found in its [[adjective|adjectival]] form, '''erased''', and is usually applied to animate charges, most often heads or other body parts.<ref name=JP>James Parker, [http://www.heraldsnet.org/saitou/parker/Jpglosse.htm A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry] (1894; new edition by James Parker and Company, Oxford, 2004)</ref>
[[John Craig (geologist)|John Craig]]'s dictionary of 1854 says: {{quote|In Heraldry, anything is said to be erased which appears forcibly torn off, leaving the edges jagged and uneven.<ref>[[John Craig (geologist)|John Craig]]', ''A new universal, technological, etymological, and pronouncing dictionary of the English language'' (vol. 1, 1854), [https://books.google.com/books?id=vTJAAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PA656 p. 656]</ref>}}
When a tree or other plant is shown uprooted, with the bare roots showing, it is called '''eradicated'''.<ref name=JP/>
There are different traditions for the erasing of heads. For instance, with the head of a [[Bear in heraldry|bear]], whether couped or erased, in English heraldry the separation is done horizontally under the neck, which is not lost, whereas in Scottish heraldry the usual practice is for the head to be separated from the body vertically, without keeping the neck attached to it.<ref>Charles Boutell, ''Heraldry'' (F. Warne, 1950), p. 71</ref>
==Heads of humans== Heads of humans are sometimes blazoned simply as a "man's head", but are far more frequently described in greater detail, either characteristic of a particular [[race (human classification)|race]] or [[nationality]] (such as [[Moors]]' heads, [[Saxons]]' heads, [[Egyptians]]' heads or [[Turk head (heraldry)|Turks' heads]]), or specifically identified (such as the head of [[Moses]] in the [[crest (heraldry)|crest]] of Hilton, or the head of [[John the Baptist|St. John the Baptist]] in the crest of the [[Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers]]).<ref name=Fox-Davies>{{harvp|Fox-Davies|1909|p= 167}}</ref><ref name=Parker>{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldsnet.org/saitou/parker/Jpglossh.htm |title=Head |work=A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry |last=Parker |first=James |date=1894 |access-date=2013-07-04}}</ref> Several varieties of women's heads also occur, including maidens' heads (often couped under the bust, with hair disheveled), ladies' heads, nuns' heads (often veiled), and occasionally queens' heads. The arms of Daveney of Norfolk include "three nun's heads veiled couped at the shoulders proper," and the bust of a queen occurs in the arms of [[Queenborough]], [[Kent]].<ref name=Parker /> Infants' or children's heads are often couped at the shoulders with a snake wrapped around the neck (e.g. "Argent, a boy's head proper, crined or, couped below the shoulders, vested gules, garnished gold," in the arms of Boyman).<ref name=Parker />
==Heads of animals== [[File:Complete Guide to Heraldry Fig332.png|thumb|right|100px|A leopard's head ''[[jessant-de-lys]]'']] While [[lion (heraldry)|lion]]s ''passant guardant'' (i.e. walking with head turned to full face) are [[Lion (heraldry)#Lions vs. Leopards|often called leopards]] in heraldry, the heads and faces of natural leopards occur frequently in armory, as crests as well as charges. The key distinction being that a leopard's ''head'' shows the neck, the leopard's ''face'' (turned affronté and cut off cleanly behind the ears) occurs far more frequently. A curious development, unique to the leopard's face, is when it is run through with a [[fleur-de-lis]], called a leopard's face ''[[jessant-de-lys]]''.<ref>{{harvp|Fox-Davies|1909|p=193}}</ref> When the face of a fox is shown (i.e. cabossed), it is termed a fox's ''mask''.<ref>{{harvp|Fox-Davies|1909|p=198}}</ref>
Predatory creatures, including eagles, lions, griffins, bears and boars, are often ''armed'' of a different [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]], referring to the colour of the creature's claws or talons and beak, teeth or tusks. In the case of the boar, its armaments include only its tusks, but not its hooves, which may be ''unguled'' of another tincture.<ref>{{harvp|Fox-Davies|1909|pp=199-200}}</ref> Deer and moose are antler-bearing herbivores, so their antlers are not considered armaments but their ''attire'', so these may be ''attired'' of a distinct tincture, while horn-bearing beasts such as bulls, rams and goats may be ''armed''.<ref>{{harvp|Fox-Davies|1909|p=209}}</ref>
==Gallery== <!-- The following are a small sampling of examples; DO NOT ADD FURTHER IMAGES HERE WITHOUT SEEKING CONSENSUS ON THE TALK PAGE. --> <gallery> File:Stockholm län vapen.svg|Head of [[Eric IX of Sweden|St. Erik]] ({{Langx|sv|Erik den helige}}, patron saint of Stockholm) ''couped and crowned Or'', and a [[griffin]]'s head ''erased sable armed and langued gules'', in the arms of [[Stockholm County]] File:Fuerststift Kempten coat of arms.png|Head of [[Hildegard (queen)|Queen Hildegard]] (second wife of [[Charlemagne]]) in the arms of the [[Imperial Ducal Abbey of Kempten]]<ref>Though other versions exist, this one is accurate according to ''Siebmachers Wappenbuch'' (1605); See [[:File:Siebmacher013.jpg|here]].</ref> File:Sardegna-Stemma.svg|Four moors' heads couped and blindfolded in the arms of [[Sardinia]] File:Nurmijarvi.vaakuna.svg|Seven human heads in the coat of arms of [[Nurmijärvi]] File:Blason ville hu HAJDÚDOROG.svg|A Turk's head ''cabossed, pigtailed and moustached sable, transfixed upon a scimitar'', in the arms of [[Hajdúdorog]], [[Hungary]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nemzetijelkepek.hu/onkormanyzat-hajdudorog_en.shtml |title=Hajdúdorog |work=National and Historical Symbols of Hungary |access-date=2013-07-04}}</ref> File:Wappen Winkel (Gifhorn).png|A ''fox{{'}}s mask'' in the arms of Winkel, a quarter in the German city of [[Gifhorn]] File:Calder of Calder arms.svg|A stag's head ''cabossed sable attired gules'' in the arms of [[Clan Calder|Calder]] File:POL COA Denhoff.svg|A boar's head ''erased sable armed argent'' in the arms of [[Denhof coat of arms|Denhoff]] File:Wappen des Hans Burgkmair.png|Interlocking bear heads in the arms (granted 1516) of [[Hans Burgkmair]] the Elder File:Escudo d'Aragón.svg|The current coat of arms of [[Aragon]] (Spain) features four [[Maure|heads of Moors]] File:Arms of the house of Schwarzenberg (1599).svg|After the conquest of [[Raab, Hungary|Raab]] from the Turks, [[Adolf von Schwarzenberg]] modified the [[House of Schwarzenberg|Schwarzenberg coat of arms]] to include the head of a Turk File:CHE Avenches COA.svg|The coat of [[Avenches]], [[Switzerland]] File:TalbotHead Erased.svg|Talbot’s head erased gules langued azure File:Boar's head argent erased.svg|Boar's head erased argent langued gules tusked or File:Griffin's head erased (heraldry).svg|Griffin's head erased File:Cow head erased.svg|Cow’s head erased proper File:Stag's head erased (heraldry).svg|Stag's head erased File:FoxHeadErased svg Model.svg|Fox’s head erased or langued gules File:Arms of David Hubert Boothby Chesshyre.svg|Lion's gambs erased, in the arms of [[Hubert Chesshyre]], [[Norroy and Ulster King of Arms]] (1995–1997) File:Boar's head erased (scottish heraldry).svg|A boar's head ''erased'' File:Sipoo.vaakuna.svg|A wolf head erased in the coat of arms of [[Sipoo]] </gallery>
==See also== *[[Moor's head (heraldry)]] *[[Turk head (heraldry)]] *[[Skull and crossbones (symbol)]] *[[Totenkopf]] *[[Jessant-de-lys]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite book |last=Fox-Davies |first=Arthur Charles |year=1909 |url=https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh00foxdrich |title=A Complete Guide to Heraldry |location=New York |publisher=Dodge Publishing |isbn=0-517-26643-1 |lccn=09023803 |via=Internet Archive }}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Heads in heraldry}}
[[Category:Heraldic charges]]