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feathers

Feathers are a very common charge in heraldry, which is not surprising considering that during a tournament helmets were more frequently ornamented with feathers than with family crests. Consequently, the plume became the actual, inheritable family crest for many families. Feathers signify willing obedience and serenity of mind. A plume is a term usually reserved for a grouping of five or more feathers. If they are arranged in two rows it is called a double plume, and in three a triple plume, etc. The feathers commonly used were ostrich feathers, though on crests they can appear in many shapes and colours; for example, the badge worn by John of Gaunt was an ermine ostrich feather. Peacock feathers were also frequently used, especially in German heraldry, and in both English and continental heraldry feathers often adorn the sides of crests as well as appear as more central charges. When a feather is crossed at the quill by a scoll of parchment it is called an escrol. This is the device that appears on the shield of the Edward the Black Prince, the son and heir of King Edward III, who bore three escrols on a field of black. Three feathers encircled by a coronet is the current badge of the Prince of Wales, as it has been since the time of Henry VIII.

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