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Archiver > HERBARZ > 2003-08 > 1060096461


From: "Leon Stevens" <>
Subject: RE: Peacock Feathers
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 11:14:21 -0400


> commemorate some victory over a knight <

Peacock and ostrich plumes are ubiquitous in Polish-Lithuanian heraldry,
so much so in fact that they can be termed generic. During the medieval
period most Polish coats of arms were shown without crests i.e. they
consisted only of the shield and charge. In later centuries as
heraldic accessories were added, ostrich or peacock plumes simply filled
in the empty space above the helmet. Most knights who had ostrich
plumes on their crests never had them on their heads. Ostrich plumes
were expensive because they had to be imported from southern climes,
which is no doubt why one sees 5, 3 or 1 ostrich plume but seldom a
sheaf of them, whereas one seldom sees less than a sheaf of peacock
feathers. Peacocks may be raised in northern countries if kept warm in
the winter where they could, and still can be seen wandering the grounds
of many estates. Their feathers were relatively cheap and occasionally
appear as part of peasant costumes, in particular the peasant hat of the
Cracow region. The number of plumes, or whether they come from one bird
or the other, has no significance whatsoever.


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