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The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Heraldic can be found throughout world history like in the Achaemenid Empire or in the present Republic of Indonesia. The European post-classical symbolism of the heraldic eagle is connected with the Roman Empire on one hand (especially in the case of the double-headed eagle), and with Saint John the Evangelist on the other.
In early heraldry or proto-heraldry of the 12th century, however, the eagle as a heraldic charge was not necessarily tied to either imperial or biblical symbolism. The Anglo-Norman L'Aigle family, who held Pevensey castle and the Borough of Pevensey, used the eagle as an emblem in an instance of canting arms. The earliest known use of the eagle as a heraldic charge is found in the Great Seal of Leopold IV of Austria, dated 1136.Carl-Alexander von Volborth Adalbert I, Duke of Teck used an eagle in his seal in .
By the late medieval period, in German heraldry the eagle developed into a symbol of the Holy Roman Empire, and thus became comparatively rare outside of coats of arms derived from the Imperial Eagle. The Imperial Eagle was and is denominated the Reichsadler. The first evidence of the use of the double-headed Imperial Eagle dates to the mid-13th century (Chronica Majora, ; Segar's Roll, ). The German kings continued use of the single-headed eagle during the 14th century. In Italy, the Ghibelline faction (the faction loyal to the Emperor in the drawn-out conflict between emperors and popes) began to display or an eagle sable in chief of their coats of arms, known as capo dell'impero or "chief of the empire". The Complete Book of Heraldry by Stephen Slater (), page 201. Similarly, German cities began to incorporate the Imperial Eagle into their seals and coats of arms to imply Reichsfreiheit. From such usage, use of the heraldic eagle by the end of the medieval period became so strongly associated with the Holy Roman Empire that the eagle was rarely used as an independent heraldic charge. Examples of continued use of an eagle in coats of arms based on traditions of the 13th century include the Polish, Moravian, and Silesian Piasts coats of arms.
By far the oldest and most common manner of depicting the eagle in heraldry is what would come to be known as displayed ( éployée), in direct imitation of Roman iconography. The eagle's body is depicted with lateral symmetry, but its head is facing the dexter side. In late medieval blasons, the term "eagle" (Middle French egle) without specification refers to an "eagle displayed". In early modern English terminology, it became common to use "eagle displayed". Also specific to English heraldry is the distinction between "eagle displayed with its wings elevated" and "eagle displayed with wings inverted". This is due to a regional English convention of depicting the tips of the wings pointing upward, while in continental heraldry, the tips of the wings were depicted downward ("inverted"). Later, English heraldry partially adopted the continental convention, leading to a situation where it was unclear whether the two forms should be considered equivalent. In German heraldry, no attitude other than "eagle displayed with wings inverted" ever became current, so that the simple blason of "eagle" ( Adler) still refers to this configuration.
There is a gradual evolution of the standard depiction of the heraldic eagle over the course of the 12th to 16th centuries. In the 12th to 13th century, the head is raised and the beak is closed. The leading edge of the wings (in German heraldry termed Sachsen or Saxen, representing the main bones in the bird's wing, humerus and ulna) are rolled up at the ends into a spiral shape, with the Flight feather shown vertical. The tail is represented as a number of stiff feathers. By the later 14th century, the head is straightened, and the beak opens, with the tongue becoming visible. The rolling-up of the leading edge of the wings disappears. The claws now form an acute angle relative to the body, occasionally receiving a "hose" covering the upper leg. The tail feathers now spread out in curved lines. In the 15th century, the leading edge of the wings become half-circles, with the remiges no longer vertical but radiating outward. The legs form a right angles. In the 16th century, eventually, the depiction of the eagle becomes more extravagant and ferocious, the animal being depicted "it in as ornamental and ornate a manner as possible". Fox-Davies (1909) presents a schematic depiction of this evolution, as follows:
An eagle can be displayed with his head turned to the sinister (left side of the field). In full aspect describes an eagle with his head facing the onlooker. In trian aspect (a rare, later 16th and 17th century heraldry term) describes when the eagle's head is facing at a three-quarter view to give the appearance of depth – with the head cocked at an angle somewhere between profile and straight-on.
Addorsed ("back to back") is when the eagle is shown statant (standing in profile and facing the right side of the field) and ready to fly, with the wings shown open behind the eagle so that they almost touch.
Espanie or épandre ("expanded") is when the eagle is shown affronté (facing the viewer with the head turned to the dexter) and the wings are shown with the tips upward.
Abaisé or abaissé ("lowered") is when the eagle is shown affronté (facing the viewer) and the wings are shown with the tips downward. A good example is the eagle on the reverse side of the US quarter-dollar coin.
Kleestängel, also Kleestengel or Klee-Stengeln ("clover-stems"), are the pair of long-stemmed trefoil-type charges originating in 13th-century German depictions of the heraldic eagle. They represent the upper edge of the wings and are normally Or (gold / yellow), like the beak and claws, as in the arms of Brandenburg or several versions of the arms of Prussia.Christiane Brandt-Salloum (ed.): Adlers Fittiche. Wandlungen eines Wappenvogels. Dokumentation einer Präsentation des Geheimen Staatsarchivs Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2008, Reinmar von Zweter fashioned the Klee-Stengeln of his eagle into a second and third head.Reinmar von Zweter's peculiar eagle is famously depicted in the Codex Manesse. In Polish the term is przepaska, which means "cloth" or "band" (in Latin, "perizonium" or "perisonium"), which may refer either to the Kleestängel, as in the Polish arms (white on a white eagle, formerly also gold on a white eagleStanisław Russocki: Godło, barwy i hymn Rzeczypospolitej. Zarys dziejów. Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna, 1978) and others derived from it,including the arms of several voivodeships of Poland: Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, Lubusz, Świętokrzyskie, and Warmia-Masuria: see or to the Brustspange as below.
Brustspange, also Brustmond or Brustsichel, is an elongated crescent across the breast and wings (in effect, a pair of Kleestängel extended to join each other). As with Kleestängel, there is no specific English term for this charge as it does not occur in English heraldry: it is usually blazoned simply as a crescent, and when the ends terminate in trefoils as a "crescent trefly" or "treflée". Sometimes there is a cross paty in the centre, notably in the arms of Silesia(silver on a black eagle) introduced in the early 13th century by either Duke Henry the Bearded or Duke Henry II the Pious,Alfred Znamierowski: Insygnia, symbole i herby polskie : kompendium. Warsaw: Świat Książki, 2003, p. 87 which occurs in numerous related arms.including those of the Czech Republic and Liechtenstein, as well as of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, and the Central Bohemian, Moravian-Silesian, and Olomouc Region regions of the Czech Republic.
Displayed is the most common attitude, with examples going back to the early Middle Ages.
There is sometimes confusion between a rousant eagle with displayed wings and a displayed eagle. The difference is that rousant eagles face to the right and have their feet on the ground and displayed eagles face the viewer, have their legs splayed out, and the tail is completely visible. There is a debate over whether rousant or displayed is the eagle's default depiction.
An example is the arms of the Duchy of Lorraine ( Or, on a Bend Gules, 3 Alerions Abaisé Argent). It supposedly had been inspired by the assumed arms of crusader Geoffrey de Bouillon, who supposedly killed three white eaglets with a bow and arrow when out hunting.Rothery, Guy Cadogan. Concise Encyclopedia of Heraldry. pp.50 It is far more likely to be canting arms that are a pun based on the similarities of "Lorraine" and "erne".
Frederick Barbarossa ( 1155–90) is reported as having displayed an eagle on his banner, Otto IV ( 1209–15) an eagle hovering over a dragon. Meyers Konversations-Lexikon (1897), s.v. "Banner". The first evidence of the use of the Reichsadler (imperial eagle) proper dates to the mid-13th century. Matthew Paris' Chronica Majora () displays a coat of arms with a black double-headed eagle in a yellow field for Otto IV. Segar's Roll () displays the same coat of arms, or, an eagle sable beaked and armed gules for the "king of Germany" ( rey de almayne). Outside of these exceptional depictions (in sources from outside of Germany), the double-headed eagle remains unattested as emblem of the German kings or emperors until the 1430s. In the 14th century, the German kings used the royal banner ( Königsfahne) with the single-headed eagle. The earliest pictorial representations of this date to the first half of the 14th century ( Codex Balduini). This banner develops into the Reichssturmfahne (imperial war flag) with the double-headed Reichsadler (imperial eagle) by the mid-15th century. Sigismund (r. 1433–37) still uses either the single-headed or the double-headed eagle. Consistent use of the double-headed eagle only begins with the Habsburg emperors (with Frederick III, 1440). After 1558 (Ferdinand I), the title of King of the Romans is used for the emperor's heir apparent; the double-headed eagle now represents the emperor, and the single-headed eagle the emperor's heir apparent (thus, Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans, who pre-deceased his father in 1654 and never became emperor, is given a single-headed eagle only).
The Serbian eagle (in the modern coat of arms of Serbia, 1882) is derived from the coat of arms of the Nemanjić dynasty (16th century), in turn derived from the Byzantine imperial eagle. Use of the double-headed eagle for Serbia is among the examples of early representations in Western portolans (Angelino Dulcert 1339).
The best-known heraldic use of the Eagle of St. John has been the single supporter chosen by Queen Isabella of Castile in her armorial achievement used as heiress and later integrated into the heraldry of the Catholic Monarchs. This election alludes to the queen's great devotion to the evangelist that predated her accession to the throne.VV. AA., Isabel la Católica en la Real Academia de la Historia, Real Academia de la Historia, 2004. . Cfr. para la heráldica de Isabel y Fernando las pp. 72 & ff.
The Eagle of St. John supported the shields used by Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, as queen consort of England, and by Mary I and King Philip as joint monarchs of England. In Spain, Philip bore the Eagle of St John (variously one or two) in his ornamented armorial achievements until 1668.Francisco Olmos, José María de. Las primeras acuñaciones del príncipe Felipe de España (1554–1556): Soberano de Milán Nápoles e Inglaterra, pp. 158-162.
The Eagle of the Evangelist was restored as single supporter holding the 1939, 1945 and 1977 official models of the armorial achievement of Spain,Menéndez Pidal y Navascués, Faustino; O'Donnell y Duque de Estrada, Hugo; Lolo, Begoña (1999). Símbolos de España The. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales. p. 255. . but been removed in 1981 when the current design was adopted. Act 33/1981, 5 October (BOE No 250, 19 October 1981). Coat of arms of Spain . The eagle was used by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco as a symbol of his regime. It is also frequently used in modern civic heraldry.
The Margraviate of Moravia from at least the 1270s used a chequered eagle. The Moravian Eagle (without chequering) was first documented on the seal of Ottokar's uncle, Margrave Přemysl (d. 1239) and is thus likely derived from the coat of arms of the Přemyslid dynasty, who in the early 13th century used a "flaming eagle" coat of arms alongside the Bohemian lion for the Kingdom of Bohemia.
The American bald eagle has been a popular emblem throughout the life of the republic, with an eagle appearing in its current form since 1885, in the flags and seals of the President, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Justice Department, Defense Department, Postal Service, and other organizations, on various coins (such as the quarter-dollar), and in various American corporate logos past and present, such as those of Case and American Eagle Outfitters.
Benjamin Franklin is quoted in a letter to his daughter regretting the eagle's use as a national symbol, calling it a "bird of bad moral character" that steals from other birds and is easily frightened, and joking that it is good that the eagle in the Cincinnati's proposed seal looked more like a turkey. This has led to a misconception that Franklin actively supported a turkey or opposed an eagle for the grand seal.
Although they were presented with Regimental Colours, the regiments of Napoleon I tended to carry at their head the Imperial Eagle. This was the bronze sculpture of an eagle weighing , mounted on top of the blue regimental flagpole. They were made from six separately cast pieces and, when assembled, measured in height and in width. On the base would be the regiment's number or, in the case of the Guard, Garde Impériale. The eagle bore the same significance to French Imperial regiments as the colours did to British Army regiments - to lose the eagle would bring shame to the regiment, who had pledged to defend it to the death.
Upon Napoleon's fall, the restored monarchy of Louis XVIII ordered all eagles to be destroyed and only a very small number escaped. When the former emperor returned to power in 1815 (known as the Hundred Days) he immediately had more eagles produced, although the quality did not match the originals. The workmanship was of a lesser quality and the main distinguishing changes had the new models with closed beaks and they were set in a more crouched posture.
Napoleon also used the French Imperial Eagle in the heraldry of the First Empire, as did his nephew Napoleon III during the Second Empire. An eagle remains in the arms of the House of Bonaparte and the current royal house of Sweden retains the French Imperial Eagle on its inescutcheon, as his founder, Jean Bernadotte, was a Marshal of France and Prince of Pontecorvo.
The eagle is commonly identified as Saladin's emblem due to his yellow flag was adorned with an eagle, as well as the depiction of an Egyptian vulture on the west wall of the Cairo Citadel which was built during the rule of Saladin. The current design of the eagle itself, however, is of more recent date specifically after the Egyptian revolution of 1952.
As a heraldry symbol identified with Arab nationalism, the Eagle of Saladin was subsequently adopted as the coats of arms of Iraq and Palestine. It has previously been the coat of arms of Libya, but later replaced by the Hawk of Quraish. The Hawk of Quraish was itself abandoned after the Libyan Civil War. The Eagle of Saladin was part of the coat of arms of South Yemen prior to that country's unification with North Yemen.
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