The Bohun swan also known as the ''Bucks Swan'' was a

heraldic badge A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

used originally in England by the mediaeval noble family of de Bohun,

Earls of Hereford The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for. Earls of Hereford, First Creation (1043) * Swegen Godwinson (1043–1051) ''earldom forfeit 1051–1052'' Ear ...

, and

Earls of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new crea ...

Origin

The widespread use of the

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

as a badge derives from the legend of the Swan Knight, today most familiar from

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's opera ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...

''. The

Crusade cycle The Crusade cycle is an Old French literary cycle of ''chansons de geste'' concerning the First Crusade and its aftermath. History The cycle contains a number of initially unrelated texts, collated into interconnected narratives by later redacto ...

, a group of

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

chansons de geste The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th cen ...

'', had associated the legend with the ancestors of

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...

(d. 1100),

King of Jerusalem The King of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader states, Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Church, Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was Siege of Jerusalem (1099), conqu ...

and the hero of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

. Godfrey had no legitimate progeny, but his wider family had many descendants among the aristocracy of Europe, many of whom after his death made use of the swan as a heraldic

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

. In England such a family was that of de Bohun, Earls of Hereford and Earls of Essex.

Usage by de Bohun

BohunSwansCourtenayEffigiesExeterCathedral

Surviving examples of usage of the Bohun swan by the de Bohun family include: *The Counter seal of

Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford Humphrey (VII) de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford (1276 – 16 March 1322) was a member of a powerful Anglo-Norman family of the Welsh Marches and was one of the Ordainers who opposed Edward II's excesses. Family background Humphrey de Bohun's b ...

(1276–1322), attached to the

Barons' Letter, 1301 The Barons' Letter of 1301 was written by seven English earls and 96 English barons to Pope Boniface VIII as a repudiation of his claim of feudal overlordship of Scotland (expressed in the Bull Scimus Fili), and as a defence of the rights of Edw ...

, shows the Bohun Swan above the escutcheon and supporting its guige strap. *Two Bohun swans collared and chained with necks entwined at the feet of the effigy of Margaret de Bohun (1311–1391), daughter of

(1276–1322) and wife of

Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon Sir Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon (12 July 1303 – 2 May 1377), 2nd Baron Courtenay, feudal barony of Okehampton, feudal baron of Okehampton and Feudal barony of Plympton, feudal baron of Plympton, played an important role in the ...

(1303–1377), on her tomb chest in the south transept of

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The present building was complete by about 140 ...

Extinction of de Bohun senior line

Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton, KG (March 25, 1342–January 16, 1373) was the son of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Elizabeth de Badlesmere, and grandson of Humphrey de Bohun, ...

(1341–1373) died without male issue, leaving as his co-heiresses two daughters: *

Eleanor de Bohun Eleanor de Bohun ( – 3 October 1399) was the elder daughter and co-heiress (with her sister, Mary de Bohun), of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (1341–1373) and Joan Fitzalan, a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel a ...

(c. 1366–1399), the eldest, who married

Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (7 January 13558 or 9 September 1397) was the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Early life Thomas was born on 7 January 1355 at Woodstock ...

, the fourteenth and youngest child of King

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

(1327–1377). *

Mary de Bohun Mary de Bohun (c. 1369/70 – 4 June 1394) was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne. Early life Mary was a daughter of Humphrey de Boh ...

(c. 1368–1394), who married King Henry IV.

Descent

Following the extinction of the Senior male line of the de Bohun family the Bohun swan badge was used by descendants of the two heiresses: by the royal

House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 126 ...

descended from Mary de Bohun and by the

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

family descended from Eleanor de Bohun and by the Junior Branch by a female Heiress in late 14th Century.

Lancaster

Britishmuseumdunstableswanjewelfrontcroppedclose

After the marriage in 1380 of

(d. 1394) to the Lancastrian

Henry Bolingbroke Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fran ...

, the future King Henry IV (1399–1413), the swan was adopted by the royal

, which continued to use it for over a century. The ''swan gorged and chained with a crown or'' is especially associated with Lancastrian use and echoes the white hart similarly gorged and chained used by King Richard II (1377–1399), deposed by Henry Bolingbroke, which he began to use as a

livery badge A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

from 1390. Richard II's treasure roll of 1397 includes, together with several of his own white hart badges, a swan badge with a gold chain, perhaps presented by one of his Lancastrian enemies mentioned above: "''Item'', a gold swan enamelled white with a little gold chain hanging around the neck, weighing 2 oz., value, 46s. 8d".Stratford He declared to Parliament that he had exchanged liveries with his uncles as a sign of amity at various moments of reconciliation. After

seized the throne in 1399, the use of the swan emblem was transferred to his son, the future King Henry V (1413–1422), who was made

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

at his father's coronation, and whose tomb in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

displays motifs of swans. The

Dunstable Swan Jewel The Dunstable Swan Jewel is a gold and enamel brooch in the form of a swan made in England or France in about 1400 and now in the British Museum, where it is on display in Room 40. The jewel was excavated in 1965 on the site of Dunstable Friar ...

made in about 1400 is presumed to have been intended as a

possibly given to his supporters by the future

Henry V of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

, who was

from 1399. It is in the form of a white enamelled swan gorged with a gold collar in the form of a crown with six ''

fleur-de-lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

'' tines, held by a gold chain. The Bohun swan was also used by Henry V's grandson

Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales Edward of Westminster (13 October 1453 – 4 May 1471), also known as Edward of Lancaster, was the only son of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou. He was killed aged seventeen at the Battle of Tewkesbury. Early life Edward was born ...

, who died in the

Battle of Tewkesbury The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. King Edward IV and his forces loyal to the House of York completely defeated those of the rival House of Lancaster ...

in 1471. In 1459 Edward's mother

Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou (french: link=no, Marguerite; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England and nominally Queen of France by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Born in the Duchy of Lorrain ...

insisted that he should give swan livery badges to "all the gentlemen of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

"; the type and number are unknown.

Stafford

, Mary's sister, had in 1376 also married into the

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in batt ...

royal family, in the person of

(d. 1397), another prominent Lancastrian supporter, the youngest son of

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

, and the swan badge was used by his

descendants, but as a secondary badge to their own

Stafford knot The Stafford knot, more commonly known as the Staffordshire knot, is a distinctive three-looped knot that is the traditional symbol of the English county of Staffordshire and of its county town, Stafford. It is a particular representation of the s ...

. The de Bohun sisters Mary and Eleanor were co-heiresses to the huge Bohun estates, and disputes over the settlement of these continued until late into the next century, when most of their descendants had been killed in the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

, perhaps encouraging the continued assertion of Bohun ancestry.

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483) was an English nobleman known as the namesake of Buckingham's rebellion, a failed but significant collection of uprisings in England and parts of Wales agains ...

, a descendant of the Beauchamps, of Eleanor de Bohun, of Thomas of Woodstock and of John of Gaunt, used the swan with crown and chain as his own badge. He was certainly active in trying to obtain possession of the Bohun lands, and appears also to have plotted to seize the throne, for which he was executed in 1483 by Richard III.

Courtenay

Another heir of the de Bohuns was the Courtenay family,

Earls of Devon Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be con ...

, descended from Margaret de Bohun (1311–1391), daughter and heiress of

(1276–1322) and wife of

(1303–1377). The Courtenays frequently used the Bohum swan as one of their

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. H ...

, with or in place of the usual Courtenay boar, on their heraldic achievements. Surviving examples are: *Seal of

Sir Philip Courtenay ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

(d.1463) of Powderham, showing the Bohun swan as the

dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...

supporter In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coro ...

. *Courtenay Mantlepiece, Bishop's Palace, Exeter, showing the arms of

Peter Courtenay Peter Courtenay ( – 23 September 1492) was Bishop of Exeter (1478–87) and Bishop of Winchester (1487-92), and also had a successful political career during the tumultuous years of the Wars of the Roses. Origins Courtenay was the third so ...

(d.1492),

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

and

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

: ''Or, 3

torteaux A roundel is a circular charge in heraldry. Roundels are among the oldest charges used in coats of arms, dating from the start of the age of heraldry in Europe, ''circa'' 1200–1215. Roundels are typically a solid colour but may be charged with ...

a label of 3 points azure each point charged with 3 plates in pale'' with supporters the Bohun swans, each collared with a crown and chained or.

Luttrell of Dunster

The Luttrell family, feudal barons of Dunster, of

Dunster Castle Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After ...

in Somerset, also used the Bohun swan as supporters. This was due to their descent from the Courtenays. Sir Andrew Luttrell (d.1378/81) of Chilton, in the parish of

Thorverton Thorverton is a civil parish and village in Devon, England, about a mile west of the River Exe and north of Exeter. It is almost centrally located between Exeter and the towns of Tiverton, Cullompton and Crediton, and contains the hamlets ...

, Devon, married Elizabeth Courtenay (d.1395), widow of Sir John de Vere, son of the Earl of Oxford, and a daughter of

(1303–1377) by his wife Margaret de Bohun (d.1391), eldest surviving daughter of

, by

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, daughter of King

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

. In 1374 Elizabeth Luttrell purchased the reversion of

and manor, the manors of Minehead and Kilton, and the hundred of Carhampton from Lady Mohun, the wife of Sir John V de Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun (c.1320–1375),

feudal baron of Dunster Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

. Dunster Castle continued to be held by her descendants until 1976. Bohun swan supporters survive on the

Easter Sepulchre An Easter Sepulchre is a feature of British church interior architecture. Description The Easter Sepulchre is an arched recess generally in the north wall of the chancel, in which from Good Friday to Easter day were deposited the crucifix and sa ...

monument of Hugh Luttrell (died 1522) of Dunster, in St Mary's Church, East Quantoxhead, Somerset. A modern example is on the huge stone sculpted heraldic achievement of George Fownes Luttrell (1826–1910) above the new main entrance door to the castle, built as part of his remodelling. The Bohun swan also features in the centre of the "Luttrell Table Carpet" (c.1520), now in the

Burrell Collection The Burrell Collection is a museum in Glasgow, Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums. It houses the art collection of Sir William Burrell and Constance, Lady Burrell. The museum reopened on 29 March 2022 with free entry, having been closed for r ...

in Glasgow.

Buckinghamshire

The Flag of

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

uses the Bohun swan on its flag as it dates back to the Anglo-Saxon Times, when Buckinghamshire was known for breeding swans for the king.

References

Sources

{{Commons category, Bohun swan *Cherry, John. "The Dunstable Swan Jewel", Journal of the British Archaeological Association, XXXII, 1969 *Stratford, Jenny, The swan badge and the Dunstable Swan, and other pages as specified, in Richard II's Treasure; the riches of a medieval king, website by The Institute of Historical Research and Royal Holloway, University of London, 2007 Heraldic badges Swans