The whale is a large sea-creature, known today as a cetacean mammal, but regarded in period as a fish; it was hunted from ships for its meat, oil and baleen.  It is found in period heraldic tracts (e.g., de Bara’s Blason des Armoiries, 1581 [88]), but Your Author has not found an unarguable example from period armory.

The medieval depiction of the whale was somewhat fanciful; the illustration is taken from Gesner’s De Avibus et Piscibus, 1560.  If a naturalistic depiction is desired, it must be specified as a “natural whale”, or more explicitly, e.g., a “sperm whale”.  The whale is naiant by default.

In Society armory, there is also the “narwhal” or “narwhale”, a cetacean with a long unicorn-like “horn” (actually its tooth).  It’s generally depicted as found in nature.  The illustration shows a narwhal haurient.  For related charges, see dolphin.

The Baron of Smoking Rocks bears:  Argent, a whale haurient embowed sable within a laurel wreath vert.

André of Stormhold bears:  Argent, a whale naiant azure.

Arinbjorn Talverri bears:  Or, a narwhal haurient bendwise purpure.

The lucy is a long, aggressive fish, popular in medieval armory for its canting value (as in the arms of Lucy, c.1255) [ANA2 432].  It was also known as the “pike”, or the “gad” or “ged”, in each case for its canting value.  The illustration shows a lucy haurient.

Margrete Knudtzdatter bears:  Azure, two lucies haurient respectant Or and a ford proper.

Matti Turkulainen bears:  Argent fretty sable, a pike naiant vert.

Ivar Hakonarson bears:  Barry azure and argent, two pike haurient gules.

The term “fish”, as used in heraldry, refers to any marine creature not a monster.  The category includes the generic “fish”, which is drawn more or less like a trout, and which will conflict with all other types of fish.  More frequent in period heraldry are specific types of fish, such as the herring, the hake, the roach, and the salmon.  The distinctions between these specific types were often blurred: the exact type of fish was frequently chosen for a cant, as in the arms of Herring, Hake, de la Roche, and the Grafs von Salmen, respectively.

Also included in this category are the cetaceans, e.g., the porpoise or natural dolphin, the orca or killer whale, the narwhal, and the natural whale; though now known to be mammals, they are considered fish for heraldic purposes.

Finally, there are the crustaceans, e.g., the crab, the lobster, and the prawn.  These too are classed as fish in heraldry.  Unlike most other fish, however, crustaceans are tergiant by default.

As may be seen, given the wide variety of types of fish found in period armory, any fish known to period Europeans may be used in Society armory – though, if the fish is not itself European, its use is considered a step from period practice.  (An exception would be made for non-European fish actually used in period European armory, but no examples have been adduced.)  The examples of fish peculiar to Society armory include the North American “catfish”, the “swordfish”, and the “zydrach” – the latter being a period term for the hammerhead shark.

Fish are in general naiant by default.  Other fish postures include “haurient” (head to chief) and “uriant” or “urinant” (head to base); the word “embowed” might be added to any of these, although it is usually unnecessary.  Fish “fretted in triangle” are arranged as illustrated; the usage is described in Guillim, 1610 [170].  Non-crustacean fish tergiant are considered a step from period practice; an exception is made for flat fish such as the chabot, in the arms of Cabos or Cabot, c.1400 [Wapenboek Beyeren, fol.25v], where tergiant is their default posture.

In other respects, the fish of Society armory follow the same conventions as those of mundane armory.  The illustration shows a salmon haurient and a chabot (tergiant).  For specific entries, see:  barbel, calamarie, crab, dolphin, eel, lucy, sea-horse (natural), whale.

The Baron of Jararvellir bears:  Azure, on a fess between two catfish counternaiant Or, a laurel wreath vert.

The Shire of Frozen Mountain bears as a badge:  Three fish fretted in triangle gules.

Margery Colvere bears:  Azure, in pale two trout argent.

Ian O Kennavain bears:  Vert, a sturgeon in annulo Or.

Sean of Elmhurst bears:  Per bend azure and sable, a shark naiant to sinister argent.

Marina Jensdatter bears:  Gules, a salmon embowed within a bordure Or.

Jarvis of Hakesleah bears:  Purpure, three hakes haurient Or.

Brian of Stonemarche bears:  Argent, a chevron inverted sable between a chabot gules and two chabots azure.

The eel is a fish with a long, serpentine body, distinguished from the serpent by its tail and fins (though, sadly, these are frequently omitted in period art).  It’s usually found in heraldry for the sake of a cant, as in the arms of di Pescera, mid-15^th C. [Triv 288], the civic arms of Ahlen, 1605 [Siebmacher 220], or the arms of Ellis, 1610 [Guillim1 168].  Eels may also be called “congers” for canting purposes; small eels are also called “grigs”.

Eels are naiant by default, their bodies wavy.  See also sea-serpent.

Gregoire le Gris bears:  Or, an eel erect embowed counterembowed, a chief embattled azure.

Osweald Hæfring bears:  Gules, in pale two eels naiant Or.

Magdalen Mwrray bears:  Azure, two eels haurient respectant Or and in chief a roundel argent.

The dolphin was considered in medieval times the fastest and noblest of the fish.  The unmodified term refers to the heraldic form of the dolphin, which is the default:  a fierce fish with a spiny dorsal fin, and sometimes tusks.  It’s found in the canting arms of the Dauphin of France as early as c.1370 [Gelre 46].  The dolphin’s default posture is naiant; when blazoned “proper”, it is vert detailed gules.

The cetacean dolphin, as found in nature, must be specified as such in blazon, usually as a “natural” or “bottlenosed dolphin”.  When blazoned “proper”, it is colored in grey tones, and is considered equivalent to argent.  For related charges, see whale.

The Order of the Dolphin of Caid bears:  Azure, a dolphin embowed uriant to sinister argent.

Beatrice Delfini bears:  Per chevron argent ermined gules, and azure, a dolphin haurient embowed Or.

Diantha Sylvana Galatea Athalie de Castalia bears:  Per pale argent and azure, two dolphins uriant respectant counterchanged.

Angelina Nicollette de Beaumont bears:  Gules, a bottlenosed dolphin embowed and in chief a sprig of three orange blossoms slipped and leaved fesswise proper.

The crab is a squat-bodied crustacean, with a reputation for irritability.  Heraldically, it’s classed as a type of fish.  It’s found in the arms of Bryger or Bridger, c.1470 [DBA2 338], and the canting arms (Italian granchio) of de Grangis d’Ast, mid-15^th C. [Triv 166].  The crab was also the canting badge of Scrope, 1415, the crab being called a “scrap” in northern England [Hope2; also HCE xxviii].

Similar to the crab are the “lobster” and the “crayfish” (or “crevice”, from the French écrevisse):  biologically distinct (living in saltwater and fresh water, respectively), they are indistinguishable for heraldic purposes.  The lobster or crayfish is found as early as 1413, in the arms of Weiss [Conz.Const. cliiii], and in the canting arms (Italian gambero) of de Gambara, mid-15^th C. [Triv 157].  It’s usually drawn with a longer body than the crab.  However, there are instances in period armory of “crabs” (known to be such because of a cant) drawn with lobster-like tails; no difference is therefore granted between these crustaceans.

Also found in period armory is the “prawn”, similar to crayfish but without the claws; it’s found in the arms of Sea or Atsea, 1632 [Guillim2 241].  All of these crustaceans are tergiant by default, with their heads or claws to chief.  See also scorpion.

Mór Ruadh bears:  Gules, a crab Or.

Raymond Crus Hummer bears:  Argent, a lobster gules.

Eckhardt zu Westfilde bears:  Gules, two crayfish and on a base Or, a compass star gules, in chief a label of five points overall Or.

Jean Oste de Murat bears:  Azure, a chevron argent between two prawns haurient respectant and a fleur-de-kys Or.