The ypotryll, or hippotryll, is an heraldic monster of awesome ugliness, with a camel’s humps, a boar’s face, and cloven hooves.  It was used as a badge by Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester c.1460 [Dennys 166].  The ypotryll does not seem to have a default posture; the illustration shows an ypotryll passant.

The Canton of Attilium bears as a badge:  An ypotryll passant Or.

Edelgard Erzsébet von Württemberg bears:  Purpure, an ypotryll dormant Or.

Nina of Bright Hills bears:  Or, a pale azure and overall an ypotryll rampant gules.

The yale is an heraldic monster characterized by two long, mobile horns, which could be swivelled independently and at will; it also has a set of fierce tusks.  The yale doesn’t seem to have a default posture; the illustrations show yales rampant.

Two forms of yale are found in period heraldry [Dennys 165].  The earlier form, the “Bedford yale”, was one of the Duke of Bedford’s supporters c.1435, and resembles an antelope.  The other form, the “Beaufort yale”, was used by his grandson Sir John Beaufort, c.1450; it is stockier, more like a goat, and is usually strewn with roundels.  However, both yales have the characteristic horns and tusks; either type may be used in Society heraldry (and specified in blazon, if the submitter insists), but no difference is granted between them.

Jacinth Aldith de Warwick bears:  Argent, a yale rampant sable, armed and attired Or, within a bordure compony erminois and vert.

Styrkárr Bjarnarson bears:  Or, a yale rampant guardant vert bezanty armed gules.

Tristan le Chantecler de Champaigne bears:  Barry azure and argent, two yales combatant Or.

This class of monster consists of beasts with wings grafted to their shoulders.  Almost any beast may be so treated, such as the winged fox in the arms of Fuchs, mid-16^th C [NW 37], or even the winged fish in the arms of von Bruecdorp or Brockdorf, c.1370 [Gelre 33v].  Even other monsters, if normally wingless, may have wings added.  The wings are eagle’s wings by default; other types of wings, such as bat’s wings, are also found in Society armory, but are unattested in period armory.  Such cases must be explicitly blazoned.  (This doesn’t apply to those monsters whose definitions include wings, such as the dragon.)

There are special terms for some winged monsters.  A haloed winged lion may be blazoned a “lion of St. Mark”; it is found in the civic arms of Venice, 1413 [Conz.Const. cciii].  (St. Mark was the patron saint of the city.)  A haloed winged ox may be blazoned an “ox of St. Luke”; it is found in the arms of Caravello, 1413 [Conz.Const. cliii].  Both evangelists’ monsters are frequently shown maintaining a book, that being their attribute, but such cases are nonetheless explicitly blazoned.

Rampant winged monsters may be blazoned “segreant”, since that term may be applied to any monster “half-bird, half-beast”; in that case, the posture of the wings is defined by the term.  Winged monsters statant or couchant do not need their wings’ posture blazoned, either:  the wings will be addorsed by default, that being their most distinguishable posture.  The term “volant”, however, is ill-defined for non-birds, and should not be used for winged monsters; instead, the posture of the body should be blazoned in a standard way, with the wings’ position made explicit (e.g., a “winged lion courant, wings elevated and addorsed”).

The illustrations show a lion of St. Mark statant guardant; a winged stag segreant; a bat-winged boar courant, wings elevated and addorsed; and a winged dolphin, wings addorsed.  For specific entries, see humanoid monster (angel), pegasus, pithon.  See also winged charges.

Jon de Cles bears:  Gules, a winged camel trippant argent.

Jean Pierre de Sabre bears:  Or, a winged fish volant sable.

Harold von Auerbach bears:  Vert, a bat-winged boar salient argent.

Hastini Chandra bears:  Or, an Indian elephant passant gules, winged sable.

Jamie MacRae bears:  Purpure, a winged stag rampant to sinister argent.

Niall Kilkierny bears:  Vert, a winged sea-lion rampant Or.

The werewolf is a bloodthirsty monster from folklore, said to be a human who changes into a wolf during the full moon.  Its heraldic depiction, as found in the crest of Kaylewaye, late-16^th C., is that of a wolf with human hands instead of feet, and human ears [Bedingfeld 92].

The werewolf has no default posture; the illustration shows a werewolf passant reguardant.

Jeanne Marie Lacroix bears as a badge:  A werewolf passant reguardant vert.

Oddr Þiálfason bears as a badge:  A werewolf passant sustaining over its shoulder a pole with a gonfanon dependent therefrom Or.

The vegetable lamb is considered a monster in Society heraldry, a mythical plant bearing young sheep as its fruit.  It was first mentioned in the Travels of Sir John Mandeville, c.1371, but does not appear in mundane armory.

Society blazon uses the phrase “fructed” to refer to the full blossom, including the sheep (e.g., when of another tincture than the rest of the plant).  If only the sheep’s tincture differs, the phrase “fructed of sheep” is used: that is, a “vegetable lamb vert fructed sable” has black blossoms and sheep, bujt a “vegetable lamb vert fructed of sheep sable” has green blossoms and black sheep.

Lysander Keisalovitch bears:  Argent, a vegetable lamb vert.

Solange Sarrazin bears:  Or, a vegetable lamb vert, flowered gules and fructed of sheep argent, a chief indented azure.

Áine Táilliúir bears as a badge:  A vegetable lamb Or fructed of sheep sable.

The unicorn is a fierce heraldic monster, named for the single horn growing from the center of its forehead; it was the medieval archetype of purity and chastity, and its horn was considered an antidote to poison.  As an heraldic charge, it’s found as early as c.1340, in the arms of Tengen [Zurich 72].

The unicorn is always shown with its forward-pointing horn, which is its defining characteristic; it’s also drawn with cloven hooves.  The usual English depiction gives it a body much like a horse’s, but with a bearded chin, a lion’s tail, and tufts at its feet (and frequently higher on the legs).  The Continental depiction is based more on a goat, frequently with a goat’s tail (though a lion’s tail is common), and often no tufts or beard.  The exact variant is not distinguished in blazon:  either form is acceptable in the Society.  Both forms are rampant by default, as in the illustration.

Modern fantasy art often depicts the unicorn as a horned horse, with long sweeping mane and tail; this is not the medieval concept of the unicorn, and so-called “unicornate horses” are no longer permitted in Society armory.

The March of the Unicorn bears:  Gyronny of sixteen azure and argent, a unicorn rampant and in chief a laurel wreath Or.

Charles Edward Alexander Everman bears:  Ermine, a unicorn rampant sable, armed and crined gules.

Henry Clarence bears:  Argent, three unicorns passant azure.

Duncan MacDougall of Mendersham bears:  Or, a unicorn rampant gules.

The theow, or thoye, is a rare monster resembling a mastiff or wolf, but with cloven hooves and a bovine muzzle and tail.  It was used as a badge by Sir Thomas Cheney c.1560 [Dennys 161].  The theow does not seem to have a default posture; the illustration shows a theow rampant.

Fedora Phelan bears:  Pily bendy sinister vert and argent, a theow rampant pean.

Flóki refskegg bears:  Argent, a theow rampant sable collared and chained Or maintaining a grozing iron sable.

Eric of Nord Broc bears:  Pean, a theow rampant and issuant from base a demi-sun argent.

The tarasque is an amphibious monster associated with Tarascon, France.  Legends of the tarasque date from the 12^th Century, frequently as part of the legend of St. Martha.  It resembles a spiny-shelled tortoise with six legs; it’s often shown with a somewhat humanoid face.  The tarasque is used in the modern arms of Tarascon, but no period heraldic examples have been found.  The illustration shows a tarasque statant guardant.

Morgiane de Provence bears:  Azure, a four-legged tarasque statant gardant contourny argent.

Spencer Alwyn bears:  Quarterly azure and sable, a tarasque statant and in chief three mullets of four points argent.

Dawn Schadue bears as a badge:  A tarasque passant vert vorant of two human legs clothed azure.

The sphinx is a monster from ancient myth, with a lion’s body and a human head.  There are two forms of this monster, the Greek form and the Egyptian form, both of which date from antiquity.

The Greek sphinx (the riddling monster slain by Oedipus) is winged, and has a woman’s head and breasts; it’s the more common form, and the only form found in period heraldry.  Blazoned simply as a “sphinx” in period, it is sometimes blazoned in the Society as a “winged” or a “gyno-sphinx” (gyno, “woman”).  The Greek sphinx was described in period tracts [Bossewell II.46], and was granted as a crest to Robert Parris in 1573 [Dennys 118].

The Egyptian sphinx is the monster whose statue is seen at Giza; it has a man’s head, wearing a pharaonic headdress, and has no wings.  It’s sometimes blazoned an “andro-sphinx” (andro, “man”) in the Society.  Though the statue was known, the Egyptian sphinx doesn’t seem to have been used in period armory.

Of course, Society armorists take pleasure in conflating the two forms, and examples of “Greek andro-sphinxes” and “Egyptian gyno-sphinxes” have been registered.  Go figure.

Neither form of sphinx has a default posture in Society heraldry; the illustrations show a Greek sphinx sejant and an Egyptian sphinx couchant.  For related charges, see chimera (German), lamia, manticore, man-tyger.

Ariadne Leontodes bears:  Argent, a Greek sphinx rampant azure winged sable.

Eirene Korinthia bears:  Purpure, a Greek sphinx sejant Or.

Khalil el-Hadji bears:  Or, an Egyptian sphinx couchant azure between in chief two scimitars inverted, blades to center sable.

Mammarra Liona of Egypt bears:  Azure, an Egyptian gyno-sphinx rampant Or.