Centaur (heraldic animal)

Centaur in the Giedroyć coat of arms

The centaur and the female centaur (also known as the hippocentaur ) are rarely seen in the heraldry as heraldic animals in the series of common figures . They are most commonly found in coats of arms from Poland and Lithuania.

meaning

In heraldry, the centaur means, among other things:

Intoxication , ecstasy , drunkenness , savagery , lust
Hunting , medicine
Wisdom , justice
Education , didactics

Representation and Blazon

In heraldry, the centaur is a man (or woman) at the top and a horse at the bottom. He appears in profile, but also resisting, an arrow from a bow and firing backwards. Instead of a horse's tail, a snake often curls up towards the centaur's face. Sometimes he is winged and / or holds a sword or something similar in one hand. The female centaur is also shown without arms and with a braid. With a bow and arrow the figure is called Sagittarius (archer) in heraldry . The Sagittarius was also the coat of arms of the Moravian noble family Nekesch von Landek.