Shropshire's Heraldic Puns - Proby

 Proby.

Proby, alias Ap Robyn.

Arms: Ermine, on a fesse gules a lion passant Or. 

Crest: An ostrich's head erased Argent ducally gorged Or in his mouth a key of the last.

Motto: Manus Haec Inimica Tyrannis ("This hand is hostile to tyrants").

The arms of Proby, alias Ap Robyn.

There is a brilliant heraldic pun (known as "canting arms" or armes parlantes) built into both the shield and the crest of this specific coat of arms for the surname Proby (alias Robyn). Historically, this family hailed from Cheshire and later Elton Hall, and their identity as "Robyn" or "Proby" is perfectly reflected in their heraldry. The Shield has a pun on "Robyn". Although this shield features a lion passant, in several older variants and rolls of this specific grant, the animal on the red central stripe (fesse gules) is actually a fox (passant Or), rather than a lion. In Old English and traditional folklore, a common colloquial nickname for a fox was "Reynard" or "Robin" (frequently appearing in historical documents as "Robyn Fox"). Thus, displaying a fox on the shield was a direct pun on their alias surname, Robyn. Over the centuries, subsequent heraldic misinterpretations or upgrades in status frequently saw this fox redrawn as a grander lion passant. 

The Crest: In medieval and early modern heraldic lore, the ostrich was famously (and inaccurately) believed to have a stomach strong enough to digest iron, which is why it is traditionally depicted holding heavy metal objects like iron keys or horseshoes in its beak. The Latin verb "to try", "to test", or "to prove" is probare. An ostrich putting an iron key to the test of its legendary digestive tract is visually "proving" its standard nature. The animal is quite literally performing a test, a "probe", creating a multi-layered pun on the name Proby.

This is a representation of the arms recorded in several older variants and rolls of this specific grant where the animal on the red central stripe (fesse gules) is actually a fox (passant Or), rather than a lion.