[MR] otter/sea otter (fwd)

[Lord Mungoe]

Mungoe say just make little Otter look realy realy big on shield in field of blue. Call it "European fresh water Otter, well fed, in sea water."
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Craig Levin 
  To: Merry Rose 
  Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 1:46 PM
  Subject: RE: [MR] otter/sea otter (fwd)


  Sveva:

  <snip>

  > I know nothing about their heraldic images, but they were known in
  > Russia, so they are not only a New World creature. The Russians called
  > them sea beavers (bobri morski), and they were also confused with seals
  > by some cultures, so maybe some other information could be found under
  > their alternate names.

  The Age of Discovery is something of a specialty of mine, and so
  I did a little digging around. It would appear that the
  exploration of Asiatic Russia was one of the last phases of the
  Age of Discovery, sometime in the mid-1600's. Also, according to
  that Alaskan website, the first skins sent to Europe were shipped
  out in the 1700's, which makes things even less likely.

  This isn't to say that sea otters aren't nifty beasties, but just
  that I think one would have a hard time justifying their use in
  period-style heraldry. "Regular" otters would be just dandy
  charges, and I'd be happy to help with the paperwork.

  Pedro
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