[MR] Wikipedia: Margaret Beaufort's Yale

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1509, Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby,
died in Westminster Abbey. Margaret was the mother of Henry VII of England,
and so was also grandmother of Henry VIII. Margaret also paid for the
structures at St. Winefride's Well and Shrine at Holywell, Wales, which may
be why this amazing pilgrimage site largely survived her grandson Henry
VIII's assault on all that was Catholic. Margaret's biography is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Margaret_Beaufort .

What really interested me about Margaret is found in the description of her
tomb in Westminster Abbey. According to the above article, her tomb is
decorated with heraldic devices, including her personal badge, a yale.

O.K. So what is a yale? The answer, a mythical beastie resembling a tusked
goat, and said to be able to swivel its horns during combat. Fanciful, yes,
but apparently derived from the ibex, and so-named via the Hebrew word for
ibex, yael. Sad to say, real ibexes (ibexei?) do not have tusks or rotating
horns. Not surprisingly, the yale appears frequently on the regalia at Yale
University: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_(mythical_creature) .

It seems we actually can learn something new everyday.

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆