Enfield (heraldry)
A composite heraldic beast with fox, eagle, and wolf features.
The enfield is a fictional beast found in heraldry. It combines a fox’s head, an eagle’s talons for forelegs, a greyhound’s chest, a lion’s body, and a wolf’s hindquarters and tail. Wings sometimes appear. The earliest recorded use is as the crest of the Irish Ó Cellaigh clan, documented in the manuscript *Leabhar Ua Maine*.
- type
- Heraldic beast
- earliest_known_use
- Crest of the Ó Cellaigh clan of Ireland
- associated_clan
- Ó Cellaigh (O'Kelly)
- first_documented_appearance
- Leabhar Ua Maine
- modern_use
- Coat of arms of the London Borough of Enfield
Lore & Background
The enfield is a composite heraldic creature, described as having the head of a fox, forelegs like an eagle's talons, the chest of a greyhound, the body of a lion, and the hindquarters and tail of a wolf. It is occasionally portrayed with wings. The earliest known example is the crest of the Ó Cellaigh clan of Ireland, and it appears in Leabhar Ua Maine. Ancient tradition among the O'Kellys holds that they have borne this animal since the days of King Tadhg Mór Ua Cellaigh, who fell at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. According to legend, when Tadhg Mór fell, the enfield issued from the nearby sea to protect his body until it was retrieved for burial.
Reader's Guide
The enfield is significant as a rare heraldic beast, primarily associated with the O'Kelly clan of Ireland. Its earliest known use is on the crest of the Ó Cellaigh clan, and it appears on many old tombstones (c. 1375–1650) in the Abbey of Kilconnell and the old church of Cloonkeen. In 1859, a bronze 15th-century O'Kelly seal bearing the enfield was found 20 feet deep in a bog, prompting research. Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, defined the enfield as having the head of a fox, the breast feathered as an eagle's, the foreclaws of an eagle, and the remainder of the body that of a wolf. This combination was said to indicate subtlety, magnanimity, fortitude, and fierceness. The beast was later adopted on the coat of arms of the Municipal Borough of Enfield and continues to be used by the London Borough of Enfield and various local organizations. Its connection to the town of Enfield is unclear, but it serves as a canting arms example.
Did You Know?
- The enfield is a fictitious creature used in heraldry, with the head of a fox, forelegs like an eagle's talons, chest of a greyhound, body of a lion, and hindquarters and tail of a wolf.
- The earliest known example of the enfield is the crest of the Ó Cellaigh clan of Ireland, appearing in Leabhar Ua Maine.
- A bronze 15th-century O'Kelly seal bearing the enfield was found 20 feet deep in a bog in 1859.
- The enfield appears on the modern coat of arms of the London Borough of Enfield.
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