Wyvern Wyvern A wyvern ( , sometimes spelled wivern) is a legendary creature with a dragon's head and wings, a reptilian body, two legs, and a tail often ending in a diamond- or arrow-shaped tip. A sea-dwelling variant dubbed the sea-wyvern has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail. The wyvern in its various forms is important to heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada). It is a popular creature in European and British literature, video games, and modern fantasy. The wyvern in heraldry and
Women in heraldry systems of heraldry these differences remain active. Heraldry has its origins from associations with warfare and the age of chivalry. The traditional shield was also associated with war and so women did not usually display familial arms on escutcheons. Rather, they could display these on various other shapes: more commonly the lozenge, an oval, or a cartouche. The crest–a device that sits atop the shield on an armorial achievement–likewise was not accorded to heraldic devices of women as these had associations with warfare. In many heraldic traditions, arms generally are passed patrilineally. In other nations, in Canadian heraldry for example,