Wyvern folklore is rarely fire-breathing like the four-legged dragon. Sometimes modern fantasy book and media authors have wyverns that are frost-breathing or poison-breathing instead of fire-breathing. The current spelling "wyvern" is not attested before the seventeenth century as "winged two-footed dragon". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is an alteration of Middle English "wyver" (attested thirteenth century), from Anglo-French "wivre" (cf. French "guivre" and "vouivre"), which originate from Latin "vīpera", meaning "viper", "adder", or "asp". Conversely, medievalist William Sayers proposes a more complex origin for the term. He notes that the Anglo-French "guivre" and its Middle English derivative ceased to
Heraldry Council from a commercial design studio. The Heraldry Committee, made up of selected Council members and, since 1984, the National Herald "ex officio", was originally set up to deal with matters referred to it from time to time. Since 1984, it has also been responsible for considering objections to applications for registration. 1963-1968 1968-1975 1975-1984 1984-1989 1989-1995 1995-1997 1998-2003 2003-2008 2008-2011 2011-2015 Heraldry Council The Heraldry Council is part of the South African heraldic authority, established in Pretoria in June 1963, in terms of the Heraldry Act. It is the governing and policy-making body for the Bureau of Heraldry and consists